Rotary District 5150 proudly recognizes Laurel Botsford of the Rotary Club of Terra Linda as our Rotarian of the Month for November 2025.

A Rotarian since 2017, Laurel has been an active and inspiring leader from the day she joined. She currently serves as the club’s Youth Director, a role she has held for seven years, where she has revitalized and guided two thriving Interact Clubs—Terra Linda High School and St. Isabella’s Middle School. When Laurel took over, both clubs were struggling; under her mentorship, they have flourished, now boasting more members than her own Rotary club. She works closely with faculty advisors and students, helping them design meaningful service projects and fundraisers that connect with Rotary’s values.

Rotary District 5150 proudly recognizes Roark O’Neill of the Rotary Club of SOMA as our Rotarian of the Month for October 2025.

A dedicated Rotarian for more than 22 years, Roark has served his club in numerous leadership roles, including Club President, Secretary, and his current position as Executive Secretary. His steadfast commitment to Rotary’s mission of Service Above Self has earned him multiple recognitions, including designation as a Paul Harris Fellow (2004), Every Rotarian, Every Year honors (2011 and 2016), and the Rotary Presidential Citation (2016).

Rotary District 5150 proudly recognizes Patricia Player Maxwell of the Rotary Club of Belmont Redwood Shores as our Rotarian of the Month for September 2025.

A Rotarian for 25 years, Patricia first joined the Rotary Club of Foster City in 2000, where she served for 22 years and played a key role as Founder of the Foster City Village and an Executive Board Member beginning in 2010. She later joined the Rotary Club of Belmont Redwood Shores, where her leadership, creativity, and passion for service continue to shine.

Please note: this is an in-depth reflection on this year’s Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA) by Camp Director Todd St Vrain. RYLA is a tradition of nearly four decades within District 5150 that involves dozens of volunteers from our district year-round and has impacted thousands of youth across our three counties over many years. We invite you to take a journey into RYLA’s significance through this post. You can also watch this video of Todd’s remarks about RYLA at a recent Rotary club meeting that echo the sentiments expressed here.

The 39th annual RYLA was held July 28 to August 1, 2025 at the Redwood Glen Camp & Conference Center in Scotts Valley. This year RYLA hosted 122 students from a record 48 high schools across District 5150. RYLA was supported by an all-volunteer staff of 88, including 65 at camp (22 alumni, 28 facilitators, 11 admin and support staff and four guest speakers). Our staff included 50 Rotarians from 19 Rotary clubs across four districts, and 38 additional staff. (Please see the end of this post for a complete list of RYLA volunteers).

RYLA alumni are high school or college students who undertake a six-month training program and lead many of the activities at camp, providing an opportunity to build upon the leadership skills they developed as first-time campers. Facilitators ranged in age from 19 to 83, working in pairs to guide a team of students through RYLA. Our support staff included a nurse, a wellness coach and administrative staff.

Students experienced the five days in one of fourteen teams, with the camp’s theme of a hero’s journey. Team names such as Barbie and Curious George reflect characters in movies who do not think of themselves as heroes. But they undertake a quest to successfully resolve a challenge to their world, and in doing so are transformed. Just as our high school students at RYLA are also on a journey to believe in themselves more and to transform into confident leaders in development.