Enter your email address and the message you want to send.
* fields are required
 
Welcome to Our Club - Join us for lunch!

Welcome to our Club!

Hermosa Beach

Service Above Self

We meet Tuesdays at 12:15 PM
Hermosa Beach Youth Bldg.
2521 Valley Dr
Hermosa Beach, CA  90254
United States of America
Email:
info@HermosaBeachRotary.org
DistrictSiteIcon
District Site
VenueMap
Venue Map
 
To contact us Building rental information call Barbara Clark 310-989-3655. 
OR Email:  BuildingRental@HermosaBeachRotary.org
Room Capacity 86, tables and seating for 60, chairs available 80, rental fee $600/day plus $200 deposit/cleaning fee (refundable if building is left clean).  Available 8 AM to 11 PM. Permit required for live music, which is available at Hermosa Beach City Hall.

 
Current Club President
President Fred Rello
Email Contact:  President@HermosaBeachRotary.org
 
Home Page Stories
Rotary's OLG Students of the Year

2018 Students of the Year from Our Lady of Guadalupe, Shane Hagerman and Viveca Henry, recipients of The Angela Peterson Student Recognition Program, which acknowledges academic, artistic, and community service achievements among Hermosa's students.

Todd Saks' Craft Talk
Posted on Jun 10, 2018
Meet Todd Saks, realtor from Vista Sotheby's Manhattan Beach, our neighbor and newest friend of Rotary, sponsored by honorary Rotarian, Dave Garrett!!    Todd's induction is next week, June 26.  COME JOIN US for Todd's CRAFT TALK on July 10!
Read more...
Rotary District 5280 Peace Initiatives
Posted by district email pickup
Our District is entering the 5th year of formally creating a District Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution position, placing this area of focus into prominence and supporting the concept that the five other areas of focus, Water and Sanitation, Economic Development and Community, Child and Maternal Health, Disease Prevention and Treatment, Education and Literacy all contribute to Peace building.
 
Jewel Price is the new Peace Chair for the District and praised the work of District 5280 Peace Chairs, Mark Ameli, Steve Goldsmith, Manisha Javeri, and Vicki Radel.  "Their vision and leadership has created a climate in our District to be people of action in the work of peace building and promotion."
 
In the spirit of District Governor, Joe Vasquez whose theme for the year is “It’s All About the Clubs” Ms. Price hopes that clubs will make PEACE the cornerstone of their club’s activities this year.  Training and education are an integral part of this area of focus and mediation training, webinars, forums, events are planned for this year.
 
To quote the words of Past Rotary International President, Sakuji Tanaka, “And so I ask you all to put Peace Through Service at the forefront of your Rotary work this year, and to commit to a Rotary goal of a more peaceful world.”
Project Touch Still Strong After 40+ Years
Project Touch Still Strong After 40+ Years
 
Dorothy Forba was quick to point out that “at-risk” teens doesn’t necessarily mean gang-bangers when she addressed the club about Project Touch.
 
“We’re talking about teens who lack judgment and impulse control, — and they’re everywhere, even here in quiet Hermosa Beach,” she noted.
 
Working with schools and local law enforcement, her staff counsels about 1,200 teens a year.
 
Key issues these days: social media bullying, school work and addiction. 
April's Students of Month Aim High
Posted on Apr 18, 2016
The April Students of the Month have high expectations, indeed: Amanda Petty and Rory Schelly want to attend Cal Tech and MIT, respectively! They are both well on their way, with a dizzying array of activities and accomplishments.
 
 
Although Rory admits to loving philosophy, he’s interested in working at Space X after studying physics, partly because he admires Elon Musk (its founder) so much. His dad says he is “destined for greatness AND goodness,” because he cares so much about every living thing.
 
His brother is already a pole vaulter on Costa’s track team, but Rory didn’t want to wait for high school so he taught himself how to vault! He spends much of his time watching the Science Channel and deems Star Wars: The Force Awakens “overrated!”
 
Amanda, who is a twin, is a near- pro tennis player who is bound for the bio-medical specialization that Redondo High School offers. She is most of proud of her mom, HB Mayor Carolyn Petty, and is very excited about traveling to New Zealand this summer with her family.
 
She loves fantasy novels and all of the Marvel movies and, not surprisingly, noted science is her favorite subject at HVS. 
February 2016 Angela Peterson Student Recognition Award Recipients
Posted on Feb 24, 2016
 
Raymund Avenido and Audtrey Vo, February’s recipients of the Angela Peterson Student Recognition Award, have not only traveled all over Asia and North America, but they’ve regularly performed service in countries like Vietnam and The Philippines!

