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About Wine
At Town Center  Wine
at Town Center is an annual fund-raising event put on by the
Cameron Park and El Dorado Hills Rotary Clubs to raise funds for Club
projects in the community. With the enthusiastic participation of our
sponsors, participating wineries and restaurants, and you, our event
invitees, Wine at Town Center provides an opportunity
for all of us to give back to our community.Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 32,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Rotary club members are part of a diverse group of professional leaders working to address various community and international service needs. Through community service and other means, Rotary club members help promote peace and understanding throughout the world. Our members are our most important asset. They are the force that allows Rotary to carry out its many humanitarian efforts and achieve its mission. Information about the Cameron Park and El Dorado Hills Rotary Clubs and about the community projects they fund with proceeds from the Wine at Town Center can be found directly below. |
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Cameron Park Rotary
Club It
was in January 1969 that the seeds of the Rotary Club of Cameron Park
were sown. We met in the Arnold Palmer Room of what was then called the
El Dorado Royal Country Club. The Placerville Rotary Club was our
sponsor and we had a difficult time getting 25 applicants which was the
minimum that Rotary International required. Finally a document entitled
"EXTENSION SURVEY" was sent to District Governor Joe Svilich
who then gave his approval by signing the document on March 14, 1969.Weekly meetings were held in the Arnold Palmer Room and Rotarians from both the Placerville and Folsom clubs attended. With this support the Club gradually took shape and we were officially organized on June 12, 1969. The APPLICATION for membership in Rotary International was signed on June 19 by our Charter President Robert W Barron attested by the Charter Secretary G. Arthur Cort. This application together with a list of Charter Members and a report by Special Representative Don Wangberg were forwarded to Rotary International. District Governor Joe Svilich was anxious to get approval of our club during his tenure which ended on June 30th. A telegram was received by District Governor Joe on June 30th reading: There were 26 charter members in 1969 but our roster slipped under 20 before rebounding to a current strength of 62 members. At the time we were founded only males could be Rotarians but membership is now open to both genders. Our budget was much slimmer in those days also. The 1969-70 budget, our first year, lists an income of $3,641.00 and expenditures of $1,773.96. As a comparison, The Rotary Club of Cameron Park is operating this fiscal year on a budget of over $145,000. So you can see that we have expanded not only in membership but also financially. In our third year District Governor Keith Jacob wrote "You have a lot of fun fining and that is great but I would encourage you to try and get a pianist and sing the simple tunes like every other club does-it adds a lot." He also suggested that we try to get a bulletin going. One highlight of our first year was the hosting of a Rotary Youth Exchange student. The Placerville Club had arranged to host two young ladies from Holland. Thinking it would be a good project for us they assigned a lovely young lady, Maria Catalina "Brim " Tolhuisen from Geldermalsen to our Club. She was to arrive in three or four weeks so there was a scramble to locate host families. We have since hosted students from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwa), South Africa, Sweden and Argentina. Another international project we were involved with was our "Sister" club in Uruapan, Mexico. Members from this club visited the Uruapan club on several occasions and we assisted in furnishing an orphanage with new beds and a kitchen. A more recent International Service project that our Club has been involved with is helping to introduce Rotary to Eastern Russia. Our member Terry Wilson has been very active in this endeavor. Cameron Park Rotary Club, with the assistance of Clubs in Folsom, South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe City is sponsoring a Rotary Club in Irkutsk located on Lake Baikal which is about 2000 miles North West of Tokyo. We are also working on a 3-H (Health, Hunger & Humanity) project with the Rotary Club of Vladivostok, Russia. This program, being spearheaded by Rotarians Tom Leavitt and Bob Dorr, is to provide Hepatitis A & B vaccine to all children (0-1yr) in Vladivostok. It is hoped that a long range comprehensive immunization program can be established throughout the Russian far east. Our club has, over the years, participated in community projects that required muscle as well as financial contributions. Some of these projects are Rasmussen Park athletic fields, the soccer and Little League field at the Shingle Springs Community Center, the Gazebo at Cameron Park Lake, the highway 50 beautification at the Cameron Park Drive and Cambridge Road interchanges and restrooms for the McAuliffe Park on Merrychase Drive. One of our early money making projects was the annual Buckwheat Stew held at the Shingle Springs Community Center. We carried this project on for about six years with Bob's steer "Buckwheat" being sacrificed piece by piece for the feast. We have upgraded our major money raising project to "Wine at Town Center" which we hold annually in June assisted by the Rotary Club of El Dorado Hills. A very popular community project constructed by Cameron Park Rotary is the Community Observatory. Conceived in early 2004 as a Centennial project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Rotary, the observatory was opened to the public on July 7, 2006. A search for a suitable site was begun and culminated with the signing of an agreement with the El Dorado County Office of Education to locate the observatory on a 10 acre parcel north of the Folsom Lake College's Eldorado Center. With Rotary fund raising projects, generous public donations, contributions of labor and material by contractors, and professional services by architects and engineers, the building was completed at a cost of about $90,000. Equipment including two 14 inch telescopes and computers added another $20,000 to the cost. The observatory is used by the college and school groups Monday through Thursday and is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings to the public. Rotary is a service club organization with a motto "Service Above Self", and is involved in community, national and international service projects. The Rotary Club of Cameron Park has provided many scholarships to students graduating from Ponderosa High School. We have helped in national disasters such as the hurricane Katrina relief. On an international level we have participated in the "Polio Plus" project, a program to eradicate Polio throughout the world. |
