Club News April 2020 - Maternal and Child Health Month
The Rotary Club of Simi Sunset is a group of leaders that meets regularly to form bonds and friendships and we strive to improve lives locally and around the world.
President's Message
Welcome to April Sunsetters,
It is incredible how much the World has changed since March 1st. We had three great meetings where we were able to listen to LA Kings legend Bob Miller, we presented awards to amazing community members who do so much to make Simi a better place, we hosted our District Governor Savi, and even had an impromptu off site St. Patty's Day at the End of the Road just before the Covid-19 virus crept into our county and shut down our State. Now the world is in turmoil and we are requested to shelter in our homes to help lessen the impact of this virus. As Rotarians, we are people of action. We want to help others and minimize the effects of this pandemic on our communities. We also want to socialize and enjoy the fellowship and camaraderie that comes with being a Sunsetter. I personally miss seeing all of you, my friends, my Rotary family. We will be moving to an online format to continue Tuesday meetings for the foreseeable future, until we once again can be together in person. Together, even online, we can help each other, help our community, and continue to build that better world that our club is so great at. See you all soon.
Members from all five Rotary Clubs in Moorpark and Simi Valley meet once a year to share projects and listen to a great speaker. Our distinguished speaker was Hall of Famer, Bob Miller, Sportscaster for the LA Kings!
The Rotary Club of Simi Sunset recently did their annual Reading By Nine community project.
The event took place on Monday, March 9th, 2020 at Crestview and Parkview Elementary Schools in Simi Valley.
This long time community project started with the Rotary Club of Simi Sunset getting a Rotary grant to help fund the purchase of hundreds of books for an elementary school. This year's club Community Service Chair, Mike Kort, coordinated with Simi's Unified School District to find out which elementary school had the most need for new books. For the second time in a row, the combined donations from the Simi Sunset Club and Rotary Grants helped provide enough books for TWO schools. Mike then coordinated with the schools to plan a day where Rotarians can deliver the books to several classrooms, possibly read a story or two, and get the children excited about reading. One of Rotary's key causes is to support basic education and literacy. Both schools were excited about this project. Mike said, "the teachers and the principals were very appreciative and the kids enjoyed being read to." The experience of reading in front of these students and watching their faces light up with eagerness to hear more is quite rewarding. In most cases, the students can't wait to see all the new books they've received.
The end result... 557 books were delivered to 2 schools. Over 300 kids and teachers benefited this year!
Many thanks to Schwabe books for their participation and allowing all books to be 50% off to the schools. Thanks to Simi Unified School District for helping us coordinate this project on a yearly basis. And of course, all the Rotarians and volunteers for their help in selecting, delivering and reading the books to the students.
Every year we are delighted by a visit from our District Governor. This year proved no different as our DG, Savi Bhim, graced us with her presence and gave us a motivational speech about Rotary and our District. In usual fashion, we also like to have our distinguished guest present while we present some amazing awards. This time, our Vocational Service Chair, Paula Miller, presented awards to three outstanding individuals. The recipients were:
Jessica Neumann, Law Enforcement Officer of the Year
Brian Heath, Fire Fighter of the Year
Matthew Abbe, Teacher of the Year (Santa Susana High School)
We wanted to recognize these professions and these exceptional people who serve to protect our community’s lives, homes, businesses and prepare our children for the future.
Despite the pandemic, a number of us met up at a member's house to conduct business as usual. We utilized some technology to hangout with a few more via video conference. I must say, we adapted quite well and quickly. Quite the Rotary Moment if you will. We had a great speaker! Joshua Kort presented his Eagle Scout Project. His father, Mike Kort, a member of our club and the rest of his family was present. Joshua's presentation was received very well. He is looking for assistance, for items listed in his presentation, and monetary donations. If you are inclined to donate, please Contact Us.
President's Message
