This meeting is at the Cameron Park Denny's at 3446 Coach Ln, Cameron Park, CA 95682. Not at the Country Club!
Kathy Haven serves as the Community Impact Officer at the El Dorado Community Foundation, where she holds multiple roles, including Grants and Scholarship Manager, Education Coordinator, and Impact Officer. With a tenure of three and a half years at the Foundation, Kathy brings a wealth of experience to her position.
Residing in the picturesque Lake Tahoe area for over a quarter-century, Kathy initially arrived at age 22 to pursue a career in teaching mathematics and science. After nearly a decade in the classroom, she chose to devote her time to raising her family, consisting of three teenagers and her husband. During this period, she actively engaged in the non-profit sector through volunteering, further deepening her commitment to community betterment.
When the opportunity arose for her to rejoin the workforce, the EDCF proved to be an ideal fit. Kathy primarily works remotely, making an occasional trip to Placerville as required. The EDCF serves as an umbrella organization for over 300 funds, all dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for residents, non-profits, and the general well-being of El Dorado County’s various communities.
In recent years, the Foundation has expanded its efforts by offering educational and nonprofit betterment opportunities for both community members and fellow non-profits within the county. Today, Kathy will provide insights into some of these new opportunities designed to benefit non-profits and community members alike.
Last Thursday we learned about the local chapter of a national organization called Homes for Heroes, which has been formed by a partnership of Colette Thiel and Amber Jaurequi. The mission of National Home for Heroes, which was developed after the 9/11 disaster, is "to provide extraordinary savings to heroes who provide extraordinary services to our nation and its communities every day" and its focus is providing savings in the sometimes difficult and expensive home buying process. In their presentation, Collette, a realtor with Thiel Real Estate and Property Management, and Amber, a mortgage broker with Geneva Financial explained how the local chapter works through their partnership.
Homes for Heroes targets a wide variety of community “heroes” to help realize savings in home purchase. Persons (or relatives) in the Military in any capacity, Law Enforcement, Fire Service personnel and EMT’s, Healthcare and Education are all eligible to apply for the program. In fact, when research is done, a large population of people can qualify according to Collette who indicated that she and Amber have some “leeway” in determining qualifications of applicants.
The program for home purchasers works in a simple and generous fashion. First a percentage of the home loan is rebated to the buyer from Geneva Financial. Secondly, an additional rebate is provided directly to the buyer by Collette who takes her contribution from the commission she earns from the home sale. Using this formula, the national Homes for Heroes organization has rebated over $116,000,000 to American home buyers since 2002. Colette and Amber gave examples from their experience in El Dorado County. Recently a county family received $5,700 in rebates and was able to purchase a washer, dryer, television and some furniture for their new home. The average savings for buyers in El Dorado County is between $4,500 and $5,000 per home purchase. Given the rise in the cost of homes in the county due to higher interest rates and a low inventory of homes for sale the savings provided by this program are significant for buyers.
The local chapter’s work here and the national work being done by Homes for Heroes can be characterized as a win-win experience for the home buyers who use this process according to the presenters. To learn more, members were invited to go to the local websites, 530Heroes.com or 916Heroes.com. Collette is easy to contact as she is also the President of the Shingle Springs-Cameron Park Chamber of Commerce. We are thankful to Collette and Amber for informing us of the work of their unique organization.
Congratulations Marlyn Pino-Jones, recognized as the Rotarian of the Month! Marlyn’s dedication shines through her extensive volunteer work, particularly her exceptional role as Speaker Chair. In this capacity, she consistently identifies outstanding programs and demonstrates remarkable patience, determination, and eloquence when faced with last-minute adjustments to the speaker schedule.
Marlyn’s commitment to Rotary goes beyond her role as Speaker Chair. She actively contributes as a board member, plays a vital role on the Scholarship Review Committee, and contributes to the Christmas Party Committee. Her actions truly embody the Rotary motto, “service above self.”
Laurie Edwards: Save the Date! On Thursday October 5th our club's meeting will be a program at the Community Observatory starting at 6:30pm. All Rotary Clubs on the West Slope are invited. That night there will be optimum viewing conditions for Jupiter and Saturn. Parking fee at the college will be waived. Be sure to sign up before the September 29 deadline.
David Sargent: Short organizational meeting of the Christmas Party Committee after today's meeting. Scholarship committee is currently meeting with guidance counselors at the high school.
Adam Marshall: On Sept. 29-30, we are supporting the Veterans Stand-down event at the Veteran's Memorial Hall in Placerville. Set up is now September 28 at 8:00 am. All those who signed up to help, please be ready to volunteer.
Guests:
Tiffany McAchra, former member and guest of Ulla Petersen.
Happy (or Not) Bucks
Cathy Dugan: $20 happy that the employee who took our club's order for 406 dictionaries reports that she has a lot of respect for Steve Long who did a terrific job on past orders and wants him to stay in touch. (Denise Leach is now in charge of the dictionary project, and Steve will serve as her backup.)
Marlyn Pino-Jones: $25 happy that her computer is FINALLY repaired.
Gary Clarke:$50 happy as his contribution for the leftover beer from the fair booth.
Dan Gott: $10 happy for being back to meetings.
Adam Marshall: $20 happy; $16 for his anniversary and $4 for being reminded of his anniversary in the Gear Up!
Birthdays in September
Ben Foulk
Don Fuller
Dennis Hamilton
Sabrina Ho
-----Spouses-----
Howell Ellerman
Nathan Wieler
Anniversaries in September
Dave and Gina Crofut
Adam and Sally Marshall
Dave and Carol Sargent
Upcoming Words of Wisdom/Greeter/Front Desk Assignments
GreeterFront DeskWords of Wisdom
Sept 28 Marlyn Pino-Jones Adam Marshall DeBorah Reno
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