The Weekly Meeting Summary of the Rotary Club of Livermore Valley
April 7, 2026
Lori Souza, Editor
OPENING THE MEETING
President Sarah Palmer called the meeting to order at 8:15 AM
Pledge of Allegiance - Beth McCormick led us in the Pledge
Four Way Test - Alex Vega recited the 4 Way test
VISITING ROTARIANS & GUESTS
Visiting Rotarians:
Bob Tucknott introduced by Alex Vega and Suzanne Richerson. Bob is visiting from the Dublin club and has a classification of Electrical Contractor
Marc Roberts and JR Romero are visiting from the Noon Club and representing the Rotarian Foundation of Livermore Board. They were introduced by David Bedford.
Guests:
Pia Holiday introduced by Jeanette Albiez
Ann Brown, our program speaker introduced her special guest from Livermore High School, Nitheesh Dhanushkumar
CHALK TALK with Ed Schumann
Today Sports Fan Ed Schumann regaled us with Masters Tournament Trivia and some great jokes. Why are golf balls and eggs so much alike? They are both purchased by the dozen and need to be replaced after 1 week. :)
The Masters Tournament is just around the corner and the venue is in Augusta, Georgia. It's very expensive to be a member of the Masters Club, and it's very exclusive. The golf course is pristine and the winners of the annual tournament win a monetary prize ($M's) and a customary green coat only to be worn for one year and only at certain sanctioned events.
This Month's Celebrations
Member Birthdays
Gib Souza
April 7
Cheryl Bowers
April 12
Eric Dillie
April 21
Charles Crohare
April 29
Anniversaries
Leslie Lemieux
John Lemieux
April 25
TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ann Brown
Ann Brown served as an educator in Livermore for 17 years. She promotes climate literacy and policy and works with youth and municipalities for Climate Resilience. She was a member of the city of Livermore's Climate Action Plan committee.
Ann helped found the Tri-Valley Air Quality & Climate Resilience TVAQCR a nonprofit working on community outreach & education. The group addresses things like climate chaos such as extreme heat which is dangerous for outdoor workers. They suggest that individuals can help improve poor air quality by going electric. They also promote nature based youth empowerment and civic activism.
They partner with many other organizations and recently with the EBRPD who donated bio-char to be mixed with compost for an experiment with the plantings at Livermore High School.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
New members Alex Vega and Bryan Hernandez were inducted into the club this morning. Congratulations and welcome aboard.
Buy your tickets soon! The Rotarian Foundation of Livermore is hosting the Annual Fundraiser -- a fun event:
George Duarte and Beth McCormick described the work they are doing with Kyiv, Ukraine. Helping to raise funds with Rotary to rebuild a Kindergarten damaged in the war with Russia. It's located deep in a forest, but in a region close to the Ukraine/Russian border and the residents have been impacted by the bombings. Please contact George or Beth if you would like to contribute.
We're so close! Our club is sponsoring an endowed scholarship in memory of Kevin Drake. $100,000 is needed to endow the scholarship to last into perpetuity. Please consider a donation through the Pedrozzi Scholarship website directed towards this scholarship fund to close the gap-only $1975 needed.
Please let Lisa Shah know if you are able to serve as a sponsor for one of our Spring Club Grant Applicants.
Your connection with the applicant prior to their submitting their application helps ensure that they complete a strong application. Your connection also establishes a personal touch from our club to the community.
Jill Duerig is proposing Robert Freeman as a new member of our club, in the Classification of International Social Entrepreneur.
All paperwork has been submitted, and through an email meeting, our club’s board voted unanimously to approve the proposal. Per our Bylaws, this information is being published this week and will also be published next week in The Grapevine. If any club member has a question about the proposal, please contact Membership Chair Bennie Le Bourvellec. If no objections are received by April 15, we will move forward with installing Robert as our newest member!
We encourage non-profit community organizations and educators whose work aligns with our mission as Rotarians to apply for a grant of up to $1,000. We are grateful to be able to extend our reach into the community by partnering with our grant recipients.
