Meeting Location

South Hills Country Club
2655 S. Citrus Street
West Covina, CA 91791
Tuesdays @ 7:15AM

 Passing of a Great Man

On Monday, January 18th, 2010, Covina Sunrise Rotary, the community and the world lost a phenomenal man, Emeka Dillibe. Succumbing to cancer only two months after being diagnosed, Emeka leaves us shocked at how a person so young vital, and altruistic could be taken so quickly.
   Emeka was born in Nigeria in 1973 to a Rotarian family: his father was a District Governor. Emeka grew up and became a Rotary Interactor before moving to the US to study in New Mexico. He moved to California, married his wife, Chika, and got a degree in Criminal Justice and Computer Information Systems at Cal State LA. He started his current business, Careprovider.Org in Covina to help disadvantaged and troubled youths in the community
   He is held in the utmost admiration and respect in CSR as one our finest members and as an icon of respectability, honor, and all that we should aspire to. He will be sincerely missed as a truly great man. (photos)

 Win Lakers Tickets - Row 1 On the Floor!

Ever wish you could schmooze with the L.A. Lakers? Well, you’ll be able to catch a few drops of their sweat at your courtside seats for the Lakers vs Celtics game! We have a pair of tickets for the big game on February 18th, 2010 and we’re letting them go in a very limited raffle of only 100 tickets to be sold. For only a $100 donation to Operation Santa Clothes, you get a 1 in 100 chance of winning this great pair of tickets valued at over $5000! You’ll be sitting with Jack Nicholson!

   ROW 1, SEATS 13 & 14 in Section III - Center Court!
The winning ticket will be drawn at a reception at Azo Vino Wine Bar (144 W. Badillo in Covina) on February 9th from 5:30 - 7:30pm. To get your hands on one of these raffle tickets, fill out our Contact form or call Rayne Water at (626)966-7521. (Click on the picture at left for a larger image.)  SORRY, SOLD OUT!!!

Operation Santa Clothes Schedule!

This year, CSR will be clothing nearly 2000 kids in the Operation Santa Clothes program. We will be clothing the kids in January and February so if you are interested in helping out, please contact Kathy at (626)966-7521 to schedule a day and get details. So far we’ve been able to accomplish a milestone of nearly 23,000 needy kids having been clothed at the Covina K-mart store. OSC began in 1994 serving 73 children from one Covina school. The project focuses not only on provided clothing, but given self esteem, character development, and a sense of caring to these kids. See our Santa Clothes page for more information. If you’d like to help and make a financial donation to this program, please click the DONATE HERE button. Here are the scheduled days for the project which runs from 8am to noon:

January 2010 February 2010 --------- Mon 25 Mon 1 --------- --------- Tue 19 Tue 26 Tue 2 Tue 9 Tue 16 Wed 20 Wed 27 --------- Wed 10 Wed 17 Thu 21 Thu 28 --------- Thu 11 Thu 18

 Baseball Champions of 2009!

Covina Sunrise exhibited their amazing athletic prowess in the Rotary Invitational Series - a baseball challenge versus the Covina (Noon) Rotary Club. In the end, our “Boys Of October” showed amazing skill and spirit as they ended the season undefeated. The pitching went the distance with no hitter and the team’s quality was evident with no errors recorded. The final game of the season was won when the Noon Club had to forfeit due to lack of players. In true sportsmen spirit, CSR stoically accepted the championship title! To see the winning team, click the Image for a larger view. And you’ll also want to checkout the related video, “Making of the Image”.

 Texas Hold-em Tournament!

On September 12th 2009, we threw another fabulous fundraising party. The Second Annual Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament was held at the A1 Party Rentals building in Covina. The event was a great success both financially and in fostering the fellowship that CSR is known for. Prizes valued between $500 and $1000 were awarded and all those present wanted to see this event repeated. Watch this website for info on next year’s tournament and join us for a wildly fun event that benefits the Operation Santa Clothes project! Click the image for a larger view.

 CSR Gets Their Hands Dirty:

Covina Sunrise just finished working on a local community project that really was “hands on”. We spent a Saturday morning at the Rowland Convalescent Home doing a major cleanup and upgrade of the inner courtyard. Huge amounts of dead plants and tree trimmings went out, and beautiful new plants and garden decor items transformed the area into a pleasant garden. Residents and staff alike were ecstatic with the changes. Robert Avila initiated the work at the Home, and Pam Pomeroy headed up the team that did all this great work. Click on the photo to see all the Rotarians that helped out with this project.

 Meet the President:

Covina Sunrise Rotary’s latest in a legendary lineup of leadership is Bill Hammett, the 28th head of our executive branch. Bill has been a active member in the Club for many years, and now attains our highest office. Coming into the Presidency after chairing the Bootlegger’s Ball Party II, Bill will be leading us into a big year for the Club. Having just been inaugurated, his year has seen the Rowland Convalescent project and will soon be working on the upcoming Texas Hold-em Tournament. He and his lovely bride, Sue, have been providing the Club with printing services from their store, Grand Printing. Now he steps forward to lead us into a new decade!

 CSR Gets Top Award at District Conference:

Covina Sunrise co-hosted a hospitality suite with the Covina Noon Club at the District Conference this year. This has become a tradition with the Clubs and has led to a series of the most memorable and must-attend gatherings at the conference for many years now. WIth a theme of “Arabian Caravan”, Covina once again showed their hospitality with a lavish food table and extensive bar for all to share, this year adding a bit of Nubian drumming and dancing that helped the Clubs take home the coveted “Spirit Award”. Click here for some photos and a few movies of the event.

 Bootlegger’s Ball - A Wild Success!

Covina Sunrise Rotary has once again amazed the community with its wildly successful fundraiser The Bootlegger’s Ball! The fantastic party was a hit with over 600 in attendance! Held at the A1 Event & Party Rentals building, this party was themed in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Gangsters, Gun Molls, Bootleggers, and Flappers were the order of the day as guests joined in on the fun with period attire. The entertainment included the fantastic “Big Band Theory” from JPL once again (www.BigBandTheory.com), with music selections chosen for the theme. All the great food, drink, games, and auctions were there for the price of admission with a great selection of some finer items auctioned off live. The Casino Room was a big hit with a lot of happy people. It was a fantastic celebration that will help fund Operation Santa Clothes and other projects from CSR. Photos from the event will be posted here soon, so check back often.
(Click on the picture at left to see the full flyer)

 Trivia Contestants Share the Wealth:

Covina Sunrise attended the Covina Library’s 2009 Trivia Contest once again this year in April with the team of Terry Wysocki, Al Marino, and Wes Uptergrove. The CSR team has been legendary in the contest, winning it a record setting three times. This year the team, after a stunning display of their trivial knowledge in the early rounds, decided that it was time to let the glory pass to other, less fortunate teams, and so gracefully stepped back from the pole position. This benevolence is part of the Rotary credo of “service above self” and is just one more example of CSR giving back to the community.

 Covina Police and Fire Officers Honored:

Covina Sunrise held a very special meeting on March 16th this year. That day is normally used to pay tribute to policeman and fireman of the year. However this year, due to the extraordinary circumstance of the Covina Christmas Massacre, the entire group of first responders was honored at the meeting. Hugh Ledford led the ceremonies which had over 30 officers in attendance. The Fire Battalion Chief Bryant and Police Chief Kim Raney (a member of this Club) brought their men forward to receive the plaque and commendations from CSR for their outstanding courage, bravery, and leadership during that horrendous event. Click Here to see photos of the awards ceremony.