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Sharon Schendel

I'm honored to serve as President of the Rotary Club of Del Mar. For most of my life, I was content to be in the background, taking direction from others. The people of the Rotary Club of Del Mar and the projects they spearhead inspired me to take a leadership role. This is a special year for Rotarians: Jennifer Jones is the first woman to be President of Rotary International. She chose "Imagine Rotary" as her theme and challenged members to dream big and work together to make dreams into reality. Every day, members of Rotary Club of Del Mar imagine how they might make the world a better place. Please take a moment to watch this video to see how our club's projects are helping enhance our own community, and communities around the world.

Come join us!

What’s Rotary?

Rotary is where neighbors, friends, and problem-solvers share ideas, join leaders, and take action to create lasting change.

Hands of Peace: Youth as Agents of Change

Melanie Stanek, San Diego Site Director for Hands of Peace

Hands of Peace (HOP) seeks to empower young people to find and raise their voice as agents of change. San Diego Site Director Melanie Stanek, our speaker at the September 22, 2022 meeting, explained how HOP brings together Palestinian, Israeli and American teenagers between 15 and 17 years-old for intensive summer programs held in San Diego and Chicago. During the summer program, the participants engage in daily dialogue sessions about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that are moderated by professional facilitators, take part in team building and leadership exercises, as well as educational and cultural activities. They also have free time with members of the group and the HOP community. HOP youth who do not live in the San Diego area are hosted by volunteer host families. The program also involves around 200 volunteers during the program and throughout the year.

HOP has a strong connection to Rotary. Multiple clubs in District 5340 have worked with HOP, which has received District Grant funding in recent years. There are multiple ways to get involved in HOP, including being a host family, encouraging local youth to apply to participate, volunteering time, and donating funds. On September 28, 5:30-7PM, HOP will hold a Community Circle featuring alumni of the HOP program at the Encinitas Community Center. Visit https://handsofpeace.org/events to register.

Labor Day Lunch and CPR Training Manikins for the Del Mar Lifeguards

Labor Day lunches and CPR training manikins. From left to right: City of Del Mar Deputy Chief of Lifeguards Mark Rathsam, Sharon Schendel, Don and Donna Fipps, City of Del Mar Chief of Lifeguards Jon Edelbrock, Ranch 45 Chef Aron Schwartz and Ranch 45 General Manager Pam Schwartz

The Del Mar Lifeguards wound down the summer season on a very warm and busy Labor Day. To help keep them going, we donated 50 lunches from Ranch 45. Chef Aron Schwartz and Manager Pam Schwartz delivered them. We also had the opportunity to see the set of CPR training manikins that the club donated with funds from the Community Service Committee. These manikins have lights that give immediate visual feedback to let the user know whether they’re using appropriate hand placement and pressure, as well as the right cadence. The training kit can also help users learn the placement and function of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Deputy Chief of Lifeguards Mark Rathsam said that the visual cues help users acquire skills much faster and also gives them confidence to use these skills in an actual emergency. The lifeguards use the training manikin set both to maintain the skills of their lifeguards and also to train members of the community in life-saving skills. Thank you to Brett Mattei for coordinating the lunch delivery.

Thank You from MAEGA Scholarship Recipient Daniella Hernandez

Every year the Youth Services Committee uses part of their annual budget to fund a scholarship for the Mexican American Educational Guidance Association (MAEGA). The club has a long history with MAEGA. Charter Members Don Lapham and Dr. Dick Wheelock were both committed to MAEGA; Don was a co-founder and Dick served on the Board of Directors for two decades. Daniella Hernandez is a MAEGA scholarship recipient this year and will use the funds to pursue a degree at SDSU.

Keeping Cool at New Entra Casa

We always encourage members to find new projects that have needs the club can help fulfill. Community Services Committee member Linda Groom learned of a need of New Entra Casa, which has been serving women and their families in the San Diego area for around 50 years.

New Entra Casa is a 6-bed facility for women who are involved with Child Welfare Services (CWS) or who have limited visitation with their children. As residents, these women receive education and support to reach their goal of reunifying with their children. Moreover, New Entra Casa is committed to helping individuals recover from substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders through counseling, small groups, and 12-Step and holistic therapy models that address the underlying causes of addiction and trauma.

The club provided funds for New Entra Casa to purchase a new refrigerator that can be used by the counseling staff. Linda said that the staff members are happy to have dedicated space to store their lunches and other items.

