The Windmill

WESTWOOD VILLAGE ROTARY CLUB

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 The meeting was moderated by President Benjamin Fisher. He reminded everyone the Rotary theme for this year is Unite for Good and, asked PP Steve Day to share his thoughts on the theme.

President Benjamin then thanked the following members; PP ron Lyster for leading the pledge, PP Mike Newman for greeting Rotarians who found their way to the second floor of Hillel UCLA after a change was made, PP Ed Gauld who led the singing of “Home on the Range” and, Janet Schwartz who offered a thought for the day on memory loss. Apparently in Japan they use a method called “pointing and calling”. Japanese train conductors, New York City subway operators, and paramedics are trained to point at important indicators and verbally describe them or say a task out loud to reinforce memory of the location and tasks.

President Benjamin then moved on to Announcements and talked about the 16^th annual Art Show of OPICA to be held Saturday October 11^th at OPICA Adult Day Care 11759 Missouri Ave Los Angeles in Stoner Park. The WVRC will be supporting this event and have a table during the art show. The show is attended by over 2000 people online and in person. Rotarians are encouraged to come out and volunteer.

Bill Roen introduced today’s speaker UCLA Professor Emeritus & Autry Museum CEO Steve Aron. Bill had taken a western history class with Steve at UCLA in the past.

Steve trasitioned from 50% of his time at UCLA teaching and 50% of his time with the Autry Museum of the American West to 100% of his time with the Autry Museum. The Museum opened in 1988. The Museum is not about Gene Autry but, about the American West (how it developed and shaped the nation and the world). In 2003 the Museum merged with a native American museum to show the multi-cultural west that still exists today in Los Angeles. The Museum shows how multi-cultural people can be brought together. The museum collections are not about “stuff” such as artifacts but, about people. Black cowboys were 25% of those working the cattle drives along with the whites.

The Museum attempts to bring multi-cultural people together. General admission is $19 with discounts for seniors and others. We were recommended to read the “Gene Autry Cowboy Code” as well as visit the museum.

It was a very informative presentation by a seasoned presenter.  We are looking forward to having Steve back to tell us more about the Wild, Wild West.

Next week’s meeting will be at the Salvation Army Westwood Transitional Village.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• October 5th is the District Breakfast in Woodland Hills. Tickets are available online from the District Office. Gift cards are being collected to support non-profits in the Valley.

• October 13th is the WVRC Board of Directors Meeting at the home of PP Mark & Lynn Rogo. You must RSVP to Diane Good to attend.

• On October 11th come and celebrate the creativity and resilience of seniors living with memory loss at the annual OPICA Art Show. Featuring artwork from members of the OPICA Adult Day Program, this special event showcases their talents while supporting OPICA’s art programs. Join us, volunteer, or lend your support to make this inspiring event possible!

• November 1st will be this year's Rotary Foundation Celebration. It will be held on the Battleship Iowa and the Westwood Village Club has two tables. Don't be left out of this wonderful event, sign up now with PP Mark Rogo or PP Diane Good.

• December 4th is WVRC's signature event, Christmas Shopping with the children from Salvation Army Westwood Transitional Village. Mark your calendar and plan to attend the fun evening.



• May 15-18th, 2026 is this year's District Conference which is a cruse to Mexico. If you would like to attend, please register on the District website before February 1st, 2026.

FUTURE MEETINGS

• October 2nd at Westwood Transitional Village on Sepulveda. The meeting will be about fun, jokes and current events.

• October 9th at Hillel, Jacqueline Hantgan, Director at "Americans for Cures" dealing with stem cell work.

• October 16th at Hillel, Dan Gold, Executive Director for Hillel and UCLA. He will be talking about Hillel's purpose and mission.

• October 23rd at Hillel, Father Travis Russell, President of Verbum Dei High School on its mission and successes.

WVRC 2025/2026 Leadership Team