Category Archives: Featured Member

Meet 2023-2024 Club President Karen Lujan

It is with great pleasure and excitement that we announce the installment of Karen Lujan as our incoming Rotary President for the 2023-24 Rotary year on July 1, 2023.  As we close out our first 100 years of service to the Monrovia community and prepare for the next chapter in our Rotary journey, we are filled with anticipation for the leadership and positive impact that Karen will bring to our organization.

Karen is no stranger to our Rotary family, having served as an invaluable member for 15 years. Throughout her tenure, she has proven her ability to inspire, engage, and empower others to make a meaningful impact in our community and beyond.   Karen has lived in the San Gabriel Valley since the age of 7.   Karen attended UCSB where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering.  She then went on to earn her Master of Business Administration Degree in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix. Karen has been married to Fil Lujan for 27 years and has two grown boys who are both living at home attending college and one chosen daughter with two grandchildren that live in the SLC area. Karen currently works as a Senior Product Line Manager for Siemens Corporation in the Semiconductor Software industry.

Here is what Karen had to say regarding the upcoming Rotary year:

I hope to continue building on the momentum that we grew last year with our Centennial year.  We are a service club first and foremost and I want to find meaningful projects in our community and abroad where we can help those in need.  I strongly believe in the power of teamwork and the collective strength that comes from people coming together toward a common goal of helping others . Please consider joining us, you can help make a difference, at home and around the world.

Meet 2022-2023 Club President Tom Adams

Tom Adams took the helm on July 1, 2022 as the newly installed 2022-2023 Monrovia Rotary President for our centennial year of service.

Tom Adams was born in the Monrovia Hospital and is truly one of the few natives here today. Living his entire life in the San Gabriel Valley and mostly in Monrovia, Tom has seen many changes during his life here. Married to Sally Adams and along with three children who are all grown and gone, Tom and Sally enjoy three granddaughters and all of the fun they bring to life!

Tom has served a variety of roles in Monrovia including the newly retired Mayor of Monrovia and has served longer on the Monrovia City Council than anyone in history! Tom has served in a variety of other roles in the community and continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the Volunteer Center of the San Gabriel Valley, based in Monrovia.

Tom is a Real Estate Broker and is President of Adams & Barnes, Inc., based in Monrovia. They offer services through Century 21 Adams & Barnes including Residential Sales and Leasing, Commercial Sales and Leasing, Property Management and Escrow Services.

Here are some words from President Tom Adams regarding this upcoming Rotary year:

The pandemic has hit service clubs hard, just as it has business and my number one goal is to rebuild the Rotary Club of Monrovia back to its glory. The Rotary Club of Monrovia was Chartered on October 24, 1922 and this will be the Centennial Year. The Rotary Year is from July 1 to June 30 and you will see Rotary sponsoring events all year long from the fireworks on the 4th of July to all of the concerts in the parks as well as the movies in the parks. Rotary is truly a community leader. Driving around Monrovia you might note that the Bandshell in Library Park was donated by Rotary as well as Rotary Park and the new drinking fountain on Myrtle Avenue. 

Consider joining, you can help make a difference, at home and around the world.

Meet 2021-2022 Club President Sylvia Domotor

Sylvia Domotor took the helm on July 1, 2021 as the newly installed 2021-2021 Monrovia Rotary President.

Sylvia was born in and lived in various parts of Europe, then in Montreal Quebec Canada and then eventually in the Los Angeles area. Lack of snow was a HUGE draw to SoCal!

Sylvia received her Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology from McGill University in Montreal and her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) in Guelph Ontario Canada.

Sylvia quipped that she speaks poor French, decent Hungarian and on a good day she can communicate in English.

Sylvia joined the Rotary Club of Monrovia in 2010 and has served as a Board member for most of that time and has chaired many committees.

Sylvia says her only regret about the Rotary Club of Monrovia is that she waited so long to join! In her words:

From the first meeting that I was invited to as the guest of Mary Ann Lutz (former Mayor of Monrovia), I fell in love with a group of amazing individuals who had one goal – bettering their community. That they also liked to have fun and enjoyed each other’s company was a huge bonus.”

Monrovia has always been very good to and for me. It was a wonderful town to work in as a veterinary associate from 1988 until I became a veterinary hospital owner in 1996. I moved to Monrovia in 1992 and intend to never leave! Which is a very significant for a vagabond such as myself.

It is my honor in 2021-2022 to serve as the President of this wonderful and amazing group of distinguished, community oriented and yet warm, friendly and fun individuals, as we recover from the damages of COVID and rebuild our club and our community.

Our slogan for this year is; FUN, FRIENDSHIP, COMMUNITY SERVICE!

Meet 2019-2020 Club President Jan Mueting

Jan Mueting recently took the helm on July 1, 2019 as the newly installed 2019-2020 Monrovia Rotary President.

