The Scholar Athlete Committee, under the leadership of JackVallerga, has announced the details for the 2012 High School Scholar Athlete Awards.  The athletic director in each of the 15 highschools in the Sonoma County League (SCL) and North Bay League (NBL) will nominateone boy and one girl from each interscholastic sport for recognition.  From this pool of nominated scholar athletes,one boy and one girl (approximately 90 students) will be selected from eachsport for special recognition.  From thisfield of students, three boys and three girls will be recognized for exceptionalachievement and be honored with a trophy and $1,000 scholarship for use at thecollege or university of their choice. The Selection Committee, chaired by Dan Erickson, will make selectionsbased on outstanding academic achievement of nominated athletes.

It is hoped that by making this a county wide program The Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrisewill get broad exposure of its many activities and service projects. Donationswill be requested from businesses and Rotary Clubs serving Sonoma County.  Any Sunrise Club members wishing to get involvedshould contact Jack, Dan or any other member of the steering committee.

Scholar Athletes will be honored at a reception and awards  ceremony on Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 6:00pm at St. Eugene’s Becker Centerin Santa Rosa.

Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrise to host Breakfast to honor our Veterans 

 The Debunking party for outgoing Sunrise Rotary President Will Seppi held at Dutton Ranch on June 17th.

The Planting Project was a huge success!  Richard Hillman was the first there at 8:50 AM and Howard Brunner arrived at 8:58 AM.  They were very proud of that so I thought I'd mention it.  The remain three (Marjie Pettus, Pam Iverson and Susan Jones) of us arrived shortly after 9:00 AM.  The short story was we planted close to 1,000 plants during the three and a half hours we were there.  The weather was beautiful.  City staff were great!  The guys got to digging and the women and children got to planting.  It was perfect!  I can't walk today and I have it on good authority that another Rotarian is a tad stiff.  Hats off to Richard, Howard and Pam as they left our planting project to go work at the Wonder League.  Now that's dedication!  Thanks for a great day everyone!

The HEALDSBURG  WONDER LEAGUE. had its opening game on  Saturday, May 14th and a fun time was had by all!  League Commissioner George Lawson organized a great day of fun for the participating Rotarians, children with special needs and volunteers from the community.  No one was injured and everyone got to bat, hit the ball and run as many bases as they wanted.  The children all seemed to have a  really great time playing ball and several adults watching were heard to say that this is a wonderful activity for the children, the community and Sunrise Rotary.  As much as the kids enjoyed the day, I think all of us participating and helping out enjoyed and appreciated the day as much as they did.

The "Golden Voice" of Fred Walter was heard announcing each player as they came to bat as well as announcing close plays in the field.  Terry "Zito" pitched (like his name sake Barry Zito, is past his prime and way overpaid for his limited skills) and has an ERA of 10.9 after this game.  Sunrise Rotarians Jack Mallinson, Richard Hillman, Sandi Passalaqua, Bob Durler, Pam Everson, Larry Orr, Howard Brunner, Andy Esquivel and Archie Julian all assisted Commissioner Lawson by coaching, acting as player buddies, registering participants and providing refreshments (thanks Archie).  The rumor is that Terry got to pitch because he pledged a $50 donation to the RI Foundation for the privilege of playing ball with these children. It's a standing offer - so if you want to pitch one of these games simply pledge more than Terry's $50 and you too can pitch in the WONDER LEAGUE - the satisfaction of being a part of this activity is well worth the donation.

There will be games each of the next 4 Saturdays, 1:30 pm at Foss Creek Community Center - Come out,  participate, and watch the kids have a wonderful time!   

The Sunrise Sailors paddling hard during the Great Russian River Race!

GROUP STUDY EXCHANGE FROM JAPAN’S

The Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrise recently presented a $1,000 check to the Public Schools Success Team to support their great work.  PSST’s mission is to, “Leverage the knowledge, energy and philanthropy of the Healdsburg community to increase significantly the number of students graduating from the public school system.” 

Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrise presented The CHOICES Workshop to ALL the 9^th & 10^th Grade Classes at Healdsburg High School and the Marce Becerra Academy students on Monday and Tuesday, March 14 & 15^th and March 21^st & 22^nd.

The first ever major fund raiser, Swords, Skulls and Men in Dresses,  raised $12,000.00. The money will be put to use in giving back to the community for various causes!

We would like to thank those that came out to support us and helped make this such a success!