Well-travelled Students Epitomize 4-Way Test

Raymund, whose family provides books, food and clothing for
the needy in The Philippines, was quick to note that he plans to specialize in cardiovascular medicine or neurology. He’s well on his way: he already medaled in the annual Science Olympiad, where he demonstrated how to create and read weather maps. His father notes that the family has instilled in Raymund values like “understanding the queue” and responding to crises when needed (Raymund was just 10 when he helped his physician dad deliver a baby). Action movies are his favorite, but he loves to play chess and study karate.
 
Audrey’s list of community service reads like a Rotary blog: held bakes sales to help veterans and victims of the Nepal earthquake; pays for holiday gifts for needy families; contributes to orphanages in her parents’ native Vietnam.
Her tennis coach says she’s so good because she’s so focused and her mom added that she’s brimming with curiosity. Audrey loves math and science, citing Mrs. Eichenlaub as her favorite HVS teacher. “I love studying atoms,” she notes, but she’s equally interested in culinary classes.
 
President Jody remarked that our future is in good hands with the likes of Raymund and Audrey. 
January Students of the Month
Posted on Jan 18, 2016
The January recipients of the Angela Peterson Student Recognition Award. are almost polar opposites - one a front-and-center musical theater star, the other a silent champion - but both bode well for the future of our country.
 
 
Natalie Rebenkofff, whose theater career began with writing dialogue and creating scenes for her Barbie dolls, will probably be Broadway-bound after her stints at MCHS and. . . Carnegie Mellon!
“For Natalie, theater is her soccer. . .her Little League,” remarked her very emotional dad, Matt. “It would be almost impossible to add up the number of hours she’s spent in rehearsal for plays like Funny Girl..”
 
This 4.0 superstar is also applauded by her teachers as kind and helpful. Break a leg, Natalie!
 
Also a straight A student, Jack Saldana is fairly new to HB and is a self-professed Lego addict! He is such a devoted math student that he even took math in the summer (bravo, Mrs. Avol).
 
Jack has been especially helpful in his new community, recently derooting and replanting the steep banks of ice plant near HVS. A Navy brat, Jack is an avid reader, creative writer, trumpet player and team tennis member. Hailing most recently from New Jersey, he’s also a Star Wars devotee and says his favorite TV show is M*A*S*H.
 
Welcome to SoCal, Jack! 
“The Power of One” Can Be Awesome
When Eli Gauna began his tale about a young Mexican-American boy who went to school in the Los Angeles barrio, your editor still hadn’t caught on that the fellow in the touching story was actually him.
 
Eli readily admitted that after being humiliated by a junior high school teacher (whose name he still remembers), he became a bully so others couldn’t hurt him first. At that point, he was told, “you’re going nowhere. . . .”
 
Enter Sister Rachel, who taught at the newly opened Catholic high school nearby. “Instead of chastising me for my accent, she actually praised me by asking me to teach the other kids Spanish!”  This was the turning point for Eli, who equates Sister Rachel’s act of kindness with the type of work we in Rotary perform.
 
“Let’s think about what we as an organization have accomplished,” Eli implored. “There are children who will never endure the ravages of polio. . .because we exist. There are whole communities around the world who drink potable water. . .because we exist. There are abandoned kids in Tijuana who are being educated. . .because we exist. The list is endless.”
 
Eli left off with this homily:  make a kindness, make a difference.
Hermosa Beach Rotary to Spearhead Special Olympics Host Town
The Hermosa Beach City Council announced on Thursday, November 13, 2014 that Hermosa Beach will be a Host Town for the 2015 Special Olympics World games this Summer!  The Hermosa Beach Rotary will spearhead the Host Town project.
 
On November 4, 2014, Laura Leventhal, Director of the Host Town Program for World Games, provided our club an overview of the Special Olympics & explained how Hermosa — and our Rotary club in particular — might be able to participate.
 
Athletes from 170 countries will converge on Los Angeles in mid-July next year, prepping for, then participating in, the Games.
 
“Imagine all of the language and logistical issues,” Laura remarked.
Our specific assignment, along with approximately 100 other host cities, would be to provide lodging, meals and cultural interaction with the athletes assigned to our town.
 
Los Angeles is set to welcome more than 7,000 Special Olympics athletes from 170 nations to compete in 25 Olympic- type sports. It's a world stage for our athletes to demonstrate on the playing field their courage, determination and spirit of sportsmanship.
Last held in Athens, Greece, the sporting activities range from aquatics to volleyball: badminton, bocce, equestrian, golf, gymnastics, kayaking, soccer and softball, among many.
 
