Amador Upcountry Rotary

05/01/2026

Our club gave out dictionaries to the 3rd graders at Pioneer Elementary School this week. We’ll also be providing dictionaries to all the home schoolers in our community.
Some think the days of dictionaries are over but we think there is still a tremendous value for kids (especially) to have this resource.

04/23/2026

04/22/2026

At last night’s club meeting , we had the privilege of hearing a presentation about emergency preparedness from Simona Gallegos and Amanda Sylva , both from St Vincent de Paul/Listos California and working in conjunction with Amador County’s Office of Emergency Services. These two women provided relevant and important information in a professional, well planned, and fun way. Each of us received a Disaster Ready Guide plus valuable resources to take home to begin developing our individual preparedness plans.
We all live upcountry - so we all need to be READY in case of emergencies!
I encourage other Rotary Clubs and organizations to take advantage of this presentation.
Thank you Simona and Amanda!

04/22/2026

This week our club presented dictionaries to the third graders at Community Christian School. The students were excited to have a book of their own to take home and keep.

04/19/2026

For more than 25 years, our club has supported literacy in the county. One way has been to provide every third grader in our upcountry schools with a beautiful hardbound colorful dictionary with their name inscribed inside, that they can take home and use for the rest of their school days. YES, kids still need and use dictionaries!!
This week we delivered dictionaries to Ms Reid’s 3rd graders at Pine Grove Elementary. They look happy to me! This week’s volunteering Rotarians and friends were Mary Pratt, Bob Chrisman, Ernie Burgess, Chas Murphy, Berta Pickett, Rich and Susan Farrington.

04/19/2026

At this past weeks meeting, we recognized a couple more members who received Paul Harris Fellow awards: Denise Benson, Chas Murphy. Congratulations!
Our speaker was Marge’ (pronounced margay) Blair, owner and operator of Twin Cedars K9. Marge’ is a well known and respected dog trainer. She is also a dog handler doing search and rescue locally and around the state. Two of her search and rescue dogs were with her: Indiana Bones who is a cadaver dog and Ledger who specializes in field searches. Marge’ also trains therapy dogs as well as pets.

04/12/2026

Late in March, the Area 7 Rotary Clubs of Amador County held a Celebratory Dinner honoring the people who support The Rotary Foundation. Unfortunately, the strong winter storm that hit us that week prevented a number of members from attending and from receiving their awards.
Last Tuesday our club held a mini recognition for those who achieved Paul Harris Fellow Awards but missed the dinner: Hank Arnold, Leigh Reynolds, Andy OLoan, Nancy OLoan, Rich Farrington, Susan Farrington, Paul Leishman, and Chas Murphy. Thanks to Area Governor Tammy Demetrus and Club President Mary Pratt for organizing this recognition.

04/12/2026

We’ve had some fascinating interesting and informative speakers at our Amador Upcountry Rotary meetings the last month. Guests are welcome. Join us on the first 3 Tuesdays each month at Plate88 in Pioneer at 6 pm.
>Robert Saracino - member of American Legion, Vietnam Security Police Association, Vietnam Dog Handler Association, and Veterans of Foreign Wars - spoke to us about his experience as a dog handler for ensuring base security during the Vietnam war.
>Tori and Kevin Moody - CPU Onsite Computer Service - spoke about scams, phishing, identity theft, the impact and future of AI, and the importance of secure passwords and limiting your online presence.
>A & A Shooters - Head Coach Rich Lynch (level 3 certification) with members Clara and Lucas - spoke about this longstanding Amador County program for 6th -12th graders that currently has over 80 members, teaching shooting skills, range etiquette, and sportsmanship as well as life skills like positive personal presentation, calm confidence, keeping up their academics, communicating effectively, quieting the mind, and focusing on the next shot rather than the one just past.

03/06/2026

This year's Rotary International Assembly in brought together 1,600 District Governors-elect from across the globe 🌎🤝

There, Rotary International President-elect Olayinka H. Babalola called on members to ‘Create Lasting Impact’ by making their clubs more welcoming, carrying out impactful projects, and embracing their own Rotary experiences so that they transform them personally as individuals 💫

This report by Etelka Lehoczky highlights the impact of Rotary and the potential we all have in Rotary to make a positive difference in our local communities, worldwide and within ourselves.

https://magazine.rotarygbi.org/ri-assembly-february-2026

03/06/2026

Welcome to our newest member, Debby Villanueva, who joined Rotary Club of Amador Upcountry on March 3, 2026! Sponsored by Past President-Tammy Demetrus, Debby brings energy, enthusiasm, leadership, and a heart of service to the club. She is a Sales Account Rep with the McClane Company.
Welcome, Debby!

01/19/2026

Thank you all who attended our 40th Annual Crab Feed on Saturday evening! Another great event and we appreciate every one of you and your generosity. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. The proceeds benefit our Rotary service projects, especially those targeted for our upcountry youth: leadership camps, scholarships, upgrades at our local parks, etc. We look forward to seeing you at our next event.
Thank you too to Tammy Demetrus for organizing it, to all our businesses and sponsors for your generosity, to the kitchen staff for the BEST clam chowder, to Scout Troop 78 for serving so diligently, to our Club President Mary Pratt, and to all our volunteers, Rotarians and non-Rotarians.
We love you all. What a great community!
PS: if you left a designer water bottle, please call Berta at 916-765-8071.