There will be no Tuesday meeting this week. Instead, we will get together for casual fellowship at Fiore e Sale on Thu Nov 20 6:00 PM. Please invite your service- and business-minded friends!
Next week is the Thanksgiving holiday, and there will be no meeting. On Dec 2, we will hear from Kim Broyles and the Secret City E-Sports Team.
You can always find the latest events on our Calendar and speakers on our YouTube channel. We don’t have a video yet from last week’s speaker, Adaptive Sports New Mexico Executive Director Camille Romero, but you can learn more about the organization by visiting their website.
Meals of Hope This Saturday – Donations And Volunteers Still Needed
Today, we honor those who most embody the spirit of “Service Above Self”. Rotary has a long and meaningful history of supporting military service members, veterans, and their families. Many early Rotarians served in the military or supported wartime relief, organizing drives for Red Cross supplies, war bonds, and medical aid. Rotary clubs also helped returning soldiers reintegrate into civilian life through job placement and education. Rotary was instrumental in founding the United Nations and remains deeply involved in international peace and conflict resolution programs.
Many fellows are veterans or service members who apply their experience toward global peacebuilding, diplomacy, and humanitarian work. Clubs often collaborate with the USO and local veterans’ centers to provide comfort kits, host appreciation dinners, or sponsor community service projects. Many Rotary clubs participate in programs like Operation Greenlight and Wreaths Across America to visibly honor veterans and bring the community together.
Veteran’s Day Memorial Service at Ashley Pond
This Week’s Speaker
Our guest speaker this week is Adaptive Sports New Mexico Executive Director Camille Romero. she leads with a passion for inclusion, outdoor recreation, and community impact. A Santa Fe native, Camille has worked in the nonprofit sector since 2008; she joined the ASPNM team in 2015. She holds a BS from the University of Notre Dame and a JD from the University of New Mexico. A certified Pilates instructor and avid sports enthusiast, Camille is dedicated to creating opportunities for people of all abilities to thrive—especially in her beloved home state of New Mexico.
If you missed last week’s meeting on AI for Humanity, you can view the video here.
Meals of Hope Next Saturday
Every year, the Rotary Club of Los Alamos partners with Meals of Hope and The Food Depot with the ambitious goal of assembling thousands of meals for northern New Mexico families. This program is remarkably cost-effective – every dollar provides three meals! We’re meeting on Saturday, November 22, 2025 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM at Crossroads Bible Church and invite volunteers of all ages and abilities to be part of this event. Signing up in advance helps us to plan, but even if you can’t commit ahead of time, we’d be happy to have you show up if you’re available. If you can’t attend in person, you can really help us out by making a tax-deductible donation. For more info, visit our Meals of Hope page.
I wanted to share a message from fellow Rotarians attending the COP30 Conference in Brazil next week. Please consider supporting their efforts. If you want to pool resources to collectively support them as a club, please let me know ASAP.
I hope this message finds you in good health and high spirits.
Across the world, Rotarians have always stood where compassion meets action, bringing clean water for a village, providing polio vaccines for children, doing reforestation projects, building peace one friendship at a time. Now, we have the opportunity to carry that same spirit at one of the most significant global gatherings of our time:
The UN Climate Change Conference COP30, which will be held in Belém, Brazil, November 10-21, 2025.
Rotarians, with the support of their Rotary Clubs and ESRAG, have partnered with GLOTCHA, Global Challenges Foundation. Together we will have a Pavilion in the Blue Zone, a space where our stories of hope, innovation, and service can reach world leaders, young changemakers, and global organizations. This is more than an exhibition; it is our chance to show how Rotary turns concern into concrete action for people and the planet, as proven in every Rotary Club project that we as Rotarians do around the world.
To make this vision real, we are asking for your support, as individual Rotarians, as clubs or as districts who believe, as we do, that the future deserves our care today. Your support will help build a pavilion that speaks not just of Rotary’s achievements, but of our shared promise for generations to come.
