Tag Archives: featured

Club History, Featured Member, Rotary News

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.

Rotary News, Service

Monrovia Police Chief Sanvictores Awarded by Rotary

The Monrovia Rotary Club has presented retiring Monrovia Police Chief Alan Sanvictores with the highest award a Rotary Club can present, a Paul Harris Fellow Award, in recognition of his continual service to the people of Monrovia.

Named for the founder of Rotary International, the Paul Harris Fellow Award is given in recognition of individuals who have given $1000 to the Rotary Foundation or worthy individuals in whose name a donation has been made.

Other notable Paul Harris Fellow awardees include U.S. astronaut James Lovell, Mother Teresa, Pearl Bailey, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and Jonas Salk.

Rotary News, Scholarships

Monrovia Rotary Club Honors Life-Long Kiwanian Fred Bowden

By Susan Motander via Monrovia Weekly

The Monrovia Rotary Club in collaboration with the Monrovia Community Adult School (MCAS) and Bowden Development has created a new scholarship fund.  The Fred Bowden Family Vocational Scholarship is the newest Rotary scholarship fund to benefit adult learners in the Monrovia Community.

It may seem rather strange for the Monrovia Rotary Club to honor a member of the Kiwanis Club, but one only needed to know Fred to understand the tribute.  Fred was a great supporter of all things Monrovia.  According to Bill Shieff, a member of Monrovia Rotary Club, Bowden was a great supporter of both clubs.  He participated each year in the big Rotary Club auction.

This new scholarship fund is especially significant in that Fred was a major construction contractor in Monrovia for many years. The fund will provide four annual scholarships to adults so that they can complete certification training in construction at MCAS.

Monrovia Rotary President Darrell Brooke explains the process: “Through the Fred Bowden Family Vocational Scholarship program, the Monrovia Rotary will contribute 50 percent of the cost per student, and the MCAS will cover the other 50 percent. This is the same formula we have been using successfully for the last several years for certification in other fields.  Our goal is the same: putting people to work.”

The mission of the Monrovia Community Adult School is “Helping to Build the Future Together” by reaching out to the community to create more opportunities.  These scholarships will help to fulfill that mission with assisting students in programs such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) certification.  Other programs will offer information about construction materials and practices, plan reading, and networking opportunities for those already working in construction.  Each course lasts 26 weeks and ends with certification in a particular construction field.

As the Bowden Construction part of this program, Todd Bowden, Fred’s son, is offering job site access to these scholarship recipients after they have received their certification.  Bowden said of the program, “We are thrilled to walk along this journey with everyone involved, and we look forward to seeing it come to life.”