Ricardo Honored as Scholarship Recipient
Ricardo Resendiz is the winner of the first Charles and May Parks Interact Scholarship from Signal Hill Rotary. He earned this honor by being the Interactor who most embodies the “Service Above Self” spirit throughout the past year.
When he was a sophomore at Jordan High, Ricardo attended RYLA in 2023. Immediately after returning from RYLA, he founded the Interact Club at Jordan High. The club thrived under his leadership, accomplishing multiple projects to service the community locally and globally. He learns quickly, and he never shies away from hard work. He has all the qualities to become a successful adult and future Rotarian.
We also welcomed professor Ehsan Zaffar to our meeting, who is a civil rights advocate and finder of solutions for social injustice.
Frank Visits Antigua Rotary
Frank, our sergeant at arms, visits the Rotary Club in Antigua, Guatemala.
He learned about the impactful local literacy projects sponsored by the club and forged connection with fellow Rotarians.
CAMEO Career Mentoring
Al Batinga, the current president of the Rotary Club in Orange County, and Les Young provided career guidance for the high school students enrolled in the CAMEO mentoring program of the Assistance League of Long Beach.
Professor Ehsan Zaffar from Arizona State University was the keynote speaker, and he gave insight to finding the path to a successful and meaningful future. Al shared his experience and prediction about the impact of AI in our lives, and Les shared his journey in becoming a pediatrician.
Lake Forest Rotary
Les was the guest speaker at the Lake Forest Rotary in the evening, sharing his Rotary journey and explaining the technology behind the polio vaccine.
Back to the Bear Cave
Due to an interruption in the availability of the Starbucks conference room, our club has returned to Black Bear Diner for our morning meetings, as we have done for many years following the pandemic years.
We coordinated with our race director Jeri and the director for the Long Beach Animal Care Services for the upcoming Mutt Run.
Ted at Bogart’s
Ted Sadlowski, Les’ neighbor for ten years, performed at the weekly open mike at Bogart’s Coffee House in Seal Beach.
Kiran, Les, and Lance were part of the captive audience as the air came alive with his harmonica.
Counting Homeless in Signal Hill
Kiran and Les joined a team of volunteers to canvas all the neighborhoods in Signal Hill. Lead by city leaders and police officers who are familiar with the streets, Les’ team did not encounter anyone experiencing homelessness this evening.
But that didn’t stop Les from talking about Rotary and recruiting potential members to our club.
Cerritos-Artesia Rotary
Frank and Les visited Cerritos-Artesia Rotary to hear Fernando Dutra, the chair of the Metro board, talk about the past and the future of the light rail system. Our public transit system is geared up to handle three major upcoming events—the World Cup, the All-Star game, and the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Les has been a public transit client for more than twenty years, having taken the light rail from Long Beach to Pasadena once a month for his EHR clinical content council meeting.
Lifewell Kickoff
Signal Hill Rotary joined other community groups to celebrate the kickoff event for Lifewell, a new community organization that celebrates wellbeing by promoting social connection and fitness across generations.
Kathy, Kiran, and Les joined members from LBCC, the Toastmasters, the Gray Panthers, and other church affiliations to walk around the park and got to know each other. Les tried to recruit his parents, but they were still sleeping when he called.
Hepatitis B Vaccine at Lakewood Rotary
As a pediatrician and a published author of a book on vaccines, Les was invited to Lakewood Rotary as a guest speaker, addressing fellow Rotarians about the evolution of the strategy for hepatitis B vaccination in children.
This is especially timely because the CDC has drastically changed recommendation for childhood immunization earlier in the week, lead by a team of anti-vaxxers.