We will acknowledge all sponsoring clubs and districts by adding their names to the sponsors list at the booth at COP30 and will be happy to showcase information about their environmental projects. Feel free to reach out to us for more information.
Below is the link to send individual, club and district sponsorships. If you need to use a different way to submit your donations and sponsorships, please let us know
Salvador Rico COP30 Committee Member TRF Cadre 2024-2027 District International Service Chair 2022-2028 Rotary Club of South Ukiah D5130 Salvador.rotary@gmail.com
Alberto J. Palombo COP30 Committee Chair ESRAG Board Member TRF Cadre 2022-2026 Founding member of the Rotary Club of Brasília International Rotary Club of Brasília International D4530 apalombo@esrag.org
Michael J. Terrelonge ESRAG – Chair (2025-26) Rotary Club of Portmore, District 7020, cop30@esrag.org
On November 11 at 11:00 AM, honor our veterans at the annual Ashley Pond Veteran’s Day Ceremony.
On November 17, we’ll have an evening social at Fiori e Sale at 6pm.
On November 22, we have our Meals of Hope meal packing event. The event will be held 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM at Crossroads Bible Church. We’re still short about $3000 and 40-50 volunteers. We need every hand we can get to be able to pack 25,000 in 6 hours! If you know anyone willing and able to volunteer or make a donation, help us spread the word!
That’ll put us into the week of Thanksgiving with no meeting planned.
We are also looking for a President-elect for next year. It could be anyone. Even you!
Megan Jackson is the Program Specialist for Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Mexico here in Los Alamos. BBBSNM creates lasting one-on-one mentoring matches between caring adults and local youth—because being Big means so much when you’re little. Megan works to connect volunteers with children who share their interests, whether it’s art, sports, or science. There are 29 active matches in Los Alamos and more youth waiting for mentors. With just four hours a month, you can change a life. You can also support their Drive for Matches Golf Tournament.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Program Specialist Megan Jackson with her family on vacation
Purple Pinky & Trick or Treat on Mainstreet This Friday Oct 24
Purple Pinky gives students an opportunity to participate in Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign.
Our annual Purple Pinky fundraiser helps support the Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign to provide polio vaccinations and support for individuals inflicted by polio. If you have elementary school students, please send them to school on Friday, October 24 with this permission slip completed and optionally $1 to help support this mission. You can also give to our fundraiser on LosAlamosGives.org.
Trick Or Treat on Main Street attracts thousands of visitors from around northern New Mexico.
We will also be giving out candy at Trick or Treat on Main Street this Friday 4-6 PM. We hope you’ll come say hi in your costume!
Zone Institute This Week
The Rotary 26-27 Zone Institute started this week and continues through the weekend. It is packed full of opportunities to learn and meet Rotarians from throughout the American West!
Make A Difference With Los Alamos Gives
Los Alamos Gives
The Rotary Club of Los Alamos invites you to take part in three upcoming fundraisers that make a lasting difference in the world and right here at home.
Through Purple Pinky, we join Rotary International’s global effort to end polio—a disease reduced by 99.9% since 1988. On October 24, we’ll partner with Los Alamos Public Schools to help students learn about vaccines and global health. Just $1 can protect a child for life. Donate at losalamosgives.org/story/Purplepinky.
Join us on November 22 for Meals of Hope, a meal-packing event at Crossroads Bible Church (9 AM – 3 PM). With your help, we aim to raise $8,000 and pack 25,000 meals for Northern New Mexico families through The Food Depot. You can contribute or volunteer at losalamosgives.org/story/Mealsofhope.
You can also multiply your impact by supporting our Global Grant Fund, where each dollar is matched 180% by Rotary International and District 5520. This year, we’re funding medical, clean-water, and education projects that empower communities worldwide. Give today at losalamosgives.org/story/globalgrants.
Together, these fundraisers strengthen communities, improve global health, and give hope to those in need. Whether you donate, volunteer, or spread the word, your support fuels Rotary’s mission of Service Above Self.
