Last Friday, we had the pleasure of acknowledging and thanking President Gwen and President Martha for an amazing, transformative year!
We gathered at the home of Racquel Frawley, which was transformed into the “LATINA CANTINA” for a Demotion Party Fiesta celebrating our two Presidents and all that they accomplished together.
With the sounds of beautiful Mexican guitars, we enjoyed a wide selection of specially designed margaritas and homemade sangria, along with an amazing array of appetizers of homemade quesadillas, taquitos, chili rellenos, shrimp ceviche, guacamole, and chips!
Immediate Past-Presidents Lisa Schwab and
Brady Connell (now District Governor) were amazing Hosts.
Lisa called our meeting to order, and our program commenced with the flag salute and invocation
and an introduction of our many friends
from District 5280 leadership.
We were treated to a Taco Bar complete with beef
and chicken soft tacos, rice, beans, and toppings! MUY DELICIOSO! Dinner was followed by hand-dipped ice cream bars or frozen bananas in Belgian chocolate,
and a choice of multiple toppings….
calories all removed, a wonderful treat!
We also had the opportunity to create customized, memorable photos in our Rotary Photo Booth to memorialize this fiesta!
Following dinner, the Playa Venice Sunrise Players were summoned to the stage for their annual tribute to the outgoing Presidents, this year...
"TWO HOT TAMALES!"
The production highlighted their year of melding two very distinct personalities into a cohesive partnership and then looked ahead to the possibility of continuing their amazing partnership into a TWO HOT TAMALES TACO TRUCK operation! With their extensive talents, there is no doubt they could continue to be successful in anything they pursue together!
We are all so grateful for the countless hours and contributions that each has made during their tenure
as Presidents of our Club!
Following the Demotion of our Presidents and their Board of Directors, we presented our most treasured Club awards. First of all, we were thrilled to present three friends with their Paul Harris Fellow awards –
Natalie Shoemaker and David Johnston, along with Dani Torgusen.This award signifies a deep commitment to the Rotary Foundation and exemplifies their contributions this year. Way to shine!
Each year, we award a non-Rotarian friend with our Rotarian at Heart award for their service to Rotary and our Club. We were thrilled to award Evan Hart and Dani Torgusen with this beloved award. These individuals occupy a place in the heart of our Club, as evidenced by the award, which represents only a small token of our appreciation for their many contributions to our projects and our newsletter over the past year.
We then awarded our Rotarian of the Year Award to a Rotarian who has exemplified the Four-Way Test and who has contributed above and beyond to our many projects and activities in time, talent, and treasure. Stephanie Rondeau, last year’s recipient, took to the podium to make this prestigious presentation. This Rotarian supported over 40 Playa Venice Sunrise projects and events this year, gave countless dollars to support our efforts, and demonstrated a “can-do, will-do" attitude that has proven to be a treasure to our Club. It was so fun to scan the crowd as it was truly a mystery until certain clues were revealed… the Rotarian of the Year 2025-2026 is JAN OSGOOD! Jan was presented with her sash and her tiara by outgoing ROY Stephanie Rondeau, and is now wearing them proudly! She truly deserves this prestigious award, and we know that she will continue to exemplify her true Rotary spirit for years to come!
We were then all excited to try our luck with our year-end “Split the Pot” raffle, and with only a few cards left in the deck, everyone eagerly purchased tickets. We were honored that PDG Albert Hernandez stepped in to draw the tickets; the winner who picked the envelope with the ace of spades would win about $1,475 (not a bad return from a $20 ticket!). After several guests were unsuccessful in drawing the right card… the winner of the pot was DANI TORGUSEN!!! Our Rotarian at Heart was so surprised to see the Ace and learn it was the winning card! Special thanks to her husband, John, who purchased only 2 tickets! We were thrilled to see her become our BIG WINNER!!
At this point in the evening, PDG Olivia Patterson-Ryans was called to the podium for the Installation of the Board of Directors 2026-2027. As always, Olivia reminded us of the sacred oaths that each recites to assume the obligations. We were thrilled to induct Gail Goldstein as Club President, along with an amazing Board of Directors to serve for the coming year!
With more ice cream bars and margaritas following the induction, we danced to amazing salsa music provided by our own Club DJ, Gina.
