Kahan and her administrative assistant,
MORAGA
ROTARY
NEWSLETTER
February 11, 2020
Next Celebration: February 18, 2020
Noon Meeting – Michael’s Restaurant
– Moraga
Speaker – Wayne Giorgori - Bitcoins
Upcoming Programs:
Feb 25 – Bruce Burns – School Superintendent
Mar 5 – Open
Mar 10 – Jennifer Brophy, Social Media
Mar 17 – Open
Mar 24 – Dennis Markham – Town Theatre
Co-President Evi Michon clanged the
gong to get us started. Brian South
offered some wisdom around
Valentine’s Day and lead us in the
Pledge of Allegiance.
Our first evening meeting at Michael’s
Restaurant featured a chicken dinner
with mashed potatoes, vegetables and a
Caesar Salad.
The guests attending our meeting this
week included Joyce Ellenberg and
Libby Schoemehl. We were also
joined by honorary members Linda
Campbell and Ann Damaschino.
Additionally, our speaker today, State
Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-
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Katelyn Keeshan rounded out the
crowd.
Katelyn Keeshan Before the Meeting
~Happy Bucks, Birthdays, etc.~
Frank and Linda May celebrated their
28th wedding anniversary enjoying a
nice dinner at Prima’s in Walnut Creek.
Debbie Roessler was happy about her
friend Josh Cooley winning an
Academy Award for Best Animated
Feature Film for Toy Story 4.
Jennifer Lenfestey is happy about
finally receiving her passport after 8
months.
Brian South was happy about the
crabfeed at the Serbian church last
Saturday evening. He also is excited
about the pre-PETS session he
attended in Woodland this past
weekend.
Mike McCluer was happy about Shelter
Inc. providing much needed support for
a homeless man.
Gary Irwin, for some strange reason, follow the service at the Holy Trinity
was happy about winning a Superbowl Serbian Church Hall on School Street in
pool (ed. And I was the loser in the Moraga.
pool).
Wrapping Up the All-Access
Debbie Koo was happy about cooking Playground Project
for a Chinese New Year celebration.
At the Moraga City Council meeting on
Ron Mucovich thanked everyone who Wednesday, John Erickson, on behalf of
attended the Serbian Church Crab feed our club, presented the city council with
this past weekend. He also announced a check for the remaining funds
a Rotary Day at a Cal basketball game allocated (over $28,000) to the
on February 29th. Talk to Ron if you are playground. The funds will be used
interested solely by the Parks and Recreation
department.
~Announcements~
John Erickson announced how happy
he was to see Barbara Bruner back
attending Rotary. Barbara, we have
missed you!
Fran Rathjen told how happy she and
her husband were to be back in
California after slaving on her daughter’s
working farm in Amish country.

District 5160 Spring Assembly

John Erickson Addressing the City Council on Wednesday
Debbie Koo announced that the District Evening
5160 Spring Training Assembly will be
held on March 21 in Red Bluff and April Rotary Day at Golden Gate
4th in Fairfield. See a copy of the
Fields
agenda at the end of this newsletter.

Celebration of Life Scheduled for The annual Day at the Races

Al Simonsen
Long time Moraga Rotarian Al
Simonsen’s Celebration of Life service
will be held on Saturday, March 14 at
the Lafayette Orinda Presbyterian
Church at 11:00am. A reception will
event at Golden Gate Field is set for
Saturday, April 18. Tickets are $41 each
and that gets you parking, entry to the
clubhouse and a very nice lunch. A sign-
up sheet will be available on Tuesday
evening or let Frank May know if you
want to attend.

