At the July 9th Meeting, the members and guests heard the presentation from three representatives from the Lynwood Branch of the BBVA Compass Bank.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) is a global financial services group founded in 1857. The Bank has a solid position in Spain, is the largest financial institution in Mexico and has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States.

The three representatives are: Jason Vasquez, Assistant Vice President, Benjamin K. Ejigu, Business Consultant, BBVA Compass First Data Corp. & Maria Coronel, Financial Services Advisor.

A variety of financial services were described. It was explained that the cost of these services were less than that charged by other banks. Examples were cited. Answers were provided to questions from several members in attendance who had businesses in Lynwood.

It was noted that this branch has been in Lynwood for eight years and has no intention of leaving Lynwood. The members with their own businesses asking questions about specific financial services indicated an interest in visiting this branch for more information.

This was the first meeting for incoming President, Martina Rodriguez, to preside. One of the things she emphasized is the great appreciation the club has for all the volunteers of Youthact members and their parents, along with the adult leaders, Fernando and Tila Millan, for their work on the Fireworks stand. Club Treasurer, Larry Esparza noted that the net income to the club from the sales is not yet known.

In the absence of Club Secretary, Maria (Lulu) Quionez, Daniel noted again (after mentioning it at the July 2 informal meeting at the Fireworks stand), that a flyer about the results of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life event, June 27-28 circulated by Lulu, shows that the Lynwood Rotary/ Youthact Team, was the third highest in donations, of $1,371.76, with highest group, Relay for Rodrigo, donating $2,100.00. Maria states: "We have until August to close out the account. I believe we can be the TOP TEAM. Let’s put Rotary/YouthAct in the number one spot. We can do it!"

In the absence of Marisela Santana, City of Lynwood, Public Information Officer, Daniel mentioned the new MyLynwood Smartphone Application. Copies of the flyer were distributed, which explains: "The new smart phone application ‘My Lynwood’ allows residents to photograph, document, and report concerns/requests for service directly from their smart phone to the City’s Service Request Division."

Fernando and Tila brought several Youthact volunteers who worked the Fireworks Stand and also parent, Maria Guerra, who also worked at the stand. Fernando mentioned three coming events: August 4 National Night Out, at which it is planned that Rotary will have a table and chairs, (President Martina also mentioned the importance of this event); also on Sep 18, A Healthy Cities 5K / 10K Run sponsored by the City of Lynwood; and on Oct 10, 7am – 2pm, The Long Beach Aquarium Kids Run.

At the July 16th Meeting, the members and guests heard the presentation from Rajinder Dhaliwal, Lynwood Rotary Club immediate past president (2014-2015). Raj talked briefly about the history of his country of origin, India, the country’s current challenges and the strengths, present and future of India. In particular, he talked about how India is a part of a group of countries with good economic potential in the coming decades, using the initials: B R I C K S, which stands for the countries of Brazil, India, China Korea and South Africa. These countries, according to Raj, have a comparatively young population, providing a good supply of able workers, and equally important a good supply of consumers to purchase goods and services, compared to older populations.

Please note that there was not an email update last week. So this update covers the July 9th and the July 16th meetings. Daniel Miller and Omar Franco Public Relations and Community Outreach for Lynwood Rotary Club​