October 12, 2022

October is upon us and what a busy month we have ahead of us. Our last September meeting at Romeo Cucina featured guest speaker Victoria Morgan from the Bis Kids non-profit. They are a proactive prevention program against substance abuse operating within our local schools. They use games, music, art and stories to teach social and emotional skills that give children ages 7-12 the tools they need to overcome adversity and promote a healthy lifestyle. We also heard from their Executive Director and one of the Bis Kids parents about the positive impact their program has had on children.

On Sunday October 2nd, we hosted our Rotary booth at the Laguna Hills First Annual Heritage Day along with the Mission Viejo Rotary Club. This was a great event that had lots of foot traffic for the entirety of the day. It was also a fine opportunity to work with one of our neighboring Rotary Clubs. There was much camaraderie amongst both groups of volunteers and it certainly made the event  more memorable.

We signed up a worthwhile number of folks that expressed interest in Rotary, - either as becoming members, participating in our community projects or even serving as a guest speaker. I would like to thank Sita Gyan-Gorski, the President of the Mission Viejo Rotary Club, for sending her club members to participate along us, as well as our own Past Presidents Marilyn Crary, Bruce Birkeland, and Dr. Bill Nguyen for assisting in the booth.

For the  first October meeting, we held our club meeting at our new location, - the Crown Valley Community Center. Setup for our meeting was so much easier, in part because of the awesome Parks & Recreation Department staff that made sure we had everything we needed.  Our guest speaker was Jennifer Trubenbach from Operation of Hope. Her charity provides facial reconstruction surgeries for children that have suffered from debilitating injuries. Her non-profit serves children in the Philippines, Ecuador and Zimbabwe.

For lunch, a basic sandwich box from Corner Bakery was provided at the price of $20 just to see how it would go this first time. Now that we know we can handle serving a basic lunch and collecting payment, we’ll move forward with a larger menu variety. I will be tasking a different member to provide a lunch from their selected restaurant for each meeting going forward. We are certainly open to suggestions and feedback regarding the new meeting location as well as the lunch served. 

Ongoing right now is the distribution of the dictionaries for all the third graders of Laguna Niguel. Dr. Bill Nguyen is doing a fantastic job spearheading this project.

Coming up this week is the Rotary District 5320 Gala in Seal Beach. Our club was one of five in our District to be selected to feature one of our ongoing non-profit partners, - Wells of Life. Nick Jordan, the founder and CEO will be joining us at the Gala. We have to acknowledge the efforts of our International Co-Chair Bruce Birkeland for submitting a winning application to recognize Wells of Life at this event.

We also have our Oktoberfest event on Saturday October 22^nd at the home of Dr. Mark Montgomery. Mark goes all out to insure that we have a top-notch event so please get your tickets if you haven’t done so already. To our members, we need your help, whether it be through contributing gift basket items for the raffle, helping with setup or cleanup, or inviting friends in our community to join us for this memorable event.  

As always, we have lots of projects and events to look forward to throughout the rest of year. Please mark your calendars! We are here to serve and appreciate the time and effort our members contribute toward our community.

Yours in Service,

Chandra Chell

2022-23 President

Next Club Meeting on Tuesday October 18, 2022 -

Rotary District Marketing Chair & GIVSUM CEO Shawn Wehan

Shawn Wehan

Shawn Wehan is the Co- Founder and CEO of Givsum, Inc., a member focused philanthropic platform designed to be the “giving summary” of individuals, charities, and service clubs. Shawn is also the Chairperson of the Givsum Foundation, a nonprofit startup incubator, which provides fiscal sponsorships to new community initiatives, and he is the Host of the podcast American Philanthropy. Previously, Shawn was the Director of Future Leaders of Our Community, a young professional service organization, and a former lay minister for the Roman Catholic church.   Shawn holds a B.A. in Communications from Seattle University, and a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. Shawn will discuss the Givsum platform, how Rotary Clubs are using Givsum to advance their digital fundraising, volunteer engagement, overall awareness, and membership recruitment. 

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

12:00p.m.

