Mountain View Rotary
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Greeting/Ring Bell
Hello! Welcome to our meeting of the Mountain View Rotary Club. This year's International Rotary Theme is "Unite for Good." Our local club theme this year is "Our Rotary Family Cares."
Pledge of Allegiance – Led by Heather
Thought for the Day – With Opening Day nearly upon us, Bruce provided some pearls of baseball lore.
Introduction of Guests – No guests attending
Club Business/Announcements
Update/ Announcements
-Our Community Grant Program is now active and many thanks to Judy Crates and Anita for their work on it.
-The theme of this year’s grants is to support efforts of local organizations and programs that promote environmental sustainability and undertake efforts to reduce global warming at the local level. Such as:
-Programs that promote walking, carpooling, bike riding and use of public transportation to reduce gas emissions.
-Programs that promote the reuse, repair, recycling, and reduction in consumption of common household items.
-Programs that plant trees and protect forests and our natural environments to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere and ultimately slow climate change.
-Programs that encourage the creation and expansion of efforts to teach community members how to reduce their environmental impact.
-Club Members please encourage organizations you are aware of that meet this year’s theme to apply for our grant. The application is available on our website.
-The Board voted to allocate our District Designated Funds of $3150 with a recommendation that the funds go to the following programs:
-Girls Education Incentive – Karat School Project, Abidjan
-Bricks to build Greenhouses - Puno Peru Project
-Thanks to Jack for all his work to make this happen.
-Michael Singleton has been approved for membership and will be brought in at the next Club Meeting on April 14th.
Upcoming District/ Events
-April 11: 9:00-3:00: District Learning Academy –at Ohlone College
-Also looking for volunteers for that day.
-May 2-4: District Far West Fest Conference, Grand Sierra, Reno, May 2-4
-May 16th: SAVE the DATE: Epic Day of Service- “Rise Against Hunger” at West Valley College.
Upcoming Club Dates/ Events
-Friday’s - 9:30am – Rotary Pickleball, Rengstorff Park
-April 17th – Celebrate Tori’s 40th Anniversary at The Agency
-April 26th – CSA’s Empty Bowl Ice Cream event from 2 to 4 pm. You need to RSVP if you want to attend
-April 26th – Possible Club Barbeque following the CSA event. More details to follow.
-June 26th – Kick Out
Regular Meetings:
-March 31 – Club Social w/ St. Patrick’s Theme at Paul and Susan’s starting at 5:30 pm
-April 7 – No meeting - Happy Easter/ Spring Break
-April 14 – Paul Reinhart – Club Volunteer Opportunities
-April 21 – Susan Sumner – A Journey thru India
President Elect Fred nominated the following slate of Officers and Board Members for the 2026/2027 Rotary Year:
President: Fred Storek
President Elects: Heather Stenshamn and Paul Reinhart
Past President: Cathy Merrill
Secretary: Bruce Barsi
Treasurer: Heather Stenshamn
Board Members: Scott Johnson and Tom Myers
It was Moved, Seconded and Caried that the Nominations be closed.
It was Moved, Seconded and Caried that the slate be approved.
Cathy Bonus Bucks – Bruce distributed CBBs to all new Officers and Board Members for the 2026/2027 Rotary year which included all Members in attendance.
Program – Scott introduced Jean-Paul Renaud who is the Executive Director, Canopy.org
Jean-Paul told the Club about the Canopy Program which plants trees in the community at no charge in an effort to improve green space. They focus on planting the right tree in the right place. Once the tree is planted, Canopy will maintain the tree for the first three years.
Canopy prioritizes tree planting and stewardship, education, and advocacy in communities where people do not have a thriving urban forest due to limited resources, competing priorities, historical development, and urbanization patterns. Canopy’s diverse programs include:
- Tree Planting: expanding our urban forest. Canopy recently completed a major initiative to plant 1,000 trees on underserved school campuses. Now they're working on the next thousand.
- Tree Care: tending our young and mature community trees
- Tree Walks: inspiring people of all ages to explore and appreciate the urban forest
- Events and Workshops: Engaging the community and sharing the latest in arboriculture science.
- Youth Engagement and School Programs: Inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards.
- Urban Forest Advocacy: Working with public and private agencies to protect our forest as a whole.
- Community Services: Providing guidance and advice for City of Palo Alto programs and mentoring other organizations.
The goal in Mountain View this year is to plant 250 trees and they have already made good progress toward that goal.