Downtown San Diego Rotary Club

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Downtown San Diego Rotary Club

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Join us Wednesday morning at 7am at the beautiful University Club atop the Symphony Towers. Learn more at sdrotary.org

10/12/2026

We were honored to host Mark Kersey from the San Diego County Taxpayers Association—San Diego’s oldest and most respected government watchdog group, serving our region for 81 years.

Mark shared critical perspectives on ensuring long-term fiscal health for our city:

🔹 Sustainable Funding First: City Council should ensure initiatives have reliable, long-term funding before committing taxpayer dollars.

🔹 Protecting Taxpayers: Sales tax increases disproportionately impact lower-income families. Mark advocated that sales tax hikes should come with expiration dates and require periodic voter reauthorization rather than continue in perpetuity.

Thank you, Mark, for bringing this vital discussion to our club!

10/05/2026

Looking to make meaningful local connections, give back to the community, and kick off your morning with an inspiring view? Join the Downtown San Diego Rotary Club for breakfast on Wednesday morning! ☕🥐✨
Come for the unbeatable views of the San Diego harbor and airport, and stay for the engaging speakers, great fellowship, and impactful community projects. 🏙️🌅
📍 Where: University Club atop Symphony Towers (750 B St, San Diego)
⏰ When: Wednesday mornings | Breakfast at 7:00 AM | Meeting from 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
💡 Why: Connect with passionate local professionals, hear from dynamic guest speakers, and discover how we put "Service Above Self" in San Diego and beyond.
Start your morning with purpose (and a fantastic breakfast). ⛅🍴
👨‍💼Upcoming Speakers:
Oct 7: Mark Kersey, CEO, San Diego County Taxpayers Assn
Oct 14: Dr. Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Changes in Sleep as We Age
Oct 21: Andy Friedenberg, Director, Cinema Society, Celebrity War Stories
Oct 28: MaryAnne Pintar, Chair, San Diego County Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board
🧐More information about our meetings: https://sdrotary.org/sitepage/about/meetings

09/29/2026

The Downtown San Diego Rotary Club is proud to continue supporting sustainable microfinance initiatives that transform the lives of women in coffee-growing regions. 🌱☕

Based on the Grameen Bank model pioneered by Muhammad Yunus, these programs use solidarity lending—a peer-administered approach where local community members come together to provide support, accountability, and encouragement to help each entrepreneur succeed and repay her loan.

Want to get involved or help us fund our next cohort of entrepreneurs? Join Downtown San Diego Rotary and get involved in our International Services Committee. More Information: https://www.sdrotary.org/sitepage/about/meetings

09/25/2026

Our City Council District 3 representative, Stephen Whitburn, visited the Downtown San Diego Rotary club to describe his work for communities that make up the heart of our city—Downtown, Little Italy, Hillcrest, North Park, Balboa Park, and Mission Valley. In addition to his City Council duties, Whitburn serves as Chair of the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Board of Directors.

Highlights from his engaging Q&A presentation gave our members insight into issues facing our city, including:

💰 An overview of the city budgeting process and how local funding priorities are set.
🚊 The ongoing SANDAG study exploring the best options for connecting the airport directly to the trolley system.
🚗 Waymo's expansion in San Diego and why he prefers a careful, measured approach to autonomous vehicles.
🎭 The essential role arts and culture play in maintaining our city's vitality and character.
🏢 Addressing the housing crisis, including plans to streamline approvals, reduce building costs, and create synergies that activate the downtown core.
🏠Practical solutions to homelessness, such as implementing safe sleeping sites and outdoor shelters away from homes and businesses.

Thank you, Councilmember Whitburn for taking the time to engage with our members! 🏙️

09/21/2026

Looking to make meaningful local connections, give back to the community, and kick off your morning with an inspiring view? Join the Downtown San Diego Rotary Club for breakfast on Wednesday morning! ☕🥐✨

Come for the unbeatable views of the San Diego harbor and airport, and stay for the engaging speakers, great fellowship, and impactful community projects. 🏙️🌅

📍 Where: University Club atop Symphony Towers (750 B St, San Diego)

⏰ When: Wednesday mornings | Breakfast at 7:00 AM | Meeting from 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM

💡 Why: Connect with passionate local professionals, hear from dynamic guest speakers, and discover how we put "Service Above Self" in San Diego and beyond.