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Nite at the Races 2020
Angelo Costanza asked everyone to
buy their horses for Nite at the Races as
they are selling quickly. Either buy your
horses online by accessing the club
website or send in your flyer. Call
Angelo if you have any questions.
Time to Buy Your Tickets
Nite at the Races planning is moving
along. Please get your reservations and
silent auction donations in! Our next
committee meetings will be on 2/17,
2/24 and 3/2 leading up to the event on
3/7 at 5:30pm. The meetings are held at
Moraga Royale. Come and help us
prepare for our largest fundraiser of the
year.
Athletic Field Day
Our annual Athletic Field Day will
be on May 6th at Joaquin Moraga
Intermediate School. This is the
29th field day event this club has
held. Al Simonsen started it and
Tony suggests we call it the “Al
Simonsen Memorial Field Day.”
Spring e-Waste Event
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Rich Render said the Spring E-
Waste Event will occur in May, but
the date is not yet set.
Our Program
Brian South introduced our
speaker, State Assemblywoman,
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan. Rebecca
is an attorney, mother and
environmentalist. She lives with
her husband and children in
Orinda.
Becky began by describing her
background. She was born on the
peninsula and attended the
university of Pennsylvania and
Georgetown law school. She was
an attorney in San Francisco
before turning to public office.
Brian South, Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Debbie Koo and Evi
Michon
Becky serves on four committees;
Public safety (Which includes
school safety), banking,
environmental safety and
appropriations. She is the
Assistant Speaker Pro-Tem as well
as serves on a healthcare
committee.
She has worked on 13 bills, ten of
which made it to the governor’s
desk and 9 were passed into laws.
Becky went on to describe current
areas of importance to her. She
highlighted school safety, gun
violence, a transportation design
bill and her goal of getting more
state dollars to her district. This will
provide a new park in Lafayette,
increased fire prevention, and
education funding.
Becky is also working on bills to
ensure that PG & E responds to
safety and evacuation issues. She
is also tackling the senior housing,
homelessness and mental health
issues.
~Upcoming Events~
Don’t forget to get your tickets, horses
and donations for Moraga Rotary,
“Nite at the Races” Just go to
www.moragarotary.org to link to
the Everbright site. Call Frank May
on 925 376-8195 if there are any
questions.
February 14th Concord Rotary Annual
Dinner-Dance at the Clarion Hotel,
1050 Burnett Ave., Concord. See
attached letter for details.
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February 28th Tahoe City Rotary 4th
Annual Ski Challenge at Northstar,
Lake Tahoe (continental breakfast,
registration, dual giant slalom
tandem courses with individual
and team awards. Ski the day with
fellow Rotarians, apres ski food
(chili, salad & sandwiches, two
drink tickets and awards). See the
website now
www.tahoecityrotary.org for more
info email: mdcgary@gmail.com
February 29th Rotary Day at Cal
Basketball. Talk to Ron Mucovich
for more information.
March 7 (Saturday): “A Nite at the
Races” annual dinner and event
at the Serbian Trinity Church Hall.
Tickets,donations and horses at
the Moraga Rotary website
www.moragarotary.org.
March 21st: The Campolindo High
School Interact Club will be
doing gardening work at the
Oakland Zoo.
.April 18th (Saturday): Rotary Day at the
Races – Golden Gate Fields.
Tickets from Frank May at a cost
of $41 for parking, club house
entrance and lunch.
Greeter/Invocator Schedule List ~
1. Feb 18 - Stephanie Dickerson
2. Feb 25 - Angelo Costanza
3. March 3 - Herb Wehmeyer
4. March 10 - Roger Gregory
5. March 17 - Ron Mucovich
6. March 24 - Jennifer Brophy
MORAGA ROTARY DIRECTORS 2019-2022
Co-Presidents Evie Michon & Debbie Koo
President Elect Brian South
Past President Ron Mucovich
Secretary Jennifer Brophy
Treasurer Rich Render
Club Administrator Debbie Roessler
Foundation Chair John Erickson
Youth & Community Service Chair Tony Schoemehl
Public Relations Chair Gary Irwin
Fundraising Chair Frank May
International Service Chair Dianne Wilson
Membership Chair Brian South
Director at Large Mary Sue Erickson
Director at Large Linda May
Advisor to the Board John Erickson
Advisor to the Board Jim Campbell
Advisor to the Board Cliff Dochterman

District Governor 5160 Tina Akins

President, Rotary International Mark Maloney

Newsletter Editor for March – Frank May

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