We are entering the third month of our Rotary year, and it is the month that asks the most of us — and gives the most back.
On September 17, we gather aboard FantaSea One for Dusk & Diamonds, our third annual Sunset Sail. It is our largest and our only fundraiser for the Foundation, which means every dollar raised that evening becomes the whole of what we are able to give in the year ahead. What we do in those few hours on the water funds everything we do on land.
Two days later, on September 19, we trade evening gowns for gloves. California Coastal Cleanup Day brings us to Mother's Beach and out onto the water itself, alongside Los Angeles County and Heal the Bay — and beside us will be young people from the Boys & Girls Club of the West San Gabriel Valley, children who live many miles from this harbor.
That distance is exactly the point. Every storm drain, every gutter, every dry creek bed in this county eventually finds its way here. Our marina is where the San Gabriel Valley's water comes to rest. There is no such thing as someone else's watershed. We are all upstream of one another, and all of us are downstream of someone.
Gandhi asked us to be the change we wish to see in the world. In September, we get to be it twice — once in our finest, once in our boots.
What a week! LA28 came to the Marina, thirty-seven of us took over the Natural History Museum alongside our El Segundo friends, and our volunteers put in a Saturday morning at St. Margaret's. This Saturday it's the District Picnic & Cardboard Boat Regatta at Seaside Lagoon — come get wet with us. And Dusk & Diamonds is just three weeks out, with sponsorship commitments due this Friday. Read on!
Yours in Rotary service,
Nancy Voss, President 2026–2027
Our Last Speaker: Erikk Aldridge, LA28
“Creating Lasting Impact with LA28” · Thursday, August 20 · Del Rey Yacht Club
At our most recent meeting we welcomed Erikk Aldridge, Vice President of Impact for the LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games. Erikk leads the community, economic, and legacy work behind the 2028 Games — from opening Games contracts to local and small businesses, to PlayLA, the largest youth-sports investment in California history.
A longtime Los Angeles community leader and former CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Venice, Erikk spoke directly to what most of us were wondering: how a club our size actually plugs into something the scale of the Olympics. His answer was practical — start with the youth-sports and small-business pipelines already being built, and start now. Thank you, Erikk, for a generous and genuinely useful evening.
Cardboard Boat Regatta — This Saturday!
District Picnic & Cardboard Boat Regatta · Saturday, August 29 · Seaside Lagoon
Come cheer, come get wet, bring the family. This is one of the most fun days on the District calendar. We purchased a table ! Let Nancy know if you are joining al of us.
Claire Date and Debbie Sue Miller are our rowers so far . Interested?
Coming Up
Date
What
Where
Thu, Aug 27
Joint social with Westchester Rotary, 6:00 p.m.
The Hacienda, Playa del Rey
Fri, Aug 28
Sunset Sail sponsorship commitment DEADLINE
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Sat, Aug 29
District Picnic & Cardboard Boat Regatta
Seaside Lagoon
Thu, Sep 3
Club meeting, 6:00 p.m. — speaker TBA
Del Rey Yacht Club
Thu, Sep 17
Dusk & Diamonds — 3rd Annual Sunset Sail
Aboard FantaSea One
Sat, Sep 19
California Coastal Cleanup Day
Mother's Beach
Thu, Sep 24
Joint social with Pacific Palisades Rotary
Aboard the Voss boat, Marina del Rey
Sat, Oct 3
Palisades Beautiful restoration planting
Pacific Palisades
Oct 11
Catalina Island retreat
Catalina
Oct 24–25
Pumpkin Patch + World Polio Day activation
Fisherman's Village
Nov 11–15
El Salvador humanitarian trip
San Salvador
Two Dates with Pacific Palisades
Thursday, September 24 — Joint Social aboard the Voss boat, here in the Marina. An easy evening on the water with our friends from Pacific Palisades Rotary. Space is limited, so let us know early if you plan to come.
Saturday, October 3 — Palisades Beautiful restoration planting. Hands in the dirt, helping bring green back to neighborhoods rebuilding after the fires. Fellowship and service in back-to-back weeks with the same club — exactly how partnerships get built. Sign-ups coming shortly.
El Salvador — November 11–15
Our humanitarian mission with the Rotary Club of San Salvador Noroeste, co-led with International Service Director Claire Date, is coming together. We'll be staying at the Barceló San Salvador.
The $325 ground package is due October 28. If you're considering going, now is the time to say so — talk to Claire or me.
Exciting Announcement:
Our Roadmap for the Future
Our Club Is Growing
Big news on the membership front: at last night's meeting, the Board approved three new members — with several more in the pipeline. Welcome aboard! Watch for introductions and inductions at upcoming meetings.
A big thank-you to our Board of Directors, who also approved a new corporate membership policy and completed a review of our membership process, with recommended amendments being sent to the membership for a vote. This is the careful, unglamorous governance work that keeps a growing club healthy.
August At a Glance
A Look Back
Last Week in Our Marina
Orcas VIP Tour at the Natural History Museum — August 21
Thirty-seven Rotarians and guests joined us for a private VIP tour at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park — 24 members and guests from Marina del Rey and 13 from the Rotary Club of El Segundo. This is the kind of inter-club fellowship we want more of: no agenda, no fundraising ask, just two clubs getting to know each other well enough to work together later. Our thanks to El Segundo for making the trip inland with us.
Service Saturday at St. Margaret's Center — August 22
Our volunteers were back at St. Margaret's Center for a Saturday morning shift. Steady, unglamorous, essential — exactly the work that defines a service club. Thank you to everyone who gave up a weekend morning.
Behind the Scenes
Not everything happens at the podium. Also this past week and into this one:
Sunset Sail committee planning with Fundraising Director Mary February
Inter-club coordination with El Segundo
Foundation Board meeting — our newly constituted board continuing to build out the 501(c)(3)'s footing
Rotary WASH grant discussion with international partners
MDR youth sailing program meeting
Sea Lovers Fellowship — Zoom with Italy
Calling all mariners: a Sea Lovers Fellowship Zoom meeting is being scheduled for the first couple weeks of September with Commodore Luigi from Italy. A chance to connect with fellow Rotarian sailors across the Atlantic without leaving your living room. Let us know if you're interested and we'll send you the details once the date is set.
Coming Soon: Website Update
A refresh of the club website is on the way — and we want your input. Have an idea or a suggestion for what the new site should include? Reach out to Deb Fixen or to me directly.
We're also looking for volunteers to help with this important next step. If you have an eye for design, a knack for writing, or just enthusiasm to spare, we'd love to have you on the team.
Save the Date
Sunset Sail 2026 — Dusk & Diamonds
Thursday, September 17 · Aboard FantaSea One
Our third annual Sunset Sail, chaired by Mary February, is the club's signature fundraiser and the engine behind everything our Foundation does this year.
This year we honor:
Gary Jones, LA County Beaches & Harbors — Dusk & Diamonds Honoree and Honorary Member
Tony Palermo, Founding Honorary Member — “Marina's Own”
Bill Stump, Commodore's Award
· Music: The Brent George Band
Sponsorship tiers: Top of Ship $25,000 · Captain's Deck $10,000 · Upper Deck $5,000 · Main Deck $2,500 · Harbor Deck $1,000
Sponsorship commitments are due Friday, August 28. If you have a prospect and haven't made the ask yet, this is the week. Contact Mary or me and we'll get a packet in your hands today
Sea Lovers Fellowship — Zoom with Italy
