Call to Order:  President Laurie Tamura

Flag Salute:    Terry Dworaczyk

Invocation:     Jim Bray

 

VISITING ROTARIANS:  Scott Kenley

 

GUESTS OF ROTARIANS:  Renee Cowans, Alma Contreras, and Debbie Driggs

• STEPS Cal Lutheran, (Steps to Eliminate Poverty Sustainably):  January 28, 2017– we have already paid for event, please let Frank Ortiz know if you are interested.
• Special Olympics Fund raiser – 50s Sock Hop, Saturday, February 4, 2017, @ Vet’s Memorial Center
• Next Week’s meeting with be held in the Kent Room of the Santa Maria Inn
• Shelter Feed:  January 26
• Barn Party Meeting: January 31, 5:15 pm @ Santa Maria Inn
• GEN SPAN Fundraiser/Mardi Gras: February 4, 6:00 pm @ The Radisson Hotel.   (Rotarian Peter Sterling and his wife are the Guests of Honor)
• Our meeting on February 16 will feature a BIG SURPRISE! ??? Make sure you attend to find out what it is

• Great News:  Pay Pal is now available!  You can now pay your rotary bills using Pal Pay, stay tuned for more information.  For those of you who don’t know what Pay Pal is….
• We still have Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) awards that we can present from our club to those who have provided special service to our club or community.  Let Frank Ortiz know if you are interested in presenting a PHF.
• Grant Sponsorships:  Doug Palmer reminded us of the process to go through if any of our members would like to sponsor a grant recipient from our club.  Grants can be provided to Non-profits, particularly those that support the children and youth in our community.  We still have grant moneys available for this year
• Kate Ferguson reminded us about our Rotating Dinners Program.  It’s a great way to get to know your fellow rotarians.
• Pres Laurie asked if we wanted to redo our Santa Maria Rotary Flag…everyone loves it as it is!  ;)  Laurie is ordering pins with the same logo as our flag.

• Community Partners in Caring, was presented a check for $2,000

• The Righetti Warrior Welcome Program was also presented with a check

 

Mike Gibson bragged on CALM for their adopt a family program.  They have adopted 80 families in Santa Maria.  They will be doing a thank you for them this Saturday at the CALM Office; Come hear heartwarming stories from the volunteers

 

Peter Sterling, bragged $50 on opening a new office on Betteravia.

 

Tim Seifert, bragged $30 on Community Partners, and on being selected for a 4 year term as the planning commissioner for Santa Maria.

 

Lee Carroll, bragged $25 on Tim Seifert for his help with construction projects

 

Jack Gresser, bragged $25 on his trip to Salt Lake City; snow skiing and helicopter skiing, - the best best skiing of his life.

 

Rich Watson, bragged $50 on a trip to Nashville where he met country singers.  He also participated in a half marathon.

 

 

Rob Buchanan, was fined $30 for his comment about the graphics on Laurie’s slides.

 

Kevin Walthers, was fined for the Hancock College mailer, there was no mention of Rotary, and he was not wearing a Rotary Pin for a double fine of $60.

 

Ted Ortega, was fined $30 because he was not wearing his Rotary pin in a picture in an article about him in Chumash magazine. 

 

Our Program this week included Craft Talks from two of our members:
Debbie Blow and Toni Spinelli
 
Debbie Blow is the Superintendent of Schools for the Orcutt Union School District.  She shared her history of growing up on a cattle ranch in Wyoming before becoming an educator, and then moving to California in 1988.  In her spare time she and her husband enjoy classic cars and following motor sports.
 
Toni Spinelli
Parents owned a newspaper business.  Throughout his career he has owned and worked in the restaurants, the laundry business, and in commercial Real Estate.  He is married and has one daughter.  He currently owns and operates Beach Bum Vacation Rentals.