Escondido Sunrise Rotary; Meeting to Serve our Community in Person
and “Monthly Club Breakfast w/A Who Am I presentation from Travis Catania”
November 2, 2023
As we all try to conduct our professional pursuits in new ways, it’s appropriate to remind ourselves of who we are as a Serving Organization… Our accomplishments, our fellowship and the reminder of our many successes is valuable as we seek new opportunities to serve…
We met again in person at the Chamber of Commerce… Great to enjoy the fellowship again and see all your smiling faces…
Our past President Rich Aeling led our meeting today and as you can see by the grin on his face he has something of yours President Mark!!
As a Club, we honored our nation with a salute to our Flag led by Joe Holtz, and an invocation was offered by past President Jack Anderson….
Guests & Visitors:
No Guests Today
Special Occasions:
Happy Birthday to Rosemary Burson (Bob’s beautiful bride) 11/4
Ryan Koed (Kendra’s hubby) 11/8
Happy Wedding Anniversary to:
No Wedding Anniversaries today
Happy Rotary Anniversary to:
Past President Mike O’Malley – 12 Years (We know it has to be many more)
We enjoyed a yummy breakfast from Panera this morning!!
High 5 and Announcements:
Rich Aeling talked about the bike reveal for Juniper school which will be Tuesday 12/19 at 8:30am at Juniper School
Judy Fitzgerald talked about the Community In Unity event that is coming up on 12/7, the cost is $40 and they are asking for button up pajamas to be donated for Rady’s Children’s Hospital
John Schwab let everyone know that we need speakers for 11/30, we are set for December but need to start thinking about January as well
Rosemary Burson (Bob Burson’s wife) is receiving an award from the North County Philanthropy Association along with Gerry Fay on Friday night 11/3 but Gerry’s wife will be accepting the award because Gerry will be very busy in Las Vegas!!
Rich showed some various pictures from Halloween from some of our ESR families
Upcoming Calendar Events:
Program:
Rotarian Travis Catania was invited to the ESRC by Judy Fitzgerald. Travis stated he was involved with the After 5 Club but immediately felt right at home at the ESR at his first meeting. He appreciates being in the company of others whose values and servant hearts are well aligned with his.
Travis resides in Valley Center with his wife of 20 years and daughter who attends Classical Academy High School in Escondido. He is proud to say that he and his wife and daughter were also all born in Escondido. Something he felt gives them an appreciation Escondido and the feeling of a deeply connected community.
Travis shared that he went through some trials as a “latchkey kid” in his
youth. He relied on the services and programs offered through the Boys and Girls
Club that provided some structure during this difficult season in his childhood. By the time he was 15 years old, Travis found himself living out of his car and struggling to maintain consistency in attending school and holding down a job.
Travis was connected to a local Presbyterian church that was life transforming. It
was life changing! This is where he would meet his future adopted family, his future father-in-law, and future wife.
Mike and Cheri Lowry, Escondido residents and where Mike served as Fire
Chief for EFD, were very involved in the same church Travis found himself attending after being encouraged to attend church by a mentor. When the Lowry’s discovered Travis was living out of his car, they opened their hearts to him and gave him a place to call home. With this also came an opportunity of
being a big brother figure to the Lowry’s two young daughters, 11-year-old Jennifer and 9-year-old Jacki.
Travis described this life changing experience as the first time he felt true
security, stability, structure, and a family’s love. Mike also gave Travis fatherly
advice, direction, how to contribute to the family, and a respect for discipline.
Travis thrived in the Lowry home that was filled with unconditional love for him. It didn’t take long for the Lowry family, all of them, to want to make him a permanent part of the family. The Lowry family legally made Travis their son and big brother to the girls. In retrospect, and now that Travis has a daughter of his own, he is astonished at the amount of trust and faith the Lowry’s had in him – a struggling 15-year-old boy they really didn’t know too much about, but yet the
took him in to their home while raising two young daughters of their own. He is proud to be their son. He is still in awe of the blessing of being brought into this loving family where he now is a part of that family tree as his own family has grown with his wife and daughter. He holds close to his heart what Cheri has on more than one occasion stated, “I had two girls, but I chose you.”
Travis continued attending the Presbyterian church where he met the Lowry’s. As he became more involved in the church, he met more people in the congregation. This is where Travis met his future wife and father-in-law. After dating and becoming engaged, his future father-in-law extended an opportunity to Travis to increase his “beer budget to the champagne taste” he expected the future husband to his daughter would provide. Travis worked for his father-in-
law’s financial firm and eventually branched out on his own. Travis opened his own business, Business Succession Pros, in the heart of Escondido. The success of his business has provided opportunities to give back to the community. One of the ways he gives back to the community is through the
National Association of Remodeling Industry, San Diego Chapter, where Travis sits
on the board as President. The organization provides free remodels to residents who are facing extreme mobility and accessibility challenges in their homes due to sudden and severe physical disabilities. This work is very rewarding to Travis.
More than all else, Travis values the family he has made with Sarah, his wife of 20 years, and their beautiful daughter Elizabeth who attends Escondido Classical Academy High School. As a family they enjoy the outdoors and take advantage of the west coast weather to take extended camping trips on their own and with their extended family. Regular camping trips and family celebrations are spent with the Lowry’s and the growing family now including several
grandchildren. The pictures shared during his presentation paint a sweet picture of faith, family and friends as his top priorities.
Welcome to the club, Travis, you’re going to fit right in – we definitely have a place for you!
Next Week’s Meeting:
Closing: President Mark Maus announced that we will be meeting at The Escondido Chamber of Commerce on November 9th at 7:30am for a presentation from David Winter from Beekeeping……
Thanks for Attending Today’s Meeting….
Support for our Escondido Community …
Our great community and the success of its businesses is all of our responsibilities… Support the businesses that are doing all they can to survive this trying economy…….
The ‘Giving Arch’ on Grand Avenue and Centre City Parkway reminds us that Escondido is a caring, giving community…
To all; be safe and be well…. God Bless those men and women that carry the load at our medical facilities, and God Bless our first responders… May our governmental leaders be wise, thoughtful and smart as they navigate these times that have been difficult…..
The meetings will be technically managed by Past President Richard Agnew… Thanks for that Richard… And, Richard is prepared to support all of our attempts at joining the on-line meetings if needed….
SEE YOU SOON…… In Person … Next meeting; November 9th, at 7:30 AM
Check President Mark’s email for the reminder…
