Rotary International Theme 2025-2026	THE ROWEL Rotary Club of Durham		Rotary International President: Francesco Arezzo Rotary District 5160 Governor: Joy Alaidarous Durham Rotary President: Tom Knowles _____________ Editor: Phil Price Publisher:  Jen Liu
	December 2, 2025	Crab Feed 2026 Will be held on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026

The Meeting Opening President Tom Knowles called the meeting to order at the Butte Creek Country Club. Tom asked Steve Plume to lead the pledge, which he did. In Peggi’s absence President Tom presented the invocation. Tom then asked Larry Bradley then lead us in singing a Christmas son.  Larry had to think for a moment andthen led us in singing “Jingle Bells”.

Larry Bradley introduced his three Students of the Month and parents and siblings whoattended with them.  They were:

Student of the Month for September, Katia Cabrera-Ramos and her mother Lupe and sister Jimena

Student of the Month for October Anita Barrera-Perez and her mother, Ernistina Perez andbrother Cesar Barrera-Parez.

Student of the Month November, Holly Obereorf and her parents Shane and Rebeca.

Other visitors were;

Kelli Kirlin Schill of Marigold Marketplace in Durham

Pam Gray, Past District Governor and Brian Gray, Past Paradise Rotary President.

Announcements

Eric Hoiland reported on the Crab Feed Planning Meeting at noon on November 20^th.  He noted the table arrangement will be substantially the same as last year.  They do want to do an auction of Tequila bottles and Whiskey bottles, since the auction done last year was very successful.  They want members to buy bottles of good whisky and good tequila to donate to the auction.  Deliver them to Eric.  They would like them collected by December 16^th so they can photo them.  You should have each received the minutes of the meeting from Diana.

It as also announced that we have a new project underway.  Replacing the paths in the Durham Park with good sidewalks from the road, past the bathrooms to the play area. 

Recognitions

Steve Plume was recognized for his 20 years in Rotary and for his 28 year anniversary.  He contributed $50.

Mike Crump also contributed $50 for his 7 years in Rotary, this time.  He is actually a longtime member.

Students of the Month

Larry Bradley was then asked to present the Student of the Month awards to our Students ofthe Month for the months September, October and November, which he did.  We had gotten a little behind.

They were:

Student of the Month for September, Katia Cabrera-Ramos

Student of the Month for October Anita Barrera-Perez

Student of the Month November was Holly Obereorf. 

I have to apologize to Holly.  My phone was acting on its own and I didn’t get a picture of her.  I believe I have the correct photos for Katia and Anita.

The Program

President Tom presented Rich McGowan.  He is the president of the Tuscan Water District.  The district was formed on February1, 2024.  The district covers about 100,000 acres.  It is mostly on the west side of Butte County from the border with Tehama County to the southern border of Butte County, excluding the City of Chico.  All areas pump water and do not use river or canal water.  They keep track of the underground water levels.  There purpose is the protect the ground water in Butte County.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting, on December 16^th, will be at Diana Selland’s home.   It will be the Christmas Party.

Please bring an appetizer of your choice that will feed 10.

Membership

Bring guests who you think you can interest in becoming a member. We Need More Members! Your dinner and your guest’s dinner will be paid for by the Club.  Also, bring a guest to one of our occasional social gatherings.

President Tom is asking the members to bring in new members this year.

Go to the following Rotary International web site for information on membership development:  https://my.rotary.org/en/learning-reference/learn-topic/membership .  From this website there is access to membership development and other related information.

The Rotary Foundation Donations

You can make a difference in this world by helping people in need. Your gift can do some great things, from supplying filters that clean people’s drinking water to empowering local entrepreneurs to grow through business development training.

The Rotary Foundation will use your gift to fund the life-changing work of Rotary members who provide sustainable solutions to their communities’ most pressing needs. But we need help from people like you who will take action and give the gift of Rotary to make these projects possible.

When every Rotarian gives every year, no challenge is too great for us to make a difference. The minimum gift to The Rotary Foundation is $25.00.   An annual $100.00 gift is a sustaining member.  Once your donations accumulate to $1,000 you become a Paul Harris Fellow.

If you have any questions, ask Steve Heithecker.

It is possible to learn more about The Rotary Foundation on the Rotary web site. 

Your gift can be made online or by sending Jessica Thorpe a check made out to The Rotary Foundation to Durham Rotary, P.O. Box 383, Durham, California 95958.

Must Be Present to Win Drawing:

The District Newsletter has been uploaded to DACdb - to view it there go to the District tab, open the District Bulletin file and look for the pdf file named Rotary District 5160 Newsletter. 

{Note that the proceeding may not be the complete article.  See the complete article on Rotary International’s web page.}

Note that the photos in the original article may not have been reproduced here.

Contributions will support projects around the globe, including a robust re-commitment to the fight to end polio

By Etelka Lehoczky

Donors to The Rotary Foundation celebrated some big achievements in fundraising in thepast year, showing their support for the wide array of programs the organization sponsors all over the world.

A multiyear campaign to increase the Endowment to US$2.025 billion by 2025exceeded its goal by US$25 million. In 2024-25 alone, members and others contributed more than half a billion dollars to the Foundation.

“The goal was an inspiration, but the objective was to do good in the world,” says Mark Daniel Maloney, the 2024-25 Rotary Foundation trustee chair. “We are making sure that Rotary will always be able to carry out that mission.”

The Foundation raised more than US$569 million in 2024-25 alone, exceeding its annual goal by almost US$70 million. More than 478,000 individuals donated, along with over 31,000 Rotary clubs and nearly 1,900 Rotaract clubs.

Thanks to its donors, the Foundation was able to award 1,424 global grants, 468district grants, and 74 disaster response grants in the past year. A US$2 million Programs of Scale grant will help build peace and economic independence in Colombia. Rotary International also extended its long-standing partnership with the Gates Foundation, announcing a joint commitment of up to US$450million over three years to support global polio eradication efforts.

“Rotary members demonstrated their commitment to these efforts with their support ofthe 2.025 by 2025 campaign,” Maloney says. In particular, he notes the large number of fundraising events around the world that Rotary’s district governors organized.

“I am just amazed at the generosity of Rotary members,” he says. “They came together to make it happen.”

— November 2025

© 2025 Rotary International. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Terms of Use