UPCOMING SOCIALS & PROJECTS & EVENTS  

Socials, Meetings, & Events:

Giro Bello – June 27, 2026

March 23, 2026 – 3:15 pm – Foundation Board Meeting @ Andersen, Zeigler (Mtgs are 4th Monday the month)
April 7, 2026 – 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Rotary Board Meeting @YMCA (Mtgs are 1st Tuesday the month)
April 9, 2026 – 7:00 pm – Rotary International’s Club Meeting  @ Jim Green’s house (Mtgs are 2nd Thursday of the month)
May 16, 2026 – RYE Celebration & Epic Day of Service
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

Rotary Club of Santa Rosa – Meeting Recap
March 11, 2026

Opening The Meeting:

President Julia, never one to deviate from a proven formula (or a good beat), fired up the Black Eyed Peas and kicked off the meeting with “I Gotta Feeling.” Honestly, at this point if Julia ever opened a meeting without that song half the club might file a formal Rotary ethics complaint.

With the musical pregame complete, Julia invited Ray Giampaoli up to lead us through the pledge, the 4-Way Test, and the Opening Thought.

Pledge, 4-Way Test, and Opening Thought

Ray – Pledge, 4-Way Test, and Opening Thought

Ray executed the pledge and 4-Way Test flawlessly and then asked everyone to sit down — which, in Rotary terms, is the universal signal for: buckle up, this thought is going to have chapters.

Ray reminded us that March 11, 2011 marked the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident in Japan. He described how Rotary clubs worldwide stepped up to provide aid through the Japan Recovery Fund, helping farmers, business owners, schools, and families rebuild their lives. It was a powerful reminder of the real impact Rotary can have when we mobilize.

Then Ray pivoted faster than Ross and Chandler moving a couch up a stairwell and informed us that today is National Chicken Parm(esan) Day.

Now I was absolutely certain he said National Chicken FARM Day, and briefly thought Steve Olson was about to receive some sort of poultry-based recognition. Sadly, no.

Ray also informed us that it’s National Eat What You Want Day, which feels suspiciously like a holiday invented by someone who had already eaten three donuts before breakfast, which, honestly, I can relate to.

Julia quipped that Eat What You Want Day was probably started by someone who didn’t like Chicken Parm. The Italian contingent in the room visibly recoiled.

Visiting Rotarians

We had a visiting Rotarian named Maggie who introduced herself from… somewhere. Unfortunately, this bulletin writer was still thinking about Chicken Parm and completely missed which club she was from. My sincerest apologies, Maggie. Please come back so Kris can get your name next time.

Paul & Les

Paul Hamilton then introduced Les Crawford from the Sebastopol Rotary Club. Paul mentioned that he and Les were once the youngest and best-looking Rotarians in their club.

Now they can confidently say they are no longer the youngest.

And then Paul handed Les a microphone.

Friends… this was our first mistake.

Les proceeded to tell a story about a kid who made his day — a genuinely nice story, but it was also the first of approximately 14 Les Crawford stories told over the course of the meeting. Giving Les a microphone is a little like giving a Gremlin water after midnight. Things escalate quickly.

Guests

Ray introduced his guest Mike from North Bay Plumbing, who will be employing Ray’s son as an apprentice. If Ray’s son learns two things — how to fix pipes and how to survive a Rotary meeting — he’ll be set for life.

Sunshine Report

Ginny – Sunshine Report

Ginny had no sunshine news this week.

However:

• Jim Greene is back!
  And most importantly… he can see!
  There may have been more enthusiasm in the room for this announcement than when the Warriors won the championship.
• Judy Glenn recently suffered a stroke and is currently at Memorial Hospital. She is in our thoughts.
• Sam shared the heartbreaking news that his niece was killed by a reckless e-bike rider.  We are all holding Sam’s family in our hearts.

Opportunity Drawing

Diane Moresi volunteered to run the opportunity drawing and handled it like a seasoned Las Vegas pit boss.

Diane & Jim’s Opportunity

She asked Jim Greene — newly restored vision and all — to draw the winning ticket.

The winner was Bill Hatcher.

Now Bill was sitting next to Ted and his mystical raffle powers which maybe means that Ted’s powers are getting harder for him to control. At any rate, I’m sitting next to Ted next wee.

There were eight marbles in the bag.

Bill did not pull the winning marble.

Which means… the pot thickens.

Joke of the Week

Michael Moore stepped up for Joke of the Week and began by sharing two things they teach plumbing apprentices:

1. Water does not run uphill.
2. Never, ever put your fingers in your mouth.

After a collective groan, Michael got to telling his original joke.

Punchline: “They had a rather dismal season… winning only one game.”

Somewhere in the distance, a sitcom laugh track faintly played. I actually heard some people say “that was a pretty good one” but don’t tell Michael. It will only encourage him.

President Julia’s Announcements

Julia called up Ann Gospe, explaining she had received an email from the District Governor.

