Our "sweet" President, Mark Rogo, welcomed everyone to the friendly Westwood Village Rotary Club. Past President, Steve Scherer, led us in our pledge. Immediate Past President, Dwight Heikkila provided an invocation that required us to sit down ;) thank you gentlemen! We had a song today led by Paul Aslan and he chose America the Beautiful in honor of our dear Lenny Friedman who loved this song.

We had a visiting Rotarian from Honolulu, Eri Tanaka and she brought a guest Jack - welcome! PP Steve Scherer introduced Bob and Vivianne; Bob was a former member of our club and they now live near Sacramento. Tom Barron, our membership chair, was thrilled to welcome back, Mavis Yao, a private lender who has an application in for membership! Sunny and Lenny Friedman's family were here - Donald, Jeff, Linda, Jordan, her new husband, and then last but not least our vocational chair, Dick Thompson, introduced Alvin Mills of the Brentwood Symphony.

For our Health and Welfare moment Jeff Friedman came forward and gave an expression of thanks on behalf of the family for Lenny Friedman's passing. There was a nice slideshow of Lenny and our members through the years and we all know how much Rotary meant to him and what HE meant to the organization. Lenny will always be in our hearts as with the other members we have lost too soon. He also invited everyone to a memorial celebration at Linda and Jeff's house this Sunday.

Head Table introductions: Past President Jim Collins (looking as healthy as ever, can't believe this man had double knee surgery!), Marcie Rogo, one of our craft talk speakers today, me, your P.E. Aly Shoji, and Jonathan Canter rounding out craft talks today. Phil Gabriel has returned from running the Empire State building stair race! He keeps getting more fit - how is this possible? He was so thankful to our club for supporting him as a group and individuals. Phil placed 3rd in his age group and 30th overall(and there were more than 30 racers! ;) Phil's team raised $800K for Multiple Myeloma research and we are incredibly proud of Phil!

Announcements:

• Past President, Chris Bradford, has been heading our global scholarship program for several years and announced the committee consisting of himself, President Mark Rogo, Debbie Heap and Aly Shoji will be meeting with the applicants this onth to conduct interviews to see if any will be moving on to the District. He thanked the committee and is always happy to report updates to our club.
• Secretary, Ann Samson, reminded everyone the Valentine's Day brunch is THIS Sunday at Lawry's. Looking forward to seeing everyone for prime rib or salmon!

Birthdays: 

• January 8- Ron Lyster
• February 3- Leo Tseng 
• February 13- Kevin Komatsu
• February 23- Bill Goodwyn
• February 8- Lenny

Past President, Don Nelson, is a committed Earth Angel volunteer and President Rogo asked him to share a story about a recent experience. To back up for our newer members, Angel Flight is where pilots and club members like Peter More or past member Sean McMillan would voluntarily fly patients and families in their personal aircraft and pay for the fuel etc. from areas that did not have access to

wonderful research and care like we have at UCLA or on the west side. And then Earth Angels, such as Don who pick them up at the airport and then drive them to a hospital or doctors appointment to finish the task. Well, these patients are not well which is why they require these visits and sometimes our help. But they can also get sick in your nice cars on the way so Don was VERY thankful he had a towel to clean-up. Just a heads up for any future volunteers of another preparation tip. Thanks, Don!

Now, on to our craft talks!

Marcie Rogo is the Head of Operations for Tapestry, leading the company's expansion from Australia into the United States. Backed with her corporate consulting and assisted living experience, Marcie has made it her determination to help the aging population enhance quality of daily lives by reducing isolation. Before Tapestry, she founded ConnectAround, the first private and safe social network for older adults within their retirement living communities. Bringing ConnectAround into the Tapestry family has created the ideal opportunity to deliver on the shared vision of the two companies and offer a fully comprehensive solution for seniors, their families, the communities in which they live and the organizations which serve them. Marcie has an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and holds bachelor's degrees in communications and economics from the University of Pennsylvania. She currently spends her time between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Now in her own words....

"I am Marcie Rogo, a new rotary member and daughter of Mark Rogo, president. My mother is Lynn and I have one sister, Lisa, who lives in Mountain View with her husband Anil and my gorgeous niece Kira. I grew up right here in Westwood and went to Warner Avenue Elementary. Then I went to Harvard-Westlake for 7th-12th grade. Rather than staying local I went to the University of Pennsylvania and got degrees in Economics and Communications. Next, I was off to NYC to do human capital consulting for Aon Corporation.

After several years, I decided, during the recession, to get my MBA in Australia and get an international degree. I always felt passionate about respecting and including the aging population so I took a job at a senior living facility during school. There I realized my career calling - to stop social isolation among our

beloved seniors with easy digital solutions. Lonely adults are 45% more likely to die than seniors who feel meaningfully connected to others. People who suffer from loneliness are 64% more likely to experience dementia.

In 2011, I came back to LA and started my on company, ConnectAround.com, which was a private social network for residents of retirement communities. In late 2012, that company was acquired by Tapestry.net, where I now have a bigger team and enhanced product to include all ages in digital sharing, conversations, enhancing lives one at a time. I am the Head of US Operations for Tapestry, in charge of the business development outside of Australia, where the company is based.

Tapestry connects all generations with easy photo sharing, messaging, and link sharing without ever having to signup for a public social network. You don't even need an email address! Our multi-generational platform is a simple app available on any device, no matter if you use a computer, your iPhone, or an Android tablet. You can create multiple walled gardens of sharing, knowing there is no

advertising, no scamming, and nothing will end up on Google. Now, my grandmother doesn't have to wait until someone comes over to show her the photos taken that day of her great-granddaughter.

She can get them at the same time, comment, and feel "in the loop" and not marginalized because of technology. I encourage you all to check it out, and download it for free at www.tapestry.net.

We have had great direct-to-consumer traction and are now looking at offering custom solutions to any organization that serves seniors so that they can get notifications from that organization in real time, share with their peers, and stay connected to their families, near and far.

We are still a baby company and I love feedback, no matter positive or negative, so please let me know what you think! We are also always looking for new channels, partners, investors, and advice. You can find me at [email protected]."

Jonathan Cantor is an old friend of Mark Rogo's from Coldwell Banker and has a history in professional tennis, real estate, and the stock market. Jonathan gave an account of his transition from real estate to business and currently, financial advising, as well as his move to Wisconsin and back again!