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.

Water for Sudan

Orin Abrams from the Anaheim Hills Rotary Club joined us today, along with Ole Prahm from the Rancho Santa Fe Rotary Club, and three "Lost Boys" from Sudan.

Orin presented the "Water for Sudan" project that he has been spearheading in our Rotary District. Water for Sudan is a non-profit 501c3 organization that provides clean, sustainable water to over a quarter of a million people in Southern Sudan.

He showed a video on this impoverished region, where 3 million people live on less than $1 a day, 2 million have been killed at war, and 15% of children die by the age of 6 - primarily from water-borne diseases. He introduced us to Daniel, Simon, and John who, along with 18,000 other young boys, have fled this war-torn area. While many died, these three "boys" (now men) were expatriated to the US, and now live in San Diego, have received a college education, and are providing support for the villages they left behind.

The "boys" recounted their experiences living in Sudan, including how they had lost family members and become sick themselves from the water, not realizing it was contaminated. When visiting his village in 2006, John stated that he had to drink the water as there was no alternative; in 2009 he returned to enjoy fresh water from their new well.

Thanks partly to drilling equipment provided by Ole and the Rancho Santa Fe Rotary Club, 100 wells have been installed, with 900 more needed. Donations are are very much appreciated, and more information can be obtained at www.waterforsudan.org.

Rotary club of Irvine brings the Laguna Playhouse live theatre performances to four Irvine schools

Irvine, CA, May 17, 2011… The Rotary Club of Irvine’s partnership with The Laguna Playhouse provided TheatreReach: Bringing Books to Life! performances in four Irvine elementary schools during the spring May 2011 tour of By The Great Horn Spoon!, a story about the California Gold Rush, according to Mody Gorsky, club president.

“We are delighted to provide funding for an Arts Access for Youth community grant in support of these performances. Community service and improving the quality of life within our community is “the heartbeat of Rotary.” Approximately 500 fourth grade students from Vista Verde, Stone Gate, Oak Creek and Canyon View Elementary Schools, many who would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience live theatre, attended these performances,” added Gorsky.

According to Donna Inglima, Director of Youth Education Programs at The Laguna Playhouse, the goals of TheatreReach include inspiring students in low-income schools to read their curriculum books and better understand what they have read, and to provide early exposure to live theatre for children who might not otherwise have access to this enriching experience.

Cash Bash Smash Success!

Dr. Austin Wall and Rick Topping announced the winners. Richard Milo projected the spreadsheet of winners and losers on the big screen so everyone could keep track.

The Irvine Rotary Club's annual Cash Bash was a smash success. Lots of winners and lots of fun.

The Grand Prize was won by Tim Wolin who donated his winnings back to the club's foundation to be used for projects.


Members and guests kept track of the proceedings on the big screen.

Rotarians at Work Day - St. Andrew's Children's Center, Irvine

Our annual Rotarians at Work Day project this year was at the St. Andrew's Children's Center in Irvine where club members painted, cleaned and helped create a new planter box. Photos are in the Photo Gallery.

“The Heart of Rotary” Hospitality Night at the District Conference

Thanks to Cisca Stellhorn for leading the charge once again for our booth at the District Conference’s Hospitality Night! With the help of Luana, Stella, Cynthia, Toni T, Tony M, Barry, Ed, and Dale, our booth (serving wings and beer) was a great success! "King Mody" definitely added to the spirit of the evening!

The event was well attended, with many clubs having a booth – serving everything from British “Bangers and Mash” to chocolate dipped strawberries and margaritas! Music and dancing added to the jollity – and I am told a lot more partying went on well into the night for those that stayed over.

The breakfast on Saturday morning was well attended, and awards were given to the “unsung heroes” from 3 Rotary clubs (these were awarded at every meal throughout the Conference). Winners of the District Singing and Speech contest (from local high schools) performed excellently, and a great presentation was given on the plight and needs of the “motel children” in Orange County. Thanks to District Governor Johrita Solari for highlighting this needy group, for whom many of us brought toiletries and other necessities.