District & Club Spotlight Reel
District Headlines
___________________________________
Meet Your Impact Summit Emcee: Blake R. Ward! 9/17 Register Now
Meet Your Impact Summit Emcee: Blake R. Ward!
Get ready for energy, entertainment, and inspiration!
The Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit is excited to welcome professional actor, musician, screenwriter, and producer Blake R. Ward as our Event Emcee!
A Santa Cruz native and Loyola Marymount University graduate, Blake has entertained audiences in productions including Guys and Dolls, Grease, Shrek The Musical, and RENT. He also created and starred in the YouTube show Whatever’s Clever.
Blake will bring his personality and stage experience to an incredible day of Rotary, service, collaboration, and community impact.
Don’t miss the inaugural Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit!
REGISTER TODAY — and bring your Rotary friends and community partners! CLICK HERE
Rotary International Director Wyn Spiller Comes to the Impact Summit!9/19 Register Today
What happens when Rotary leadership, collaboration, and service come together? Come hear from someone helping lead Rotary around the world.
Wyn Spiller, Rotary International Director 2025–27, will be a featured speaker at the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit!
From polio eradication efforts in India to healthcare projects in Mexico and Uganda, Wyn's Rotary journey spans communities and continents. A former winery CEO, she brings a powerful combination of business leadership, humanitarian service, peacebuilding, and global perspective.
Her message reflects what the Impact Summit is all about: creating opportunities for others to thrive and accomplishing more when we work together.
****Be there. Get inspired. Make connections. Create impact.
REGISTER FOR THE IMPACT SUMMIT TODAY! Click Here
“No Need for Sight When You Have a Vision®” — Meet Lex Gillette! 9/19 Register Now
Prepare to be inspired!
World-record-holding Paralympic long jumper Lex Gillette is coming to the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit with an unforgettable message about vision, resilience, determination, and possibility.
After losing his sight during childhood, Lex refused to let blindness define what was possible. He went on to become an elite athlete, mentor, inclusion champion, and powerful voice for people striving to overcome barriers.
His message is simple and powerful:
“There is no need for sight when you have a vision®.”
Come discover what can happen when we stop focusing on limitations and start focusing on possibilities.
*** This is one speaker you don't want to miss!
REGISTER TODAY for the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit! REGISTER NOW
AI Is Changing Everything — Is Your Club Ready? Impact Summit 9/19 Register NOW
The AI revolution is here — and Rotary has an opportunity to put it to work for good.
Meet Kevin Brookhouser, M.Ed., a Google Certified Generative AI Leader and founder of GapJump AI, at the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit!
With more than two decades of technology experience, Kevin helps leaders understand and strategically use emerging AI tools while keeping people and organizational values at the center.
An internationally recognized speaker and author of The 20time Project, Kevin has taken his message to audiences around the world — including the Sydney Opera House.
*** How can AI help us communicate better, innovate faster, and expand our impact? Come find out!
?? REGISTER TODAY for the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit — and discover what's next! Click Here
Shirley Grace: Turning Rotary Resources Into Real Impact; Summit 9/19 Register Now
Want to learn how collaboration can turn Rotary resources into life-changing projects?
Join Past District Governor Shirley Grace at the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit!
As Endowment and Major Gifts Adviser for Zone 26, Shirley has helped develop and implement an extraordinary 58 District and Global Grants, creating impact in communities around the world.
Her commitment to Ending Polio has also taken her into the field for four National Immunization Days — and even onto a bicycle to help raise funds!
Shirley's experience demonstrates one of the Summit's most important ideas:
When Rotarians collaborate, our resources — and our impact — go further.
**Come meet Shirley, exchange ideas, and discover new possibilities for your club.
REGISTER FOR THE IMPACT SUMMIT TODAY! Click HERE
From Ideas to Global Impact — Meet Jagi Shahani! Impact Summit 9/19 Register Now!
What can happen when a Rotary service idea grows into a project that reaches communities around the world?
Ask Jagi Shahani of the Rotary Club of Cupertino, a featured speaker at the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit!
During 17 years in Rotary, Jagi has helped lead Global Grant projects in Africa, India, and Central America and serves as program manager for the largest WASH project in District 5170.
As a WASH Ambassador, Jagi understands how partnerships, Rotary Foundation resources, and committed Rotarians can transform an idea into sustainable impact.** Have a project idea? Looking for partners? Want to learn from other successful projects?
That is exactly why we're bringing everyone together! ** CONNECT. COLLABORATE. CREATE IMPACT.
REGISTER TODAY for the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit! Click Here
From Conflict to a Life of Service — Meet Chehab “Shab” ElAwar; Impact Summit 9/19
What happens when personal experience with conflict becomes a lifelong commitment to peace and humanitarian service?
Meet Chehab “Shab” ElAwar, Past District Governor, humanitarian leader, structural engineer, and longtime Rotary leader — featured at the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit!
Born in Lebanon and shaped by his experiences during the civil war, Shab moved to the United States in 1978 and went on to build a successful career while dedicating himself to helping others through Rotary.
His Rotary impact is extraordinary:
* 120+ Global Grants
* 30+ humanitarian missions
* Leadership in peace initiatives
* Service through the Thousand Smiles program
* Leadership with the Global Council for Peace Ambassadors
Shab’s journey demonstrates what Rotary is all about — bringing people together, building partnerships, and turning compassion into action that changes lives. Come hear Shab’s inspiring perspective and discover how collaboration can create positive change locally and around the world.
REGISTER TODAY for the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit! Click Here
From Vision to Action — Rotary Foundation Trustee Vicki Puliz; Impact Summit 9-19 Register Now
How do we turn great Rotary ideas into lasting change around the world?
Come hear from Rotary Foundation Trustee Vicki Puliz at the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit!
A lifelong Rotarian and Past Rotary International Director, Vicki has dedicated her Rotary journey to developing leaders, empowering young people, advancing peace, strengthening The Rotary Foundation, and creating a polio-free world.
Her journey from successful business owner to international humanitarian demonstrates the incredible possibilities that emerge when leadership, service, and purpose come together.
** Come be inspired to lead with purpose and turn vision into action.
REGISTER TODAY for the Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit! CLICK HERE
Club Headlines
___________________________________
District Governor Dr. Geeta Kadambi Inspires Newark Rotary to Create Lasting Impact
The Rotary Club of Newark welcomed District Governor Dr. Geeta Kadambi on July 7 for an afternoon of fellowship, recognition, and inspiration. During President Steven Turner’s first meeting of the Rotary year, the club honored two longtime members, celebrated its tradition of service, and renewed its commitment to making Rotary more visible and indispensable throughout the community.
