(Jan 13, 2026)
DG Parajon is a member of the Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club. Other District officials in attendance with him were: Sally Goya, DG Chief Of Staff, Calabasas Club; Connie Hui, Sr Ass't Gov for Club Service, Bellflower Club; David Henseler, Ass't Gov for Club Service, South Bay Sunrise Club.
DG Parajon was born in Nicaragua, which was in Civil War until 1983, and he remembers living in constant fear in early childhood. He attended elementary school in Glendale, and graduated from Woodbury University with a BS in accounting, and an MS degree.
Rotary International’s Seven Areas of Focus for service projects include:
- Promoting peace
- Fighting disease
- Providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
- Supporting education
- Growing local economies
- Protecting the environment
- Supporting maternal and child health
He reviewed many areas of service projects in our District, including supporting mental health among homeless people (42,000 in LA City and 99,000 in LA County). Rotary also promotes organ donations with Donate for Life California.
There will be a District Epic Day of Service on Saturday, May 23. There are many opportunities to join in fellowship and services, including helping to rebuild the communities that burned in Los Angeles last year. The District has tools to help us work with Rotary’s partners on projects fitting the needs of communities, including strategies for designing the most relevant projects and maximizing their impact. We can use the template for a “Memorandum of Understanding for a Cooperating Organization”. Financing can be from hosting fundraisers or applying for a District or Global Grant.
He spoke of the importance of Rotary Superheroes, who go beyond the usual effort in dedication to Rotary service. He recognized our members Chase Thacker and Rob Katherman for their extraordinary service to our Club and Rotary projects.
Our District’s Rotaract has over 1800 members now. They work with Rotarians on our joint humanitarian projects and develop a focus on humanitarian service as potential future Rotarians.
Our district partners with https://los-angeles-orange-county.FreeSpeakers.org/, a pro bono speakers bureau that we can use to contact interesting speakers for our meetings. Rotarians can list information there about their best Club program speakers, with contact information and the topic category and comments.
He discussed the importance of having a Rotary Open House to present our Club to the community for publicity in recruiting potential members. We have many Rotary fellowship opportunities to “Unite for Good” including a beach outing, a retreat in Arrowhead, Big Bear or Idlewild, wine tasting in Temecula, free summer concerts at the park, and many more.