This meeting was brought to order by President Mike Norcia at 12.30 pm, Tuesday.
Pledge of Allegiance
Led by Scout Troop 2 Andrew Haas.
Inspiration
Given by Andrew Howard who was very grateful for his trip with his 4 kids to the Sierra Camp. He explained the time in nature away from technology, 6 miles hike brought him soul filling joy and got him very inspired.
Greeter
Barbara and Terry.
Guests at the meeting
- Jaya Basu guest of Lisa, former Rotarian.
- Aanka Riddle guest of Art and Linda Lester.
- Kevin Haas Scout Master guest of Jean Moore.
- Andrew Haas Scout.
- Anna Marie Crew 2 Advisor guest of Emi Eto.
- Alex Volker Crew 2 Youth.
- Gladie Rabitz wife of Art Rabitz.
- Moira Sullen.
- Lyn and Laurie Daughters of Gae La Torre.
Troop 2 Scout Andrew Haas’ Presentation
The Boys Scouts Troop 2 was the oldest in Santa Clara and was established In April 1918. The Rotary Club of Los Gatos has supported them since 1924 and built the building Boy Scout Hut in 1948.
They currently have 53 scouts and 5 adult mentors, with their community service including:
- Four youth park cleanups.
- Two Los Gatos trail cleanups.
- Flag hoisting at the 4th of July celebration.
- Participation in the Rotary sponsored Great Race.
Their Leadership Program has several positions which are elected every 6 months.
Alex Voelker former Crew President Youth also talked about the youth activities with boys and girls.
They meet on Mondays at 7 pm for activities like camping, rain or shine, adventures in Death Valley State Park. Coyote Creek and a backpacking trip to Washington.
They look to incorporate life skills in the great outdoors, all while making new friends. They are looking forward to activities next month like rock-climbing and deep-sea fishing.
Mike congratulated the participants who volunteered their time at the West Valley Community Back to School Shopping. He also congratulated participants of the Jewish Family Services Backpack project. We had two successful service projects.
Club Announcements
Club Bar-B-Que at – Oak Meadow Park 5 pm. August 23th 2022.
Come enjoy the last of summer. This event is for adults only, guests welcome. Contact Tina Orsi-Hartigan and Andrew Stearns to help out at the event.
Save the Date Crab Fest February 4 2023.
Susan Boxer-Gassman announced with great enthusiasm to save the date with more details to follow for the crab fest.
Tina will be in charge of the food.
Service Projects
Pacific Clinic Backpack
Backpack stuffing for Elementary and High school kids at 499 Loma Alta Drive Los Gatos from 1.30 to 4 pm August 10, 2022
Kyle J Taylor Foundation Screening
Sunday August 14 from 12 to 6pm
More information www.kyletaylor.org/district-screenings
They are in need of non-medical as well as medical personnel to read ECGS in person or remotely.
Los Gatos Creek Cleanup on August 27
Contact Andrew Howard for more details
30 for 30
- Riley was thankful for this baby and wife.
- Randy gave thanks to Lisa and Michelle for the new lunch menu from Safeway.
- Gae donated $30 for her 2 daughters attending the meeting with her.
- Art donated $30 for his wife visiting and their trip to Disneyland.
Main Program
Our guest Speaker was beautiful and talented Olympic figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi.
It was a beautiful interview done by Mike Norcia which took us through her life’s journey. One of Kristi’s most unforgettable moments was the opening ceremony at the Olympics and 30 years later she still has the vivid memory of meeting the athletes she admired.
Her life’s focus came early on when she was 6 and she wanted to be a skater. To achieve this, she worked very hard, kept up with the grades and practiced waking early morning and after school. The routine of going to bed at 7.30 pm and waking up by 4 showed her passion and hard work to keep pushing herself, building an impeccable work ethic.
Her relentless pursuits brought her results, because her parents were strict who always wanted her to be the best. She said it was immense pressure being watched by judges at her performances. She talked about her kids, her husband and also talked about their parenting style.
On a lighter note, she shared instances of the Dancing with the Stars show, where she met celebrities like Priscilla Presley and Marilee Matlin. She looked up to Peggy Fleming.
In 1996 Kristi started her Nonprofit Always Dream to ensure the children from low-income families have access to high quality books, as she personally saw how great of an impact the reading did to her children. She found that 80 percent of children of low-income households were not reading at the appropriate grade level. This indicated there was a need for change in this department.
This mission to help children has become her passion now and their program makes reading available to everyone. The nonprofit gives students a tablet to use at home for reading, as well as access to digital children’s library subscription and hard copies for home libraries. The program also gives technical training from a dedicated coach with book sharing strategies.
The pandemic did not slow them down in this pursuit to help others. They plan to serve 10,000 annually with their reading program by 2027. Their programs cover some schools in California and in Hawaii. Kristi has 4 books to her credit.
Kristie won the Olympic Champion in 1992, she is the two-time world champion
Congratulations to her again, when asked about her winning skates she mentioned it was at her parents’ home and her gold medal is in the museum in Colorado along with her outfit.
Meeting was adjourned at 1.30. Next week’s speaker is Regina Riley, Bay Area Housing Corp.