Demonstrating Leadership: The Trailblazing Women of Rotary International
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By Jo Ann Kirby with Contributing writers: Jim Dugoni, Kathy Hart, Elbert Holman, Kenneth Steele
Women are active participants in Rotary International clubs in San Joaquin County, serving their communities in increasing numbers and assuming leadership positions. The 1989 Council on Legislation vote to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide remains a pivotal decision in the history of Rotary. Stockton’s own Judy Chambers became the first of two women in the United States to join a local Rotary club in 1987 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Rotary could not deny women membership based on their gender. After Judy was accepted into the Stockton Rotary, other women joined and blazed their own trail.
Today’s young professional women might be shocked to learn that women weren’t always welcome as Rotarians. After all, women now make up 34 percent of membership in North America. A top priority for Rotary is growing and diversifying membership to make sure they reflect the communities they serve. Let’s never forget the pioneering women who embraced the values of Rotary International’s commitment to its core values of service, fellowship, diversity, integrity and leadership.
JUDY CHAMBERS
Kathy Hart, retired president of San Joaquin Delta College, remembers her friend and travel buddy Judy Chambers as someone whose many contributions to the community are unmatched. Judy, who passed away July 11, 2023, was one of the first two women in the United States to join a Rotary Club, joining the Stockton Rotary Club in 1987. She made many lifelong friends as a Rotarian. Judy served on countless boards and commissions, including most recently the board of directors of the Hospice of San Joaquin, the Transitional Learning Center (TLC), and the Dameron Hospital Foundation. Former Mayor Michael Tubbs appointed her to the City of Stockton Salary-Setting Commission. She also served on the United Way board and led the annual United Way campaign at the University of the Pacific. As one might expect from her degree in communications, Judy was an excellent public speaker and painstakingly researched, wrote and practiced her speeches, which were always peppered with humor. As a result of her public-speaking skills, Judy was often asked to emcee or introduce speakers at local events such as the Kaiser Women’s Wellness Conference, the Stockton Leadership Summit, and Pacific’s Advancing Women’s Leadership Conference. Pacific president and Rotary International president Stan McCaffrey proposed Judy as the first woman member of the Rotary Club of Stockton. At the time there were over 350 men in the Stockton club, and some of those men opposed having a woman in their club. But, cheered on by McCaffrey and Jim Darrah, she joined nonetheless, and soon enough those men “got over it.” As a result of her sterling reputation and her community contributions, in 1986 Judy received the first Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce’s ATHENA Award. In 2010, Judy was presented with the prestigious Goodwill Industries Helping Hands Award for her significant contributions to the Stockton/San Joaquin County Community. In 1980, she was selected as one of ten women throughout San Joaquin County to receive the Susan B. Anthony Award. Judy Chambers was a beloved mentor and trailblazer for women and men, students and staff, at University of the Pacific. She was known as a fierce advocate for students and held leadership roles in student life for 25 years; she became the first woman to lead the University of Pacific’s Division of Student Affairs and the first vice president for Student Life. Always active in the state and national Student Life organizations, she was elected to serve as president of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. She wasn’t just a first in Rotary. In 1981, she became the first woman to serve on the Student Loan Marketing Association when she was appointed by President Ronald Reagan.
JUDY LOVETT
Judy Lovett of North Stockton Rotary was truly a trailblazing Rotarian who held many leadership positions over the years and had a true servant’s heart when it came to helping her community. Judy Honcik Lovett was born on June 26, 1951, in Howells, Nebraska, and passed away on October 27, 2023, in Stockton, California. A 1969 graduate of Norfolk High School in Norfolk, Nebraska, Judy served in the U.S. Air Force for the following ten years. She married fellow USAF member Joe Lovett on Dec. 22, 1970, and they were assigned to the United Kingdom for several years. Judy completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of Northern Colorado in 1979, and graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1982. The couple lived and worked in San Diego until moving to Stockton in 1992, where Judy continued to practice law and Joe was a contractor and built swimming pools. Judy joined the North Stockton Rotary Club in 1993 and served as club president in 2007-2008. She served for many years as a club board member and leader of various service projects, fundraisers and other activities, including Rotary Read-In, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program camp counselor and dictionary distributions to Stockton third graders. Judy attended several mission trips and was particularly fond of the Rotary Wheelchair Foundation trips, as well as those trips organized locally by Hope Haven West. Judy served Rotary District 5220 as district governor in 2018-2019 and held many leadership roles and chair positions, including assistant governor, Interact chair, Youthact advisor, New Generations, District Advisory Council, grants committee, budget and finance committee, district visioning team, district assembly chair and others. In 2010, Judy led the effort to establish the Rotary District 5220 Disaster Relief Corporation, which allows local Rotary Clubs and Rotarians to quickly respond to disasters near and far. Judy attended several Rotary International conventions and Zone Institutes over the years.
