Week of September 7, 2026 · Creating Lasting Impact: Marina for All
Ten days to Dusk & Diamonds. September 17 aboard FantaSea One.
From the Helm
Fellow Rotarians,
This is a full week, so let me be brief. Thursday we host Sara Schulting-Kranz. Saturday we collect for the Marines at Camp Pendleton and the veterans at Fort MacArthur. Sunday our friends from Thai Town Rotary join us for sunset, dancing, and food they are bringing themselves. Three good reasons to leave the house.
And then the Sunset Sail. Ten days. If you have not yet claimed your seat, do it this week — the boat has a fixed number of chairs and I would rather every one of them hold a Rotarian or a guest of ours.
One more thing. Look below at what Lalo built out of cardboard, and at who rowed it. That is the spirit of this club in a single afternoon.
Yours in service, Nancy Voss President, 2026–2027
This Thursday · September 10
Sara Schulting-Kranz
Keynote speaker and author of Walk Through This Thursday, September 10 · 6:00 PM · Del Rey Yacht Club
Sara speaks and writes about moving forward through hard things — the kind of talk that lands differently in person than it does on a page. A good evening to bring a guest who needs to hear it.
Saturday, September 12 · Drop-off 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Fisherman's Village, Marina del Rey
We are collecting for the Marines at Camp Pendleton and for the veterans at Fort MacArthur. Our goal is to gather enough to make a real delivery to both.
What to bring:
· Gently used clothing · Diapers · Baby clothes, new or gently used · Household items · Household appliances
Clean out a closet on Friday night and you have done your part. Three hours, one morning.
This Sunday · September 13
Sunset Fellowship with Thai Town Rotary
Sunday, September 13 · Boarding at 5:30 PM Aboard the Voss boat, slip E-900 Park at Del Rey Yacht Club · 13900 Palawan Way, Marina del Rey
An evening of fellowship with our friends from the Rotary Club of Thai Town — dancing, the sunset over the water, and Thai food they are bringing themselves. This is what inter-club fellowship is supposed to feel like.
I hope you can join us. RSVP is required — let me know if you are coming and whether you are bringing a guest. nvossrotary@gmail.com · (310) 923-2735
Third Annual Sunset Sail · Ten Days Out
Dusk & Diamonds
Thursday, September 17 · 5:00 to 9:00 PM Aboard FantaSea One, 4215 Admiralty Way
An evening on the water with dinner, dancing, and the people who make this marina what it is. Conor Oakes serves as our Master of Ceremonies, with music from the Brent George Band. Honoring Tony Palermo alongside our other honorees, this is as much a community-building evening for Marina del Rey as it is a fundraiser.
What the evening funds: expanding youth sailing and sustaining the club's year-round service, in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley & Eastside.
And the auction. We have some items this year you will not want to miss. Bring your paddle hand.
This year we honor
Gary Jones Director, LA County Department of Beaches & Harbors
Tony Palermo Co-Owner, Tony P's (1997–2025) · Club Member
Bill Stump Staff Commodore, California Yacht Club · U.S. Sailing Race Official
Seats are limited — claim yours this week. Rotarian tickets: $200 for two with code SUNSET26 Purchase tickets here
Can't attend? You can still donate to support our community projects.
Saturday, September 19 · Mother's Beach, Marina del Rey In partnership with Heal the Bay
One Saturday morning, and it is the largest coastal cleanup in the state. We join hands with Heal the Bay, the Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley, and Del Rey Yacht Club, to name a few. This is a date you will not want to miss.
Co-leads: Nico Ruderman and Lennart Heyner
Save the Date · October 3
Palisades Beautiful Restoration Planting
Restoration work in the Palisades, in partnership with Palisades Beautiful and the office of Councilwoman Traci Park. Funded through District 5280 wildfire relief funds — Rotary money going straight back into ground that burned.