Crown Valley Community Center

View Room on Second Floor

29751 Crown Valley Parkway

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

(located in Crown Valley Park)

Light lunch will be provided in the $15-$20 range

Club Board Meeting - Wednesday October 19, 2022

Board Members,

We have several events and projects in the works before the end of this year. We really need your participation to ensure their success! Please join us at this upcoming board meeting. Light appetizers will be provided.

Club Board Meeting

Wednesday October 19, 2022

4:30-5:30p.m.

Salt Creek Wine Company

30100 Towne Center Drive Suite B-2

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Rotary Oktoberfest Event

ALL HANDS ON DECK!! We need each Rotarian to help us make our annual Oktoberfest event successful. You can assist us by contributing in the following manner: 

1. Purchase a ticket to attend this event. 

2. Donate a single item or a gift basket for our raffle.  

3. Invite friends, colleagues, business associates to attend this event. 

Please bring your donated items to our next club meeting on October 18^th. 

October 14, 2022 6:00p.m. - District 5320 Gala, Old Ranch Country Club, Seal Beach

October 18, 2022 12:00p.m. - Club Meeting featuring District 5320 Marketing Chair and GIVSUM CEO Shawn Wehan at Crown Valley Community Center

October 19, 2022 4:30p.m. -  Club Board Meeting at Salt Creek Wine Company

October 20, 2022 6:00p.m. - Laguna Niguel Military Support Committee's Taste for the Troops at Crown Valley Community Center

October 22, 2022 5:00p.m. - Annual Oktoberfest Fundraiser at Mark Montgomery's Home

October 23, 2022  3:00p.m. - 7:00p.m. -  International Orphan Care Autumn Gala Honoring Former Council  Member and Rotarian Mike Whipple at Crown Valley Community Center

October 29, 2022 2:00p.m. - Jim McGinley's Induction to Laguna Niguel Citizen of the Year Walk of Fame at Niguel Botanical Preserve

November 1, 2022 12:00p.m. - Club Meeting featuring Carl Schulkin on the History of the Chet Holifield Federal Building (the Ziggurat) at Crown Valley Community Center

November 12, 2022 8:30a.m.-11:00a.m.  Fall Planting at Niguel Botanical Preserve

November 15, 2022 12:00p.m. - Club Meeting at Crown Valley Community Center

December 3, 2022 10:00a.m. - Christmas Party for the Glennwood Home residents in Laguna Beach

December 3, 2022 5:00p.m. - Laguna Niguel Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

December 10, 2022 - Laguna Niguel Holiday Parade

Laguna Niguel Military Support Committee Taste for the Troops Fundraiser

Our Club is an official sponsor for this event and will have a booth. Complimentary admission will be given to the first four Rotarians that would like to help out at this event. This will include event setup, clean-up or manning the booth for a portion of the event. It will also include access to the VIP Reception at 5:00p.m. Please contact President Chandra Chell if you would like to attend. 

International Orphan Care Gala Honoring Mike Whipple

Our Club has been extended this special invitation to attend International Orphan Care’s event honoring Mike Whipple, our former Laguna Niguel Mayor and Rotarian. Mike would love to see many of his longtime friends.  Admission is complimentary although a small donation would greatly be appreciated. Please contact President Chandra Chell if you would like to attend.

October Milestones

Birthdays

Bruce Birkeland - 10/3

Stewart Mims - 10/4

Mark Montgomery - 10/13

Mike Gerard - 10/14

Vito Ferlauto - 10/25

Cecil Spearman - 10/25

Wedding Anniversaries

Vito Ferlauto -10/4

Cecil Spearman - 10/26

Club Anniversaries

Caroline Swift - 10/1

Taje Gill - 10/10

Eileen Gomez - 10/23

Bob McCormick - 10/22

President - Chandra Chell

President Elect - Mike Gerard

Vice President - Stewart Mims

Secretary - Ivy Leeson

Treasurer - RoseAnne Ruccello

Immediate Past President - Eileen Gomez

Sergeant at Arms - Rischi Paul Sharma

Scholarship Committee - Stewart Mims, Taje Gill, Bill Nguyen