Rotary Club of Chico Sunrise

04/29/2026

From $8 Days to a Local Empire: The Mi Taquito Grill Story 🌮

We had the pleasure of hosting club member Jose Hernandez, the force behind Mi Taquito Grill, at our club meeting last week! Jose shared his family’s incredible journey—from his father building a taqueria empire in Tijuana to becoming the very first food truck in Paradise.
The road wasn’t always easy. Jose spoke about the early days of "shakedowns" in Mexico and the struggle of $8.00 days when the local community was still warming up to food truck culture. But perseverance paid off. Despite the devastation of the Camp Fire, they pushed forward, opening their Shasta and Esplanade location in 2020.
What’s next for Mi Taquito?
• CSU Chico: They are now the exclusive Mexican food provider on campus (check them out in the BMU!).
• Coming Soon: A brand-new restaurant at 8th and Cherry is slated to open this June!
• Pro Tip: During our Q&A, Jose named the Tuesday Al Pastor as their most unique, "must-try" item.
Thanks for sharing your story, Jose!
Are you a local business owner who would like to be a presenter? Message us and we will get you on the schedule:)

03/17/2026

03/14/2026

Tickets to our Saint Patrick’s Day Gala are sold out! No tickets will be sold at the door. See you all tonight! 🍀 *if you are exchanging tickets with someone please be sure to let that person know the name your original ticket is under for check-in as there are no paper tickets.

03/01/2026

Our club was happy to support Empty Bowls, a fundraiser for the Torres Shelter, last Thursday at Pleasant Valley High School. Thanks to all Rotarians and other community members who pitched in for this important annual event! Pictured, left to right: Diane Slater of True North Housing Alliance and Slater & Son Inc., Natalie Windt, Dignity Health, and Desiree Gonzalez, Rotary Club of Chico Sunrise.

02/26/2026

Our Saint Patrick’s Day Gala is almost two weeks away! Have you purchased tickets yet?
Thank you to our Pot O’ Gold sponsors Esplanade Mini Storage and Matson & Isom Technology Consulting!

02/19/2026

Thank you to our St. Patrick's Day Gala Emerald Sponsor Golden Valley Bank!
Tickets are on sale now at

Help Rotary Club of Chico Sunrise Foundation spread the word about Chico Sunrise Rotary Foundation 2026 Gala!

02/14/2026

Our Saint Patrick’s Day Gala is just around the corner! Thank you to our Shamrock Sponsors Slater & Son Inc. and Chico Eye Center!
Get info and tickets here:

Help Rotary Club of Chico Sunrise Foundation spread the word about Chico Sunrise Rotary Foundation 2026 Gala!

01/15/2026

Great event for a great cause!

Drum roll, please! We are so excited to announce that we have a date set for our 23rd Annual Empty Bowls! 🍜

Please mark your calendar for Thursday, February 26th, 2026 for the return of our beloved annual fundraiser. 💙

The 23rd Annual Empty Bowls will be held at Pleasant Valley High School.

Tickets go on sale soon—stay tuned for updates. Be the first to know -- sign up for Empty Bowls emails at truenorthbutte.org/contact-us

01/02/2026

A 2025 Recap of our wonderful Chico Sunrise Rotary Club.
☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

The video starts off at our annual March Fundraiser, highlighting some fun pictures taken of members and guests. 🍀

Then goes on to former President Aaron Souza’s demotion dinner party, dubbed “The end of the Reign of Terror” by some. All jokes aside he did a fantastic job as President and we are privileged to have him as a member. 🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻
Randy Korte, current president, is doing a great job as well; keep up the fine work!

There are some highlights of our Little Library project as well, thank you to everyone who works on keeping these stocked and maintained for the children in our community. Although not pictured, a huge shoutout to our reading pals team who also make a big impact on children’s literacy. 📕📗📘📙📖

There are endless selfless acts every single member of Chico Sunrise Rotary Club has committed this year, thank you all for your service. I would like to encourage anyone who feels the urge to compliment or highlight a certain member or club service to please do so in the comment section. ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

I want to personally mention what an honor it is to be a part of this group, thank you for having me.

2026 will be another huge year for Chico Sunrise Rotary Club, make sure to keep an eye out! 👀

As always,

Service
⬆️⬆️⬆️ (above)
Self

12/31/2025

On Thursday, December 4, 2025, Past President John Carlon stepped in to lead the meeting in President Randy’s absence. John immersed himself into the role perfectly, even wearing a vest; one we never see our Current President Randy without.
John invited Nick Mariottini to deliver the invocation, setting a warm, lighthearted tone with a humorous invocation about goodwill, service, and the shared seasonal delusion that holiday calories don’t count. Joke of the Day from Mark Stuenkel about a bank loan and a car!
Angela Clair from the Rotary Club of Roatán was our speaker; she highlighted their solar power project in La Colonia, Sandy Bay.

Thank you to everyone who helped out during this meeting, from Greeters, to check in, to John Carlon who stepped in as intermediate president.

( Be on the look out for the big 2025 Rotary Recap post happening later tonight !)