Last Tuesday, we had a tremendous presentation by Dawn McCoy, founder of the Red Shoe Project. More commonly known as Dawn “McJoy,” given her wonderful disposition, ubiquitous smile, and a fantastic attitude with positive energy, Dawn is professionally trained as a marriage and family therapist and focuses on mental health and wellness strategies to help others achieve overall wellbeing. During her presentation, Dawn discussed the concept of “compassion fatigue” and described how personal burnout can be a symptom of good-hearted people who are always putting themselves out there and making personal sacrifices for the benefit of others (something most Rotarians tend to do!). Dawn also provided a small but effective change in a way we often express our needs to others. By simply modifying the commonly-used phrase “I need” to “I’m in need,” we are more likely to get the help we require from others. Through her personal faith and teaching of the Bible as a behavioral science, Dawn provides a holistic approach to wellbeing and care for her clients. She offers personal growth development coaching sessions and reasonably-priced counseling to her clients to ensure everyone has access to the support they need. For more information about Dawn and the Red Shoe Project, visit https://www.rspi.org/dawn-mccoy/. Thank you Darcy McNaboe for arranging Dawn’s appearance at our meeting last week.
Upcoming Meeting News
We have a lot of important news about our upcoming meetings! First, our guest speaker this Tuesday will be San Bernardino City Unified School District Superintendent Mauricio Arrellano. His appearance has been facilitated by Mary Ellen Abilez Grande, who will be our Rotarian of the Day. This is a meeting with a prominent local official that you won’t want to miss!
Starting in August, we will be moving to a two meeting per month schedule with meetings held the first and third Tuesdays of each month. A 2024/2025 meeting calendar was distributed at our last meeting to help keep us on track. Orange Peal newsletters will also be sent twice a month on the Sunday immediately preceding a Tuesday meeting.
Finally, we have another honored guest joining us on Tuesday, September 3. Our new District Governor Judy Zulfiqar will be visiting our club that day to meet and greet Rotarians and provide her vision for this new Rotary year. Judy will meet with the Boad of Directors at 10:30 a.m. and will address the entire club at our noon meeting. Be sure to clear your calendar so you can attend this important session.
Rotary District 5330 Podcast
I highly encourage everyone to check out our District 5330 Podcast! Hosts District Governor Judy Zulfiqar and Past District Governor Jamie Zinn along with their guests do a phenomenal job of providing a wealth of information about Rotary clubs, activities, opportunities, and accomplishments within our District. They have episodes focused on community service, global projects, empowering youth, vocational service, human trafficking, the Rotary friendship exchange, veteran support, peace, and a host of other topics.
Be sure to check out Episode 26 in which our very own Tawnya Rhoades Hensley appears as a guest accompanied by Rotary Life program graduates Seraya Diaz, Angelina Hensley, and Antoinette Hensley. Tawnya shares highlights of our club’s Rotary Life program and its amazing impact on local students while Seraya, Angelina, and Antoinette discuss the positive impact of the program on their lives. We appreciate Tawnya providing such a wonderful representation of the great work our club and advisors have done to support youth over the years. You can access the podcasts by visiting the District 5330 website at: https://www.district5330.org/podcast/
Rotarians and the Rotary Foundation at Work in Turkey
On February 6, 2023, a 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northwestern Syria. The death toll was over 55,000 with another 107,000 injured. Over a half-million homes and nearly 350,000 apartments were destroyed. Needless to say, this devastating event had a massive impact on the region requiring worldwide outreach and support.
Naturally, Rotary International stepped up to provide assistance. Rotary has distributed more than $4 million to fund relief efforts while Rotarians on the ground have provided hands-on assistance in a variety of ways. Rotary’s aid efforts include both immediate and long-term projects to help rebuild and restore life in Turkey. Donations to the Rotary Foundation are always put to good use and while most of us can’t venture to Turkey to lend a hand, we know that our philanthropy goes a long way to improving life for others around the world. To learn more about the great work of Rotary International and Rotarians in Turkey, please visit https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-continues-support-turkey-it-rebuilds-earthquake.