18th Annual Sunset Soirée

We had perfect weather for our 18^th annual Sunset Soiree on Tuesday September 13, 2022. After a streak of hot weather, we were fortunate to have a pleasantly warm night with little breeze. Many of the restaurants returned this year and we were pleased to have Cevasco’s and Beeside Balcony as our two newest restaurants. On the beverage side, Koi Zen and Solterra were first-timers. Ruth Grayson was our auctioneer, assisted by her partner Michael Lewis. They kept the enthusiasm up during the live auction, but they also kept a close watch over the silent auction. The robust 70% average return on fair market value of all the auction items reflected their efforts. Meanwhile, the gift card tree was so big that we could split off two “saplings” that both offered a great selection of cards.

Click HERE to access a Google Photo album with full-size pictures available for download and click “Read More” for important thank yous!

District Governor Chuck Pretto: Focusing on Youth and Raising Rotary’s Visibility

We had a fantastic crowd to hear District Governor Chuck Pretto speak on September 8, 2022. During his term, Chuck is focusing on two main, youth-oriented projects: i) expanding mental health resources for young people in San Diego; and ii) installing peace poles on the campuses of local schools.

Rotary’s youth activities have long been of special importance to Chuck. At a time he was thinking of leaving Rotary, a fellow Rotarian in Club 33 asked Chuck if he might consider hosting a Youth Exchange student. Chuck thought: Great. I’ll ask my wife, Kim, if we can do this, she’ll say no (particularly since his three children weren’t yet teenagers), and he can leave Rotary. But Kim surprised him by saying “yes”. Eventually, he and Kim went on to host seven exchange students. The final student arrived when their children were out of the house. Kim allowed the hosting provided that Chuck was responsible for getting her to and from school, and any activities. Chuck said that because of this condition, he was perhaps closer to this student than he was to the others.

Chuck also talked about the importance of wearing a Rotary pin, and how the master brand is more easily seen than the classic small wheel. He talked of one instance in the grocery store. The young man bagging groceries saw Chuck’s pin and said: “Rotary changed my sister’s life.” A Rotary club had made it possible for this young woman to have orthodontic work that increased her confidence and enhanced her life outlook. Wearing a pin fosters these conversations, or provides a starting point to say what Rotary is and why you’re a member of Rotary. Chuck brought a magnetic master brand pin for every member in attendance. Please wear your new pin- especially at the Sunset Soirée, since the program encourages guests to talk with club members about membership.

Sunset Soirée Auction Item Tour

This video gives a quick tour of ALL the silent and auction items on offer at this year's Sunset Soirée. See additional details about the items or place an online bid at http://www.delmarsunsetsoiree.org.

Sunset Soirée Vendor Tour

Wondering who will be serving at the Sunset Soirée this year? Watch this video to see a complete list! Tickets are selling fast, so buy yours now at

http://www.delmarsunsetsoiree.org

Using Genetic Genealogy To Make the Unknown Known

Amy Cheshire (upper left) spoke about how genetic genealogy helped identify the remains of her grandfather James Cheshire (lower left, with his young family). In July 2022 he was buried at Arlington Cemetery (lower right).

In 2011 Amy Cheshire, our speaker at the September 1, 2022 meeting, was contacted by a Navy Genealogist about James Cheshire, her grandfather.

In 1941, James was serving as a Chief Pharmacist’s Mate aboard the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor. Amy brought the actual telegram her grandmother, Marion, received from Navy announcing in late December 1941, announcing that James had been declared dead. James was among men who were buried in the Punchbowl Cemetery on Oahu, and the family was left with only corroded mementoes found in James’ ship locker.

The Navy Genealogist who contacted Amy was working for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and was seeking DNA samples. Amy contacted second cousins who would share DNA with her grandfather, and they provided samples that were eventually used to help identify her grandfather’s DNA as part of the USS Oklahoma Project that sought to identify remains of sailors who served on the ship.

Amy explained the difference between autosomal DNA, which is carried in the nucleus of nearly all human cell and is a blend of genetic material from the mother and the father, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is inherited only through the mother. mtDNA is particularly useful for several reasons: i) there’s a lot of it in cells; ii) mtDNA is more likely to survive for long periods relative to autosomal DNA; and iii) its maternal lineage provides information for forensic identification when there is a gap between ancestor and descendent.

