Rotary District Governor Sherry Sim visits Tehachapi

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To thank Sherry Sim for visiting the Rotary Club of Tehachapi, President Jennifer Palakiko presented her with a lovely gift basket filled with a selection of local wines, and a donation was made to the Rotary Foundation in her honor.

The Rotary Club of Tehachapi welcomed Rotary District Governor Sherry Peckhoon Sim to Tehachapi on Oct. 10 to share her vision and show her support of the Tehachapi Rotary Club. She was joined by Assistant District Governor Mary Lundstrom from China Lake Rotary and District Chief Operating Officer Kay Pitts from the Bakersfield Breakfast Rotary.

District Governor Sherry Sim has been a member of Rotary since she joined the Rotary Club of Morro Bay in 2005. She then helped to start the Rotary Club of Cayucos, serving as club president three times over the years; once as the Charter President during the first year, and twice as club president since that time. Her club has been awarded, "Best Overall Small Club" in Rotary District 5240 six times over the years. She is a strong supporter of The Rotary Foundation and has received several Governor recognitions and awards for her Rotary work. She shared the famous quote by Paul Harris, a founder of Rotary International, "Rotary allows ordinary people to do extraordinary things."

Sherry has served in various capacities at club and district levels since 2009. In addition, during 2014, she participated in "National Immunization Day" by traveling to India to support the Polio Plus immunization efforts to rid the planet of polio. She reminded everyone that World Polio Day is Oct. 24, and Rotary maintains a strong global commitment to eradicating polio. She said, "It's not 'if' we will, but 'when!'"

A native of Singapore, Sherry was the first born in her family; however, being a girl, she was not accepted by her family. She was sent to live with her maternal grandmother, who raised her. Sherry settled in California in 1988 and relocated to Cayucos in 2002. With over 20 years of experience in international business and tourism marketing, Sherry now owns and operates her own real estate brokerage in Cayucos since 2011. Other than her son, Dilip, Sherry has no immediate family in the United States, so she has embraced her Rotary family as part of her personal family. She says that she has three "R"s in her life: Her dog Riley, real estate and Rotary. In her spare time, she loves to cook, eat, explore different cuisines, enjoy music and she brings all those loves together to ensure everyone has fun in Rotary!

Her theme this year is "Rotary is Love." In selecting the theme, she asks why people join Rotary, and the answer she often gets is because they care. When she asks why they care, it is because they have love for humanity. It is her hope that she can share the theme, "Rotary is Love," with everyone, and that love will in turn be multiplied, shared near and far, so that we can grow together to make a difference in the world and change the lives of others. Sherry said, "It is not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving that matters."

The Tehachapi Rotary Club meets at noon every Thursday at Kelcy's. Rotary is the largest service organization in the world, and is committed to "Service Above Self," devoting time and resources to projects in the local community as well as internationally. For more information about the Rotary Club, you can visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/RotaryClubofTehachapi/.