We demoted Jose in our usual fashion of questionable taste and now welcome Scott Nassif as our president for 2011-2012. We kicked off the year with our visit from District Governor Doug Fowler, starting his year surrounded by the support of his home club. The following week, Scott laid out his plans and goals for the year. And just like a politician, he promises there will be NO FINES this year!

Save the date for October 22 as we celebrate 10 years of sizzle and spice at the 2011 Happy Trails Chili Cook Off! Can you believe we've been at it for this long?! After nearly blowing the lid off the chili pot when we maxed out the capacity at our original location, last year we hit the trail with a new name, and headed for a bigger and better park.

We're having our first committee meeting on Monday, July 25, 6pm at Raghada's house. Email me for the address if needed. We need people for a number of sub-committees, but will also need plenty of volunteers on the day of the event. 

Visit www.HappyTrailsChiliCookOff.org for scenes from last year. Also join our Facebook page here http://www.facebook.com/#!/HappyTrailsChiliCookOff, or check out the Chili Cook Off page on our Club website.

The Town of Apple Valley is off to another awesome start with the 5th season of the Sunset Concert Series. Latin Express and the Big Fat Steve Band both brought out huge crowds and our beer garden is a big success! Join us on Thursday nights for the best live music scene in the High Desert, served up with an array of great food, starry skies and, of course, the friendliest bartenders in town. We're serving beer in the name of Service Above Self! All money raised is poured right back into our club projects, so come let us pour one for you. If you want to help out, set up is at 5pm, we start serving at 6 and tear down at 9pm. Check out the Town website for the complete line up: http://applevalley.org/Index.aspx?page=492.

Nearly 500 people crippled by disease and accidents will soon know the dignity of a wheelchair after a lifetime of dragging themselves on the ground, thanks to the generosity of the Rotary Clubs of District 5300.

Rotary International District 5300 held their annual assembly at Victor Valley College in April. To bring the inspirational assembly to a close, Don Allen, Apple Valley Rotarian and auctioneer, took bids from the clubs in attendance for contributions to the Wheelchair Foundation, the international project of choice of Doug Fowler. Doug is a past president and long-time member of the Apple Valley Rotary Club and incoming District Governor. As the auction came to a close, nearly $70,000 had been pledged!

See that cool little ad by "Interiors by Decorating Den"? That's our own Donald Tatera, taking advantage of an inexpensive advertising opportunity.  For only $125 A YEAR, you too can appear on the home page and internal pages of the club website, as well as the sponsor section of this newsletter in the right column. The ad can link to your website or email address.

Our entire website recently went through a complete redesign, and I'm hoping they roll out the same options for the newsletter.  But the website looks great, and is easier to maintain than ever. We will be making it the go-to tool in getting the word out both to our members and potential members, and now is a great time to get one of the limited sponsor spots available. If you are interested let me know. kmartin@applevalley.org .