UPCOMING SOCIALS & PROJECTS & EVENTS  

Socials, Meetings, & Events:

January/February – Book of Why? Distribution to 3rd Graders

Giro Bello – June 27, 2026

March 2 & 3, 2026 – Read Across America Volunteer Days, Boys & Girls Clubs. See Past President Casey D’Angelo for details
March 3, 2026 – 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Rotary Board Meeting @YMCA (Mtgs are 1st Tuesday the month)
March 12, 2026 – 7:00 pm – Rotary International’s Club Meeting  @ Jim Green’s house (Mtgs are 2nd Thursday of the month)
March 23, 2026 – 3:15 pm – Foundation Board Meeting @ Andersen, Zeigler (Mtgs are 4th Monday the month)
June 27, 2026 – Giro Bello – Register or Volunteer now (See Flyer)

More socials, projects, & events coming soon!

Rotaract Fund Raiser
If anyone would like to donate money to GRA (Global Rotaract Alumni Club) they can donate the money on the GOSC site and include a note that it is for GRA. This would help us tremendously to continue growing as a club and be able to conduct larger scale projects. Here is the donation link: Donate Now – Global Offsite Care

Opening The Meeting:

Rotary Club of Santa Rosa – February 25, 2026
(Otherwise known as: The Day Without Fergie)

Past President Ann

In a shocking turn of events, President Julia was out sick, which meant we were cruelly deprived of our traditional kickoff anthem, “I Gotta Feeling.” Instead, Past President Ann Gospe stepped in to run the show. And by “run,” I mean gently dust off the presidential gavel and remind herself where we keep the agenda.

Ann did a great job, though there were a few moments where it felt like watching Tom Brady come out of retirement again—still elite, just stretching a little longer beforehand. We missed you, Julia. The vibes were noticeably less Black Eyed Peas and more guest news anchor.

Pledge & Opening Thought

Jeff Kolin – Incoming District Governor

Incoming District Governor (ooh la la, first time I’ve included his prestigious title in one of these) Jeff Kolin led us in the Pledge, Four-Way Test, and reflections so meaningful they came with video montages. Not one video. Two.

The first reminded us to say “yes” to service. The second reminded us that Rotary isn’t a trend—it’s work. Somewhere between the inspirational music and the slow-motion footage of smiling volunteers, I half expected an “In a world so screwed up…” voiceover.

Apparently, there are 10 of these Rotary-produced videos. We got two. Buckle up.

Joke of the Week

Michael Moore – delivers the joke of the week

Michael Moore delivered the Joke of the Week. Ann was very clear that Michael himself was not the joke of the week. Important distinction.

Punchline: “Please move to the left, you’re standing on my oxygen tube.”

Michael mis-told the joke and had to do a do-over—which is rich considering he refers to Julia as “President Do-Over.” Karma moves quickly at Rotary.

Visiting Rotarians & Guests

None.

Zero.

Zilch.

Either Michael’s joke scared them off or word got out that there would be no Black Eyed Peas.

Sunshine Report

Ginny shares her “Sunshine” report

Ginny shared that Bob Parker passed away. Joy Parker had attended many meetings with him. We send our heartfelt condolences to their family.

Debi Zaft let us know that Cecil has received his temporary prosthetic and is learning how to use it. It’ll take a few months to adjust, but his health and attitude are strong—which sounds exactly like Cecil.

Ann also shared that Jeff’s aunt passed away this week. Our thoughts are with him and his family.

Opportunity Drawing

Patty Kolin asked our speaker, Jenn Del Rosario, to pull the winning ticket. Tavo won the chance at glory. The odds? Ten yellow marbles and one blue.

Reader, he did not pull the blue.

The pot thickens. The tension builds. Vegas has less drama.

Announcements

Ann reminded us about the District Learning Assembly. Friday night event “if you like to party.” Rotary party, of course, which means name badges, structured fun, and someone reminding you about foundation giving.

Our club usually wins the award for Most Attendees, and since Jeff is incoming DG, we need to show up and look supportive and organized. The club will cover your registration. You should have received an email. (If you didn’t, check your spam. Or ask Ann. She’s back in the saddle.)

There was also mention of another conference in Reno. That’s all I’ve got. There are only so many conferences that can fit into this mid-sized brain. My Rotary Frequent Flyer miles are maxed out.

(Editor’s note: Look above at UPCOMING SOCIALS & PROJECTS & EVENTS  for dates and flyers)

Ray Giampaoli reported that 116 riders are registered for Giro Bello—10% ahead of last year. He would like every Rotarian to secure at least one $500 non-Rotarian sponsor. So if you’ve ever made eye contact with a business owner, now is your time.

Patty Kolin added that dentists apparently have money (four have already sponsored), but car dealerships are “having a moment.” Not sure what that says about the economy. But you can sponsor online, use a credit card, PayPal, donate through the foundation—basically if you can fog a mirror, you can sponsor.

Jeff Gospe (Other Jeff™) challenged Rotarians to dig deep and sponsor the darn bike ride, already. He also updated us on the Cherkasy Rotary Club in Ukraine. They’re dealing with long daily power outages. We’ve collected around $40,000 recently and have raised over $880,000 over the past four years. That’s not small potatoes. That’s Costco-sized potatoes. Now I’m hungry.

Matthew – our witty bulletin writer

And then… there was me.

Yes, I, your humble and totally unbiased bulletin writer, paid $50 to plug my YMCA fundraiser. March 13th. Cocktail fundamentals. $50 suggested donation. I will teach you how to make a proper cocktail so you can stop embarrassing yourself with vodka-cranberries.

If you’ve ever wanted to impress friends or simply survive hosting duties, come see me. I promise it’ll be more fun than the Reno conference. Probably.

Speaker: Jenn Del Rosario – SchoolsRule Sonoma County

Jenn Del Rosario, educator and project coordinator with SchoolsRule Sonoma County (through the Sonoma County Office of Education), shared about this county-wide initiative launched in November 2023.

Jenn Rosario – SchoolRules

SchoolsRule raises funds on behalf of every TK–12 public school in the county and builds fundraising capacity for districts that don’t have in-house experts. It’s modeled after SchoolsRule-Marin, which has distributed $9 million since 2011.

Funds support:

• Literacy
• Student well-being
• Agriculture & hospitality
• STEAM
• And every dollar goes directly to student programs

Since launching, they’ve distributed over $300,000 and are on track to hit $500,000. Nearly 50 education foundations and districts have received allocations, and 29 sponsors (13 new this year!) are involved.

Programs supported include:

• Independent reading books at Analy High
• Culinary classes at Spring Lake Middle
• High-impact math tutoring at Altamira
• Artist residencies and African drumming at Kid Street Charter
• Outdoor science school at Two Rock Elementary
• ELITE Literacy Program in Santa Rosa City Schools

Bottom line: They’re quietly doing really impactful work across the county.

You can support by becoming a donor, sharing the story, following on social media, or thanking donor businesses. In other words, say “yes.” (See Video #1.)

ShoolRules Flyers: SchoolsRule Sonoma County Info Sheet & 2026 & SchoolsRule Donors 2026

Jenn’s Slide Show:

Click on above image to view Jenn’s presentation

Final Thoughts

No Black Eyed Peas.
Two Rotary videos.
One joke do-over.
Zero guests.
Ten yellow marbles.
One very persistent cocktail fundraiser plug.

All in all, a solid meeting expertly (and only slightly rustily) steered by Ann. Julia, feel better soon. We promise to behave. Probably.

Special Election

USEFUL LINKS