Semper Fi Fund

The Irvine Rotary Club has supported the Semper Fi Fund since its beginning. We were one of the first service clubs to help. It’s now their 7th Anniversary, and as the need is still there, our club continues to provide support and grants for our injured soldiers. The stories can be hard reading and the pictures tough to view, but they illustrate the unbroken spirit of these young people, the commitment of their families and the good work that is being done for them. Read about their bravery in the Semper Fi Fund’s latest newsletter.

President Mody's Demotion Party

Here's a teaser. The rest are here.

Mody's Message

Dear club members, spouses and friends,

I would like to thank you all for a very memorable demotion day. Some personal thanks are in order and apologies in advance if I forget anyone:

Tom Mahony and Sonia - Thank you for allowing the party to take place in their new "castle". Thanks for being the perfect hosts.

I would like to thank Diane for catering the event. Thanks to Ray Sanford for cementing all the memories. Thanks to Luana for making the center pieces. Thanks Wayne for putting together the sound system. Richard for making the attractive background (and in Hebrew no less) and of course, thank you Randy for arranging the slides.

Thank you Governor Johrita, incoming Governor Greg Owen and their spouses for attending. Price and Debbie attended too but they are club members as far as I am concerned.

Thanks to my three wonderful bachelorettes - Ray B, Bret and Rick. I know it took an effort to put on the make up, the nails etc. Thanks to Bret's daughter too, for all the help in that department.

Mark Brubaker - thank you for putting all of the pieces together.

And of course the club - thank you for making this past year so memorable. I am a very lucky man.

And now, as this party is about to be over - we have a new one to attend - so let's all reach within and touch humanity.

--
Mody Gorsky

Sam Allevato - OC Great Park

Members In the News:

• Marla Noel, CEO of Fairhaven Memorial Park announced they are celebrating their 100 year anniversary with movie in the cemetery. You are welcome to join.
• Jay, Kummar, Mary and Cisca graduated the free disaster preparedness training recently. In light of the worldwide disasters including hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, don’t you too want to be prepared!

Date with a Rotarian:

Rotarians become lifelong friends. What a fun way to get to know your fellow Rotarians.
• Luana and Toni talked what they learned about each other’s life and loves during the recent "date."

Featured Speaker:

San Juan Capistrano Mayor Sam Allevato, discussed The Orange County Great Park, Creating a National Treasure. Sam’s become an inspiration to his community through his leadership and impressive credentials, he’s also a member of the San Juan Capistrano City Council.

The OC Great Park $70 million construction continues and the park is evolving. The overall design and selection of how the park would develop was a true community endeavor, a lot of public input was garnered to create the park. The former agricultural land and El Toro Air Base, located in the heart of Irvine, is now a park for the 21st Century, it is twice the size of New York’s Central Park, seven square miles and 1400 acres.

There was an initial design competition, study groups and stakeholders helped create the public’s vision and shape the community asset. A OC Park Design Studio has brought an oasis of activity and reflection to this former military air base. The grand vision is realized and the comprehensive park design is available for viewing at www.ocgp.org. The designers tried to accommodate everything on the community’s wish list.

The original land was purchased for $100,000 in 1942, and has had many lives which is celebrated in a timeline on the park walkway, formerly one of the air strips.

Different areas of the park provide something for everyone including:
• Balloon Park-which is celebrating it’s 6th anniversary July 9th with 6,000 kids in the park that weekend
• Festival Site-home of Cirque du Soleil, also the site for events, it’s available for renting by organizations.
• Over 400,000 people visit the park each year
• Education Garden-the former Officer’s Club
• South Lawn-to be transformed into four soccer fields when complete
• North Lawn-a multi purpose area
• Sports Park-eventually will accommodate all major sports
• Picnic Meadow
• Palm Court-a gathering spot, the building have been retained and repurposed into an art and cultural center
• Agriculture area-200 acres are active growing fields that provide produce for the Farmer’s Market.
• The land is being conditioned for future planting and more gardens
• Future Development-to be determined by community needs.

Come to the park for a free balloon ride and you will be able to view the vast park in all its glory. On Sunday’s there is a Farmer’s Market, too.

