On June 19, the Santa Maria Breakfast Rotary Club honored its retired president Ted Ortega, who led the club through almost 50 service projects, such as its work in the annual Christmas Parade of Lights, support of the Los Prietos Boys Camp, and Haitian relief efforts.
Ortega said in an e-mail that during his time as president, the club was able to “maintain 95 percent of our membership and increase our member base for the year” and increase “our annual giving to the Polio Plus Program through Rotary International.”
Through Ortega’s leadership, the Rotary Club was able to use $115,000 to help improve the Santa Maria community and aid people around the world. His work as the leader of the service group also resulted in thousands of volunteer hours from new and old club members.
According to member Frank Ortiz, the Rotary Club will continue reaching out to the youth and families of the community under the leadership of Jean Luc Garon. Ortiz said the group is involved in “spearheading the junior livestock auction at the Santa Maria Fair, and has an ongoing partnership with the Rotary Club Centennial Park, where they will be partnering with the City of Santa Maria and other Rotary Club groups to put on concerts.”
The Rotary Club will also continue to sponsor the annual Parade of Lights and issue scholarships for at-risk youths through the Los Prietos Boys Camp. Ortega will continue to support the Rotary Club and its new president. He plans to stay involved, too: “There are other things in Rotary I may look into, but for now, I will enjoy my ‘retirement.’”
Intern Sarah Schwab compiled this week’s Community Corner. Send comments or ideas to the Sun via e-mail at intern@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 22-29, 2010.