In 2018, Amy’s family was contacted by the US Navy, which had identified her grandfather’s remains. After COVID-19-related delays, her grandfather was laid to rest with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery in July 2022. Amy now focuses on genetic genealogy, which is the use of genealogical DNA together with genealogical methods to identify possible genetic relationships between individuals. She uses these approaches to help adoptees seek birth parents or as part investigative genetic genealogy used to identify crime victims.

Reducing Maternal Mortality in Rural Panama: Phalarope's Approach

Posted on Aug 28, 2022

Dr. Miriam Rittmeyer (center), founder of Phalarope (logo at top), and the community leaders of Phalarope's Programa Manchichi that seeks to partner with and educate comadronas to reduce maternal mortality in rural Panama

Imagine being pregnant in a community high in the mountains of Panama that is accessible largely by foot. Would there be anyone trained to help you in case something went wrong? Dr. Miriam Rittmeyer, our speaker at the August 28, 2022 meeting, founded Phalarope to help women in situations like this. Phalarope seeks to empower women through education and community outreach to enable families and communities in Latin America to reach their full potential. Phalarope has six priority areas, and in her talk Dr. Rittmeyer focused on projects to improve maternal and community health.

Phalarope took the unique approach of partnering with comadronas, women who are highly respected and trusted community leaders. Comadronas carry out traditional birth practices in indigenous communities in Latin American countries like Guatemala and Panama. In rural Guatemala, Phalarope implemented a vocational training program, Programa Ixchel, to equip comadronas with medical skills and tools to monitor fetal development as well as detect hypertension and high blood pressure. Using these skills, the comadronas could identify signs and symptoms of high-risk pregnancy that can endanger the life of both mothers and their fetuses. This training is critical to reduce the rate of maternal morbidity and mortality, which can have long-lasting effects for families and communities.

Building on the success of Programa Ixchel, Phalarope secured a Global Grant (G-2658) to start Programa Manchichi that will help six communities in the mountainous region of Panama. The Global Grant allowed expansion of preliminary findings from a Phase I project in which teams in these communities teams compiled detailed regional maps that identified where families are living, and the health status of family members. These data were used to generate a dashboard with health indicators that could provide alerts from the field when patients were in need of higher-level care.

The Global Grant funds a training program with a curriculum that focuses on cultural competency that respects traditional practices while allowing for active monitoring and response to high-risk situations as they emerge. The training is conducted within the remote communities where comadronas receive instruction in identifying high-risk pregnancies in addition to preventative screening for other communities members, many of whom are affected by chronic conditions like diabetes. The curriculum also includes training in prenatal care, particularly coaching to optimize maternal nutrition, determining fetal presentation, as well as post-partum care that is critical to reduce maternal mortality.

Dr. Rittmeyer is a native of Guatemala. She earned her MD in Guatemala and received a Ph.D. in Nutritional Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina as well as a Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

In 2021, the Rotary Club of Del Mar International Services Committee partnered with Phalarope on this innovative Global Grant through the donation of $2,500 from the club and $2,500 District Designated Funds (DDF).

Back to the Track

Clockwise from top left: Sharon Schendel with District 5340 Governor Chuck Pretto; Brett Mattei, Bill Dougherty, Bill Rawlings; Sharon Schendel and Dugan Lamoise with Winner's Circle Connie Broge; Sharon Schendel and Dugan Lamoise with Bob Baffert and his winning horse, Peso; Garrie Rhodes with Chris Stewart

Clockwise from top left: Philippe Lamoise, Sharyn Daly and Linda Groom; Don and Donna Fipps; Suzy Wagner, Linda Strangman, Karl Wagner; Eric Nelte and Pat Dougherty; Walt Strangman and Pat Caughey

Spiraling in from top left: The losing ticket pile; Linda Saville with Assistant District Governor Luis Carranza and Dugan Lamoise, Garrie Rhodes celebrates a winning ticket; Jim and Karin Davies; Linda Groom and Linda Saville; the Rotary Race card (Peso was horse 9); Jan and Pete Grossnickle (Pete obviously dreaming about the days' winning- this picture was taken early in the day); Sharon Schendel with Bob Baffert, who walked off with the Maker's Mark, but not the peach roses

