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Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Rotarians and their families. Thank you for your service! A special thanks to all the members that supported our Youth Fosters Holiday Wine Auction. Can you believe that our club raised $2,500.00 to support the Youth Fosters Program… way to go Rotarians! I hope everyone had a great time laughing, joking, and donating to a great cause.
A special thank you to the programs committee and speakers for doing an outstanding job! Ashlyn Cavaletto came to speak about, "Becoming a Change Maker". Legendary, Wade Nomura addressed international Rotary efforts to bring water to Haiti. Lee Abbott, Executive Director, and Producer of the film "Disaster at Devils Jaw". Impact of Title IX on women's sports by Jaylon Letendre. Professor Joel Rothman, Director and Founder of the Center for Aging and Longevity. Chris Hastert, Director of the Santa Barbara Airport. The Owner and Operator for Chick Fil-A on State Street, Travis Collins. The programs have been outstanding, educational and VIP access to what's going down in Santa Barbara. Remember to share your love for the Rotary.
Ready to travel? Strap those backpacks and make sure your passports are valid, let's travel to Natun, Guatemala.
Our Rotary International Special Projects Committee has started to plan for the next trip down to Natun Guatemala. This will be the ninth (9th) trip for the Rotary of Santa Barbara to Guatemala and volunteering with the NGO Natun Guatemala in Panajachel. Staring in 2014, through our volunteers, the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara has constructed 6 homes, 80 stoves, provided 51 water filters, launched the tutoring program, our members have sponsored over 14 students, offered elder support and much more…
Some of you might asking what is Natun, Guatemala? It is a 501(c)(3) CA non-profit that provides opportunities & assistance to indigenous Maya of rural Guatemala, through education, nutrition, health & economic development programs. Please reach out to Don Jack or Bill Dutton for more information regarding this wonderful international service project. Reach out to David Shea on what not to do when traveling to Guatemala.
The Rotary Club of Santa Barbara partnered with Marine Watchdogs, community service project, to clean up plastics on Ledbetter beach. Thank you to Bill Dutton, Don Jack, Greg Dawson, my daughter Vivien, and Mr. Gruendyke for cleaning up the beach. Altogether, 10 large trash bags of plastics, old shoes, cans, bottles, glass, crab netting and a bee sting on the bottom of the foot. Overall, we couldn’t ask for a better day on the beach in sunny California.
Coming Up… Greg Dawson would like to extend the invitation to the Legacy Gala 2023 with Jay Leno. The event will on December 14, 2023. Please reach out to Greg Dawson for current pricing. You can also reserve tickets at THETURNERFOUNDATION.COM
Next program will be December 01, 2023, a special meeting for the Santa Barbara Rotary Charitable Foundation. Information listed below sent on November 20,2023:
In conjunction with our regular meeting on December 1, 2023, the Santa Barbara Rotary Charitable Foundation will have a very brief meeting to elect two members to fill vacant terms on the Foundation Board. The vacancies have been created due to Connie Green taking a leave of absence from the club, and Greg Knowles resigning from the club due to moving out of State.
Pursuant to the Foundation Bylaws, the Nominating Committee, composed of the Past President, current President, and President Elect met and are pleased to nominate David Shea to fill the Greg's remaining term until June 30, 2026, and Van Do-Reynoso to fill Connie's remaining term until June 30, 2025. Nominations from the floor for the Foundation Board can also be made at the Special Meeting.
As a member of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara, all members are also members of the Charitable Foundation. Special Meetings of the Foundation require all members receive a notice ten days in advance. This invitation serves as that notice
Just in case you've been hearing about Project SMART… Project SMART – North American Club Projects Leading the way. The conversation starts around older drug prevention programs that represented the same information for all grades. Project SMART wants to offer drug prevention programs designed to target different age groups.
School Education Program:
School program, educating children about the dangers of addiction, prescription drug disposal, protecting the drinking water, Safe Drug Disposal.
Medicine & Drug Disposal:
Making every day-drug disposal through in-home SAFE drug disposal.
Awareness:
Of OUD (Opioid Use Disorder) number of deaths, providing communities with Narcan Training to Save Lives, OUD screening tools.
Recovery:
Support services, Social recreational recovery infrastructure and social media resources, database of organizations in the local community recovery process that provides real-time data.
Treatment:
Through MAT (Medication Assisted Treatment), Medication and behavioral therapies in your local community to include a local database.
The "SMA" of Project SMART have identified Grant Funds available to implement these programs in local clubs. For more information or to help lead a task force, please reach out to
North American Task Force Leader: Larry Kenemore (913) 705-0983 email: rag.ap.larry@gmail.com
I wish everyone a very blessed Thanksgiving.
Share your love for the Rotary.
President,
Garrett R Gruendyke