Rotarian of the Month · August
Lalo Marquez
Lalo designed our cardboard boat, built it, and led the group that carried it to Seaside Lagoon. His creative leadership pulled a whole team along with him — an example for all of us to follow.
Thinking outside the box is the idea this entire Rotary year is built on. Lalo took it literally, built the box, and then floated it.
Congratulations, Lalo, and thank you.
Club Business
From the August 25 board meeting
Your board approved four new members. Please make a point of welcoming them at Thursday's meeting.
Lisa Strick Ilene Florin Kendra Carlo Natalia Badel
The board also adopted a further set of policies, including one governing corporate membership. This continues the governance work begun in the spring — a young club building the structure to last.
Grants awarded
District 5280 has approved both of our community grant applications:
· $2,000 for our Adopt a Senior program · $1,500 for the Marina Trades vocational program — a pathway into the marine trades right here in the marina
And we were awarded $7,200 from the office of Supervisor Holly Mitchell in support of youth sailing and the Sunset Sail.
That is $10,700 in outside funding for a club in its third year. Every one of those dollars turns into service.
Peace
We are now a Peacebuilder Club
The Rotary Club of Marina del Rey has been designated a Peacebuilder Club by the Rotary Action Group for Peace. That places us on RAGFP's Global Peace Map alongside clubs around the world, and it commits us to real peace work in our own community — not just the language of it.
At last week's meeting, Peace Chair Joan Shaver pinned several more Peace Ambassadors. If you would like to become one, Joan is the person to ask.
Where We've Been
Jordan and Grant Janov
SEPTEMBER 3 · CLUB MEETING
Two brothers campaigning in the 49er class for the 2028 Olympics came to tell us what that road actually looks like. A fitting visit for a club that meets at a yacht club, in a city that will host those Games.
District Picnic & Cardboard Boat Regatta
AUGUST 29 · SEASIDE LAGOON
As a new club, this was our first time entering the District race. Our champion rowers Claire Date and Debbie Sue Miller took the paddles for the Rotary Club of Marina del Rey in a boat made entirely of cardboard. They showed what teamwork is all about — and they did it in front of the whole District.
Orcas VIP Tour
AUGUST 21 · NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Thirty-seven attended — 24 of ours and 13 from El Segundo Rotary. Our best-attended fellowship of the year so far.
On the Calendar
SEP 10
Club Meeting — Sara Schulting-Kranz, 6:00 PM Del Rey Yacht Club
SEP 12
Collection drive — Camp Pendleton Marines & Fort MacArthur, 9 AM–12 PM Fisherman's Village
SEP 13
Sunset fellowship with Thai Town Rotary · Boarding 5:30 PM Voss boat, slip E-900 · Park at Del Rey Yacht Club · RSVP required
SEP 17
Dusk & Diamonds Sunset Sail Aboard FantaSea One
SEP 19
California Coastal Cleanup Day · Mother's Beach With Heal the Bay · Co-leads: Nico Ruderman and Lennart Heyner
SEP 24
Joint social with Pacific Palisades Rotary Aboard the Voss boat in the marina
OCT 1
Club Meeting — Jeffrey Prang, LA County Assessor Plus Carl and Tara Eaton, OC-Not Just Tourists
OCT 3
Palisades Beautiful restoration planting
OCT 10
Westside Food Bank Organized by El Segundo Rotary
OCT 11
Catalina Island club retreat
OCT 16–18
RYLA 2026 · District 5280 Two students sponsored by the club
OCT 24–25
Pumpkin Patch · Fisherman's Village With World Polio Day activation
NOV 11–15
El Salvador humanitarian mission
Get Involved
Three ways to plug in this month:
1
Visit a meeting. See who we are, no commitment. 1st, 3rd, and 5th Thursdays, 6:00 PM, Del Rey Yacht Club.
2
Support the Sunset Sail. Buy tickets or donate — mdrrotary.org
3
Volunteer. The Pumpkin Patch and youth sailing always need hands. Email nvossrotary@gmail.com
