An Inside Look at Rotary

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK Connie Maguire, Club Member since 2005 Connie is a lifelong Palisadian and has dedicated her career to the non-profit sector. She began her nonprofit career at age 15 as a camp counselor at St. Matthew’s Day Camp. After earning a degree in Physical Education from Cal State Long Beach, she took a job at the Palisades YMCA that developed into an 18 yea…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK Chris Baca, Club Member since 2019 Chris Baca joined Meals on Wheels West in January 2014.His extensive non-profit experience includes his role as Regional Director for Community Healthy Charities of America overseeing efforts in nine states in the Western Region. Mr. Baca also served as Executive Director for Community Healthy Charities California wor…Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK Greg Abrams, Club Member since 2017 Greg has family roots in Los Angeles from 1912.  He lived in Encino until college and now lives in Calabasas. He has two married sons in their early thirties and visits them in San Francisco and Portland. He attended UCLA majoring in Communication Studies and USC for law school graduating in 1980. Greg practiced in …Read More

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK Kinan Aljamal – Club Member Since 2021 My name is Kinan Aljamal. I was born and raised in Syria. I immigrated to the US in 2008. I got my first degree in accounting back in Syria , I also attended California State University of Northridge and got my second degree in financial analysis. Throughout my study years, I did a lot of charity work from clea…Read More

 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