President, Bill Orr 2024-2025
Rotary Club of Downtown San Bernardino
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At our July 16 meeting, this delightful photo was taken featuring Jim Smith, Mary Ellen Abilez Grande, and Dr. Bill Orr leading our club in singing the iconic R-O-T-A-R-Y song, spreading joy and camaraderie among our members.
Featured Presentation
Mauricio Arellano, SBCUSD Superintendent
On April 17, 2023, Mauricio Arellano became
Superintendent of the San Bernardino City Unified School District. He was selected by the SBCUSD Board of Education in February 2023 in a unanimous vote following a comprehensive community engagement process and national search.
His appointment as Superintendent is a homecoming for Arellano, who grew up in San Bernardino and attended SBCUSD schools as a child. Superintendent Arellano graduated from San Bernardino High School and started his career in education as a bilingual elementary school
teacher in the District more than 30 years ago. He is the son of immigrant parents from Mexico who also worked in SBCUSD schools.
Superintendent Arellano was a first-generation college student when he pursued his
undergraduate degrees in sociology and Spanish at the University of California, Riverside. He later earned a master’s in educational administration from California State University, San Bernardino.
During his tenure as Superintendent of the Redlands Unified School District, he garnered local, state, and national honors. He was personally recognized many times for his leadership, most recently being named as U.C. Davis C-STEM Superintendent of the Year in 2020. Superintendent Arellano served for 14 years as the assistant superintendent of human resources in the Palm Springs Unified School District.
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Rotary Club Website
Attention San Bernardino Rotarians,
You can now access the Rotary Club of San Bernardino website by entering the domain name: rotarysb.org and rcsb.net.
ROTARY LIFE ADVISORS
Freshman Class –
Sophomore Class – Lindsey Cobaugh and Shirley Jean
Last Tuesday, we had a tremendous presentation by Dawn McCoy, founder of the Red Shoe Project. More commonly known as Dawn “McJoy,” given her wonderful disposition, ubiquitous smile, and a fantastic attitude with positive energy, Dawn is professionally trained as a marriage and family therapist and focuses on mental health and wellness strategies to help others achieve overall wellbeing. During her presentation, Dawn discussed the concept of “compassion fatigue” and described how personal burnout can be a symptom of good-hearted people who are always putting themselves out there and making personal sacrifices for the benefit of others (something most Rotarians tend to do!). Dawn also provided a small but effective change in a way we often express our needs to others. By simply modifying the commonly-used phrase “I need” to “I’m in need,” we are more likely to get the help we require from others. Through her personal faith and teaching of the Bible as a behavioral science, Dawn provides a holistic approach to wellbeing and care for her clients. She offers personal growth development coaching sessions and reasonably-priced counseling to her clients to ensure everyone has access to the support they need. For more information about Dawn and the Red Shoe Project, visit 
Starting in August, we will be moving to a two meeting per month schedule with meetings held the first and third Tuesdays of each month. A 2024/2025 meeting calendar was distributed at our last meeting to help keep us on track. Orange Peal newsletters will also be sent twice a month on the Sunday immediately preceding a Tuesday meeting. 
Finally, we have another honored guest joining us on Tuesday, September 3. Our new District Governor Judy Zulfiqar will be visiting our club that day to meet and greet Rotarians and provide her vision for this new Rotary year. Judy will meet with the Boad of Directors at 10:30 a.m. and will address the entire club at our noon meeting. Be sure to clear your calendar so you can attend this important session.
On February 6, 2023, a 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northwestern Syria. The death toll was over 55,000 with another 107,000 injured. Over a half-million homes and nearly 350,000 apartments were destroyed. Needless to say, this devastating event had a massive impact on the region requiring worldwide outreach and support.
On April 17, 2023, Mauricio Arellano became
