presidents are simply the best.

Tina

MORAGA mentioned that the district is exceeding

its goal in awarding Rotary Paul Harris
Foundation awards.
ROTARY
NEWSLETTER
February 5, 2020
Next Celebration: February 11, 2020
Evening Meeting – 6PM – Michael’s
Restaurant – Moraga
Speaker - Assemblywoman Rebecca
Bauer-Kahan Linda May, Roger Gregory, Mike McCluer and Gary Irwin
Enjoying Lunch
Upcoming Programs:
Feb18 – Wayne Giorgori – Bitcoins
Feb 25 – Bruce Burns – School Superintendent
Each of the five club presidents
Mar 5 – Open spent five minutes highlighting the
Mar 10 – Jennifer Brophy, Social Media accomplishments and activities in
Mar 17 – Open
Mar 24 – Dennis Markham – Town Theatre
their respective clubs:

Fifteen club members attended the FAB
5 Luncheon on Wednesday. There
were about 140 Rotarians in attendance
from our FAB 5 clubs as well our District
Governor, Tina Akins. Other Rotary
dignitaries included Past District
Governors Jim Campbell, George
Chaffey as well as our DG Elect, Mark
Roberts. The FAB 4 Assistant
Governor, Joy Alaidarous rounded out
the “executive table”.
The meeting began with a few remarks
by our current District Governor, Tina
Akins. Tina noted that club size doesn’t
matter when it comes to getting things
done. She noted that our district club
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Tom Guyette from Lamorinda
Sunrise highlighted the many good
speakers they have had recently at
their meetings. He also described
the travel trailer, electric VW and
boat projects that raised money for
their club. Tom also talked about
the many service projects
underway in Orinda.
Debbie Koo half of the co-president
duo from Moraga (the other half, of
course, is Evi Michon) described
the luncheon that was held to
celebrate the 60 years in Rotary of
Past RI President, Cliff
Dochterman. She also noted the
finishing up of the All-Access
Playground and the turning over of
its maintenance to the City of
Moraga. Debbie described our
ongoing international projects in
Sierra Leone and the library in the
Congo. Lastly, Debbie talked about
our school safety project, the
activities of Interact and Odyssey of
the Mind.
Debbie Koo Talking About Moraga Rotary
Dan Gannett, the current president
of Orinda Rotary described several
current club projects including the
Fishing Tournament at the next
District Conference. He described
their Dinner with the Cars event
along with the upcoming Trivia Bee.
Lastly, he described the Zambia
Eye Clinic where a locally initiated
project has expanded into a much
broader international effort.
Jim Olson, the Rossmoor Club
President, described the work done
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to retain members. He also
described their Gala in October as
well as a Fourth of July hotdog
lunch. They have an ongoing
Sintaro Project that provided
sanitary and other support to an
African village. Rossmoor is newly
supporting an Interact Club and is
developing an education program to
support the enhancement of
dementia care at home.
Lastly, Terry Ring from the
Lafayette Club, described their
success with a Swing to Freedom
Gala that raised over $100K. He
described a 10th Anniversary
Barbecue and their famous
Concerts at the Rez.
Terry then went on to introduce our
speaker, Steven Falk, the current
City Manager of Richmond. Steven
was previously the City Manager of
Lafayette for 28 years.
Steven said that his talk would focus
on liberty, community and
happiness of young people. He
described a class that he taught at
Cal Berkeley that began with using
quotes by Hobbs, Locke and
Jefferson among others, describing
a person’s right to life, liberty,
property and happiness.
He then used the ideas of Milton
Friedman to describe the minimum
government organizations needed
to provide these basic rights. He
also identified how our western
culture was developed and lead by
white men with an emphasis on
personal freedom for white men. In
other parts of the world, people
promote community over personal
freedoms.
Steven Falk Speaks to the Group
Steven described how younger
people have it tough today. One in
four young people live with their
parents. Their share of the pie has
shrunken dramatically. Other
issues like income inequality and
climate change paint a bleaker
picture than many of us faced as
young people. Many support Bernie
Sanders and his ideas of increased
socialism.
Steven believes in a free market,
but some checks are necessary.
