Events

Join  "Coffee with the President” featuring Rotary International President-elect, Stephanie A. Urchick, of the Rotary Club of McMurray, Pennsylvania. 

She will attend a breakfast meeting sponsored by the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club at the UCSD FacultyClub on October 21st from 7-9:30 am. The cost is $25, and reservations are required.

You may reserve  ON THE OCT 21 EVENT PAGE on the La Jolla Golden Triiangle website.  By Oct 12.

 Lamb's is one of San Diego's leading not-for-profit, professional performing arts organizations, presenting an exciting variety of work year-round in the resident theatre in Coronado. Lamb's also provides an Educational Outreach program touring to schools across the county.
Robert Smyth,  Producing Artistic Director and Co-Founder

In 1978 Robert was a founding member of the resident acting ensemble at Lamb's Players Theatre. Since 1985 he has been that company's Producing Artistic Director. Under his leadership LAMB'S grew to become San Diego County's third largest theatre company. Robert has directed over 160 different shows, and performed in more than 120 productions.

On Tuesday, October 29th a Halloween party will be hosted by the Cracrofts at their home – 1360 Rhoda  Drive- from 5:30-8:00 pm.  Dogs & Costumes optional.  (Black tie per pic not required!     Limited Parking - Carpool or Uber.

The Timken Museum of Art preserves the Putnam Collection of European old masters, American art and Russian icons for the education and benefit of present and future generations of San Diego residents and visitors. The Museum celebrates the important role of art as a way of enriching the lives and nurturing the creative spirit in us all.

Megan Pogue is the Executive Director of the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park where she serves as the fourth executive director in the Museum’s 59-year history. Pogue is dedicated to the art museum’s service to the public and advancing the role of fully accessible art and education in San Diego’s civic agenda.

Since her appointment in 2015, Pogue has led the museum to embrace its founding principles of free access for all, inspiring people and connecting diverse communities through the power of art. She guides the museum’s institutional vision, its small but important collection of 90 permanent objects spanning over 500 years, including San Diego’s only Rembrandt on public display, exhibitions, educational initiatives, special events, outreach programs, external relations, administrative management and strategic planning.

Raised with three sisters and one brother in Manhattan Beach, California, by a finance executive father and an arts-loving mother who studied dance with Martha Graham and held a PhD in Theatre Arts, Pogue previously served as Senior Vice President of Business Development of San Diego Symphony for twelve years and is widely credited with reinvigorating the entire Summer Pops experience. Pogue holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a minor in music from San Diego State University, and, with more than 20 years in the nonprofit arts world, she combines her early “for-profit” experience and business acumen leading a $25 million distribution company with a lifelong passion for the arts to the benefit and sustainability of the Museum. 

Today, Pogue is applying her vision and skills to the transformation of the Timken, leveraging the features that led to the Museum’s 59-year history of success while capitalizing on new opportunities to revitalize, energize and expand the small institution. 

80^th Anniversary of D-Day:  On Tuesday, November 12th,  World War II veteran and Torrey Pines Rotarian Emeritus Max Gurney, with his Honor Flight guardian, Point Loma Rotarian Tim McCully, will give us a review of their June trip to France for the 80^th Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy.  

     Max served in the U.S. Army 1942-45 as an intelligence specialist in campaigns in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.  After the war, he joined Pan American World Airways, working up from a baggage clerk to retire in 1991 as PanAm’s manager for southern France and Monaco.

     Tim served in the U.S. Navy 1976-2006, with twenty years of cruiser/destroyer duty and ten years spent managing Military Sealift Command (MSC) service force ships.  After retiring from active duty in 2006, Tim immediately transitioned to Navy Civil Service and continued managing MSC ships until his retirement in 2020.

     Max and Tim were members of a group of 68 WWII veterans flown by American Airlines and Honor Flight to the commemorations of the June 6^th, 1944 D-Day amphibious landings at Omaha and Utah Beaches, Pointe du Hoc, and the airborne parachute assault on St. Mere Eglise.  Following the D-Day ceremonies, Max was a Guest of Honor at his Burgundy wine society dinner in Dijon, and then went on to Monte Carlo to celebrate his 103^rd birthday with Prince Albert of Monaco. 

Charles Marsh, Jr., our 2023 Rotarian of the

Year, has had several careers in his lifetime:

U.S. Navy, Shopping Center Developer  and Child

Model. As a child, Chuck grew up in a small

Vermont town with Norman Rockwell as a

neighbor. From the age 3 months to 9 years, Chuck

posed for him with his likeness showing up on

Saturday Evening Post covers, a Kellogg’s

Cornflakes Box, and various advertisements. He

will describe what it was like to work with the famed

artist and having his likeness become nationally

identified as the all-time American boy.

Amy Forsythe is an award-winning military photojournalist who served as a U.S. Marine and is currently in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a Public Affairs Officer. She’s served five combat tours and has been on assignment for several other overseas missions during her career. Her imagery taken while covering military operations around the world has been featured in numerous international and national media outlets through the years and continues to be used for historical purposes. She holds a bachelor’s degree from CSU San Marcos (2005) and a Master’s of Science from University of San Diego (2009).

Her book “Heroes Live Here: A Tribute to Camp Pendleton Marines” started as a passion project to showcase the memorials and markers on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and it turned into a collaborative work of art that honors our fallen Marines of the post-9/11 generation. She now works with other veterans to help them pursue their goals of becoming a published author.

Amy was first stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, in 1995 and still has strong ties to the base and surrounding communities. She's involved in supporting various veteran service organizations in San Diego County and around the country. 