Jan Mueting is a native Californian and Daughter of the American Revolution.  Jan’s family have long been residents of Ventura County, however, 20 years ago she found herself to be a resident of Monrovia. Jan greatly loves this community and is excited to take an active role serving the community through Rotary. Jan purchased her home in Monrovia 20 years ago, with her spouse of 22 years, where they live with their three rescue dogs. For the past 16 years Jan has worked for the nations largest and oldest pet insurance company as an Operations Manager. As you may guess, with three dogs the veterinary bills can add up, fortunately all three of her pets are insured!

While Jan is a “newer” resident of Monrovia, she recently learned that several of her ancestors lived in Monrovia over a hundred years ago! She feels that living in Monrovia was destined to be.

Jan joined the Monrovia Rotary Club three years ago when it was pointed out to her by a friend that, at heart, she was already a Rotarian. Her response to that friend was, “isn’t helping someone who needs it, just what you do?” 

Jan is honored and proud to lead the Monrovia Rotary Club for the 2019-2020 year and says “I hope you’ll consider joining us. We at the Rotary Club of Monrovia are a group of people who ‘Dare to Care and turn our Passion into Action’. “

Tim Moore – Challenging What You Thought You Knew About Investing

Club member Tim Moore was the speaker at our regular club meeting yesterday and presented a program which quite literally challenged the status quo thinking about investing in the stock market for many  “small” investor’s. 

Tim has a long history as a financial advisor, beginning his career at a large Wall Street investment firm where he was taught to sell products such as mutual funds and annuities.  Over the course of time, Tim realized that the products and practices of wealth management didn’t provide sufficient growth opportunities for the middle class. The middle class can’t invest more, so they need to earn more.

Wealth management is great for the rich, the middle class need “wealth creation opportunities.”  Tim takes the Warren Buffett quote to heart, “Diversification is protection from ignorance, and it makes little sense if you know what you’re doing.” 

Warren Buffett knows, what academia has verified, that owning a handful of the “RIGHT” stocks, is the best way to build wealth for the future.  What Tim refers to as wealth creation accounts. For many, that can mean owning shares in companies where we spend our money, such as “Amazon, Apple, Home Depot, Netflix, Starbucks and a host of others. 

A convincing argument was made, comparing portfolios returns of individual stocks to index funds over same time periods.  He also spoke about how labor generates income, while ownership generates wealth.

Displaying not only a deep knowledge base on this topic, Tim is also passionate about educating and empowering people, so that they may have more control over their destiny.  He’s been “preaching” this message at his church and at Rotary and in other groups at no cost because he so strongly believes in his message and his mission. 

There’s a “wealth” of information available on Tim’s LinkedIn profile “Moore Money Academy”

Club Inducts Deb Pringle

The Monrovia Rotary Club was pleased to induct Deb Pringle to membership.

Deb  is a Realtor® with Vastree Real Estate, specializing in families and historic homes in the Monrovia area. Originally born in Queens NY, Deb grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania where she pursued her love of animals, working with the local VCA Animal Hospital and volunteering her time to train animals for the Susquehanna Service Dogs organization, which provides service dogs and hearing dogs for disabled children and adults. Moving to California, Deb studied high end dining service, eventually working with the award-winning Tavern restaurant in Brentwood and receiving her certification as a Level One Sommelier. Today, Deb is a proud member of the Monrovia community, engaging in social groups, book clubs, and spending a portion of her free time serving as a tutor for adults working to learn English as a second language. At home, Deb takes care of her own animals – two cats and an adorable Boston Terrier. Deb is also an avid baker… a skill that is encouraged by her husband, stand up comedian Ken Pringle (much to the chagrin of his expanding waistline!).

Club Inducts New Fire Chief

The Monrovia Rotary Club has inducted Fire Chief Brad Dover to membership.  Brad is being sponsored by Immediate Past President, Bill Shieff.

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Brad Dover began volunteering for Monrovia Fire and Rescue in 1994 as a fire cadet. In 1998, he was hire full time as a firefighter. The following year, he was assigned as a firefighter/paramedic. In 2003, Brad was promoted to fire engineer, a position he still cherishes as one of his favorites. In 2006 he promoted to captain where he spent two years on an engine company. In 2008, he was reassigned as a captain on the ladder truck. He said that assignment is where he grew the most professionally and all of the pieces of incident management came together. In 2015, he promoted to division chief, where he managed day-to-day shift operations. He was also responsible for citywide emergency preparedness programs and department support services. Brad has a Bachelorette of Science degree from California State University, Long Beach. He has completed the California career track programs for Fire Officer and Chief Officer. He was fortunate enough to spend a number of years as part of a California USAR Task Force. Currently, Brad is attending the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy in Maryland. The graduate level program is designed for fire service leaders from around the country. Brad has been married to his wife Anne for the past 18 years, and has 13 year old twins, Blake and Ella. Away from work he loves camping, golfing and being involved in his children’s sports programs. As a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan, he insisted on naming his dog Lambeau, after one of the Packer legends.

The Club is proud that a person such as Brad,  who has spent a lifetime in service to others, has chosen the Rotary Club as an avenue of service.