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Co-President Mark Rogo started the meeting at 12:30 p.m. He mentioned that the Rotary theme for this year is “Unite for Good”.
Chuck McCreary was today’s friendly greeter. Super UCLA fan Bill Roen led the Pledge of Allegiance.
For the thought of the day, Jim Crane again led a thoughtful and heartfelt prayer. Today he referred to current events. He hoped for a swift conclusion to the government shutdown, and he addressed the issue of hunger facing the over 40 million people who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits). Food banks need assistance, and there are challenges for people with medical issues who require special food not available at food banks. Note that the Rotary Club of Westwood Village has always supported Meals on Wheels and the Westside Food Bank.
PP Ed Gauld chose “Over There” by George M. Cohan as the song of the day and put on a helmet worn by his grandmother when she assisted with civil defense during World War I. He mentioned that November 11 (Armistice Day) was declared a federal holiday in 1938. In 1954, the observance was renamed Veterans Day to include veterans of World War II and now includes all veterans. For his patriotic songs George M. Cohan was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal which President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented to him in 1940.
Today was a Club Assembly, and although guests are usually not invited to assemblies, an exception was made for Vanessa Zamarripa who is being sponsored for Club membership by Bill Roen. Vanessa Zamarripa is a medal-winning UCLA gymnast and author who gave an inspiring talk to the club in July 2025. She will become the only club member who can perform a perfect cartwheel (that we know of). (It is recommended that club members do not even think about trying to attempt one.)
Co-President Mark Rogo opened his 4-month tenure as president by thanking PP Ben Fisher for performing duties for over a year. Co-President Mark emphasized that members need to wear a Rotary pin or a Rotary-inspired article of clothing to meetings, or they may incur a small fine. Today’s meeting was an exception, and he handed out Rotary pins to those members who did not wear a Rotary item. Co-President Mark also generously provided golf shirts with a Rotary logo to all members to wear when the District Governor visits later this month. He also encouraged members to wear Rotary-inspired items around town and to discuss Rotary with people who are curious about the organization.
At future meetings PE Bob Simon is going to speak about an article featured in a recent Rotary magazine. Today’s topic concerned an article in the November issue about “milk banking”. If able to do so, women pump and donate milk which is then pasteurized and bottled to provide liquid nutrition and survival for babies in need, especially premature babies. It is one of the many programs which Rotary sponsors to help people around the world.
Co-President Mark Rogo praised the speakers who have addressed the club during PP Ben Fisher’s tenure. He then distributed a list of proposed speakers for the next four months. The list includes speakers who will discuss diverse topics such as: An international school in Israel; the James Webb space telescope; issues in California, Los Angeles and UCLA; Hollywood and Artificial Intelligence; the International Medical Corps; the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. There will also be a holiday party and social events. It promises to be an interesting, informative, and entertaining quarter. There will also be weekly messages and handouts from Co-Prez Mark.
The club finances were discussed and co-President Mark displayed financial balance sheets which club treasurer Terry White had compiled. The Westwood Village Rotary Club is in good financial standing, and funds are available at the beginning of the fiscal year in July for the various Avenues of Services. As a result, it is not necessary to request additional funds from members at the beginning of the year. PP Mike Newman discussed two endowments to the club:The Virginia Gandy Fund and the Howard Phillips Fund. The club’s foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit fund and is managed well. Rotary International and District 5280 also have foundations, but the Westwood Village Rotary Club has more control over its own foundation.
At the end of the meeting, Matt Yuan displayed a prototype of the club’s redesigned website. Matt is collaborating with Ethan Kim, Sam Botbol, Val Espinoza, and Yang Shen. For the section about members, they would like to receive more photos as well as short biographical information about each member.
Various members offered the following suggestions about future meetings and actions.
- A presentation about the history of the Westwood Village Rotary Club.
- Senior craft talks about the various professions of our members as well as general craft talks so that newer members can become more familiar with other members of the club.
- A revival of the Merchant Minute, a brief presentations from merchants from Westwood Village and Brentwood.
- Community outreach and honoring small businesses.
The meeting ended slightly after 1:30 p.m. Note: Co-President Mark Rogo will be in Hawaii next week celebrating a milestone first birthday of his granddaughter. PE Bob Simon will be leading the meeting on 11/13.
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General comment:
-- Veterans Day was changed following the “Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968”, and from 1971-1977 it was observed on the last Monday of October. However, Veterans Day was reinstated in 1978 as November 11 due to the historical significance of that date. In 1918 the fighting in Western Europe ceased on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. World War I officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
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Announcements:
-- Thursday, November 20 – District Governor Alex Parajon will visit the Westwood Village Rotary Club at Hillel and will be the featured speaker. Members should wear the Rotary golf shirt which co-President Mark Rogo generously gave to all members. The members of the Board of Directors will meet with DG Alex Parajon at 11:30 prior to the regularly scheduled meeting.
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