Neil Senturia is a San Diego entrepreneur and venture capitalist who writes a weekly award-winning business column for the San Diego Union-Tribune (I’m There for You Baby, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to the Galaxy.) He has known Gina Champion-Cain for more than 20 years.

Barbara Bry is an entrepreneur who was a business writer for the Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times and has served on the San Diego City Council.  She is the founder of three organizations that empower women.  She and Neil are married, and he is grateful.  They each brought two children to their marriage, so together they have four adult children—all married to people they adore.  As of this writing, they have eight grandchildren.

“I Did It” is the story of Gina Champion-Cain, the mastermind behind the largest woman-led Ponzi scheme in US history—$400 million. This real-life story includes a multitude of participants, banks, hedge funds, egomaniacs, and small-time crooks, all fueled by greed, stupidity, and a keen desire to look the other way. And even when they were looking in the right direction, all of these people and entities saw nothing. Gina was the Penn and Teller of misdirection, acting with caring behavior to other people (while bilking her investors), creating philanthropic endeavors and single-mindedly pursuing her dream of building an empire, taking it public, and cashing out all the investors.

The book, which was published over 2 years ago, is really only Chapter 1 of the story.  When Gina got to prison in Dublin, California, she organized the women, many of whom had been sexually abused, to file a lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons.  Since then, the Warden and others have gone to prison, Dublin has been closed down, and more news is expected soon!

Please sign in for lunch attendance.  (Could  describe the lunch program  here as well as Natascha and Newletter and speaker tab on website do)

This club assembly will provide an opportunity for members to provide feedback to Club leadership on a variety of topics. We will also have updates from chairs of Membership, Club Service, and the Club Foundation.

Joe will be speaking about Title 1 funding for schools as well as the overall financial budget challenges facing California schools. If he has time, he will also speak about some of the shifts that took place during COVID and how we are still recovering from the education gaps that occurred during that time.  This presentation will connect the dots as to why we are proposing to support LJHS through a mini-grant program.  

Ron Spelman was a member of our Rotary Club for almost 30 years from January 1982 until December 2021.

A funeral service for Ron will be held On February 14th at 11:00 AM at Mary, Star of the Sea Church, 7669 Girard Ave. in La Jolla followed by Interment at El Camino Memorial Park.

Dr. Kim Bell, PT, DPT is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with over twenty years of clinical experience. She specializes in root cause analysis and relief of dizziness, falls, vertigo, and imbalance. Patients travel from all over the world to consult with Dr. Bell. She offers private and personalized patient care services for people with dizziness and vertigo at her office in Encinitas, with house calls available if needed. 

After suffering with dizziness and vertigo herself for over 25 years, she has realized how limited the resources are for people with these problems. Dr. Bell’s new book, “Navigating the Health Care System as a Dizzy Patient” is a guide to help patients skillfully find answers and relief from dizziness and vertigo if they are unable to work with her in person. She is a regular presenter at UCSD Retirees Association and has been a clinical leader of the San Diego Fall Prevention Task Force since 2006. 

District 5340 is rolling out the red carpet for all our newest Rotarians, and you’re invited to join the fun!

This is your chance to connect, mingle, and network with fellow Rotarians who are just as new and excited about Rotary as you are! It’s   an opportunity to make meaningful connections, explore the world of Rotary, and discover all that District 5340 has to offer.

🌟 Highlights of the Evening:

• Socialize with other new Rotarians in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
• Network with District Leadership and learn how Rotary can empower you.
• Enjoy delicious appetizers (on us!) and beverages (available for purchase).
• Who: All new Rotarians as of January 1, 2024—plus your sponsor!
• When: Wednesday  February 26, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
• Where: Stone Brewery, Liberty Station
  • 2816 Historic Decatur Rd San Diego, CA

🎁 Cost: FREE for new Rotarians and their sponsors. $20/Rotarian/Guests

REGISTER TODAY @ Celebrate Our Newest Rotarians (Social) | District 5340

San Diego has played an important role in the advancement of aviation over the past 150 years. This talk presents the evolution of San Diego as a center for the major milestones in both military and civilian aviation from the 1880s to today.  

For the past 3 years, Maud has been a docent at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. He serves on the museum’s Scholarship Committee and is a training coordinator for new docents. He enjoys engineering, history, and teaching, so being a docent at the museum is a perfect fit. He has extensive experience in preparing and giving talks on aviation and space history for the museum and is part of the museum’s Speakers Bureau. He is currently developing a course on Aeronautical Engineering for high school students to be offered through the museum.  He and his wife Linda live in Carlsbad.

Madhukar (Maud) Rao is a retired Chemical Engineer and currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for Workforce Development at Innovation Impact Partners, LLC. He has more than 36 years of industrial R&D experience with major chemical and semiconductor materials companies, where he held senior positions in R&D management. He holds a and M.S. in Materials Science from The Pennsylvania State University, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The New Jersey Institute of Technology. 

Our speaker on April 8 will be one of our scholarship winners who graduated from La Jolla High School and UC San Diego.  He is currently pursuing his Master's Degree at UC San Diego/Scripps Institute of Oceanography.  This will be a great opportunity for us to hear about the impact of our scholarship program has on the recipients and what people do as a result of the support our club provides.

Noah wrote our website: 

Hello Rotary Club of La Jolla, I hope you're doing well! My name is Noah Brown, and I was lucky enough to receive the Florence Riford Scholarship a few years ago. I graduated from La Jolla High [2020], studied oceanography at UCSD [2024], and now I’m a master’s student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the support your organization gave me—it truly made a difference in my journey, and I’m so grateful. I’d love the chance to come speak at a Rotary meeting and share how much the award meant to me, what I got out of my college experience, and where it’s taken me so far. Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in—I’d love to stay connected! Best, Noah