On Saturday, April 27, District 5340 celebrated Rotarian at Work Day, marking the 12th year that Torrey Pines Rotary Club members have cleaned plaques at the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial.
Annually, on the last Saturday in April, Torrey Pines Rotary Club members gather at the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial to honor our veterans by cleaning their plaques on Rotarians at Work Day.
The Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial stands out as one of the most distinctive veterans memorials in the United States. It is the sole memorial that commemorates veterans from the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terror with a personal image, listing each veteran's achievements during their service.
Numerous current and former members of the Torrey Pines Rotary Club are honored with plaques at the memorial for their service, including Don Yeckel (Captain, US Marine Corps), Max Gurney (Technical Sergeant 4, also honored on the Return to Normandy for D-Day), George “Chip” Hayes (Commander, US Navy and Past Rotary President), Tom Ferrier (Captain, US Navy), Dudley C “Doug” Ray (Lt. Commander, US Navy), and Gordon Shurtleff (Airman 2nd Class, US Air Force), among others. A plaque for Jerry Zampa’s father is also present.
Max Gurney, a centenarian member of the Torrey Pines Rotary Club, will join 50 other WWII veterans on an Honor Flight to Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6.
Accompanying this text is a photograph of the Torrey Pines Rotary Club members who participated in the plaque cleaning at the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial for Rotarians at Work Day.
Photo: From left to right - Gordon Shurtleff, Jason Ventetuolo prospective member, Merritt Haugen, Jennifer Preimesberger, Cynthia Schubert, Max Gurney, Joe Marron, Henri Migala and Jerry Zampa