Our 1.4 million-member organization started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.
Rotary Notes
8/28/2026
In the beginning…
Co-President Kelley Rasmussen opened the meeting on a blistering hot afternoon. Kelley looked especially buoyant this afternoon: she is a new grandparent!
Fern is back!
All Rotarians were happy to see Fern Barishman attend today’s meeting. Welcome back Fern!
Jack Jacobs led the flag salute. Christine Golden inspired us with quotes from artists.
Visitors
We had several visitors:
- Greg Webster’s cousin Scott hailed from Texas.
- Rosie Greif
- Dr. Fauvre’s architect daughter Ashley
- Today’s speaker Joe Sohm
Lunch
Today’s lunch was especially delicious, with a variety of tasty savory dishes. Well done!
Announcements
- Kathy Yee and the Socialistas announced there will be a new member celebration at Soule park at 6:00pm on Sept. 16
- Kelley made a pitch for all of us to find sponsors for Taste of Ojai. Barry Verga responded by making a $2000 donation. Thanks Barry.
- Kelley reminded us that dues are due! Dave B is open for business
- On 9/11, there will be a blood drive
Fining by Don Reed
Don has been doing some tutoring for OUSD. His experience led him to design a clever way to extract filthy lucre: he asked his victims to guess how many in the club had taken these classes in high school:
- Typing
- Home Ec
- Mechanical drawing
- Latin
- Sex Ed
- Programming
- Calculus
Rod Owen added a special note by asking how many had taken a class in Tractor Safety. Turns out Cindy Frings also has taken such a class.!
Program: Joe Sohm
Co-President Bret Bradigan introduced today’s speaker, the photographer Joe Sohm. Bret said that Joe is one of the most prolific photographers in the country. Joe has been taking photos in all states for over 40 years. In honor of our nation’s 250th anniversary, he has collaborated with the composer Peter Boyer to create “American Mosaic”.
Joe started his career as a history teacher. As an aid to his teaching, he began to photograph various significant American places. This eventually became his career. He says it enables him to demonstrate his love of the country.
His inspiration for the “American Mosaic” was a quote from Benjamin Franklin, who wrote that he wished he could see what America had turned into “two or three centuries” after the founding in 1776. Using that as his motivation, Joe has created a mosaic of still photos, moving photos, and drone photos. Peter Boyer composed the music to accompany the visuals.
Joe gave us a glimpse of what the complete “American Mosaic” looks like, and it certainly is majestic and moving. “American Mosaic” will open the Ojai Film Festival on Nov. 4.
You are invited to visit us at an upcoming meeting.