Join us every Tuesday at noon at the United Church, 2525 Canyon Rd, or visit rotarylosalamos.org to learn more.
Our speaker this week is Los Alamos County Airport Manager Gary Stoddard. His career path began with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology in 1998, after which he worked as an architectural designer and builder in Oakland, CA. In 2014, he earned a master’s degree in systems engineering from Iowa State University’s Industrial Engineering Department and joined Los Alamos National Laboratory as a building automation controls engineer. At the lab, he collaborated with both the Facilities Engineering and Sustainability Program teams, focusing on high-performance sustainable buildings with an emphasis on energy conservation, analysis, and optimized building control systems. For the past twenty years, he has also pursued his passion for hang gliding and piloting airplanes.
Next week, we’ll have geologist Tom McCrory followed by Megan Jackson from Big Brothers Big Sisters on October 21. You can view last week’s speaker Los Alamos Arts Council Brandi Engeman (and other past speakers) on our YouTube channel.
International Project Fair This Weekend
The International Project Fair (formerly known as the Tri-District Conference) will be held this weekend in El Paso, Texas. Come join us to see what Rotary clubs are doing to help their communities and beyond! If you’d like to support our club’s projects, visit our page on LosAlamosGives.org.
Just across the border in Juarez, our club president James Wernicke will be racing in one of the most extreme mountain bike races, the Chupacabras 100K!
Advancing Plant Forward Food Policy
Join the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) this Wednesday October 8 at 2:00 PM for a conversation on plant forward food policy. This presentation explores how cities, universities, and public institutions can begin shifting toward more plant-based food policies to reduce environmental impacts and support public health. It draws on Canadian case studies including six municipal wins and a national university initiative to highlight practical strategies and lessons learned.
Thanks Interact students and Rotarians for coming out to participate in our homecoming float today! Also a HUGE thanks to everyone who helped build the float. We learned a lot about prop making to hopefully make an even more awesome float next year. Or maybe for the Winter Lights Parade?
Clean Up Los Alamos Tomorrow
2024 Clean Up Los Alamos Day at the PEEC Treehouse
We’ll be meeting at LAHS Memorial Garden tomorrow at 9:00 AM and PEEC Treehouse at 10:30 AM. Contact Greg Viola for more info.
Friendship Dinner Sunday
We’ll be meeting at Gabriel’s in Pojoaque at 5:30. Lots of local Rotarians will be there.
This Week’s Speaker
Nathan Valdez, PhD candidate, will be presenting on his work in condensed matter material physics. Don’t forget to check our YouTube channel for past speakers.
Purple Mountains Next Saturday
Join is next Saturday at SALA Event Center at noon for a special engagement that is part snowboarding documentary, part climate action.
At this week’s lunch meeting, we have Lance Metcalf and Luke Creel speaking about the experiences abroad in youth exchange.
We also have a busy weekend ahead and volunteers are much needed.
Wednesday @ 4:30 PM we’ll be carving and painting foam and decorating our homecoming float. Email info@rotarylosalamos.org or contact James Wernicke for directions.
Friday @ 1:30 PM we’ll meet at Canyon School for the homecoming parade. Please be there on time because the parade won’t wait.
Saturday @ 9:00 AM we have Clean Up Los Alamos Day at the LAHS Memorial Garden and @ 10:30 AM we’ll be switching over to the PEEC Treehouse. Contact After that, come up to Pajarito Mountain for Ullr Fest!
Sunday @ 5:30 PM we have a Rotary Friendship Dinner at Gabriel’s in Pojoaque. Clubs from Espanola and Santa Fe will be there.
It looks like Interact will be helping us with the table at Purple Mountains, so why not just show up and watch the movie to support us instead? Follow the link for tickets. Movie starts @ 1:00 PM.
Purple Mountains
Peace Conference Oct 3, Volunteers Needed
The Pathways to Peace Conference is quickly approaching. Get your tickets before they’re gone! We are urgently looking for an overnight host on September 30 for our Peace Conference guest. Please contact James Wernicke if you have a spare room.
