Coronado Rotary Meeting - August 19, 2026

Venue: Coronado Yacht Club 0:00 Introduction 1:30 Inspiration and Pledge 3:05 Visiting Rotarians and Guests 5:00 Happy Birthday 6:30 Red Badgers 10:00 Care and Concern 10:30 Limbs of Freedom 11:10 Around Town 11:40 Calendar of Events 12:30 Induction-Matt Sano 15:50 Who Am I-Chris Jones 18:20 David Bejarano 18:43 Coronado Wine Tasting 26:50 Coronado Sign and Dedication 29:38 Cristo Rey-David Rivera Corotator: President Karol welcomed us to CYC to this meeting of the Best Club in the UNIVERSE! She summoned Heidi Nevitt, who inspired us with the words seven World Cup Team coaches used to motivate their players to do their best. She then led us in the Pledge. PP LuAnn Miller asked for visiting Rotarians (there were none) and guests of Rotarians, of which there were many, as usual. Red Badgers were asked to describe how they like to spend the weekend, eliciting a variety of responses, notably spending time with one’s spouse and doing a service project with Rotary! The August Social was held at the home of Mark and Rhonda Fleming. Prez Karol indicated that everyone enjoyed themselves and that the food was delicious! Jane Simeral reminded us that the Coronado Sign Dedication is coming up at 8:45 am on Friday, August 21 at Tidelands Park, 2000 Mullinix Drive. We have seating for 100 people, room for Rotarians and one guest in addition to invited local dignitaries. Don’t forget to wear your Rotary 100 visor/hat! Tim Cusick will be travelling to Ensenada on September 19 and invites three Rotarians to go with him to visit the Limbs of Freedom Clinic. If you have a Global Access card and would like to see the amazing work they do to change people’s lives, please contact Tim. We celebrated three birthdays: Ginger Cox, Brent Bennitt and Roger Clapp. The Diva, Mary Taylor, led us in a rousing rendition of the Birthday Song! David Bejarano has fulfilled all Red Badge requirements and had his Red Badge removed. Welcome to the Club as a full-fledged member, David! Anne Stockdale and Juliane Morris gave us the great news that ticket sales to the Pour It Forward! Wine Tasting on October 3 are now open! They encouraged us to buy our tickets now, as the number of tickets available are unlimited for Rotarians. The URL is bit.ly/RotaryWineTix . Tickets are $150 per person. Donors who give $1,000 or more will be able to designate where their donation will go: End Polio Now and/or Safe Harbor. They reminded us that Blue Bridge Hospitality will be catering the event so the food will be great. They are looking for great Auction items and ask you to let them know of any ideas you have for Auction donations. They announced that for the first time, after the Live Auction is over, there will be dancing! It’s going to be fun so buy your tickets now! Jane Simeral let us know that two sympathy cards were circulated at the meeting: one for PDG Dan Gensler, who is very ill, and one for David Gardner, who is recovering from a heart ablation. Our prayers are with them! PP Rob Taylor and PP Tom Mitchell inducted Matt Siano into the Club. His classification is Information Technology. In his Rotary Minute entitled “Who Knew?” Chris Jones reminded us of the global reach of Rotary. He reported that on a winetasting tour, he visited the small town of Mendoza, Argentina. David Davenport introduced our speaker, Dr. David Rivera, President of Cristo Rey High School. It is known as The School that Works, because all the students work one day per week to help fund this private school. The school opened in 2020, five months after the Pandemic began and celebrated its first graduating class this year. It boasts the highest college acceptance rate in San Diego County – 100%. It is part of the Cristo Rey Network of 41 independent high schools, founded in 1996 in Chicago. The students it serves come from households of limited means - $38,000 average income, which is half the county average.