An Inside Look at Rotary

 Jim Westbrook or “Uncle Gus,” Rotary Club of Santa Monica President from 2007 to 2008, passed away on September 1, 2021, three weeks before his 87th birthday. Jim dedicated his free time to serving others, bringing fun and laughter to Rotary activities, in all of his interactions and responsibilities as member and President. A resident of Santa Monica for 50 years, J…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK Last Friday we recognized our Quarter Century Club.  These are the members who’ve been in our club for at least 25 years.   As we celebrate our 100th year let’s look back on some of the leading citizens of Santa Monica who were members in the past.  This week’s Rotarian of the Week is actually a group of past members.  This page is taken fro…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK Don Dickerson – Club Member Since 1965 By David Bohn: Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Don Dickerson, the Santa Monica Rotarian who holds the longest running membership in our club.  Don’s energy is contagious – he sports a perpetual smile and positive attitude; in fact, you can’t help but find yourself broadly smiling while speaking t…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK Kathy Shepard – Club Member Since 2018 Kathy was born in a small town, Tooele, Utah, the oldest of several kids.  Her military family moved a lot, and she lived in nearly a dozen states before her 16th birthday.  The family eventually settled in Idaho where she attended high school and later college at Boise State University, earning a BA in histor…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK Deven Khosla – Club Member Since 2019 Hello, my name is Deven Khosla, and I was born in Delhi, India and raised in a town in North India called Chandigarh till age 11. In 1982, my mother, sister and I travelled to join my father who had immigrated to Los Angeles 2 years prior.  He was an engineer and had saved up enough to buy a small condo in San D…Read More

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE As more and more businesses, government entities and other organizations are requiring vaccination or proof of negative Covid tests, we have also started this requirement beginning with our next live meeting at the Hilton on August 20th.   This was decided in a special Board of Directors meeting on August 6th where we unanimously voted to begin requ…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK   Donna Hackney – Club Member Since 2020 Background/professional life: Donna was born in Blue Earth, Minnesota, and attended Ralston High School in Omaha, Nebraska. She raised four children in Phoenix, AZ, where she started and co-managed three successful HVAC companies. Donna renovated several luxury homes in Phoenix, one of which was featured on …Read More

Harry M. Gorham was a Charter Member of the Rotary Club of Santa Monica.  He was named the first “Honorary Life Member” of our club in 1927.  Harry was born in Cleveland, OH in 1859. He attended school there and was preparing to attend Harvard, but his plan did not materialize. Gorham’s uncle, John P. Jones, was a U.S. senator from Nevada, and he persuaded young Go…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK Mara Berke – Club Member Since 2021 Mara was born in New York and grew up in Brentwood.  She has lived in Santa Monica for about 9 years.  She went to elementary school at the Center for Early Education, secondary school at Brentwood High School, college at UC Berkeley, and graduate school at Loyola Law School and the USC School of Social Work.  M…Read More