Employee of the Month receipient also

MORAGA joined us.

Co-President Evi noted that today was

ROTARY Fat Tuesday, a part of the Mardi Gras
celebration. She and Debbie Koo
offered their version of King Cakes with
NEWSLETTER an M & M inside the lucky cake that
would bring good luck to the eater.
February 25, 2020 Barbara Bruner found our lucky cake.

Evi went on to show some Moraga

Next Celebration: March 3, 2020 Rotary Club artifacts. They included a
Noon Meeting – Michael’s Restaurant Sergeant at Arms badge that was
– Moraga presented to Lad Lynch who once held
Program – Club Assembly this exalted office. Also, a dented metal
Greeter – Herb Wehmeyer tankard that apparently was used to
hold fines assessed during the
Upcoming Programs: meetings. Evi wondered how the
*Mar 10 – Jennifer Brophy, Social Media chalice got so dented.
Mar 17 – Open
Mar 24 – Dennis Markham – Town Theatre

Co-President Evi Michon was less

noisy kicking off the meeting this week
with a subdued ring of the bell. Our
greeter Angelo Costanza offered the
23rd Psalm to start the meeting.

Angelo quickly shifted into sales mode

selling Nite at the Races horses. We
Evi Wielding Artifacts
only have a few left to sell (about 6).
Either let Angelo know you need more
horses or purchase them online at
www.moragarotary.org.
~Happy Bucks, Birthdays, etc.~

Our guests today included Bill Eames Gary Irwin was ecstatic once again for
from Lafayette Rotary and our speakers, the performance of the Kansas
Moraga School Superintendent, Bruce Jayhawks basketball team.
Burns and MEF Representative, Ana
Moon. Bob Wolcott, a local dentist and Linda May noted February 25th as the
former club member was welcomed by birthday of her late mother, Lena. She
John Erickson. Beverly Cosce, our would have turned 100 years old today!
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Many members remember her
attendance at club functions in the past.
Debbie Roessler offered a couple of
bucks for the help Evi Michon offered at
the White Elephant sale. She also
offered three more bucks for Cliff
Dochterman. He is doing much better
and hoped to return to Moraga Royale
soon.
Raj Gregory is happy about his
daughter landing three jobs in San
Ramon as a dental hygienist.
Debbie Roessler also noted that the
February TGIF celebration is at Bill
Eames home this Friday. See details
below. She also “won” the
unchallenged Fine Free Hat for March.
She and Lou celebrate 42 years of
marriage next month.
Employee of the Month
A local dentist for over 50 years and
former Moraga Rotarian, Dr. Bob
Wolcott presented the February
Employee of the Month Award to his
long-time assistant, Beverly Cosce.
Dianne Wilson, Beverly Cosce and Co-President Debbie
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Beverly has been with Bob for over 40
years. Bob described both her work
with him as a dental assistant and office
manager and her community service at
organizations including the Boy Scouts
and Moraga Royale. Dianne Wilson
also congratulated Beverly and thanked
her for all her help at Moraga Royale.
Congratulations, Beverly!
~Announcements~
Odyssey of the Mind
Competition This Saturday 2/29
This Saturday is the Odyssey of the
Mind Regional Tournament. It is held at
Concord High School located at 4200
Concord Blvd., Concord, Members are
welcome to attend and watch our 12
teams compete. Just show up and find a
school map that will guide you to each
classroom. Arrive 10 minutes before the
start time and you can watch the team’s
Long-Term performance and
judging. Brian South is one of our team
volunteers and will be on site. For a
complete copy of Rich Render’s email,
see below.
District 5160 Spring Assembly
The District 5160 Spring Training
Assembly will be held on March 21 in
Red Bluff and April 4th in Fairfield. See
a copy of the agenda at the end of this
newsletter.
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 Lafayette Orinda Presbyterian
Church at 11:00am. A reception will
follow the service at the Holy Trinity
Serbian Church Hall on School Street in
Moraga.
Rotary Day at Golden Gate
Fields
The annual 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.
If you have not signed up already, let
Frank May know if you want to attend.
Get your check to Rich Render to
reserve your tickets. We need to
confirm our attendance numbers by
March 15.
Nite at the Races 2020
Nite at the Races is coming up fast!
Donations to the auction need to be in
Gary Irwin’s hands by this Thursday,
February 28th to be included in our
program.
Please get your reservations in! Our
last committee before the event will be
on Monday, 3/2 leading up to the event
on Saturday 3/7 at 5:30pm. The meeting
will be held at Moraga Royale. Come
and help us prepare for our largest
fundraiser of the year.
A signup sheet is available to volunteer
for one or more shifts at Nite at the
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Races. Either sign up at the next club
meeting or let Frank May know when
you can help. We really need
everyone’s participation!
February TGIF Party at the home
of Bill Eames.
Bill Eames is hosting a Mexican Fiesta
themed TGIF Party on Friday, February
28th beginning at 6PM. Margaritas and
food will be provided. Bring a bottle of
wine if the margaritas don’t work for you.
Bill lives at 1901 Lakeshire in
Rossmoor. Just tell the guards at the
gate that you are attending a Rotary
function. Come and enjoy a Mexican
Fiesta.
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.” We
need volunteers – so mark your
calendar.
Spring e-Waste Event
Rich Render announced that the Spring
E-Waste Event will occur on May 30th.
Mark your calendars to help all or part of
the day.

