At the February 1 meeting, members and guests discussed a variety of programs and activities. heard a presentation by Joe Wang, President, Lynwood Rotary club.
In the absence of JD Whitaker, Daniel reminded everyone present of the 7th Annual Gospel Brunch, on Sat, Feb 3, 10am – 2pm, in the Bateman Hall Auditorium, organized by Senator Ricardo Lara, California's 33rd District, whose district includes the City of Lynwood. The event, which will be well-attended, is free, but it is necessary to obtain a ticket from the Lynwood Senior Center. J.D. Whitaker will be both the Master of Ceremony and the principal speaker. The theme this year is: “African Americans in Times of War”. (JD provided 10 tickets for Lynwood Rotary members, and Daniel distributed additional tickets not distributed at the previous meeting.
There was also a discussion of Fireworks Sales coordination. Joe Wang discussed briefly the status of coordination. The objective is to try to avoid having to pay a rental charge for use of the space provided for the fireworks stand in the Food 4 Less Supermarket parking lot, which is a part of Plaza Mexico property. Plaza Mexico, General Manager, Mario Cardenas, has indicated that the Public Relations Staff Member from Plaza Mexico has a proposal to discuss with Rotary representatives. Joe, and Ramon Rodriguez and Barbara Battle plan to meet with her.
There was discuss of the importance of supporting and motivating parents from Youth act and other community supporters to help out in operating the fireworks stand. One suggestion is to provide a discount sales ticket that could be distributed in advance to interested residents, as a means of encouraging sales at the Rotary fireworks stand. It was mentioned that if the fireworks stand can reduce the costs of operation (charges and fees) and get more people to purchase items from the stand this year, there will be more funds available for youth scholarships this coming year.
Vision to Learn Program Rotary member Gudiel Croasthwaite, and LUSD Superintendent, provided copies of a Wave Newspaper article, talking about the Vision to Learn Program, which is in effect, so far, at 9 LUSD schools. Publicity was organized by LUSD, Gudiel explained and a publicity event was covered also by Channel 34 and La Opinion.
Daniel, in the absence of Fernando and Tila Millan, reminded everyone of the Youth act Roosevelt ES 5 K Run assistance. Youth act will participate in a 5K Run event at Dodger Stadium on Sat, Mar 17, which begins at 6am. There will be carpools organized from Lynwood. Participants need to be at Roosevelt ES at 5:30am to join a carpool. This is a part of the LA Marathon event. Lynwood Rotary members are encouraged to participate in this event.
There were two guests from Teen Challenge: Cheryl Hunt and Adriana Solete. Teen Challenge staff periodically attends Lynwood Rotary meetings. Cheryl noted that currently the home in Lynwood provides shelter for 26 women (a men’s shelter is located in another city). The purpose of Teen Challenge is to help those in their care to learn to be free of all forms of addiction. Cheryl thanked Rotary members for previously providing much needed supplies for their home. She noted a planned funding event on Sep 29, a sunset walk along Belmont Shore, starting at 4pm.
Daniel Miller / Omar Franco / Rowland Becerra
Public Relations and Community Outreach for the Lynwood Rotary Club