Brown, Page leading Rancho Bernardo’s two Rotary clubs

Rancho Bernardo’s two Rotary clubs have new presidents, whose year-long terms started this month.

Craig Brown is leading the Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club while Benita Page is leading the Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo. Both are longtime Rotarians serving their first stints as president.

“I want to continue on the path the previous two presidents have set; the enthusiasm and momentum,” Brown said. “Our membership has been growing dramatically, there is a new enthusiasm for the speakers and we’ve got a lot of movement going with district-wide initiatives in our grant process.”

He said the club will also focus on projects where it can partner with other clubs in the district. While grant funding can be a complicated process, he said there is now a simple methodology they are using and so far the Sunrise club has partnered with a half-dozen other district clubs.

“Our grants run across the spectrum, from children to water projects, food projects to help the poorest of the poor countries to health-related (endeavors),” Brown said.

“My major goal is to continue supporting all the local organizations and for us to do more service projects this year,” Page said, adding the RB Rotary Club typically gives $40,000 per year back to the community.

She said the club has supported area youths through scholarships and Rotary programs such as Model UN, Four Way Speech Contest, Rotary Youth Leadership Award camp, Interact Club at Del Norte High School, music camp for international and local students and by contributing to the Miss Rancho Bernardo pageants. It also gives dictionaries and thesauruses to third and fourth graders in several Poway Unified schools plus books to the Bernardo Heights Middle School library.

Page said community endeavors have included serving meals at the Ronald McDonald House, adopting families for the holidays, supporting the Veterans Village Stand Down and Interfaith Community Services, and providing AAUW Tech Trek scholarships.

On the international front it has worked to eradicate polio and funded several projects in Ecuador, including some for earthquake relief.

Both clubs have members participate in community service projects as part of Rotarians at Work Day each April.

Brown, divisional vice president of Skyline Home Loans (formerly Rancho Financial), said he became a Rotarian 30 years ago through the Escondido club. When RB Sunrise formed in 1988 he became a charter member. He has lived in the area since 1974.

“Rotary is rooted in the business community and I was invited by a business associate and friend to join his club in Escondido,” Brown said. “I found the members to have like-minded personal goals for the community and (desire) to be doing good outside our area.”

He said Rotarians tend to be people who want to do something meaningful locally and farther away and Rotary gives them the opportunity to “make changes in the world that they otherwise could not (make alone).”

“The most interesting thing about Rotary is ... the high level of fellowship,” Page said. “I have made good friends with the same goals. We have a very cohesive club membership.”

She has been a Rotarian since 1989, joining soon after the international organization first accepted women into its ranks. Initially she belonged to the La Jolla Golden Triangle club, but after retiring from her career as a senior vice president for an insurance broker, Page said she switched her membership to Rancho Bernardo, where she has lived for the past 27 years.

While both are first-time presidents, they have held other leadership positions within the organization. Page said she was club chairwoman of The Rotary Foundation for three years plus the RB Rotary Club Foundation’s president and a board member. Brown said he was Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Foundation chairman and led other club initiatives.

The 66 Sunrise Rotarians meet at 7:15 a.m. each Tuesday at the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo. Dues are $250 per year. Those interested in joining can contact Mary Stanton at marybeth@san.rr.com or go to the club’s website at rbsunrise.org.

The 55 RB Rotarians meet at noon on Thursdays — except the second Thursday when their meeting time switches to 5:30 p.m. — in the Bernardo Heights Country Club. Dues are $250 per year. Those interested in joining can contact Don Glover at dglov@san.rr.com or 619-994-7703 or go to the club’s website at rbrotary.org.