What our members are saying about La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary
 
The approximately 100 members of La Jolla Golden Rotary Club come from a diverse range of personal and professional backgrounds. While we have been drawn to LJGT Rotary for a variety of personal reasons, we are collectively empowered by a culture that nurtures our passion for humanitarian service. The following testimonials are examples of how Rotary has enriched the lives of our members.
 
What Rotary Means to Me
“Service Above Self” …… a term unknown to me until August, 1992.  When I was invited to visit the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club, I was introduced to an organization dedicated to making a difference in the world through volunteer service. &npsp;As the months and years moved on, it became apparent that this Rotary club was not just a Friday morning breakfast meeting … it became an important part of our lives. The pride that we all take when we experience the results of our volunteer endeavors and the friendships that we develop is incomparable.   While participating in the organization of hands-on club projects such “Christmas in April/Rebuilding Together,” “Navidad En Noviembre,” “Rotarians at Work,” and “Operation Pendleton”, it has been very rewarding to have been able to provide vehicles that allow our club members and friends to feel good about their accomplishments helping others.  I feel that my involvement in designing six projects for students in Afghanistan will make a difference in thousands of Afghan lives for years to come.
Rick D. Clark, President, 1999-2000 La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club

An Unexpected Love Affair
In 1997 my university asked me to consider joining a Rotary Club in the interest of creating more and deeper relationships with the community. I agreed, but only if it was also beneficial to me personally.  I did a little research on the clubs in my area, and first I went to a meeting of the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club. I've never left.   It was the beginning of an unexpected love affair that has lasted thirteen years and shows no sign of weakening. I have met people from whom I learn, who inspire me, who I respect and love -- in my club, in my city, in our district, throughout the US, in countries all over the world that I had only heard mention of before Rotary -- through meetings and significant projects. 
Rotary has gifted my life with ideas and purpose and love.
Cynthia Villis, President, 2005-2006, La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club

Choosing La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club
I take my membership in Rotary very seriously, and likewise it is equally important for me to be aligned with a club that resonates with my personal goals.  It is most interesting to observe the personalities of the various clubs.  Relocating to San Diego provided me the opportunity to “shop around” for a Rotary club—one that I felt would be compatible with what I was used to and would feel to me like what a Rotary club should be about.  I was seeking an environment that would allow me to grow, to contribute, to partake of fellowship, and to challenge me.  I visited several clubs and just felt something was missing in each one.  Something just didn’t feel right.  Then someone suggested that maybe La Jolla Golden Triangle RC would be the right fit.  The moment I walked in I experienced an atmosphere that was dynamic.  And dynamic they are!  In fact every week they proclaim that they are the Most Dynamic Rotary Club in the World!  After a few visits and then joining I can totally agree with that proclamation.  
Linda Jackson, La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club
 
My Rotary Moment
 I had been a Rotarian for 25 years before moving to San Diego.  I was seeking a Club that had many international projects, and found that the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary met all of my desires for international involvement.  I had the opportunity to travel to Kwazulunatal, South Africa as part of an “AIDS Orphans Relief Project.”  Prior to departing I was asked to bring a 4x12 foot canvas and paint as part of an Artmiles Project.  We visited an elementary school in a broken down factory surrounded by a 10 foot barbed wire fence separating it from an impoverished and dangerous neighborhood.  The more than 1000 students sat on the ground in silence as I explained the project which was to depict their life as they saw it to convey to others half way around the world.  The next day, the entire school worked on this canvas which was returned to us before we left the country.  It was representative of all teachers and all grades.  Aside from depicting the culture and traditions through the eyes of elementary school children, it was incredibly upbeat and hopeful, in contrast to the reality as I saw it.  The faculty expressed the idea that both they and the children were simply grateful that people from so far away cared about them and wanted to do something to help them.
Marty Rosenstein, La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club, D5340 USA
 
These Men and Women Inspire Me
Why did I become a part of Rotary more than 11years ago? I am reminded as I sit among hundreds of friends at District Conference, listening to updates about many of the service projects Rotary Clubs have completed locally and globally...it is simply amazing. Yesterday I heard about the vegetable gardens built at Oceanknoll Elementary in Encinitas with support of the EcoClub of Solana Beach and Chula Vista's 35 year old program of giving bikes to children in need.  Today I listened to updates on International projects such as Polio vaccinations in Pakistan (Linda Sundram), improving water and sanitation in third world countries like Kenya, improving patient care through hospitals (Mel Gallegos), micro grants to women in business in Cambodia (Niels Lund), working in Ecuador (David Ballesteros). These men and women inspire me. Rotary is all about putting political and religious differences aside to improve education and health through humanitarian aid.   I love being a part of the change that brings about peace and understanding. 
Brett Morey, President 2013-2104, La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club
 
Why I am a La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotarian
The longer I’ve been a Rotarian, the more deeply I’m in love with it.  Why?  Around that big turning point of age 50, I was going through some personal loss and upheaval, and gradually began discovering in myself a passion for service, to try to better the world, just a bit, somehow.  I began working for the cause of freedom in Tibet—for about 7 years.   Then a friend told me about Rotary as an organization with similar interests in service, and lots of people who share that.  I joined La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club in the year 2000.   I found that I got to hang out with brilliant, dedicated people who know a lot more than I do.  I found that there are lots of people to share the work, and support each other.  I found that I could allow my little ideas for improving the world to flower into action.   Another great thing about Rotarians is we’re practical.  Our club members have high levels of skills, expertise and connections in many areas, and can really make good things happen—all over the world. I never cease to be amazed at what Rotarians accomplish.   It was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life to be able to take my concern for Tibetan refugees living in India to the practical level of obtaining Matching Grants to renovate a residential school for handicapped children, and to put a math and science computer lab into a school for 14,000 refugee children.  When I returned and saw the results, it brought me to tears.  When I saw those orphaned and formerly destitute children way high in the Himalayas, sitting there typing away, suddenly connected to the world’s knowledge, it was a peak moment!  When I saw the handicapped children’s home now snug and secure, sunny and bright, I was deeply moved.   As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “When you cease to make a contribution you begin to die.” 
Dory Beatrice-Griffith, President, 2010-2011 La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club