The Los Angeles Games will also provide a venue for global discussions and action on the impact Special Olympics can have on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. More than 200 million people worldwide have an intellectual disability, making it the largest disability group worldwide. Intellectual disability crosses racial, ethnic, educational, social and economic lines, and can occur in any family.
Other interesting facts:
            · The Games are scheduled for July 25 to August 2, 
2015 

            · LA 2015 will mark the first World Summer 
Games held in the U.S. in 16 years. 
Major sponsors include Procter & Gamble, Safeway, UNICEF and Microsoft, which for the first time is helping athletes, coaches and families with key information management tools such as scores, personal bests and health/ nutrition facts. 

How to Have a (Healthy) Heart
Posted on Oct 19, 2014
The American Heart Association is not just about 10K walks and informing us about diet control.  The AHA (also affiliated with the American Stroke Association) is a research and science-based organization with 22.5 million volunteers and 1900 divisions dedicated to reducing heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases in the United States.  Our Tuesday speaker, Angela Nawar, provided us with oodles of facts — and lots of food for thought — when she spoke about Life’s Simple 7 and other important health initiatives.
 
“For the first time in history, the life expectancy of the next generation is lower than the previous,” Angela noted. “We have ‘super-sized’ kids, women who don’t know the risks and men who ignore them.”
She specifically filled us in on the new Go Red for Women campaign, which bands women together to help combat the disease.
 
The cornerstone of this movement is the Go Red for Women luncheon, to be held at the MB Marriott in May 2015. There will be speakers and workshops, all promoting healthy lifestyles and benefitting heart health research.
 
“Both physicians and women themselves remain clueless about female heart attack symptoms,” said Angela. “This May event will include 500 South Bay business and community leaders with one goal: raising funds for research and educational programs for women and women’s heart health.”

Surfing Blind? You Betcha, Dude!
Whoever said “it can’t be done” has never met Patrick Murphy and his band of dedicated surf instructors or their eager students:  blind children who were determined to surf. On waves. In the Pacific Ocean.
Pat, an avowed adventurer who lists high-level skiing and zip lining as his “normal” sports activities, is an avid surfer. In fact, he’s surfed all over the world and has many friends who are profession- al surf instructors.
So, 12 years ago, working with the Los Angeles County Braille Institute, he got the wild idea to create classes to teach blind kids to surf. The Institute helps him identify kids with various sight levels who want the experience of riding a wave.
Each surfer is paired with a sighted volunteer — most with extensive safety training — to then attend five sessions at 45th Street in El Porto.
“The volunteer is not just there to stand by the student in the water,” explained Patrick. “We are there to stabilize the boards teach them to time the waves and, of course, pull them to safety if they fall in the drink.”
After several morning hours in the water, the kids enjoy a free meal from a local restaurant (shout out to Sharkeez!) and then have the option of hitting the waves again in the afternoon.
Watching Patrick’s video of these kids experiencing the sound of the surf, the smell of ocean and the ultimate thrill of standing up on the board was truly inspiring.
And that’s how Patrick and his crew feel every summer, especially when they get letters like this:
“Without you guys, I would never have fallen in love with the sea.”
  • Brandon, Age 10 
Hermosa Beach Rotary Mourns the Passing of Angela Peterson
Posted by Laura Thatcher on Jul 13, 2014

ImageIt is with sadness that we announce that longtime Hermosa Beach Rotarian Angela Peterson has passed away. Rotarians are invited to her services.  The services will take place Friday, July 18 at 2:30pm at First United Methodist Church in Redondo Beach. The address is 243 S. Broadway (at Torrance Blvd). 

Read more...
Travers Devine Takes the Reins
Posted by Laura Thatcher on Jul 10, 2014

ImageWe welcome J Travers Devine to his term as our 2014-2015 club president.  

Travers is best known in Hermosa Beach as one of the founders of the St. Patrick's Day Parade and its 'managing' Co-Chair for 15 years.  He served on the Hermosa Beach Chamber Executive Board for 14 years and was the 'Man of the Year' in 2008.  (both non paid positions).  Travers spent most of his life working for Organized Labor - 20 years with the California School Employees Association (AFL-CIO) where he negotiated contracts for Classified Employees (non-teaching personnel) with various School Districts throughout Los Angeles County.  He retired in 2002. 

Despite our sorrow over the devastating loss of Angela Peterson, Travers forged ahead with his first meeting on July 8.

After some kind words about Angela’s contributions to our club and to our lives, our new president got down to business by reviewing some of the projects and activities we want to pursue during his term.  With an international theme of “Light Up Rotary,” Travers has already been working behind the scenes to find significant projects and partnerships for us.  He promises to balance fellowship with firm decisions.

Welcome aboard, Prez! 

