January 13, 2022
Westwood Village Rotary Club

Coming up on January 20


Sunda Croonquist

Sunda Croonquist who is an American comedian. She has appeared on Comics UnleashedPremium Blend, and The View.


Ellen Simon

Ellen Simon became Executive Director of Hear Center in Pasadena in 2007 after 24 years serving as HEAR Center's Pediatric Audiologist. She holds a Masters degree in Audiology from the University of Michigan and has been an active member of Pasadena Rotary since 2008.
Westwood Virtual Rotary Club Meeting for January 13, 2022




After unsuccessfully searching for his virtual bell, president for the day PP Steve Day called the Zoom meeting to order with a request addressed to PP Mark Rogo to recite the 4-way test. Not so tough, actually, since the shared Zoom screen displayed the 4-way Test of the Things We Think, Say or Do:

  • Is it the TRUTH?
  • Is it FAIR to all concerned?
  • Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS ?
  • Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?


Next up was Jim Crane who lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by PP Marsha Hunt whose invocation honored Martin Luther King, Jr. The meeting commencement formalities concluded with PP Ed Gauld singing America the Beautiful.


We were joined today by two UCLA Rotaractors - Sarah Huang and James Tran. Sarah told us about the prior evening’s Rotaract meeting at which PP Chris Gaynor and his son, Scott (a Santa Monica Rotarian), presented words of wisdom on financial matters.



Announcements included:

  • The next District Breakfast will be held virtually on January 25 from 8:00 until 9:00 AM
  • The club will re-commence in-person meetings on March 3 at the Luskin Center. Meetings will be virtual on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month and in- person on the first and third Thursdays.
  • The Pageant of the Arts competition will be held on March 19.
  • There are still openings for the District 5280 Humanitarian Trip to Puerto Rico (April 1 - 23, 2022)
  • January birthdays include Pat Anderson, Ron Lyster, and David Stover
  • January wedding anniversaries include Diane Good and Frank Smith, and Phil Gabriel and Lisa Chapman
  • January Rotary anniversaries include Mike Newman, Curt Smith, Richard Thompson, Steve Day, Dwight Heikkila, Tam Bailey, and Zib Nejad.

Today’s speaker was Janet Marinaccio, President & CEO of MEND
(Meet Each Need With Dignity). For 50 years, MEND has opened its
doors to the most vulnerable members of our community and over the years it has become one of the most comprehensive and empowering poverty relief agencies in Los Angeles County. MEND was started in 1971 by a young couple, Ed & Carolyn Rose, who were motivated by the poverty they witnessed in the Valley; they wanted to do something about it. They set about persuading others – primarily members of their congregation at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church - to help them collect and distribute food, clothing and furniture to poor families in the community. MEND saw a great increase in need with the onset of the
covid-19 pandemic, and yet the same cause resulted in a sizable decrease in the number of volunteers. MEND is located in Pacoima. Its clients are in great need of resources; predominately of Latin American ancestry, most live in over-crowded rooms, garages, in their cars, or on the streets. During the past two years MEND has experienced 1,200,000 “service encounters.”



Questions were presented by PP Mike Newman, PP Mark Rogo, John O’Keefe, PP Steve Day, and Phil Gabriel. After addressing these questions, time was up and our speaker suggested a visit to the organization’s website @ mendpoverty.org.



Ye Old Temporary Editor
Ron Lyster

WVRC 2020/2021 Leadership Team
President: Nancy McCready
Treasurer: Terry M. White
Youth/Vocational Service: Phil Gabriel
Director/Peace: PP Marsha Hunt
Foundation: PP Steve Day
Global Scholarships: PP Chris Bradford
Webmaster: PP Ron Lyster
Director/Merchant Minute: PP Mark Rogo
District Governor: Bette Hall
Immediate Past President: Diane Good
Secretary: PP Diane Good
Community Service: Aaron Donahue
International Service: Nevin Senkan
Program Chair: PP Tom Barron
Membership: PP Mike Newman
Director/Social Media: PP Aly Shoji
Windmill Editor: P Nancy McCready
Assistant District Governor: Michael Lushing