Del Mar-Solana Beach Rotary Club holds BocceFest Celebration of Giving

COVID-19 caused the cancellation of BocceFest 2020, but the Del Mar-Solana Beach Rotary Club received over $38,000 in pledges from past sponsors and donors to continue its good work helping the less fortunate. To celebrate this accomplishment and to thank its supporters, DMSB Rotary held a virtual Celebration of Giving, showcasing some of the nonprofit organizations it supports. The club focused on three areas of service: Homelessness, Families in Need, and Youth at Risk. Organizations who participated with heart-felt testimonials and videos included Reality Changers, Just in Time for Foster Youth, Community Resource Center, Solutions for Change, Case de Amistad, Veteran’s Village, Feeding San Diego, and Hope Without Boundaries.

Charles Foster was BocceFest 2020 chair and celebration creator and worked with Patricia Case, Ken Barrett, Molly Fleming, and Phil Campanelli to make the evening a success. They were also helped by Carlsbad High senior JJ Measer, who was the videographer. The Rotarians gave special recognition to Premier Sponsors, The Essick/Sims Team of Merrill Lynch (Financial Advisors Ryan Essick and Scott Sims), who have been VIP and Premier Sponsors for the past 10 years, and Steve Todoruk with Sprott/USA who specializes in precious metals and real assets investing, and has supported BocceFest for over 15 years. When gold hit a new high, Todoruk pledged his $5,000 support.

Long-time Rotary club members Paul Butler, Kevin Cahill, Charles Foster, and Malcolm Koll talked about how much Rotary and helping its beneficiaries means to them, as did sponsors Jeff Brown from Gaspar Doctors of Physical Therapy, Dan Phelan with Pacific Southwest Realty Services, and Costa & Mary Arabatzis from Ziziki’s at Sky Deck. Tamara Craver, president and CEO of Reality Changers, joined the broadcast live to extend her thanks.

Rotary District 5340 Governor and member of DMSB Rotary Club Steve Weitzen ended the evening with a quote from the philosopher Kierkegaard: “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” Weitzen explained that they have learned from 23 years of running the BocceFest Tournament how to make it better, and even a pandemic cannot stop them from continuing to grow and improve to be able to do even more “Good in the World.”

To see pictures of the Celebration or to make a donation, visit dmsbrotary.com — News release