District 5230 Proud to Announce New Club
Rotary Club of Monterey Pacific to Celebrate their Charter Dinner on January 27th
By Sarah Witkin, Secretary, Rotary Club of Monterey Pacific

The newest Rotary club of District 5230 is the Rotary Club of Monterey Pacific. On Thursday, January 27th, 2005, the Rotary Club of Monterey Pacific will be celebrating their official charter with a reception and dinner at the Embassy Suites in Seaside. The night will feature Past Rotary International President M.A.T. Caparas along with District Governor Gloria Clinton. The reception will begin at 5pm with dinner immediately following at 6:30pm. Tickets are $40 per person and will be sold only in advance.

Having not had a new club charter on the Monterey Peninsula in nine years, the Rotary Club of Monterey Pacific began just as an idea by Past District Governor Rod Belton. He was interested in starting a new club that would meet at a different day and time than the current clubs, thus attracting new members interested in Rotary. The idea snowballed and the Carmel Valley Rotary Club, Mary Margaret Fleming, Hiroshi Wada and Gary Luce, all District 5230 Rotarians, were recruited to establish the new club.

In early 2004, the committee selected a name for the club and began recruiting new members to meet on Thursdays at 5:15pm. Among the group of newly recruited members, Ann Appel stepped forward, volunteering to act as the club’s President. She attended the PETS meeting in March 2004. Soon after, more members were recruited and the Club began holding formal meetings in April 2004.

With the help of club mentors, Mary Margaret Fleming and Rabbi Bruce Greenbaum, the momentum continued throughout the months, inching the Rotary Club of Monterey Pacific closer and closer to chartering. While working towards a charter, the Club dove right in to volunteering in the community. A few of the organizations the Club worked with included the Lyceum of Monterey County, the Foundation for Monterey County Free Libraries, the Soledad Prison Libraries, the Colton Hall decorating committee, “Christmas at the Adobes” and Project Linus.

As many of you know, chartering a club presents many hurdles and road bumps, but the charter members of the Rotary Club of Monterey Pacific are proud to say that they have made it through, only to have built a strong foundation and a commitment to Rotary and each other. They invite you to share in their journey by attending their Charter dinner on January 27th.

For more information or to RSVP, please email Nicole DiFranco at ndifranco@stewart.com or call (831) 595-9242. RSVP deadline is January 21, 2005.