View Pics: Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club celebrates 20 Years! – Venice Paparazzi | Venice Beach CA, Photo Agency, Community Info, News, Events

Venice Paparazzi rolled out the red carpet and hosted a fun photo booth for Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club’s 20 Year Anniversary + Demotion Party at Marina del Rey Hotel.

View pics below.

About Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club:

A message from Past Co-Presidents Lisa Schwab & Brady Connell

“Service Above Self” – that three word motto perfectly captures what this service organization represents. In essence, if your life has been so blessed, so enriched and so fruitful in abundance that your soul stirs to give back to those less fortunate, then you dearest reader are a “Rotarian at heart”!

Our Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club is part of a larger global organization network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers.
In short: We are people of action! Internationally and Nationally with over 35,000 Rotary clubs, we partner with our international clubs to promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene. We also our local communities to support our first responders, mothers and children, support education and protect the environment. All the while, we have fun while getting it done! If anything that I’ve just mentioned appeals to your spirit of giving back and doing more, then please look further into joining us on this incredibly fulfilling journey. Thank you and all the best!

View pics from the Venice Paparazzi photo booth!

Past Co-Presidents Brady Connell and Lisa Schwab

Incoming Co-Presidents Gwen Vuchsas & Martha Jeffers

Incoming Co-Presidents Gwen Vuchsas & Martha Jeffers

Lisa Schwab and Rotarian of the Year Stephanie Rondeau

Right: Gail Goldstein

Stephanie, Hilton Brown

Bobbie Casalino-Lewis and Mary-Catherine Micka

Right: Gail Goldstein

Courtney, Gwen, Trey Grogan, friend, and Lisa Schwab

A little history of Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary.

2025 Marks PVSR’s 20th Year of Serving our Community in the Rotary spirit of Service Above Self.

The Rotary Club of Playa Venice Sunrise has deep and rich origins. Even before the 2010 merger of Playa Sunrise, founded in 2005 and Venice Marina Rotary, established in 1947, the Clubs had the common goals of serving community and mankind.

It is worthwhile to look back at the beginnings of Rotary International and see how today’s Club fits in that history. Rotary was founded in 1905 in Chicago, Illinois by a man named Paul Harris. It started as a business networking group and evolved into the world’s largest service club. In 2005 Rotary International celebrated its centennial anniversary, 100 years old! All clubs that were started that year were chartered as “centennial clubs” and Playa Sunrise was proud to be among that elite group.

The birth of Playa Sunrise began in the spring of 2005 when a handful of Rotarians from other local clubs decided to create a breakfast club as all local area Rotary clubs met at lunch. Chartering a new club takes 20 members and by June of that year 20 members were on board and the Charter was written and the club sworn in. The club needed a name and logo and Christina Davis, then President/CEO of the LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce, and former member is credited with coming up with the club name and logo. The club continued to grow and thrive over the years and has a growing membership. There are several of the Charter members still in the club: Jim Vuchsas, Gwen Vuchsas, and Kathrine Russell.

During the early years of Playa Sunrise, membership varied from 20 to 30. During the winter of 2009 an opportunity to strengthen both Playa Sunrise and Venice Marina presented itself. At that time the Venice Marina Club had only a handful of active members and Playa Sunrise was dedicated to growth. The leadership of the clubs decided that a merger would provide the best of both worlds fusing the cultures, people and programs of the two organizations. In January of 2010 the two clubs became the Rotary Club of Playa Venice Sunrise. Lisa Schwab, owner of Cantalini’s Restaurant in Playa del Rey, was the Playa Sunrise President and took on the responsibility of creating and leading a new club that was bigger, stronger and better! This year both Lisa Schwab and Brady Connell return as Co-presidents and are inspiring and leading a vibrant club of energetic Rotarians.

Today Playa Venice Sunrise stands as an acknowledged leader in the Rotary world having been two times been awarded the distinguished “Club of Excellence” and this year 2024 – 2025 a third time now known as “Club of Impact” by our district. The club prides itself in having a blend of charter people from Playa Sunrise, the best of Venice and a dedicated group of young new Rotarians that makes the club one of the most diversified and successful Rotary Clubs in California. Playa Venice is proud of its programs, energy, enthusiasm and dedication to making the world a better place for all. Come join the fun!