A trifecta indeed! may has been a great month for the rotary club of san mateo as mike peterson, jeff lowenstein, and john Barrett, jr. have each been recognized for epitomizing service about self. Their Awards?
Mike Peterson - 2025 distinguished citizen, Pacific skyline scouts council, presented on May 8th at the 2025 scouts award dinner
John Barrett, Jr. - Rotary international service above self award, presented at the district 5150 conference on may 17
jeff lowenstein - cliff dochterman award, presented at the district 5150 conference on may 17
John Barrett, Jr. was joined by his brothers & sisters who all arrived in Sonoma to salute John as he received the RI Service Above Self award presented by District Governor Steve Wright. This is one of Rotary's most prestigious awards. Every District Governor from all over the world can nominate one member whose service activities have had an impact on humanity. Then, only 150 recipients are chosen...and John was among them. The award commentary states, "He has an open mind, open ears and a wide-open heart that never stops." The last time someone from our club received this award was in 2006 when Lee Osborne was honored. Warm congratulations to John who received multiple hugs from his assembled family.
Did you know John has made 31 trips to Cambodia in support of the Cambodia Academy which he started with fellow Rotarian Hans Eide?
Jeff was awarded the Cliff Dochterman Award honoring a Rotarian who acts as a role model and renders distinguished and dedicated service to Scouting. The honoree must also be a dedicated Rotarian and serve his or her club and district with distinction. That's a description that fits Jeff to a "T"! District Governor Elect Nominee Tony Villanueva (himself a Cliff Dochterman Award winner) delivered appreciative comments about Jeff's contributions to both Scouting and Rotary and then presented him with the award.
Jeff's family was all smiles as they posed for pictures after the ceremony. Pictured here with Jeff are his wife Chris, who teaches at Serra, and his son Matthew, who is a landscape architect and an Eagle Scout. Jeff's other son, Ryan, who is a Financial Advisor and also an Eagle Scout, wasn't able to make it to the ceremony, but conveyed his congratulations to his dad in person.
Cliff Dochterman was a former Rotary International President, a distinguished Rotarian, and a dedicated Scouter.
Hmmm...Sometimes winning an award means? Joining President Joan's President's Club! It's easy to see from Mike's smile that he was all in and did just that at the May 29th club meeting after President Joan recognized him as a 2025 Scouting Distinguished Citizen.
Scouting played a major role in Mike's early life, including earning his Eagle rank. Mike went on to devote 45 years to a career in Catholic education, serving as a teacher, coach, mentor, administrator, and development director.
Mike has also been actively involved in significant community service. He's served on the Board at Notre Dame, San Mateo PAL, and St. John's Cemetery. Rotary is an important part of Mike's service, too. He's been our Club President, is active in scholarship efforts, serves on the Program Committee, and is always there when a club service project needs volunteers.
Mike is an avid sports aficionado and counts Tom Brady and Barry Bonds among his contacts in the sports world. If you're looking for him during basketball, football or baseball season, just wander down to The Farm where Mike serves as a "Red Coat" at many Stanford sporting events.
one more rotary scholarship to award
Sam LaCarrubba wasn't able to attend the Scholarship Luncheon because he had to take a CSM final exam at the same time! Sam did come to the May 29th meeting where he was presented with his scholarship by Jeff Lowenstein. Sam is heading off to UC Berkeley this fall to continue his studies in Cognitive Science. He's looking forward to being a Cal Bear!
Oliver Wang, a new San Mateo Rotarian, gave a riveting presentation as the May 29th meeting's speaker. Oliver combined his passion for travel and running by founding Runbuk, a travel service that specializes in organizing marathon experiences, including 7 Marathons 7 Continents 7 Days where marathon runners visit all 7 continents in 7 days to run 7 marathons. So far, 175 men and 69 women have participated in the World Marathon Challenge. Oliver has been to Antarctica 12 times and to the North Pole 4 times! Following his remarks, Oliver fielded many questions from Rotarians, including, "Isn't it slippery to run at the North Pole and in Antarctica?" See below for the answer.
Why Did Oliver take off his shoe?
To explain how running at the North Pole and in Antarctica isn't slippery because there is snow covering the ice which makes it more like running in sand.
Many thanks to Oliver for such an engaging & fascinating presentation. Want to join a World Marathon Challenge? Click on the link below to learn more.
