An Inside Look at Rotary

Carol was born and raised in Delaware.  She received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware followed by a Masters degree from USC in Physical Therapy.  Carol spent a majority of her career in private practice, which she started and owned for 25 years in the Antelope Valley.  One of the programs she is most proud of starting was an aquatic therapy progra…Read More

  Greg was born and raised in Southern California. He attended USC and was a member of the swim team.  Two Santa Monica Rotarians helped Greg start his CPA practice in SM in 1982. Greg and his wife Terry worked together at Hargrave & Hargrave, CPAs for 26 years. They are now retired and are loving life and each other. They have a 29-year-old daughter who is a college…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK  - Mike Cates - Club Member since 2003 Michael Martin Cates grew up in Canoga Park. He attended LA Pierce College and Cal State Northridge. He began his gymnastics career in 1956 and competed in junior high, high school, university and even the Senior Olympics! He served in the US Army with the 1st to the 14th Artillery Headquarters Battery, 198th Bri…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK  - BRIAN LINNEKENS - Club Member since 2007 Brian R. Linnekens is the president and principal shareholder of Global Innovation Development, Inc., a real estate development and construction company and has been involved with the planning and construction of multiple apartment, retail and mixed-use projects during his career.  Brian is also the managi…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK  -  SCOTT GAYNOR, Club Member since 2016 Scott Gaynor has been a member of our club since 2016 and was sponsored by Jack Gregory and Paul Gaulke. He is a frequent head table guest. His father is a former President of the Westwood Village Rotary Club and is still an active Rotarian. Scott is a Director at KCS Wealth Advisory and proudly states his m…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK  - SARA COLON - Club Member since 2018 Sara grew up in Long Beach and went to Long Beach Poly High School where she ran track and cross-country.  She then went to college at Barnard in New York City and majored in Political Science and Spanish Literature.  She went to Berkeley for law school. After law school, she worked at a law firm in New York (S…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK  - Jennifer Gordon, Club Member since 2018 Jennifer is a native Angeleno.  She has lived in Santa Monica for 23 years and was born and raised in Pasadena. For college, Jennifer went back east to Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.  After school she lived and worked in Washington, DC for four years before heading back to California.  Once back in Los…Read More

Donna was born and raised in Los Angeles, graduated from Hollywood High School and then USC, with a degree in Finance. Donna spent many years as owner of two 7-eleven stores, one of which was here in Santa Monica.  During that time, Donna served as an Officer for the 7-eleven Franchise Owners Association, an organization which helps franchisees deal fairly with the parent…Read More

Born in Rutland Vermont, JB is the oldest of 6 kids. His dad was a Korean war Veteran in the US Navy and 6 of his 7 brothers were in the Navy also. His mother raised them right and did the books for his dad’s small businesses. JB grew up in West Rutland VT, population 2,000. His graduating high school class had 48 students, which was considered a big class at the time. J…Read More