Dear Rotarians,

Today marks the beginning of a new Rotary year, and I’m honored to begin serving as your District Governor for 2025–2026. Congratulations to our outgoing and incoming Presidents across our 57 clubs in California and Nevada!

A special thank you to Immediate Past District Governor Mike Driebe for his leadership, especially in response to the Eaton Canyon fires. I’m also grateful to our entire Governor Line—PDGs Mike Soden, District Governor Nominee Dennis Franklin, and District Governor Nominee Designate Kari Anderson – for their support over the past 2½ years of preparation. Rotary leadership is never a solo effort—it’s built on collaboration.  I’ve trained alongside amazing leaders from across Zones 26 & 27, gaining valuable insight. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who said “yes” to serving on the District Leadership Team.

This year, we continue our push for 100% club participation in the 3-Year Action Plan. Your Area Governors are ready to help—please ensure goals are submitted by July 15. Remember, these plans can be updated as needed.

Our Rotary International theme is Unite for Good—a powerful reminder of what’s possible when we work together. My personal theme is Honoring Our Legacy & Envisioning Our Future, inspired by our 105-year-old district and its trailblazing history, including PDG Sylvia Whitlock’s landmark Supreme Court case in 1987 when women were permitted to join Rotary.  We have named PDG Steve Garrett as Historian to gather the histories of our clubs, district and members to help preserve and share our district’s legacy.

During my Governor visits (July–December), I’d love to recognize a Catalyst in each club—someone pushing boundaries and driving growth. Please share names with my Chiefs of Staff, Justene Adamec and Deb Parsley.

Goals for 2025–2026:

1. 15% increase in participation across District programs (TLC, RYLA, Interact, global grants, youth contests, etc.).
2. 15% membership growth—net 5 new members per club.
3. Launch 2–4 new clubs (satellite, companion, Rotaract, cause-based etc.).

We’re welcoming new leaders, including 6 new Area Governors and key committee chairs in Peace Fellowships, Membership, Vocational Services, Community Services, International Services, and Public Image. We’ve joined the Rotary Means Business (RMB) Fellowship and will be hosting business networking events to promote your business to fellow Rotarians and non-Rotarians.  We are adding another youth contest – the Business Plan Competition held by some clubs will be brought to the district to fulfill our Vocational Service arm. We will continue partnering with the Rotary Action Group against Slavery (RAGAS) to educate our youth and community about the human trafficking industry. 

New this year:

• RYLA will now include sophomores and juniors – we are switching the time of year it is offered – it will be held in December.
• District Conference: April 24–26, 2026 (multidistrict format).
• Foundation Gala in Vegas and 2 END POLIO events, one in CA, one in NV.
• New YouTube channel and enhanced social media support for clubs.
• We’re also seeking an Environmental Champion—if interested, please contact me.

Let us embrace the 3 WE’s from the book Begin with We by Kyle McDowell:  5) We own our own mistakes 6) We pick each other up and 7) We measure ourselves by our outcomes not activity.  Let’s build this Rotary year on the principles of Camaraderie, Collaboration, Communication, and Consistency.

Yours in Rotary service,

Gilda Riazi Moshir
District Governor 2025–2026

[email protected]
818-807-6060