GRAND MARSHAL: Bob Lutticken

Don Fipps has been a Rotarian for 18 years and is a member of the Rotary Club of Del Mar where he was president in 2018-2019. Don has also served our District leadership as an Assistant Governor and as the Chief Aide to District Governor Dan Gensler.

Del Mar is Don’s third Rotary Club. He has been a member of the Rotary Clubs of Wilkes-Barre, PA and West Sacramento, CA.

Don is a native Californian, born in Bakersfield. He attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo majoring in biochemistry and was commissioned in the United States Army through ROTC upon graduation. Don retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Medical Services Corps. He also earned his Masters in Biology from Bowling Green State University.

After working for the American Red Cross, then for an independent blood center in Sacramento and finally UC San Diego Health, Don retired in 2018.

Don met his wife Donna while they were college students working on the Cal Poly University’s Rose Parade Float. They have 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren.

Don and Donna enjoy raising Canine Companions service dog puppies, having successfully raising 7 puppies in the past 12 years. You will almost always see Don and Donna attracting attention at Rotary events with their latest adorable Canine Companion puppy, Rosebud!

Don is a Paul Harris Fellow and a member of the Paul Harris Society. Don and Donna, who is also a member of the Rotary Club of Del Mar, are level 4 Bequest Society members and level 1 Major Donors.

Sharlene O’Keefe is the Executive Director of Poway OnStage, where she directs of both their Professional Performance Series and their Arts in Education Initiative.  She is also a District 2 Commissioner for the San Diego County Arts and Culture Commission.  Prior to joining Poway OnStage in 2013, Sharlene owned a studio that specialized in multi-disciplinary arts training in Dance, Drama, Music and Art and she designed and taught a Visual Art and Art History curriculum at Tierra Bonita Elementary School.  Sharlene has deep ties to Poway – growing up in Poway, graduating from Poway High School and returning after earning a BFA from SMU in Dallas, Texas and her Master’s Degree from UC Irvine.  Sharlene and her husband, Tom, have three children, Evan (15), Brady (13) and Carolyn (11).

Mike serves at the pleasure of the Board of Directors, and manages the Staff and the operations of the office, with the mission of providing the most value possible to our members and the business community. Mike grew up in Palo Alto, CA until he headed South to attend San Diego State University. After falling in love with San Diego and graduating SDSU, Mike grew roots in SD. Mike and his wife Lisa of over 29 years have been residents of Poway since March of 1997, and have two children; David (25) and Lauren (23). Mike also has two dogs; Maggie (a 16 year old, 13 lb. mutt) and his COVID rescue Buddy (a 3 year old Australian Cattle dog/German Shepherd mix).

Charles is the manager of Kahoots Pet Store here in Poway. He has been with Kahoots for close to 12 years and has worked at several locations across San Diego. In addition to managing the store, he has also taken on the role of trainer and support for Kahoots’ operational software systems. As a native Powegian, Charles holds a lot of pride in his hometown, and is excited to be able to share this with his customers and community. Charles is a member of the Poway Chamber of Commerce (representing Kahoots), a member of the Boy Scouts with his son, and a hobby wood worker. Charles and his wife Christen, an educator at Garden Road Elementary School, met in Poway and have been married for over 13 years, raising 4 children. Their family also includes 1 dog, 2 cats, and 2 geckos.