Ann – “District Governor Grand Poobah-in-training”

Ann has been selected as “District Governor Grand Poobah-in-training” or something impressive like that.  Apparently she’s about three years away from the official role of District Grand Poobah. That’s a lot waiting around for a volunteer gig.

Nonetheless, a hearty congratulations, Ann!

Julia also reminded the club that May 16 will celebrate Rotary Youth Exchange students and serve as a Rotary Day of Service, so if you have project ideas please let Julia or Ann know.

She also mentioned an upcoming online Membership Seminar on March 24.

At this exact moment I attempted to look at the Membership Seminar flyer that was sitting on the table next to Les Crawford.

Instead I spilled water in his lap.

Did this stop Les from talking?

Reader… it did not.

Club Announcements

Ray gave another impressive and enthusiastic update on Giro Bello.

We are 100 days away and ridership is already up 40%. The event is expected to hit the 700 rider limit.

Ray encouraged everyone to recruit sponsors. Non-Rotarian money is better than Rotarian money, apparently so go out there and let your business friends know!

Les – a rare moment with the microphone

At this point Les Crawford once again acquired the microphone.

He first shouted out Tavo.

Then he announced he was “throwing down the gauntlet.”

But before issuing the challenge, Les thoughtfully explained the entire historical origin of the phrase “throwing down the gauntlet” and produced the filthiest glove you have ever seen. I mean, Ray’s son, after a hard day repairing sewer lines, wouldn’t touch that glove. It’s the kind of glove that you notice sitting on the side of the highway while stuck in traffic. There are Taco Bell bathrooms that are cleaner than this glove. At any rate, he threw that disgusting glove on the floor and issued a challenge (and for those keeping score, this was Story #7 from Les).

The challenge: A Bocce Ball showdown between the Sebastopol Rotary Club and the Santa Rosa Rotary Club.

This humble bulletin writer immediately accepted the challenge on behalf of the club by standing up and shouting back to Les as dozens of my fellow Santa Rosa Rotarians looked on: “WE ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE AND SEBASTOPOL ROTARY IS GOING DOWN!!!”

Don’t let me down fellow Rotarians. Start honing your Bocce skills immediately.

Recognitions

Paul Hamilton shared that Les’ arrival injected a level of energy into the room we haven’t seen since someone had to wake John Brown after a meeting.

Paul then shared a travel story involving flights to San Diego, drives to Tucson, then Phoenix, before returning home.

For that logistical adventure he donated $100 to the club.

Steve Olson followed with — you guessed it — another Les Crawford story.

Back when Les was Superintendent of the Roseland School District, Steve ran a dictionary giveaway program and created a game called “Stump the Superintendent.”

If the kids could stump Les with a question, Les had to buy the class ice cream sundaes.

Les lost.

Steve donated $50 to the club.

At this point Les attempted to tell yet another story but President Julia, wise to Les at this point, artfully tried to keep the meeting going. She lost and we got Les story #11.

Ted Wilhelm then donated $25 in honor of National Chicken Farmer Day since his father was a chicken farmer. No one had the hear to tell Ted about the chicken parm.

Program

While our guest speaker prepared, Julia played John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

Thankfully, there was no interpretive dance segment.

Rachel – Habitat For Humanity

Our speaker was Rachel Jeffries from Habitat for Humanity.

Fun fact: this was the second time this bulletin writer has heard Rachel speak after visiting the Sebastopol Rotary Club recently.

Apparently visiting other clubs means re-runs.

Rachel shared how Habitat for Humanity builds homes, communities, and hope throughout Sonoma County.

Some highlights:

• The ReStore, a 29,000-square-foot resale store, generated $2.1 million last year to support building efforts.
• Their Cars for Homes program raised $137,000 locally from donated vehicles.
• Habitat is relaunching a Repair & Emergency Home Repair program for extremely low-income seniors who need essential home safety improvements.
• They receive 10–15 requests per week from seniors needing help.

Rachel also discussed upcoming developments including:

• Duncan Village in Sebastopol
• Saggio Hills in Healdsburg (with projected property taxes around $10 per month thanks to land-trust partnerships)
• Potential projects in Petaluma

Habitat homes include resale restrictions that ensure long-term affordability so homes remain accessible to future families rather than becoming speculative investments.

Habitat has been active in Sonoma County for 42 years, and Rachel encouraged Rotarians to volunteer at build sites or support the ReStore.

Rachel’s Slides:

Click on above image to view Rachel’s slide presentation

Final Thought

All in all it was an excellent meeting.

We learned about Rotary’s global impact, celebrated club achievements, heard about meaningful housing work in our community…

…and listened to approximately 17 stories from Les Crawford.

Next time we may consider installing a Rotary-approved 30-second pitch clock whenever Les approaches a microphone.

Or at the very least, buy Les some clean gloves.

New Member

Malia, our newest member. Say hi!

The board of directors of the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa has approved the application for membership from Malia Nichols. Please introduce yourself to Malia and make her feel at home.

Special Election

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