Presidential Citation Award with Distinction

By Mody Gorsky

In recognition of our club's achievements this year, the Irvine Rotary Club was awarded the prestigious Rotary International Presidential Citation.

In order to qualify for the Presidential Citation award, clubs must meet certain requirements in the categories of club service, vocational service, community service, and international service.

Our club exceeded the requirements in these categories and was therefore awarded the Presidential Citation with Distinction – one of only 6 clubs awarded within District 5320.

I would like to congratulate our Board, club officers and of course, the membership. This award means we represented the core values of integrity, fellowship and service of Rotary. We once again proved that we are leaders in our community and our District.

The Renaissance of Chinese Culture

Our speaker this week was Dr. Shizhong Chen, who spoke about the new Renaissance of Chinese Culture.

Dr, Chen has been active in projects concerning China for many years. He founded, co-founded, or had been spokesperson for a number of organizations concerning China.

Dr. Chen was born in China in 1962. At the age of 15, he entered the gifted program of China University of Science and Technology. He came to the US to study and received his PhD degree from the University of California, San Diego. He currently lives in San Diego, where he runs a biotech company.

Irvine Police Chief David Maggard is Honorary Member

Irvine P.D. Chief David Maggard became an Honorary Member of Irvine Rotary today. He spoke of the vision that the City of Irvine had from the beginning and said he was proud to be a part of what makes Irvine great. He cited that the difference between Irvine and a lot of cities is the Police/Community partnership.




Chief Maggard with Harish Murthy's son, Akshay, a member of the Irvine Police DARE program.


Former Mayor Mike Ward



Chief David Maggard, Honorary member of the Irvine Rotary Club.


Rick Topping presents the membership certificate to Chief Maggard.


Lucy Walther, Mody Gorsky, Chief Maggard, Rick Topping


Rick Topping presents checks to Vanessa Donaldson for the Injured Marines Semper Fi fund and the Wounded Warriors Center at Camp Pendleton. Irvine Rotary has a long tradition of assisting the military.

Irvine Rotary Club Sponsors Free Dental Screening Exam

Over 120 children entering elementary school in Irvine participated in the 5th annual Dental Screening clinic sponsored by the Irvine Rotary club. Once again, the help from Irvine Assisteens, the high school students in the Assistance League, was much appreciated. Food was provided for the staff and club members by Corner Bakery. In addition to the screenings, the IUSD Health Services staff provided height/weight screenings and information about vaccinations. The children were kept entertained with coloring books and puzzles.







As part of their commitment to providing support within the community, the Irvine Rotary club works with the Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) and local dentists to conduct the dental screenings that are required for incoming IUSD Kindergarten and 1st Grade students new to IUSD.

The screenings were provided by Dr. Charles Tozzer, DDS and Dr. Austin Wall, DDS, who have partnered on numerous occasions to provide free dental services to needy children throughout the world. Dr. Tozzer is the founder of Dental Care for Children (DCFC), a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation dedicated to providing free dental care for children. He donates his time, money and dental services to children who would never in receive proper and basic dental care. His foundation has participated in over 100 clinics in the United States, Mexico, and Haiti. Most recently, DCFC has helped start clinics in El Salvador and Morocco. To learn more about DCFC and how you can help, please visit www.dentalcareforchildren.org.

In addition to sponsoring the Irvine dental screening clinic, the Irvine Rotary club also sponsors two clinics a year in Mexico, where more than a thousand children have received free dental care.

The Irvine Rotary club provides support for several local organizations, including South County Outreach, Irvine Adult Day Health Center, Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund, and Working Wardrobes, in addition to partnering with the Irvine Police Department and Chamber of Commerce.



The Assistance League of Irvine is a 100% volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to providing programs and services that will enrich and improve the quality of life in our community. Learn more at www.alirvine.org.

RI Convention in New Orleans

Luana and Mary showing off the masks they bought in New Orleans.

The club's attendees at the Rotary International Convention in New Orleans spoke of their experiences. From travel nightmares to the great parties and the Host Hospitality event with the Slidell, LA Rotary clubs, they each spoke about how much they enjoyed the trip.