From Sewage to Safety: Mayor DiVirgilio Is Vital to HB
Posted by Jennifer Floto on Apr 21, 2014

Mayor Michael DiVirgilio is a planner. He told our club on April 22 that he actually has a strategic plan with short-, long– and midterm (5-year) goals that involve our city’s sewage, public safety, bike traffic, sales and property tax revenues, and, perhaps most important, accountability on the part of City staff.

Image

To make all of this happen, he says the most important first move was hiring our own Tom Bakaly as City Manager. “Tom brings a new level of sophistication to our city,” the mayor said. “We’ve already implemented specific programs for training and inspiring our staff, all thanks to Tom’s experience with other cities.”

The mayor was quick to note that the previous city manager had been saddled with spending 20-40% of his time on the McPherson lawsuit. “Now that it’s settled, we can address vital concerns like economic development, a bike plan and our sustainability initiatives.”

For more information on the strategic plan, visit the city web- site at www.hermosabeach.org

Amarok Society Aids Bangladesh
Posted by Angela Peterson on Mar 10, 2014

Gem Munro of the Amarok Society lives in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He and his wife moved their family there to help the "very poorest of the poor." The desire was to educate and bring literacy to the slums. 

Image

Read more...
Friends of Renee
Posted by Laura Thatcher on Feb 10, 2014

Eric R. Foster of Friends of Renee Avis provided the club with a very information presentation on Lyme Disease.  We learned how Lyme Disease is transmitted (through a deer tick bite), how to recognize symptoms of Lyme Disease, and most importantly what to do (and not do) if you think you have been exposed!

Read more...
Hermosa Rotary Welcomes New Member Fred Rello
Posted by Angela Peterson

Fred Rello, our newest member, promised us lots of surprises during his craft talk and he didn’t disappoint. In fact, the former BMX professional athlete waited until the very end of his Q & A to modestly admit that he’d been the WORLD champion at one time!  While he’s stayed active in the bike business, his new calling is real estate. “I actually visited open houses as a hobby and got really interested!”

Born in Paris, Fred travelled the world during his BMX days, so it’s no wonder that he and his fiancée are planning a destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas November 1, and will honeymoon in Thailand and Bora Bora.  When members asked about his BMX years, he chuckled and described the regimen he followed during his racing career. “And I have many injuries to prove it!” he quipped.

We welcome this dynamo to our club and look forward to learning more about him in the coming months.

Peterson Presides; Parade Float Previewed
Posted by Jeff Van Scoy on Sep 24, 2012
By all accounts, our resident nonagenarian, Bob Peterson, led a fun and productive meeting on Sept. 25. Featuring Beth Ander-son of the Burbank/Sunrise Rota-ry Club, the meeting attracted members and a guest, all of whom wanted to hear her dis-cuss Rotary’s 2013 Rose Parade float entry.
Read more...
Cub Scout Toy Drive Supports Child Welfare Org
Posted by Eric Conrad on Sep 10, 2012
We are partnering with Cub Scout Pack 860 to collect and distribute new and gently-used toys. The drive takes place Sat-urday, Oct. 13 in our clubhouse. All proceeds benefit the local branch of LA County Depart-ment of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
Read more...
 
To contact us Building rental information call Barbara Clark 310-989-3655. 
OR Email:  BuildingRental@HermosaBeachRotary.org
Room Capacity 86, tables and seating for 60, chairs available 80, rental fee $600/day plus $200 deposit/cleaning fee (refundable if building is left clean).  Available 8 AM to 11 PM. Permit required for live music, which is available at Hermosa Beach City Hall.

 
Welcome to Our Club - Join us for lunch!

Welcome to our Club!

Hermosa Beach

Service Above Self

We meet Tuesdays at 12:15 PM
Hermosa Beach Youth Bldg.
2521 Valley Dr
Hermosa Beach, CA  90254
United States of America
Email:
info@HermosaBeachRotary.org
DistrictSiteIcon
District Site
VenueMap
Venue Map
 
Photo Albums
 
Home Page News
Mick Felder
Sadly and painfully Hermosa Beach has lost a local legend, Alonso "Mick" Felder, Past President of Hermosa Beach Rotary and founder of Felder's Autobody and Frame Shop, an iconic business here on PCH for 50 years.
Read more...
Todd Saks' Craft Talk
Posted on Jun 10, 2018
Meet Todd Saks, realtor from Vista Sotheby's Manhattan Beach, our neighbor and newest friend of Rotary, sponsored by honorary Rotarian, Dave Garrett!!    Todd's induction is next week, June 26.  COME JOIN US for Todd's CRAFT TALK on July 10!
Read more...