El Dorado Hills Rotary
Club The
Rotary Club of El Dorado Hills is a group of professional men and women
working together to address various needs in the community. Our mission
is to meet the needs of people through personal involvement and
financial assistance. The Rotary Club of El Dorado Hills is a part of
Rotary International, a worldwide humanitarian organization with over
1.2 million members that provide goodwill and peace in the world.The El Dorado Hills Rotary Club, sponsored by the Cameron Park Club, was chartered on October 24, 1990. The test of time has proven that is indeed a unique group of public-spirited citizens who have comprised the membership of the El Dorado Hills Rotary Club. The club currently has 65 members. The El Dorado Hills Rotary has a rich history of service to our community and to the rest of the world. The most notable international service project involved in securing approximately $500,000 worth of used dental equipment, which was packaged and loaded on a Mexican Navy ship at the Port of Sacramento. The dental equipment continues to benefit underprivileged citizens in Mexico. The club has hosted foreign exchange students from Brazil, Australia, Argentina and Sweden for twelve month periods, as well as hosted Group Study Exchange Teams from Peru, England, India Portugal and Argentina. The club had a very successfully clothing drive headed by Past President Troy Vukovich to assist citizens in the war zone of Bosnia. A subsequent clothing drive assisted underprivileged citizens of Mexico. The Rotary Club of El Dorado Hills hosts the annual Crab Feed each year usually in February. The crab feed is held at the El Dorado Hills Community Service Center. Attendees enjoy all they can eat crab, pasta, and dessert. There is also live entertainment, raffle and silent auction. Members continue to take a very active role in the Polio Plus program to eradicate polio worldwide. We also provide ongoing support to Rotary International through our Paul Harris and Paul Harris Sustaining Memberships. Several years ago, the Rotary Club of El Dorado Hills along with three Rotary Clubs from the North Lake Tahoe area, co-sponsored a new Rotary Club in Ulan Ude, Russia. Past president Laurie Edwards went to Ulan Ude to assist members with the formation of their club, and has since served their club in the capacity of Special Area Representative for District 5010 (District covers Alaska, parts of Canada, and Russia East of the Ural mountains). When that club suffered great hardship during the great recession in 1998, our club provided financial support for service projects to aid their citizens in the surviving the harsh winter. Our club also raised money to help pay for medication for children in Ulan Ude suffering from cancer. Club members are involved in the ongoing District wide community service project of building Mather Lake Rotary Regional Park in Rancho Cordova. When completed, this 1,443 acre park will be larger than even the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The exciting plans for this giant park include building a festival meadow, 500 seat picnic pavilion, an amphitheater, nine-hole golf course, sports complex, urban forest, a fishing pier and an aircraft monument to honor the military who served at Mather Air Force Base. We also supported the district project On a local level, the club has donated to Sheriff's Star Program, the Senior Citizen's Nutrition Center, The Women's Center, local school programs and a number of youth groups. We have supported the Ride and Shine Program, which benefits handicapped children. We also assisted the Marble Valley Center for the Arts with their fundraiser events. The club sponsors essay and poster contests for local junior high students and a speech contest for high school students. Once monthly, an outstanding student is honored and provided with a savings bond. We also support the Youth in Government Program at Oak Ridge High School, participate in Career Day at Oak Ridge High School and established a Career Day at Juvenile Hall. Each year the Club provides scholarships to graduating Oak Ridge High School students. In conjunction with the El Dorado Hills Fire Department, members conduct smoke and carbon monoxide detectors during Fire Prevention month. There have thus far been two families "saved" as a direct result of this notable annual program. We are also a major sponsor of the "Every 15 Minutes" program, a drunk driver awareness program for high school students. Additionally, we have purchased automated external defibrillators for the community. For the last several years, the club has partnered with the Community Service District in sponsoring four special senior events during the year (Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter and Oktoberfest) and help sponsor the Red Ribbon (Say No to Drugs) Youth Dance, as well as the Easter Egg Hunt and the Christmas Tree Lighting Program. We also participate in the Community Service District annual clean-up day where members pick up garbage along roadways and collect large waste products not normally picked up by garbage service. The El Dorado Hills Teen Center and Skate Park at EDH Community Service District opened with fanfare on Saturday, January 20th, 2007. The El Dorado Hills Rotary Club presented a check for $75,000.00 to support the teen center as part of their commitment to donate a total of $105,000.00 within five years. The center has a pool table, Playstation 2, Xbox 360, Karaoke machine, air hockey, ping pong, foosball, computer with internet access, a snack bar and a big screen TV. After school homework help will also be available. This is a place where teens can interact and have fun in a safe environment. We have teamed up with our neighboring Rotary Clubs, Cameron Park and Placerville, to sponsor free Parenting classes for parents in the entire west slope of El Dorado County. Our three Rotary clubs also paid for the printing of gang awareness brochures for parents and educators. Other community projects of the El Dorado Hills Rotary Club have included: Financial support to Boys and Girls Club Basketball backboard for juvenile hall Sponsor Special Olympics Swim meet BBQ Tents for Boy Scouts Financial support to American Sewing Guide Financial support to Reid White Memorial park renovation Provide refreshments at Frontier Days Kings basketball night for at risk students Support of El Dorado County Food Bank Graffiti Removal Financial support for Senior Programs Donated funds for the construction of a helicopter landing pad (to evacuate injured parties in the Sierra's) Sponsor youth sports programs |
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