April showers bring May flowers....or do they! I do love the rain and we really need it to keep everything clean and beautiful! April is a most confusing month; rainy and wet one day and the next is full of a warm promise of green growth to come! April is named after the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. There are two flowers that signify the month of April; the daisy and the sweet pea so enjoy these beautiful blooms when you see them! And of course, the birthstone for those born in April is the diamond! So remember to wish your Fellow Rotarian Diamonds a happy birthday!

Well, we thought we had one more week at Fratello's but it turns out that this past Friday was the last for us! We were able to give our favorite waiter Michael a little Rotary gift which he loved! He asked us to thank each and every one of you for being so wonderful to him and he said we were his favorite group! You can still enjoy their amazing Italian food and visit Michael at Fratello's in San Clemente!

We had a full house on Friday that included two new visitors! We were all excited to see Bob McCormick in person again and also to have our former Rotarian Craig Alexander in attendance! Mark Montgomery started our meeting off by right by leading our group in the Pledge of Allegiance! Bruce Birkeland brought us all to tears with his moving story about Teddy, a troubled boy and his teacher, Mrs. Thompson, who turned his life around after he lost his mother. He gave Mrs. Thompson his mother's broken bracelet and a used bottle of perfume as a gift.

Mrs. Thompson continued to encourage him with her kindness through the years, creating a friendship that continued for many years. When Teddy invited Mrs. Thompson to attend his wedding to sit where the Mother of the Groom would have been, she wore the bracelet and the perfume which reminded Teddy of his mother and touched his heart. Teddy always made sure to let Mrs. Thompson know she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. He ultimately became Dr. Theodore F. Stoddard and Bruce reminded Rotarians that we are all about random acts of kindness that can make a difference in someone's life. With tears in our eyes after his story, Bruce decided to make us laugh with a funny story about The Lone Ranger and Tonto!

Our wonderful Rotarians David Weiss and Bruce Birkeland had a great time going around the room collecting Happy Bucks from everyone that announced all that they are grateful for and happy about! I would like to make a special announcement and welcome our newest member, Princess Dasia Jasmine Doherty, born to Chris and Bora Doherty! Congratulations on this beautiful new addition to their family! I also had a chance to have a wonderful conversation with our Fellow Rotarian Miles Sterling and I let him know we all love and miss him!

Pending

This is a gentle reminder that we need everyone that has not done so already to be sure to pay their membership dues! Our Club has already paid for each member's Rotary District 5320 and Rotary International dues that cover the period of January 2022 - July 2022. Let's do our best to make sure our Club does not lose valuable funds! If you have recently received an invoice from our Treasurer RoseAnne Ruccello, please be sure to respond and submit a check to the following address if you are not able to pay through Givsum:

Coming up next month, we will be assisting the Niguel Botanical Preserve with the Earth Day celebration for our city. If you would like to volunteer, please RSVP below the posted flyer for the City of Laguna Niguel's Earth Day Celebration.

We are always looking for great speakers in our community so please be sure to email any individuals in our community that you would like to have come out and speak to our club! We have lots of great programs scheduled so don't miss out!

Please note that we are cancelling the lunch meeting on April 15th since it is Good Friday and Easter Weekend! I look forward to seeing you all at Romeo Cucina on Friday at Noon!

There is a District Training Assembly scheduled for April 2nd at Chapman University at noon so we're encouraging all of President-Elect Chandra's incoming board, as well as the current board, to attend if possible! If you are interested in attending, please respond to President Eileen Gomez and she will add you to our club registration or you can register on your own at MyRotary.org through your personal account. Below are a few other important dates to remember:

This week, we have an amazing Guest Speaker from Pacific Marine Mammal Center, Amanda Walters!

Amanda's passion for marine mammals and science lead her to receive a Bachelor's degree in Animal Science from the University of Missouri, Columbia. She has experience in marine mammal training, rehabilitation, research, and informal education. Amanda started as a Pacific Marine Mammal Center volunteer in 2012 and became full-time staff in 2018. She is currently the Community Education Programs Manager for the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, overseeing the community give back programs, outreach, and school fundraiser!

28241 Crown Valley Parkway

11:45 am - Socialize

In a continued response to the deepening refugee crisis, the Rotary Foundation Trustees have decided to prioritize contributions made to the Disaster Response Fund until April 30, 2022, to support disaster response grants for districts affected by these events. These expedited disaster response grants can be used to supply water, food, medicine, shelter, and clothing. This is primarily an appeal for individual donations so please feel free to give any amount possible. Please follow the link below if you would like to make a person donation for this worthy cause.