THE PERFECT BLEND OF FUN, FRIENDSHIP, AND SERVICE!
Welcome to the PVSR Weekly Newsletter
2026 - 2027 Vol. 16
It seems like following every meeting, there is a clear “teaching” that I receive and learn from our interactions together. This week, as I listened intently to member Kim Muno's Craft Talk, I was struck that there is so much that I learned about her history growing up, her competitive golf experiences at Rutgers University, then becoming a Golf Pro in LaQuinta - who knew? What about her amazing firefighter husband who provided lasting impact and service during the Palisades fire and her two beautiful, talented, and athletic children? Again, I had no idea. But I was so impressed, and I left the meeting knowing so much more than before I arrived.
Taking this thinking one step further, I think it is important to note the one thing that PVS Rotary provides to each of us that makes us richer than before we joined - FRIENDS. People that we might not have the opportunity to meet or get to know, but people that share our commitment to service. We suit up and show up for all types of projects - working shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm with fellow PVS members and guess what, we get to know each other a bit better and strengthen new or existing relationships.
FRIENDS are grown and nurtured over time spent together. Whether sitting together every week at meetings, working together at The Stroll, serving dinners at S.P.Y, donating time at the Fire Station pancake breakfasts, my guess is that the more you interact with Rotarians in any situation, the closer you become to new friends. The longer this goes on, the closer you get to an adoptive family. It is remarkable!
This week we honored four Rotarian Rockstars who are valuable FRIENDS and who have demonstrated their commitment to our programs during the month of September.
Jason Wong - A friend who is a consistent behind-the-scenes “Ninja” helps in toting the grills, pop-ups, freezer, etc. to and from Rotary storage to a variety of venues. Additionally, he generously donates “Fatburger Fat-Checks” for us to use in our giveaways - he is a “lead singer” in our Rockstars!
Kim Muno - A friend who makes it a family event to pickup of the truck and wheelchairs for the Southland Honor Flight event. All family members truly demonstrate “Service Above Self”!
Matthew Lawrence - A friend (and family) with a big heart, big muscles, and big truck - all of which continue to serve our Club! He serves as Sergeant at Arms and makes sure our meetings run smoothly. Most recently, his work with Rob on the construction of the new storage shed and transport to Whiskey Reds was above and beyond the call of duty.
Linda Soto - A friend who has proven to be an amazing, multi-talented addition to our Club! She has creative talent especially with balloons. This month we witnessed her willingness to donate her time to WAM and Fire Station #5 Pancake Breakfast. She spoke to many guests at our booths and educated them about Rotary and specifically the many benefits of membership in PVS Rotary!
Rock on, Linda!!
While all Rockstars are amazing FRIENDSand Rotarians, LINDA SOTO was selected as the SEPTEMBER ROTARIAN OF THE MONTH!
Our members provide a bouquet of FRIENDS in my life - like flowers of all different designs, sizes, colors; they all provide a richness to my life that I would never have had without PVS Rotary!
Rotary makes me happy!!
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This past week:
A sponsorship check for $2000 was presented to Visitation School for their upcoming carnival
An overview of our recent Happy Hour at Racquel’s home
An overview of Salon Evening and Art Class at Hotel Figueroa with Emily Colvin (Lisa's Niece)
An overview of our food packing event at the Westside Food Bank
An overview of the Price of Progress movie event
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As reported by our crackCommunity Services Director, Dave, he filed the following report:
A little rain couldn’t keep away the trick-or-treaters from theSaturday Stroll! Rotarians Jan, Matthew, Linda, Debbie P., Rory, Debbie B., Gwen, Gail, Rob, Martha, Sylvia, Charles, and Dawnserved 8 gallons of ice cream sundaesto ghosts, bears, bumblebees...and some parents who pretended they didn’t want one! Our snake puzzles and bookmark coloring stationswere a big hit as well!
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We received an exciting communication from Rotarian Luc at Jacaranda this week with an update and pictures of our new college scholarship winners preparing to begin their college studies. Luc reports as follows:
Below are photos of Tadala, Deborah and Shika the day they left Jacaranda School ready to go to university - and then at their university campuses. Tadala and Shika are at Mzuzu University in the north portion of Malawi. Deborah is at the University of Malawi in Zomba, close to Blantyre, where Jacaranda is located. They are thrilled and grateful and sending their greetings to all Playa Venice Sunrise Rotarians.
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Luc sent Rich and Gail an email with the invitation to the upcomingJacaranda Annual Gala dinner, which will take place on Sunday, November 15th at 6PM at the London Hotel in West Hollywood. We were both absolutely thrilled and honored to learn that the Rotary Club of Playa Venice Sunrise will be honored that evening with the Outstanding Partner Awardrecognizing the work we are doing in partnership with Jacaranda! If you have an interest in attending, please contact Gailabout tickets to this event.
Marie and Luc will be here for the Gala and will also attend our Rotary meeting that week. What an honor for our Club!
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Rotary Makes Us Happy!
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THE MONTH AHEAD IN YOUR ROTARY COMMUNITY!
Please plan to join us for this week’s exciting
Rotary Meeting!
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Tomorrow we welcome Glenn Gomez, our very dear FRIEND and The Rotary Foundation - Polio Plus Chair from our District 5280! We will fill our coffee cups and learn how we can all do more to help in the eradication of Polio around the world. While significant progress has been made there is still more that each of us can do! Let’s all learn how!
Make your donation at myRotary.org/donateand choose "PolioPlus Fund". Send confirmation of your donation to Glenn Gomez at rotarygomez2020@gmail.com, and they will coordinate a day to get you your pin.