Every August club members are treated to a Day at the Races hosted by Del Mar Thoroughbred Club President and CEO (and honorary club member) Joe Harper. We had a fantastic afternoon at Il Palio restaurant high above the track. This year the Del Mar Rotary Race was first on the card and the winner was Peso, a horse trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Juan Hernandez. President Sharon Schendel and Past President Dugan Lamoise were in the winner’s circle to present the Maker’s Mark whiskey and flowers (the flowers came back up with us). Winner’s Circle coordinator and Del Mar track fixture Connie Broge has the best job at the track. She gave Dugan and Sharon the inside scoop on some of the claiming races of the day and other things to watch for. Our collective Pick 5 went down in race 2, but our members still picked some winners for other races. As always, we thank Bill Dougherty for coordinating the day. Click HERE to see the video of the Rotary Race and watch through the end to see the winner’s circle presentation.

Back to School Kits

After putting the finishing touches on sleeping cottages at Church of the Brethren, Janice and Matt Kurth were at the San Diego Convention Center August 6, 2022 to help members of Rotary Club of Kearny Mesa to assemble school supply kits. They were part of a 400-volunteer force who made 10,000 back-to-school kits containing a total of $600,000 worth of school supplies. These kits will go to students around San Diego County. The event was organized by Supplybank.org, which is based in Oakland, and coordinates the distribution of vital essential goods to under-resourced families throughout California by drawing on a network of over 500 local organizations.

New Rescue Boards for Del Mar Lifeguards

Left to right: Vice President and Community Service Co-Chair Toni Mecaro, Club President Sharon Schendel, Brodie Martin (President of the Del Mar Lifeguard Association; (DMLA)), Mark Rathsam (Deputy Chief Lifeguard), and Rick Schwering (Lifeguard and Treasurer of DMLA).

We recently provided funds for the Del Mar Lifeguards to purchase three new rescue surfboards that will help them keep swimmers and surfers at Del Mar beaches safe. These rescue boards are lightweight and balanced, so they’re easier for the guards to paddle through the surf quickly. The lifeguards use the boards to transport up to six people safely back to shore, or to give distressed swimmers a good surface to hang onto until a rescue boat arrives. The boards’ yellow color makes them easily visible to beachgoers. Deputy Chief Lifeguard Mark Rathsam said that the guards used rescue boards in many of the 700 rescues they’ve made so far this year. We're proud to help add to the repertoire of life-saving equipment for the Del Mar Lifeguards. Thank you to Brett Mattei for finding the large stickers of the club logo to decorate the boards.

Playing the Waves

Musicians with surfing coaches (upper left- Brett Mattei has the hat); Brett's student (upper right) learned quickly after Brett showed in the basics (lower right); This guy might look familiar: he's Val Myer's brother-in-law

Young musicians visiting San Diego for the District 5340 MusiCamp put down their instruments for an afternoon to join members of the Surfers United Fellowship of Rotary to try surfing the waves in Del Mar. Brett Morey of La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary organized the event and our own Brett Mattei was there to coach some of the musicians on surfing basics. By the end of the afternoon, many had gotten the hang of it and ridden a few waves. If someone in the crowd looked a bit familiar, that’s Val Myer’s brother-in-law and Brett said that he’s one of the most enthusiastic surfing coaches ever.

The Rapid Development of the Antiviral Paxlovid

Dr. Martin Edwards uses a baseball and a mitt to demonstrate binding of a Paxlovid component into the active site of the SARS-CoV-2 protease

Model of the SARS-CoV-2 protease molecule with the Paxlovid molecule (stick diagram, upper right) blocking the active site (photo courtesy Dr. Martin Edwards)

Dr. Martin Edwards joined our July 28, 2022 meeting to tell the story of how Paxlovid, the treatment for COVID-19 was developed so rapidly. After hearing initial reports from China in January 2020 that a newly-discovered virus could transmit person-to-person, Dr. Edwards thought to himself: “Nearly every person in the world could be infected.” More than half a billion documented infections later, that thought seems to be coming true.

Dr. Edwards said that Paxlovid was propelled by earlier work done on SARS, a virus that is related to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but that failed to cause a global pandemic. Both SARS and SARS-CoV-2 make a protein called a protease that can snip apart different virus proteins so they can assemble to make new viruses that can go on to continue infection, or infect others. Scientists at Pfizer already knew the three-dimensional structure of the SARS protease, and they knew from the SARS-CoV-2 DNA sequence that the SARS-CoV-2 protease would probably have a very similar structure.

