At the October 22, Meeting, the members and guests heard a presentation from the scheduled speaker, Al Castellanos, recently retired Teacher and Coach at Hosler MS.

Mr. Castellanos talked about the beautification project he has organized and led during the last year at Hosler MS. With many photos on his smart phone, he showed to each person in attendance by walking around the room, landscaping planting that has been done, along with new plants provided by Daniel that will become part of the landscaping project.

He mentioned the amount of money raised by teachers and students participating in the project during the last year. He also pointed out that the plants and related items, such as planter boxes, that he has purchased were at about half the cost usually paid for these items (generally wholesale prices). He also noted that he has installed hoses and hose hangers in all the areas where there are now new planter areas, to make it easy to water the plants using hand-held hoses. In response to Rotary member Oliver Conner's stated concern that since Al is now longer working at the Hosler campus that maintenance and watering of the planted areas may be neglected. He replied that Ms. Boudie, a leader in this project, and Leadership Teacher, is in charge to ensure adequate care of the planted areas by other teachers and by students that have been involved in this project In addition, Enrique Lucha, Pathway Teacher is responsible. Also in response to Oliver, Al stated that some kind of sign will be installed in a prominent location to indicate the involvement of the Lynwood Rotary in the overall landscaping project. “I have enjoyed doing this project – it is a form of giving back to the school, and I also believe that teachers and students involved in this beautification project is a way for all participants to feel more supportive of the campus and of what this middle school is accomplishing in terms of contributing to helping motivate the students, through their middle school education.” (Note: Al and Daniel will announce a tour of the campus to see the planting areas for a 30 minute tour before a Thursday meeting in January.)

Before the speaker, there were a number of announcements. President Martina Rodriguez talked about the recent Rotary District 5280 Breakfast meeting which featured the World Vision organization and its work in poverty areas of Third World countries that includes digging wells to provide safe drinking water. She also mentioned a luncheon involving USC and UCLA on Nov 24, and she mentioned the raffle tickets that were issued to all members and that reservations are due for the coming annual Rotary Foundation event. Also, the Annual Rotary Interact Youth Leadership Conference will be held Sun, Oct 25, starting at 10 am at USC, and 15 youth from Roosevelt and Helen Keller ES schools will be attending.

Daniel mentioned a symposium on Thur, Dec 3, hosted by Jerome E. Horton, Chair, Cal State Bd. of Equalization on Nonprofit and Affordable Housing, involving Cal Assn. Of Nonprofits and Cal Educational Solutions, to be held at the City of Carson Civic Center, 9am to 4pm. Also, Club Secretary Lulu, provided copies of a handout from the American Cancer Society that clarified that the Lynwood Rotary Club contributed a total of $1,872 between individual contributions and a club donation of $1,000. for the June 2015 Relay for Life event. From Graham Allebaugh, Senior Manager, Relay for Life, to Lulu Quinonez, : “ ... a big THANK YOU for all that you and the Lynwood Rotary have done to make this event a success. We could never do what we do for cancer research, or what we do to help cancer patients through their journey, without the support of volunteers who make a difference in their communities. Thank you!!” Finally, two more events to include: President Martina has proposed Rotary participation in a Calderon Veterans Project event. See the description of the proposed Rotary meeting for Friday, Nov 13. And President Martina and Daniel announced at the end of the meeting a Memorial / Celebration of Life event for Gerald Reyes, who had been scheduled to become a Rotary member. The event will be Sat, Oct 31 at 10 am, at a funeral home at 1447 Engracia Ave. Torrance, 90501.

Daniel Miller / Omar Franco

Public Relations and Community Outreach Lynwood Rotary