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We are thrilled to attend the Moonlight on the Marsh Fundraising Gala sponsored by the Friends of Ballona Wetlands on Saturday evening, October 17th in Playa Vista. Many of you will be attending on our behalf so have a wonderful evening!
For more details, or to participate in the online Silent Auction, CLICK HERE!
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We are so excited to have a Rotary Wheel boothat the upcoming CARNIVAL IN THE NINE DOUBLE OH FOUR FIVE at Visitation School!Plan to join us the weekend ofOctober 23-25and enjoy great food, rides, games, music and of course, work a shift or two at our booth! We will customize aRotary Wheelthat will allow folks to spin and win prizes! Most importantly, another opportunity for us to spread Rotary Cheer and Goodwill and tell our wonderful Rotary story! Promise you it will be great fun with FRIENDS!
Come see Evan’s band play live Saturday afternoon! Details to follow!
To purchase ride, food, and game tickets, CLICK HERE!
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DUST OFF YOUR CHAPS AND POLISH YOUR BOOTS
FOR A NIGHT TO REMEMBER!
--HONOREE DIANE BARRETTI IS A WANTED WOMAN!!--
Rumor has it Diane Barretti will be attending (and be honored) at our upcoming Cultural Dinner at Miss Sassy’s Saloon on Wednesday, October 28th at the Westchester Elks Lodge! Miss Sassy has her full posse ready to welcome you to a return to the Old West - complete with tight jeans, Sunday best boots, cowboy hats and lots of fun! The town Sheriff and U.S. Marshall will be on hand looking for scallywags in attendance and in the hopes of bringing Diane into custody to receive her Playa Sunrise Rotary Community Service Award!
Don’t miss out on a great night complete with our Chuckwagon Grub, Whiskey Tasting, Silent and Live auction, and a few surprises that will make you want to
swing your partner!
Wear your western best and take a trip back in time...
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Don't miss the opportunity to dress up as PVS Rotarians and join us to supportDave and Evanat their incredible 10th Annual Midfield Avenue Halloween Block Party on Halloween (October 31st) from Noon until 5PM. We will have our booth, pop-ups, sundae station, and trick-or-trick candy to scare the neighborhood kids! Come hearEvan’s bandand have a great time with RotaryFRIENDS!
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Please rememberMartha Jeffers is raising fundsfor a small town in Colombia that was devastated during the recent earthquake. She has set up a designated account through our Foundation to receive donations that will be sent on to our Rotary Club partners in Colombia.
Please donate and encourage those in your sphere of influence to donate as well.
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Following our inaugural effort last year of Kathrine's idea, Jan Osgood and Gail will be coordinating donations for our “FOOD FOR FAMILIES” program. This will assist the families of Mar Vista Family Center, as we will be purchasing gift cards from Northgate Market for distribution to area families to purchase food for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
More info to follow!
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Do not miss out on this opportunity to book our beautiful oasis home in PGA West on the Signature Golf Course. Home to the American Express Golf Tournament, the location is “ground zero” forgolf and entertainment in LaQuinta. While you enjoy the comforts of our 4-bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home, you can sip a glass of wine while lounging in our private pool with a Baja shelf or in the covered California room as you overlook the Signature driving range!
The area amenities are too numerous to mention, but there is something for everyone in the luxury of the desert communities. Please remember that this “Friends and Family” rate for a three-day, two-night packagebrings 100% of the revenue directly to our Club!It’s getting close to our busy season, so if you are considering a weekend away for a couples retreat, family get-away or simply some needed relaxation, please speak to Rob or Gailas soon as possible to calendar your time away!
Depending on availability, the following weekends
could be made available:
• November 13th-15th
• December 11th-13th
• April 2nd-4th
• May 28th-30th
Their lovely getaway home will also be offered in the Cultural Dinner Live Auction!!
To view more photos of Rob and Gail's
stunning La Quinta home,click here!
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VIVA LAS VEGAS!!
Happy to see Racqueland friends having a blast in Las Vegas this weekend! She had a fabulous time at The Sphereand enjoyed two shows of Metallica!
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HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD!
On Saturday evening,Gwen, Rob and Gail left the Stroll a bit early to pick up Addy and head to Hollywood. On tap, a yummy and memorable dinner at Jemma and an evening atThe Pantages for The Outsiders! We were so happy that Addy gave us a “Readers Digest Condensed Version” of the play’s story but honestly the music and voices were so fantastic, we would have enjoyed it regardless!
A wonderful evening spent withFRIENDS!
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Any idea of the word of the week…..???
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***** Reminder, please share your with pics of your activities around town to add to the newsletter!
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PolioPlus Precursors
We all know that it was in 1985 that Rotary International launched the PolioPlus program.
However, many years earlier, Rotary-Clubs had taken initiatives to fight against this terrible disease.
Thus, in 1915, the Rotary-Club of Toledo, Ohio, USA, was the first to invest in this field.
In 1937, Porter LORING, member of the Rotary-club of San Antonio, Texas, USA, had offered an iron lung worth $2,400 and had been named ” Friend of Humanity”.
In 1945, members of the Rotary Club of Deming, New Mexico, USA, donated an $1,800 iron lung to the local hospital.
Then, in 1950, the Rotarians of Stoneham, Massachusetts, USA, offered a portable steel lung.
These few actions identified are probably not the only ones and testify to the fact that Rotary International’s efforts to fight polio began more than a century.
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“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”
— Dale Carnegie
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PLAYA VENICE SUNRISE ROTARY Serving our Community since 2005