Pfizer scientists determined the structure of SARS-CoV-2 using x-ray crystallography, and then analyzed whether molecules in a library containing millions of different chemicals could nestle into a pocket in the protease called the “active site” and block the protease from snipping apart virus proteins. Without the protease snipping, there are no new particles, and infection stops. Dr. Edwards brought a baseball and a glove as an analogy to show how the molecules in Paxlovid fit into the active site pocket. By December 2021, the FDA granted Paxlovid emergency use authorization, and millions of doses have since been administered.

Interested in learning more about the development of Paxlovid and why you might have heard of people “rebounding” (i.e., testing positive after receiving the drug and testing negative)? Check out this NPR story, and articles in JAMA Network and Science.

A Room of One's Own Part 2

Klaus Gubernator and Steven McDowell returned to Church of the Brethren to continue building a sleeping cottage that was started last week. More members of St. James Mission Circle also returned. There’s just a bit more work to do, so if you have time on Saturday August 4, please stop by the church at 3850 Westgate Place (just south of the I-15 and I-805 split). They’ll put you on a job that matches your skill level (or you can learn a new skill).

Social at Cevasco's

Cevasco’s is one of the newest restaurants in the village of Del Mar and we’re delighted that they’ve signed on to serve at the Sunset Soiree. Happy Hour at Cevasco’s is a true bargain: $3 beers and $5 wine and good selection of tasty items for half price. Great to see so many members there. We had Don and Donna Fipps (and Omeeka, of course!), Steven and Jennifer McDowell, Brett Mattei, Jim Kohn and Sharon Schendel, Matt and Janice Kurth, Linda and Walt Strangman, Karl and Suzy Wagner (who also arranged the social). Our socials are fun and important ways that we can support the restaurants that support our club.

Event Registration Through Club Website

Many events on the club website will now have a registration button. Please use this feature to sign up! By signing up, event organizers can know who plans to attend. For our service projects in particular, having sign ups can help us better track volunteer hours, which we need to report to Rotary. We can also use this information to highlight to potential members and donors how much time our members devote to the community.

Get the ClubRunner App!

Wondering how to get to a member’s home? What their phone number is? What events are upcoming? It’s all in the ClubRunner App. After a quick download from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android), you’ll be up and running with all the club information at your fingertips. Note that if an event is held at a member’s home, their address will NOT be posted on our website, so with the ClubRunner app, you can quickly find the address and get directions through your phone. All information through the App is secure and available ONLY to members. Contact Sharon Schendel if you need help updating your profile.

Designing Diagnostics for Tropical Diseases

After advancing several drugs to treat cancer, Dr. Marco Biamonte, our speaker for the July 24, 2022 meeting, founded Drugs & Diagnostics for Tropical Diseases (DDTD), a non-profit organization that develops news treatments and diagnostics for diseases that largely affect underserved populations. The goal of DDTD is to eliminate diseases that should belong to the past.

News From the Track

Perennial favorite speaker and Honorary Member Joe Harper, President and CEO of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, stopped by Jimmy O’s for our July 14, 2022 meeting. Opening Day on July 22 is already sold out. In fact, tickets were gone 15 minutes after the sale began on June 13, and the crowd will be held to 22,000 this year. The Thoroughbred Club is coming off hosting its second successful Breeder’s Cup. Despite lower attendance due in part to the pandemic, the handle was high, and exceeded the 2017 value by nearly 10%. When the track does well, so does California: as a non-profit, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club returns its revenues to the state. Off-track betting now dominates with around 90% of the handle coming from bets placed offsite.

Joe said that the meet starts later as track requires preparation after the fair season, but it also ends later, which allows Del Mar to have one week during which it is the sole active track. All Joe Harper talks have a healthy old Hollywood component (his maternal grandfather was Cecil B. DeMille) and told favorite stories about his appearances as an extra in movies like the “The Greatest Show on Earth” and “Ten Commandments” that unfortunately ended up on the cutting room floor. We thank Joe for his continued support of the club and look forward to our Annual Day at the Races on August 18.

A Room of One's Own

Marty Peters, Sharon Schendel, Klaus Gubernator, Pat Caughey and Pete Grossnickle take a quick break from work (upper left, l to r); Executive Director of the Church of the Brethren Kathryn LaPointe explained the mission of the church in helping refugees with the challenges they face in a new country (center left); Pete Grossnickle, Dee House, and Bob Muller roll paint on one of several cottage wall panels (center); Jan Grossnickle painted a lot of trim pieces (bottom center). The cottages will eventually have a small porch and will offer residents a private space to sleep, work and relax.

