As we enter our 8 th month of this Rotary year, 20 of us will be traveling to Ensenada, Mexico to finish our District Project “Smiles without Borders”. I am looking forward to updating you on our trip and sharing photos with you next month.

The month of February makes me think about hearts, chocolates, kindness and lots of red. In the Rotary world, our February theme is “World Understanding”. When we can resolve conflicts, whether it be around the world, in our communities or even in our clubs, we then can have peace and understanding. Peace of mind, peace of heart and peace of soul. I have asked two of our past Peace Fellow Scholars, Aimal Zabit and Alex Plummer, to share their experiences with us. You will find their stories in this newsletter. Our Peace Fellow Scholar Chair, Craig Wesner, also has a nice article in this newsletter about the program that I hope you will enjoy.

Last month Brian and I attended a combined Area 8 & 9 Foundation dinner in Reno where the program was an overview of the “Smiles without Borders Project” and the overall need and benefits for the children in Ensenada, Mexico. The Program Chair, Barry Turner, shared how the project was put together and the phases that have been completed. Dr. Christopher Galea shared more about the stories of successful cleft palate surgeries when the right facilities are in place. Over the hill in Placerville we attended the Area 6 Foundation Dinner where each club highlighted projects in their respective communities as well as heard about the history of the Cameron Park Rotary Community Observatory. The Community Observatory was a Rotary Club of Cameron Park Centennial Project in recognition of the 100th anniversary of Rotary International. Their members raised all the funds and donated time and materials to build the Observatory on land owned by the El Dorado County Office of Education adjacent to the El Dorado Center of Folsom Lake College.

Of course, the month of January wasn’t complete without some fun in the snow with our grandsons in Area 9 and a stop at one of my favorite wineries, Crystal Basin, in Area 6.

Registration for the Rotary 4way Fest already has 94 signed up. You can register on the District website: https://district5190.org/. To find more information about our speakers, breakout sessions and events, go to www.Rotary4wayfest.com.

The discounted rate to attend the RI convention in Hamburg Germany ends March 31st. You can register for the convention at http://www.riconvention.org/en.