We need to step up to make our
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nation a better place. We Rotarians
need to use our power for the
benefit of others. How can we apply
the 4 Way Test to what we are
doing? How do we provide “Service
Above Self”? He received standing
ovation for his inspiring message.
~Announcements~
Celebration of Life Scheduled for
Al Simonsen
Long time Moraga Rotarian Al
Simonsen’s Celebration of Life
service will be held on Saturday,
March 14 at the Lamorinda
Presbyterian Church at 11:00am.
A reception will follow the service
at the Holy Trinity Serbian Church
on School Street in Moraga.
Wrapping Up the All-Access
Playground Project
At the Moraga City Council meeting
next Wednesday at 7PM our club
will present the city council with a
check for the remaining funds
allocated to the playground. Come
and be part of this ceremony. The
meetings can also be viewed on
the web. (http://www.moraga.ca.us/
)
Rotary Day at Golden Gate
Fields
The annual District Day at the
Races event at Golden Gate Field
is set for Saturday, April 18. Tickets
are $41 each and that gets you
parking, entry to the clubhouse and
a very nice lunch. A sign-up sheet
will be available on Tuesday
evening or let Frank May know if
you want to attend.
Nite at the Races 2020
Nite at the Races planning is
moving along. Please get your
reservations and silent auction
donations in! Our next committee
meetings will be on 2/17, 2/24 and
3/2 leading up to the event on 3/7.
Concord Rotary Valentine’s Day
event on February 14th.
The cost is $75 and includes dinner
and dancing. See the details in the
Rotacare letter attached to this
newsletter
Athletic Field Day
Our annual Athletic Field Day will
be on May 6th at Joaquin Moraga
Intermediate School. This is the
29th field day event this club has
held. Al Simonsen started it and
Tony suggests we call it the “Al
Simonsen Memorial Field Day.”
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Spring e-Waste Event
Rich Render said the Spring E-
Waste Event will occur in May but
the date is not yet set.
~Upcoming Events~
Don’t forget to get your tickets, horses
and donations for Moraga Rotary,
“Nite at the Races” Just go to
www.moragarotary.org to link to
the Everbright site. Call Frank May
on 925 376-8195 if there are any
questions.
March 21st: The Campolindo High
School Interact Club will be
doing gardening work at the
Oakland Zoo.
February 8th (Saturday) 6:00 to 11:00pm
the 15th Annual Holy Trinity
Orthodox Church Crab Feed &
Dance. Cost $60/person. Tickets
must be purchased in advance.
See reservation form attached.
February 14th Concord Rotary Annual
Dinner-Dance at the Clarion Hotel,
1050 Burnett Ave., Concord. See
attached letter for details.
February 28th Tahoe City Rotary 4th
Annual Ski Challenge at Northstar,
Lake Tahoe (continental breakfast,
registration, dual giant slalom
tandem courses with individual
and team awards. Ski the day with
fellow Rotarians, apres ski food
(chili, salad & sandwiches, two
drink tickets and awards). See the
website now
www.tahoecityrotary.org for more
info email: mdcgary@gmail.com
March 7 (Saturday): “A Nite at the
Races” annual dinner and event
at the Serbian Trinity Church Hall.
Tickets,donations and horses at
the Moraga Rotary website.
April 18th (Saturday): Rotary Day at the
Races – Golden Gate Fields.
Tickets from Frank May at a cost
of $41 for parking, club house
entrance and lunch.
Greeter/Invocator Schedule List ~
1. Feb 11 - Brian South
2. Feb 18 - Stephanie Dickerson
3. Feb 25 - Angelo Costanza
4. March 3 - Herb Wehmeyer
5. March 10 - Roger Gregory
6. March 17 - Ron Mucovich
7. March 24 - Jennifer Brophy

MORAGA ROTARY DIRECTORS 2019-2022

Co-Presidents Evie Michon & Debbie Koo
President Elect Brian South
Past President Ron Mucovich
Secretary Jennifer Brophy
Treasurer Rich Render
Club Administrator Debbie Roessler
Foundation Chair John Erickson
Youth & Community Service Chair Tony Schoemehl
Public Relations Chair Gary Irwin
Fundraising Chair Frank May
International Service Chair Dianne Wilson
Membership Chair Brian South
Director at Large Mary Sue Erickson
Director at Large Linda May
Advisor to the Board John Erickson
Advisor to the Board Jim Campbell
Advisor to the Board Cliff Dochterman

District Governor 5160 Tina Akins

President, Rotary International Mark Maloney

Newsletter Editor for March – Frank May

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