Great Lives Start Here

Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana

Robert Santana, Chief Professional Officer of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana, shared many of the wonderful services the Club provides for children from low income, high risk neighborhoods in Santa Ana.

A safe haven is provided for children to do homework, participate in sports, and learn positive life skills from the dedicated staff. There is also a wellness clinic, and help for parents with translation, tax preparation, etc.

Founded in 1954, the Club has given over 70,000 children a chance at a better life and many have gone on to professional careers. There are now 7 locations serving over 1,000 children a day.

Robert is a native of Santa Ana, and after serving our country in the US Air Force, he returned home to impact the lives of young people in his community. He became a law enforcement officer and worked as a crime investigator, DARE officer, and crisis negotiator. He became a volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club to help children avoid getting into these terrible situations.

The Boys & Girls club is a not-for-profit organization and welcomes volunteers, donations, and assistance with fundraising. Thanks to Marla Noel, who is on their Board of Directors, we are proud to provide support for this wonderful organization to continue to improve the lives of so many children.

Please visist www.boysandgirlsclub for more information.

Armed Services YMCA at Camp Pendleton

Our speaker this week was Colonel George B. Brown III, USMC (Ret), the Executive Director for the Camp Pendleton Armed Services YMCA.

The Armed Services YMCA was founded in 1861 to help soldiers wounded in the Civil War. Since then it has expanded to provide support for Marine personnel on active duty around the world. At Camp Pendleton over 5,000 individuals (primarily enlistees) were supported during 2010. Their many programs include a preschool, after school programs, tutoring, help for new mothers, bikes and comfort quilts for children, transportation, help for the disabled, and various forms of financial support.

He thanked Irvine Rotary club for our support of their Secret Santa program which this year helped 955 families (and thanks to Rick Topping and Janet Wang and her son's Boy Scouts troop, we provided support for four of those families). Through Working Wardrobes (which we also support thanks to Al Rosenstein), they are able to provide gowns for the wives to attend military balls. They also appreciated Tim Wolin and others in our club who have provided home hospitality for those unable to be with their families at Thanksgiving. Our long-term support of their Wounded Warriors program was also recognized and appreciated (thanks Rick Topping!).

Colonel Brown graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1969, and entered active duty attending The Basic School at Quantico, VA followed by artillery training at Ft Sill, Oklahoma. Throughout his career as an artillery officer, Col Brown served in a variety of command and staff positions at the artillery firing battery, battalion, and regimental levels. He commanded two firing batteries and First Battalion, 11th Marines. His staff assignments include tours with Amphibious Group Two, Headquarters Marine Corps, Joint Staff, and the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. After completing 30 years of service, he retired from active duty as the Chief of Staff for Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia on July 1, 1999. Upon his retirement, he served the Marine Corps in a different capacity as the Membership Director for the Marine Corps Association in Quantico, VA until July 2002. In December, 2003, he assumed his current duties as the Executive Director for the Camp Pendleton Armed Services YMCA.

Being District Governor

By Gillian Bradshaw

Our speaker today was our own Bret Gerdes - Immediate Past District Governor and esteemed Irvine Rotary Club member!

Since this is the time of year that the "next round" of District staff (of 135 people) is being put together under our incoming District Governor, Greg Owens, Bret thought it would be interesting for us to learn about his experience of being "DG" last year (in case any of us were considering that as a potential goal one day?!).

The criteria for being DG isn't that stringent (at least seven years of being a Rotarian, and at least three years out from being Club President - with as many District positions as possible under your belt). However, it is a seven year commitment - including four years of training (as the selection takes place four years before the term begins). Once selected, you become the "District Governor Elect Nominee Designate".

After surviving the rigorous "panel" interviews, Bret said he will never forget the day that a group of District officials arrived on his doorstep with champagne to celebrate his new "job" (and his wife Natalie's new job too!).

From that moment - until he passed the gavel over to Johrita Solari at midnight on June 30th, his life was a whirlwind of District meetings, club visits, events, fundraisers, training seminars, and much more - to say nothing of the huge volume of emails to handle at the end of a long day (I think he once said he went to 7 Rotary meetings in one day!). He had to squeeze his property management job into his "spare" time!

Needless to say, Bret did a wonderful job of being DG - and anyone wanting to follow in his footsteps is encouraged to put their name forward for Club President, and sign up for District Committees - as Mary Mar and Ed Hardenburgh noted, it is fun and provides a great insight into the larger family of Rotary.

Thanks Bret!