It proved to be an amazing night under the stars for all who attended. Special thanks to the following Rotarians who contributed above and beyond by sponsoring this event:
Lisa Schwab – Event Planner Extraordinaire and Service Staff Sponsor
Stephanie Younger Group – Floral Sponsor
Lucy Wagner – Bar Sponsor
Jan Osgood – D.J. Sponsor
John Buckley – Band Sponsor
Robert Bird/Gail Goldstein – Ice Cream Sponsor
Our heartfelt thank you to Racquel Frawley for providing her beautiful house for the event! Additionally, an extra big hug and thank you to Lisa Schwab and Brady Connell for being amazing hosts of this event, and for providing one of our best Demotion Parties ever!!! We love and appreciate all who joined us for this event!!! ¡Muchas Gracias!
___________________________________
We are very excited to have our own DG Brady Connell back from his visit to the Rotary International Convention in Taipei, Taiwan. Brady mingled with over 37,000 in the Rotary House of Friendship along with breakout sessions and district dinners. He represented our Club and District 5280 with distinction, and we are SO PROUD OF HIM!!! We cannot wait to have him address our Club with a full experiential presentation of his time at the Convention!
WAY TO GO DG BRADY!
___________________________________
Father Jim Forsen's Retirement Party
Visitation had a lovely retirement party for Fr. Jim Forsen, who is an honorary member of our Club. Fr. Jim will continue to be an active priest at Visitation but not the head pastor of the Church and School. The “Fiesta” was chaired by Courtney and attended by Bobbie, Gwen, Sylvia, and her husband Joe. Our own Addy handled the DJ duties with the assistance of her brothers. Thank you to Fr. Jim for many years of support to our Club and for continuing to welcome Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary to Visitation!
___________________________________
We are happy and excited to be supporting our partner, the Mar Vista Family Center, as we serve lunch to the kids attending their Summer Camp! Each Tuesday for the next five weeks, we will gather at Mar Vista Family Center from 11:30 – 1:00 PM to serve lunch to about 85 kids! We welcome participation from five Rotarians each Tuesday to be there to coordinate and distribute these lunches. Please sign up during our meeting this Wednesday for any or all Tuesdays that you are available. As always, time together is fun, but serving the kids at Mar Vista Family Center makes it extra special!
26th ANNUAL 4TH OF JULY PARADE
The parade theme this year is “250 Years of American Dreams” and celebrates the enduring spirit of hope, ambition, and opportunity that has shaped the nation since its founding – brought to life through a wide range of inspiring float ideas. Alongside a sports-focused float highlighting global unity through the FIFA World Cup, other concepts could showcase the evolution of the American Dream across different walks of life.
Come be a part of one of our most exciting Rotary opportunities – volunteer at the upcoming 4th of July Parade in Westchester! Our own Courtney O’Donoghue is one of the Co-Chairs of the parade this year, and this year, many of our Club members will volunteer to work on the parade route and experience the excitement and patriotic spirit of a true hometown event! Volunteers will meet at 8:00 AM at the corner of Loyola/Manchester and work at their assignments until the parade terminates at about 1:00 PM. You and your family members are also welcome to ride the Los Angeles Fire Dept truck in the parade, waving flags and cheering as members of our Rotary Club. After the parade, we are welcome to attend the BBQ lunch at the Westchester Elks Club for burgers/dogs! Come celebrate this very special event and volunteer with us! Reach out to Gwen to sign up!
Our Club will join forces with our friends in District 5280 to donate much-needed items to our service-member friends at Camp Pendleton and Fort MacArthur. The flyer below provides a list of the items needed (all new or gently used). Please bring your items for donation to our meeting next week on July 8th, and we will amass them for delivery on Saturday, July 11th. Thank you for your continued generosity to this very important Rotary project!
Sunday, July 19 -- Reagan Library America 250 Exhibit
Come join us on this special pilgrimage to the beautiful Reagan Library to experience the America 250 Exhibit and celebrate this amazing birthday of our Nation! Enjoy fellowship as we enjoy lunch following our visit.
We have a group of around 12 Rotarians planning to go. The Library is in a beautiful location in Simi Valley, and there is a special exhibit for the Semiquincentennial. We plan to arrive at opening around 10-10:30 AM. After our visit, we will go to lunch in the area.
Tickets are $29.95 for adults, $26.95 for seniors (plus a $2.50 service charge).
If you would like to go, contact Lucy Wegner for details at lwegner63@gmail.com.
___________________________________
“Rotary – did you know?”
The 1989 Council on Legislation vote to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide remains a watershed moment in the history of Rotary.
“My fellow delegates, I would like to remind you that the world of 1989 is very different to the world of 1905. I sincerely believe that Rotary has to adapt itself to a changing world,” said Frank J. Devlyn, who would go on to become RI president in 2000-01.
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
-Maya Angelou
