Heartbroken to lose Mike Welch, we commemorate his fascinating life and commitment to Service. 

Mike joined Hermosa Beach Rotary in 2012 after attending a meeting to honor his son Andrew, who was named Student of the Month.  He was so very proud of his family and his community.  Mike had many talents and served in a variety of capacities to manage the building rentals in addition to holding the position of both secretary and treasurer for several years. 

Mike was an active board member for many years with the Vietnam Veterans Association Chapter 53 and in addition was the collaborator for our club with  other local Vietnam Veterans who created and maintained the Memorial at the Hermosa Beach Community Center. 

A frequent speaker, Mike shared stories about his worldwide travels, including family treks to Australia, moreover his remarkable career with the U.S. Air Force CMSgt (ret) Mike M. Welch, and Boeing, as a “pathfinder loadmaster”.  C-17s have played a vital role of delivering military personnel and equipment and often critical support to deliver humanitarian aid, especially in dire situations like the 2012 Haiti earthquake. 

It is with sadness that we announce that longtime Hermosa Beach Rotarian Angela Peterson has passed away. Rotarians are invited to her services.  The services will take place Friday, July 18 at 2:30pm at First United Methodist Church in Redondo Beach. The address is 243 S. Broadway (at Torrance Blvd). 

We welcome J Travers Devine to his term as our 2014-2015 club president.  

Travers is best known in Hermosa Beach as one of the founders of the St. Patrick's Day Parade and its 'managing' Co-Chair for 15 years.  He served on the Hermosa Beach Chamber Executive Board for 14 years and was the 'Man of the Year' in 2008.  (both non paid positions).  Travers spent most of his life working for Organized Labor - 20 years with the California School Employees Association (AFL-CIO) where he negotiated contracts for Classified Employees (non-teaching personnel) with various School Districts throughout Los Angeles County.  He retired in 2002. 

Despite our sorrow over the devastating loss of Angela Peterson, Travers forged ahead with his first meeting on July 8.

After some kind words about Angela’s contributions to our club and to our lives, our new president got down to business by reviewing some of the projects and activities we want to pursue during his term.  With an international theme of “Light Up Rotary,” Travers has already been working behind the scenes to find significant projects and partnerships for us.  He promises to balance fellowship with firm decisions.

Welcome aboard, Prez! 

Gem Munro of the Amarok Society lives in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He and his wife moved their family there to help the "very poorest of the poor." The desire was to educate and bring literacy to the slums. 

Eric R. Foster of Friends of Renee Avis provided the club with a very information presentation on Lyme Disease.  We learned how Lyme Disease is transmitted (through a deer tick bite), how to recognize symptoms of Lyme Disease, and most importantly what to do (and not do) if you think you have been exposed!

For combined vocal and dance performance fun, there’s nothing else quite like Kids Kabaret in the South Bay.

Easy Reader publisher Kevin Cody regaled us with stories from the world of newspaper publishing on Tuesday.

First up, he filled us in on his new bosses. As most of us know, on January 21 of this year, Freedom Communications, owner of The Orange County Register and other publications, announced that it had signed a long-term agreement to take over management of the Easy Reader

Cody, who co-founded the paper in 1970 as an all-volunteer organization and has overseen an expansion that now includes three magazines and circulation of 50,000 throughout the Beach Cities, continues in his role as publisher. He also explained that two prominent business moguls are buying up newspapers because advertising can no longer sustain the operations.

He’s optimistic about what he calls “the transition period” in the newspaper world.

“You know, the Internet is popularly viewed as a death knell for newspapers,” Kevin noted. “not at this newspaper. The Internet has liberated us to write, shoot and sell from anywhere there’s Internet access. That has been Easy Reader’s purpose since its days in the locker room of the Riviera Bathhouse. That’s what Easy Reader will continue do, from coffee shops, city halls, parks and homes throughout the Beach Cities.”