This week’s featured image is from The Food Depot Night At The Warehouse, where Rotarians from Los Alamos and Santa Fe and other community members were treated to a tour of the facility. Did you know they feed more than 40,000 individuals across northern New Mexico every month? That’s a lot of logistics!
This Week’s Speaker – District Governor Tom Simon
This week’s speaker will be District Governor Tom Simon. Missed our recent meeting with FSN Director Jen Demas? You can watch it on YouTube. Last week, Tom McCrory spoke on the wonders of geology. We’re working on uploading a recording to our channel. Have an idea for a speaker? Let us know at info@rotarylosalamos.org.
We are partnering with the Santa Fe Passport Club to host a Peace Conference October 3 at La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe. Tickets are limited to 100 participants.
Students are free and encouraged to submit art for the charity art auction. The deadline for submissions is September 15. See our Peace Conference page for more info.
Thanks for your interest in volunteering for our Clean Up Los Alamos Day events on Saturday, September 20, 2025. We will be cleaning up trash and loose yard waste at LAHS Memorial Garden9:00-10:30 AM and the PEEC Treehouse at 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM. Email info@rotarylosalamos.org for more info.
Los Alamos Family Strength Network’s annual Lucky Ducky Day is September 27, 2025. It’s a ton of fun and a great way to support an organization that has a huge impact on local families. You can hear FSN Director Jen Demas talk about it at our recent Rotary meeting here.
August is almost over. The weather is starting to cool and the summer energy is waning, but there’s a great Latin band Severo y El Grupo Fuego playing at the summer concert this Friday Aug 29. Instead of just doing an outreach table, what if we break out the party tent and have a little club party? Let me know if you’re interested in joining because I don’t want to set up that huge tent by myself.
I had a great time attending the Rotary Club of Española’s breakfast meeting on Friday. Both our governor and vice-governor were in attendance as well. I learned about their upcoming blood drive on September 27, which coincides with our movie at SALA, Purple Mountains. We also talked about collaborating on future service projects and hosting a multi-club dinner at Gabriel’s sometime soon.
This Week’s Speaker
This week, we are pleased to welcome Jen Demas, representing the Los Alamos Family Strengths Network.
Family Strengths Network is a cornerstone in our community—providing education, support, and connection for families of all kinds. From parenting workshops and playgroups to teen programs and resource sharing, FSN helps strengthen the bonds that hold families and our community together.
Jen has been deeply involved in this important mission, working to ensure families in Los Alamos have the tools, networks, and encouragement they need to thrive. She brings not only professional expertise, but also a strong passion for supporting resilience, connection, and growth across all stages of family life.
Clean Up Los Alamos Day Sep 20
Don’t forget about our Clean Up Los Alamos Day projects. Starting at 9am, we’ll clean up LAHS Memorial Garden followed by the PEEC Treehouse at 10:30.
The Path to Peace Conference will take place on Friday, October 3, 2025, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, NM. This full-day event invites participants to reflect, engage in dialogue, and take action as we explore the many ways peace is built—through history, reconciliation, and personal responsibility.
Featured speakers include Manuel Montoya, Ph.D., presenting an alternative perspective on economic diplomacy and nuclear nonproliferation; Eria Matsumae, sharing global lessons of peace and reconciliation from Hiroshima; and Denise Moore, LPCC, discussing how peace begins with each of us, even in times of conflict. Additional sessions will feature Rotary leaders, peacebuilders, and international partners.
The day will conclude with the unveiling of a Peace Pole at Thomas Macaione Park, led by Rotary District 5520 Governor Tom Simon. Registration is $50 per person (including lunch) or $25 for students (including lunch), with seating limited to 100 participants. Early registration is encouraged at this link. The conference is hosted by the Rotary Santa Fe Centro Passport Club and the Rotary Club of Los Alamos.
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