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President's Message

Hello Fellow Rotarians,

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year celebration!  Our annual Four Way Speech Contest was held at our meeting this past Tuesday.  We had a total of four contestants, two from the junior class and two from the sophomore class, all of whom were awarded scholarships for their performances.  
 
As we have come to expect from these events, we were very impressed by the speeches prepared by the competitors, which focused on areas of interest to them while incorporating the importance of Rotary’s Four Way test. 
 
Given the great work done by our Rotary Life students, our three-judge panel took great care in selecting the winner and runners-up for this year’s competition.  Junior Tatiana Ochoa was our first-place contestant this year, and it was no surprise given her extensive experience as a speech and debate competitor at Cajon High School.  Congratulations to Tatiana and all of this year’s contestants on a great job! 
 

New Year’s Predictions

This coming Tuesday, we will be entertained by our very own Brad White who will be leading us in our annual New Year’s Predictions event.  Brad will undoubtedly shame and humiliate many of us regarding our poorly chosen 2023 predictions made last January while offering worthy praise to those of us who may have gotten some of our predictions right. 
 
We will also be preparing our 2024 predictions so be sure to bring your pens and your thinking caps!  Completed 2024 prediction forms may be submitted to Brad at the end of our meeting or to his e-mail at brwhite@gwwlaw.com. This meeting is always one to look forward to and I hope to see you all there. 
 

Music Competition

Each year, District 5330 hosts a Rotary Music Competition for high school students. To be eligible for the District Competition, students must first compete at a Club-level competition. Our Rotary Club is soliciting interest from high school students in our community to determine if we will host a Club competition of our own and send local representatives to the District Competition. If you know any high school students with excellent musical talents, please send me their name, phone number, email, and competition category/instrument by Monday, January 22, 2024.  Our Rotary Life advisors are also getting the word out to their classes.  Once we determine the level of interest, we will decide whether to host a competition this year.
 
There are three performance categories for the competition: piano, vocals, and instrumental.  Pianists and instrumentalists must perform at least one piece of classical music of their choice (with any additional pieces from genres of the student's choice) for a total performance of up to 12 minutes. Singers must perform songs from musical theater or classical music for a total performance of 5 to 8 minutes.  All students may use sheet music at the club-level competition but must memorize their performance for the finals. Scholarships are awarded to winners at both the club level and the district level. If you need more information, please let me know and I will send you the District’s official rules.
 

January is Rotary Vocational Service Month

Paul Harris wrote: “Each Rotarian is a connecting link between the idealism of Rotary and their trade or profession.”  Vocational Service is the way Rotary fosters and supports the application of the Ideal of Service to the pursuit of all vocations.  Vocational Service focuses on:
  • Adherence to and promotion of the highest ethical standards in all occupations, including fair treatment of employers, employees, associates, competitors, and the public.
  • The recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, not just those that are pursued by Rotarians.
  • The contribution of your vocational talents to solving the problems of society and meeting the needs of the community.
The role of the Club is to implement and encourage the objectives by its own actions in dealing with the community and by the development of projects that enable members to use their vocational talents in the service of the community.  The role of members is to conduct themselves and their businesses in accordance with Rotary principles and support the Vocational Service projects that the club has developed.
 
During January, Rotarians are encouraged to focus on this important avenue of Rotary service.  Discussions on vocational service can lead to projects that not only develop the ethical consciousness and vocational skills of Rotarians but also the talents within their communities.  Vocational Service Month is an opportunity to begin year-long vocational service activities, ranging from Rotary discussions to awards to community projects.
 


President, Brian Pellis 2023-2024
Rotary Club of Downtown San Bernardino

 

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Four Way Speech Contest Contestants

 

Save The Dates

Rotary always has lots of great things on the horizon. Please save the dates for the following wonderful Rotary activities at our local and district levels:
  • Saturday, January 13, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. – District 5330 DACdb training at Tahquiz High School in Hemet.  This is your opportunity to learn more about all of the wonderful features of DACdb!  Register online at https://dacdb.com.
  • Saturday, January 27, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Districts 5330 and 5300 Garbis Der-Yeghian 34th Annual Peace Conference at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda.  The keynote speaker is Brian Rusch, CEO of Out for Equality and Founding Member of the Rotary International Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force.  Click here for the conference flyer: https://district5300.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Flyer-2024-Peace-Conference-v1.pdf.  Register online at: https://district5300.org/peace-conference/
 
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Featured Presenter

Brad White, Prognosticator

Our program this week will be presented by our own Brad White, who will be conducting our annual Rotary New Year’s Predictions meeting. He will go over the predictions made in January 2022 and will report on their accuracy or failings, among other things.

Brad White is a Member of the San Bernardino law firm of Granowitz White & Weber.  Originally from Portland, Oregon, Brad attended the University of Southern California, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology magna cum laude in 1975 and was honored as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He also earned his law degree from USC, graduating in 1978. He is licensed to practice in all California state courts, as well as the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Brad practices private and public sector employment and labor law, including litigation, hearings, and appeals involving wrongful termination, harassment, retaliation, discrimination, wage claims, and wage and hour law. He also represents clients involved in real estate and construction disputes, such as fraud and title disputes, boundary and easement disputes, and commercial lease disputes, as well as business and contract disputes.

 
Brad is a member of the Employment and Labor Law Section of the State Bar of California. He is also a member of the San Bernardino County Bar Association, serving on the Board of Directors as an officer and director from 2007 through 2017.

Brad has been honored, among other attorney awards, with the Martindale-Hubbell Client Distinction Award for excellence in quality of service, overall value, responsiveness, and communication ability, based on Client Review Ratings.

A highly active member of the San Bernardino community, Brad served as the Chairman of the Board for the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce from 2006 – 2007. He has served as president of the following non-profit organizations: San Bernardino Rotary Club, Volunteer Center of the Inland Empire, San Bernardino Metropolitan YMCA, and Wildwood Little League. He is also a former member of both the Board of Directors of the San Bernardino Easter Seals Society and of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve and the Elks Club of San Bernardino. He is a Son of the American Legion.

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Rotary Club Website

Attention San Bernardino Rotarians,
You can now access the Rotary Club of San Bernardino website by entering the domain name: rotarysb.org and rcsb.net.
 
 

Member Assignments

 
Greeter: ............  Larry Asmus
Invocation: .......  Brian Pellis
Flag Salute: ....... TBD
Four-way Test: .. Phyllis Kates
Songs: ............... ALL ROTARIANS
Fines: ................ David Hahn
Rotarian of the Day: 
 

ROTARY LIFE ADVISORS

Freshman Class – 
                                             
Sophomore Class – Lindsey Cobaugh and Shirley Jean
 
Junior Class – Ed & Tawnya Hensley
 
Senior Class – Kevin & Carrie Gilbreth
 
Updated 07/2/23
 
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Spouse Birthdays
Ed Hensley
January 13
 
Anniversaries
Ladd Seekins
Gale Seekins
January 5
 
Join Date
Phyllis Kates
January 6, 2010
14 years
 
Larry Asmus
January 9, 2008
16 years
 
David Hahn
January 14, 2020
4 years
 
Speakers
Jan 09, 2024
2024 Predictions
View entire list
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Immediate Past President
 
President-Elect Nominee
 
Secretary
 
Treasurer
 
Director At Large
 
Director At Large
 
Director At Large
 
Director At Large
 
Director At Large
 
Director At Large
 
Rotary Club of San Bernardino Newsletter Editor: John Jamerson