From the trip to Portugal for the Rotary International Convention to the party thrown by District Governor Eric Schmautz, I had a great time and it was a thrilling ride as club president. 

The year started with a new website and the dream to build this history section. A few days later we held the drawing for the annual All American Car Raffle. By mid July we were handing out checks to the various charities for the almost $110,000 of proceeds earned by the various charities participating in the event.

We were saddened in September when we lost our good friend and great Rotarian Past President Pete Hughes. Pete was so tired of fishing ducks off the highway and out of the water, he created the All American Car Raffle. This inventive act on Pete's part has forever ensured the banishment of the ducks. He will be greatly missed by all of us. 

Bill Nicolet loaned us the use of his fantastic back yard for a fundraising picnic, as well as the labeling of dictionaries. Folks were so sure we couldn't get the dictionaries labeled in the designated amount of time, they showed up early. Of course, then we had nothing to do at meeting time other than eat and chat. What fun!

A collaboration between Rotary Club of Peninsula Sunrise, RCEF and the Rotary Club of Redwood City produced the OktoberFest and Run. While the event was great fundraiser for RCEF, the event yielded nothing monetary for the clubs. We all had a great time outside serving beer, selling stuff and throwing colored corn starch at the runners. Sometimes it is really about having a great time. 

The District 5150 TRF Fundraiser was a Fun Day at a Foster City, California park. There were a few members of our club in attendance but the District was well represented at the event. 

Then there were all our 'normal' activities: We cooked spaghetti, we handed out dictionaries, we dressed up for Halloween, we sold white elephant gifts at Julgransplundring, we rang bells for Salvation Army, we gave out money for scholarships, we visited JobTrain, we attended the District Assembly and the District Conference in Monterey, we inducted new members and handed out something like SEVENTEEN Paul Harris Fellows. Whew!

But we weren't done!

We rejoined the Rotary Club of Peninsula Sunrise to assist with their annual party to fund the Peninsula Sunrise Rotary Foundation and H2OpenDoors. Held at Devil's Canyon Brewing Company the event was a great success and led to a SunSpring water purification unit being sent to the Philippines as a response to the devastating typhoon. 

We built a park in North Fair Oaks. This rebuild of Friendship Park was spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Redwood City and was a joint effort with San Mateo County, KaBOOM! and hundreds of volunteers. Funding was provided primarily by Shutterfly Corporation. Our foundation kicked in almost $11,000 to bring the park to fruition.

We didn't quite sweep the awards but we were VERY close. We took home six out of seven from Monterey. Add in a Presidential Citation, Certificate of Appreciation for End Polio Now and 100% giving on EREY and we were just flat on fire in the engaged category! 

All in all, I do believe it was a great year!