Assembly line of cottage components (top) made for rapid progress on a second cottage. Poodle "Don Quixote" (aka Don) made sure everyone kept on track (and that no Dorito went uneaten).

Small cottages are sprouting up at the Church of the Brethren, in the Gateway neighborhood of San Diego, just south of where the 805 and the 15 split. We joined with St. James Mission Circle, a social action program of the St. James-St. Leo Catholic Community in Solana Beach that is working with Casas de Luz to build transitional sleeping cottages.

As part of the Church of the Brethren’s Peace Village refugee resettlement program, which offers shelter to refugees and asylum seekers, these cottages are a first step for folks on their way to more permanent living situations. Residents typically stay fewer than 120 days. The cottages provide a bed, refrigerator, toaster oven, and heater, and a lockable door. They have no plumbing, but residents have access to communal shower and toilet facilities, as well as on-site laundry. Thank you for Marty Peters for coordinating this opportunity (and for working onsite).

We had a great turnout. Members Pat Caughey, Jan and Pete Grossnickle, Klaus Gubernator, Dee House and Sharon Schendel, contributed, as did friends and family members Bob Muller and Tim Grossnickle. This project was particularly good because there were plenty of jobs for everyone, regardless of skill level and volunteers were rewarded with drinks and snacks. In addition, it was fun to work beside and meet all the volunteers from the Mission Circle. The project continues July 23 from 8:45AM-4 PM. Come join us to help build a few more cottages to help complete what will eventually be a village of 20.

Ukrainian Refugee Outreach Event

Amna Sanctuary, led by Executive Director Dr. Rasha Roshdy, organized a one-stop-shop for Ukrainian refugees to access services in the San Diego community. The Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley donated a ballroom where representatives from local agencies including Health and Human Services (HHSA), DMV and San Diego Unified School District helped refugees register for a State ID, enroll in school, and get work permits. Member John Baranowski and his wife Candace Bahr volunteered to help shuttle Olga and her son Lev, who are now living in Oceanside, to the event. Olga told him that the event helped her accomplish in hours what might have taken her months to do on her own. Watch the NBC7 news video to hear an interview with Dr. Roshdy and see scenes from the event.

Blood Drive Exceeds Goal

Our blood drive with San Diego Blood Bank on July 7, 2021 was a huge success. We exceeded the 20-pint goal with 21 pints collected. Del Mar Rotarians and their friends and family comprised the majority of the donors and 5 donors were first-timers with the Blood Bank. We had 11 members donate, and organizer Walt Strangman pulled in his son Mike Strangman, and sister-in-law Carol Poole. The 21 pints we collected can help over 60 individuals in San Diego County. Many thanks to Walt for organizing and being at the Bloodmobile throughout the drive. The next drive will be November 3. Couldn’t make the July 7 drive? You can always schedule an appointment to donate at a location that’s convenient to your home or work.

Leadership Changeover at the Governor’s Dinner

Posted by Sharon Schendel

Enjoying the Governor's Dinner (clockwise from upper left): Bill Rawlings, Linda Groom, Dugan and Philippe Lamoise; plenty of wine to go with dinner; Karl Wagner, Don Fipps, and Suzy Wagner show off our newest banner; Sharon Schendel after swearing in of club presidents

The theme chosen by RI President Jennifer Jones is "Imagine Rotary". Don Fipps received his District Governor Elect pin from Chuck Pretto and thanks from outgoing District Governor Dan Gensler for his service as his Chief of Staff; Lower left: Pat Caughey, Klaus Gubernator and Celia Ramirez (Rotary Club of San Diego Southeast)

The ballroom at the Del Mar Hilton was full of just over 400 District 5340 Rotarians for the 2022 Governor’s Dinner. Our club fielded two tables to see our own Don Fipps be elevated to District Governor Elect and Sharon Schendel be sworn in as President by the new District Governor Chuck Pretto of Club 33. Co-Presidents Suzy and Karl Wagner topped off a stellar year by accepting the award for best medium-sized club of the district. Philippe Lamoise made sure that everyone could see and hear all the presentations with his A/V expertise. Click here to view/download these and other pictures.

The Rotary Club of Del Mar is a registered 501c4 non-profit organization.