My Fellow Rotarians,
“If today is not your day,
then be happy
for this day shall never return.
And if today is your day,
then be happy now
for this day shall never return.”
― Kamand Kojouri
then be happy
for this day shall never return.
And if today is your day,
then be happy now
for this day shall never return.”
― Kamand Kojouri
Last Friday’s gathering of the RCSB was a happy day for me (my first wearing the club president pin). My thanks to all who attended in person and remotely—with special tips of the cap to Don Jack and Stacey Lydon for helping check in members; to Laurie Small for leading the Pledge; to Michael Baker for sharing an inspirational invocation; to Dean Axelrod and Jim Stretchberry for bringing guests; to Dean again for taking on our esteemed past-president in a spirited game of “Are you Smarter than Stacey Lydon?”; and to Margo Byrne for securing and introducing our speaker, Women’s Economic Ventures CEO Kathy Odell.
Thanks to feedback from membership, we started a new tradition: We donated a book to a local Santa Barbara elementary school in honor of our program speaker, something we’re going to do for every speaker this year.
So how did we do? Feedback is appreciated. I’ll start: While our trial venue (Eleven14) had potential (our own space!), it was hard to hear the speaker. I spoke to the board that night and we’re going to invest in a microphone system. We’re also working on improving the hybrid experience. Bear with us, it’s going to be better.
Looking to Next Week
Onward, we gather again next Friday (July 30) for our Annual Meeting. We want to hear from you, our members, on club business, plus present our Board agenda for the year and share bylaw updates for the Foundation (exciting!). I promise a compelling dialogue; plus, more fun times in store during President’s Time. Watch for an email from Foundation Board Chair Jim Armstrong with more updates. We’ll have more details about the meeting in the days ahead.
In the meantime, whether today is your day or not, be happy. We live in a wonderful part of the world with great friends and a meaningful Rotary mission to bring us together.
In service,
Matt Nehmer
President, Rotary Club of Santa Barbara
President, Rotary Club of Santa Barbara
