The 2022 Roast and Toast was called to order by Past President Andrew Stearns.
Pledge led by President Elect Mike Norcia.
We held a moment of silence for Rotarians we lost this year: Richard (Dick) Irion, Leonard
(Len) Smith, Tom O’Donnell, and Lloyd Grant.
Inspiration by John Pencer who shared a story from Earl Nightingale called Acres of Diamonds. The moral of the story was sometimes we go looking for treasures in our life, and they are right in front of us all the time. In his life, Rotary is a treasure and he is so glad to be a part of our club. I think we all agree with you John, thank you for the story.
The program started with a look back on the year in a video by Suzanne Boxer-Gassman. We always enjoy the videos Suzanne puts together reminding us of all we accomplished and how much fun we had during the past year. It seems we especially enjoyed meeting in person again as well as our new meeting location.
Ron Cassel and Gae La Torre presented member awards. We had several members who were not able to attend, their awards will be presented at future lunch meetings.
Certificate of Appreciation:
Kirsten Bridges, Rachelle Lopp
Plaque of Appreciation:
Grady Jeter
Michelle Myers Nelson
Elite (Special Award) Plaque:
John Pencer
Rotarian of the Year:
Suzanne Boxer Gassman
Inspiration by Doug Brent. Doug talked about how we often don’t know the impact we have on our community. He shared a story about having dinner at the Palms when his server said hello Doug, I was a Rotary scholarship recipient. He was so impressed she remembered him, by name, after just meeting with him for few minutes and seeing him at the awards ceremony. She told him how much the award meant to her. He also read a letter of thanks he received from a parent who had two children who had been touched by our Rotary club. One, an exchange student, had been selected for ELC. The other, had received a scholarship. Thank you, Doug, for sharing these stories with us. 
Our Inspiration was presented by Jean-Marc Blanchard. He spoke about a young man named Austin Hatch who survived not one, but two plane crashes! He persevered through a very long emotional and physical recovery and went on to become a college graduate, father, husband and successful motivational speaker. Message: Go big or go home!
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