Rotary Club Passes The Baton

The Rotary year officially ends on June 30th. Consequentially, a new Rotary President takes office on July 1st. The Rotary Club of Tehachapi is so very proud of the service that has been accomplished this year under the helm of our Past President, Judy Trujillo. Rotary has won two distinguished awards from our District including Best Small Club and International Service.

The Rotary Club of Tehachapi has spearheaded many successful service projects this year including battery replacement for seniors, holiday luncheon for seniors, distribution of individualized books for Kindergarten students, breakfast with Santa, clothing and shoe drive for the Salvation Army, sent 10 high school students to RYLA-a youth leadership camp, supported three Interact Clubs at Tehachapi High School, Valley Oaks Charter School and Jacobsen Middle School and Rotaract which is for young adults from 18 to 30.

Internationally, Rotary Club of Tehachapi has donated funds to Polio + which helps to eradicate polio globally. The Club also got involved in a project in Tijuana, MX. That project started with funding to buy a van for an orphanage, jointly with a couple of other Rotary Clubs. However, members of Rotary Club of Tehachapi went to the orphanage with contributions of food and clothing and have adopted this very well run orphanage to be a continual project for aid in maintaining the facilities, clothing and food.

Funds to support these projects have come from 4 fundraising events. Rotary hosted a fashion show from which all proceeds were donated to Polio +. You may have seen Rotarians at The Apple Festival, in front of Albertson's, at Farmers' Market, Trunk or Treat selling raffle tickets for a scooter. The profits from the scooter sales are used to support many of our projects. This year Rotary introduced the first Wine Pairing dinner and silent auction, featuring wine from Opolo Vineyards matched with a select menu at Don Juan's. Plus, this year's Cowboy Saturday Night found a new home at the Stallion Springs Community Center where the event was not only a lot of fun but was a great fundraiser for the club.

So, we thank Judy Trujillo for her incredible leadership and her continued support of Rotary, her advice and ideas. Judy has also been the Youth Services Chair and will continue in that position and the Interact Advisor for Tehachapi High School.

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that we welcome Lisa Ross as our 2014-2015 President of Rotary Club of Tehachapi. Lisa has spent the last year as President Elect, attending workshops and seminars to prepare for taking over the helm of the club. Lisa Ross may be know to many since she is the Branch Manager at Alta One here in Tehachapi. The Rotary Club of Tehachapi has grown substantially over the last year and with Lisa's guidance we will continue to grow and to do incredible community and international service projects.

Rotary Club of Tehachapi meets every Thursday at noon at Don Juan's Latin Grill. For more information call Jennifer Williams, Membership Chair at 661-822-7517.