Pictured above are Fillmore Rotary President Anna Reilley and Rotarian Cindy Blatt. Photo credit Martha Richardson.

Fillmore Rotarian Cindy Blatt gave a Kraft Talk for our program. Since she was one of the chairpersons for the Rotary 5/10K Run she gave a summary of the event. There were 342 runners this year. She thanked many people who made the Run a success. Kim Tafoya-the second chairman, City of Fillmore, Fillmore Citizen Patrol, Search & Rescue, Bank of the Sierra supplied goody bags for the runners, several people donated items for the bags, many students from FHS track, Interact Club, swim team and more. Rotary Club members gathered sponsors, worked booths, set up and took down afterwards. Many more were involved and thanked. It was a successful event!

Cindy also talked about her family. She grew up in Simi Valley with one brother and two sisters. Her father was an athlete, a runner, and her parents were passionate about every child learning to swim. They gathered neighbors and friends and built a swimming pool then followed a swim team. Cindy became an excellent swimmer and swam in the US Nationals in 1970 and won the 100-meter freestyle and was 2nd place in 200-meter freestyle. She ranked second in the world in 100: 6th in the world in 200. On the US National Team, they traveled to the Philippines and Japan. In Osaka she was a member of the 400 Medley Relay that broke the world record. She was also inducted into the LA Valley Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. In the last 24 years she has been the Swim Coach at Fillmore High School and encouraged many students to succeed.