Start your morning with purpose (and a fantastic breakfast). ⛅🍴More information about our meetings: https://sdrotary.org/sitepage/about/meetings

09/20/2026

Nancy Laturno, CEO of Mainly Mozart, shared her journey leading the largest Mozart festival in North America at Downtown San Diego Rotary's September 16 meeting. 🎻🎹 Here are a few key takeaways from her inspiring talk:

🚗 Pioneering Live Music: During COVID, Mainly Mozart became the first major U.S. arts organization to perform live in front of an audience. Their innovative drive-in format at the Del Mar Fairgrounds kept the music alive and sparked a blueprint that arts organizations nationwide quickly adopted

🎻 Empowering the Next Generation: The Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra engages 350 young musicians ages 5–18. The program purposefully welcomes neurodivergent youth and students with autism—a meaningful nod to historical letters and documentation suggesting Mozart himself may have been on the autism spectrum.

🧠 The Healing Power of Music: Beyond the stage, Mainly Mozart collaborates with world-class neurologists to study the music-brain connection, exploring how classical compositions can heal, transform, and optimize human neurological health.

Thank you, Nancy, for showing us how music can break boundaries, unite communities, and change lives!

09/17/2026

This weekend, 12 volunteers from the San Diego Downtown Rotary Club assembled ready-to-eat food 🍎🍴packages at the Third Avenue Charitable Organization (TACO). These packages are part of a new pilot program in partnership with the San Diego Food Bank for people who lack access to kitchen facilities. Each package contains 10 nutritious, ready-to-eat items.

Did you know? On open days, up to 200 people visit TACO seeking food assistance
🍝Provides 3 hot meals per week.
🚿Offers twice-monthly showers to community members in need.
📬Mailing Address Hub for 20,000 unsheltered individuals, helping them maintain communication, documentation, and access to vital services.
💡Casework Support: An on-staff social worker helps clients navigate paperwork and connects them with long-term community resources.

09/14/2026

Non-members are welcome to join us for breakfast on Wednesday mornings to get to know our club.

Upcoming speakers:
*Sep 16, 2026 Nancy Laturno, CEO, Mainly Mozart
*Sep 23, 2026 Stephen Whitburn, Councilmember and Chair, MTS
*Sep 30, 2026 Betsy Brennan, CEO, San Diego Downtown Partnership
*Oct 7, 2026 Mark Kersey, CEO, San Diego County Taxpayers Assn

More information about our meetings: https://sdrotary.org/sitepage/about/meetings

09/10/2026

We were pleased to host San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan at the Downtown San Diego Rotary yesterday!👏👨‍✈️

As the leader of California’s second-largest District Attorney’s office, DA Stephan highlighted how San Diego maintains its status as the safest large county in the state. She shared her belief that safety and justice are the essential foundation required for our local economy, businesses, workforce, and community to thrive.

Key takeaways from today’s meeting:

🔓Addressing Retail Theft: DA Stephan discussed how Prop 36 provides essential tools to hold organized retail theft rings accountable for repeat offenses under $950, supporting our retail sector in keeping everyday items accessible on store shelves rather than locked behind glass.

🌟Progress on the Addiction & Overdose Crisis: Through an emphasis on getting repeat m**h and fentanyl users into treatment, San Diego is seeing meaningful results. Medical Examiner statistics reveal overdose deaths have dropped 25% among the homeless population over two years and 11% overall.

🌱Combatting Human Trafficking: DA Stephan highlighted her team's ongoing work to protect vulnerable populations, celebrating a major legislative win: As of 2025 California now recognizes buying 16 and 17 year old minors for prostitution as a felony crime.

💻Protecting Seniors from Scams: The DA's office continues to aggressively target fraud aimed at older adults, while advocating that the platforms used by perpetrators be held accountable for enabling these crimes.

Thank you, DA Stephan, for taking the time to share your insight and for your dedicated leadership in keeping San Diego safe and prosperous! ⚙️💙

09/07/2026

Non-members are welcome to join us for breakfast on Wednesday mornings to get to know our club.

Upcoming speakers:
*Sep 02, 2026: Casey Castillo, CEO, San Diego Food Bank
*Sep 09, 2026: Summer Stephan, District Attorney
*Sep 16, 2026
Nancy Laturno, CEO, Mainly Mozart
*Sep 23, 2026
Stephen Whitburn, Councilmember and Chair, MTS

More information about our meetings: https://sdrotary.org/sitepage/about/meetings

Address

750 B Street, Fl 34th
San Diego, CA
92101

Opening Hours

7am - 8:30am

Website

http://www.sdrotary.org/

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Water4Life Ministry
PO Box 23361

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