SUSAN DRAKE
Past district governor Susan Drake exemplified Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self through decades of tireless dedication to her club, district and community. A proud member of the Rotary Club of Stockton since 1995, Susan served as club president in 2004–2005 and as district governor of Rotary International District 5220 in 2009–2010. At the time, she was one of only 80 women worldwide to have held the role of district governor—a true pioneer in Rotary leadership. Susan’s Rotary service was both wide-reaching and deeply personal. She served on numerous district committees, including as chair of the budget and finance committee and the foundation programs committee. A graduate of the District 5220 Leadership Academy, she also represented the district at the 2013 Council on Legislation. She received multiple honors, including the Avenues of Service Award and the Silent Rotarian Award, recognizing her unwavering commitment behind the scenes. Perhaps Susan’s most enduring Rotary contribution was her mentorship of young people. She served for over 15 years as the advisor to Edison High School’s Interact Club, guiding students through hands-on service projects and inspiring a lifelong ethic of service. She personally led 14 student trips to Mexico to build playgrounds and created opportunities for young leaders to engage in meaningful, international service work. In 2010, Susan launched the Rotary Dictionary Project in Stockton, which provided every third grader in the city with a personal dictionary. What began as a single-club initiative expanded district wide and became a testament to her vision and dedication. Beyond her titles and accolades, Susan was known as a quiet, steady mentor who encouraged others, especially women, to step into leadership roles. Her ability to identify potential, offer guidance, and empower others left an indelible mark on District 5220 and beyond. Susan Drake passed away on January 11, 2020, but her legacy of leadership, mentorship and service lives on. Her impact continues to be felt across Rotary clubs in the communities she served and in the many individuals she inspired to serve with compassion, humility and purpose.
PHYLLIS NUSZ
Past district governor Phyllis J. Nusz, a Rotarian for 34 years, served as the first woman elected officer and club president of the North Stockton Rotary Club in 1997-1998 and as one of the first 50 women district governors in Rotary International when she served as district governor for Rotary International District 5220 in 2001-2002. A native Californian, Phyllis received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech communication with a minor in choral music from the University of the Pacific. She also earned an EdD in higher education administration from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a specialty in the field of leadership management training and is a Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Scholar. For 21 years, Phyllis worked at Bakersfield Community College, where she taught speech and went on to become speech department chair and assistant to the college president, among several other roles. She is currently the owner of PJ Enterprises, specializing in fundraising, meeting planning and communications. In Rotary, Phyllis has attended 25 Rotary International conventions and served on over 40 international, zone and district committees. She established an international literacy task force to work with Rotary International on collaborative literary projects around the world. Rotary International honored Phyllis with the Service Above Self award in 2006, the highest award to an individual Rotarian for lifetime humanitarian work. In 2020, Phyllis was presented with the Rotary Foundation Legacy Award for committing over $1 million to the Rotary Foundation Endowment Fund. Phyllis has traveled to all seven continents while enjoying landscape photography, swimming, whitewater rafting, zip lining, hot air ballooning, fishing, and horseback, camel and elephant riding. She is an avid supporter of competitive athletic events and performs both classical and semi-classical piano and voice. She has sung in the World Choir for 26 years.
MARY LAUGHLIN
Mary Laughlin started her Rotary journey in the city of Modesto, California, around 1989 with the Rotary Club of Modesto Gateway. She became a Rotarian several years after the U.S. Supreme Court issued the ruling that directed clubs to allow women to become members. The Gateway club had a sponsored female’s name to be considered; she worked in the banking field but the club turned her name down because they decided they had an adequate number of bankers in the club already. Shortly afterward, a member nominated Mary, who was working with nonprofits at the time; the club could not justify turning her name down because they had no member in that field. Mary was allowed in as a cog, or greeter, not yet a full member. She and other new members, all male, were issued aprons and they had to get every full member to sign their apron before becoming a full member. All but one member signed; Mary couldn’t be a full member and obtain a gold badge until that happened. The member told her that he liked her, but he could not bring himself to sign her apron because she was a woman and he didn’t feel women belonged in Rotary. A job change required Mary to relocate to Stockton, California, and she never pursued the issue, leaving Modesto altogether. In Stockton, Mary was sponsored by Gary Giovanetti, the club’s present treasurer, to join the Rotary Club of Stockton Delta in 1993. Mary was given full membership and served in the Delta club until it dissolved and merged with Rotary Club of Stockton Sunrise in 2014. During her tenure in the Delta club, Mary served as club president twice, in 2004 and 2012. After the merger of Delta and Sunrise Rotary clubs, Mary’s hard work and talents were noticed immediately and she was elected to serve as president of the Sunrise club in 2018. Mary is a valued member of the Sunrise club and serves as the community service chair. Through her chair she has guided and continues to lead the club in many projects that have made a profound impact on our community. Mary’s talents have also been recognized by District 5220; she has been selected to chair the Bequest Society, of which she is also a member, along with being a major donor. She has also served as the district awards chair for the past three years. She served as assistant governor in two areas. Mary’s talents were obvious to the incoming district governor; he wanted her on his team and was successful in the creation of the lieutenant governor position and subsequently appointed her to that position to keep her presence and influence in the district leadership. In Mary’s professional life, she has worked with nonprofit organizations such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters and United Cerebral Palsy, where she was both a state director and a director in Stanislaus County. She also worked as a human resources manager for Antonini Enterprises LLC. When she finds the time, Mary likes to cook, garden and, of course, serve as a Rotarian. In sickness or in health, she continues to fulfill her duties as a Rotarian in true “Service Above Self” form.