Our Program
Stephanie Dickerson introduced our
speakers today. Bruce Burns is the
current Superintendent of Schools for
the Moraga School District. He has
been an educator for many years He
was the principal at Joaquin Moraga
Middle School. Ana Moon grew up in
Pleasanton and received a Business
degree from Georgetown and a law
degree at Cal Berkeley. She is
extremely active supporting our schools
through MEF and the PTA. Both Ana
and Bruce are currently selling Girl
Scout Cookies.
Stephanie and Ana
Bruce began the talk by describing the
Moraga school district which supports
about 1900 students currently. He
thanked the club for our donation of
radios and looks forward to working with
us on our school safety project.
Ana began by describing the current
state of school funding in California. We
are way behind the nation in supporting
our public schools financially. She
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described the problem of funding
pension programs for school districts.
The vast majority of current district
expenditures (84%) is on salaries and
employee benefits.
Bruce Burns and Debbie Koo
Ana went on to describe the current
deficit position of the Moraga school
district. She showed some increases in
government funding but increases in
expenses outpace these increases in
revenue.
Ana talked about the findings of a Fiscal
Advisory Committee that audited the
current school finances and found that
the district is well run with current
resources. They made
recommendations going forward.
Measure M, which comes to the voters
on March 3 renews expiring parcel
funding at current levels. This measure
is imperative for the financial viability of
Moraga Schools. Any further cuts in
expenses will need to be mostly in
personnel.
Moraga has a great public school
system. It is one of the best in the state.
Families want their kids to attend
Moraga Schools. Hopefully, with the
Moraga Education Foundation, the
passing of required funding measures
and the support of other community
organizations like Rotary we can
continue to maintain our great schools.
Thank you, Ana and Bruce for a great
presentation. See you at Nite at the
Races.
Upcoming Events~
ASAP!! Don’t forget to get your tickets,
horses and donations for Moraga
Rotary, “Nite at the Races” Just go
to www.moragarotary.org and click
the button to buy tickets. Call
Frank May on 925 376-8195 if
there are any questions.
www.tahoecityrotary.org for more
info email: mdcgary@gmail.com
February 29th Rotary Day at Cal
Basketball. Talk to Ron Mucovich
for more information.
March 7 (Saturday): “A Nite at the
Races” annual dinner and event
at the Serbian Trinity Church Hall.
Doors open at 5:30 PM. Tickets,
donations and horses may be
purchased at the Moraga Rotary
website www.moragarotary.org.
March 13th – Annual Orinda Trivia Bee –
Orinda Masonic Lodge, 5 to 9 PM.
See flyer below. Talk to Debbie
Roessler for more information.

February 27th – Moraga Historical March 21st: The Campolindo High

Society presents Canyon, a School Interact Club will be
Unique Community – 7:30 PM – doing gardening work at the
Moraga Library Meeting Room. Oakland Zoo.
See flyer below. .April 18th (Saturday): Rotary Day at the
February 28th – TGIF Party at the home Races – Golden Gate Fields.
of Bill Eames. 1901 Lakeshire in Tickets from Frank May at a cost
Rossmoor beginning at 6:00PM of $41 for parking, club house
See more details earlier in this entrance and lunch.
newsletter. Greeter/Invocator Schedule List ~
February 28th Tahoe City Rotary 4th
Annual Ski Challenge at Northstar, 1. March 3 - Herb Wehmeyer
Lake Tahoe (continental breakfast, 2. March 10 - Roger Gregory
registration, dual giant slalom 3. March 17 - Ron Mucovich
tandem courses with individual 4. March 24 - Jennifer Brophy
and team awards. Ski the day with 5. March 31 - John Erickson
fellow Rotarians, apres ski food 6. April 7 - Barbara Bruner
(chili, salad & sandwiches, two 7. April 14 - Fran Rathjen
drink tickets and awards). See the 8. April 21 - Debbie Roessler
website now 9. April 28 - Igor Kipnis

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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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Page 7 of 12
Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament

From: Rich Render

Moraga Rotarians,

This Saturday is the Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament. It is held at Concord High School located at 4200
Concord Blvd., Concord, CA 94521. Member are welcome to attend and watch our 12 teams compete. Just show up
and find a school map that will guide you to each classroom. Arrive 10 minutes before the start time and you can watch
the team’s Long Term performance and judging. Brian South is one of our team volunteers and will be on site. The
competition schedule is below. Thanks, -Rich

Coach Name Division Problem Long-Term/Location Spontaneous/Location Award Ceremony

Anna Maguire --- Primary 8:20am, 604 12:50pm, 200-300 Room 1 5:30

Joshua Goodman --- Primary 11:00am, 604 3:30pm, 200-300 Room 1 5:30

Nick Campins --- Primary 2:10pm, 604 10:20am, 200-300 Room 1 5:30

John Stratford --- Primary 3:30pm, 604 11:20am, 200-300 Room 1 5:30

Dolores Stratford 1 3 9:20am, 404/401 11:00am, 200-300 Room 3 7:00

Irene Jai 2 1 10:10am, Large Gym 8:00am, 200-300 Room 6 5:30

Vanita Chhabra 2 3 10:10am, 406/407 11:00am, 200-300 Room 5 7:00

Sabina King 2 3 11:30am, 406/407 1:50pm, 200-300 Room 5 7:00

Tom Wang, Jason Akel 2 4 1:10pm, Small Gym 8:40am, 200-300 Room 7 7:00
Weigh-in at 11:20am

Sandra Franklin 2 5 11:20am, 510/511 8:20am, 200-300 Room 7 5:30

Jenny Clare 3 2 3:20pm, Dance 8:20am, 200-300 Room 4 7:00

Cynthia Granicher 3 3 2:30pm, 406/407 8:40am, 200-300 Room 5 7:00

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