Chris Potter introduced guests:
  • Dave Downing’s daughter Terry Downing, newly VP of Business Development at PRxDigital
  • Henry Vitkovich’s wife, MaryJane Vitkovich
  • Ron Cassel welcomed a rare sighting of member Nava Fathi
President Marty Fishman brought back the walk-about and greeting portion of the meeting.
 
John Pencer inspired by relating the importance of old friendships at meetings, and encouraged all to create new friendships with members that have been in the club a year or less. This way all will feel welcome and help our club thrive.
 
MaryJane Vitkovich formally thanked the club for granting money last year to the AAUW Scholarship Project that helps women in need complete college.
 
Gae La Torre announced first Thursday is this week at her house, 5-7:00. Bring a beverage to share and if you are so inclined an appetizer as well. Her address is on ClubRunner. President Marty showed some Seinfeld video clips involving elaborate greeting rituals and odd dancing that may occur Thursday, so don’t miss the fun!
 
Gae also announced there is an upcoming Cancer Care Point garden party fundraiser coming up in Monte Sereno. See her for details if interested.
 
Marty announced several upcoming events. See calendar or Marty for more details.
  • Fisher house dinner our club is putting on July 30
  • West Valley Community Services shopping event Aug 3
  • Uplift Backpack stuffing project Aug 8,9
  • St. Luke’s brunch Aug 20…bring extra paper shopping bags for the pantry
  • VA Car Show needs 10 volunteers to escort vets thru the show Sept 14. See Lisa Norcia-Cheskin.
  • Rise Against Hunger meal packing event is Sept 14 8:30-1:00. Save the date. Tina Orsi-Hartigan is coordinating.
  • Rebuild Together Silicon Valley day is Saturday Oct 19. Save the date.
  • Rotoplast Missions are happening around the world this Fall. See Rotoplast website if interested in helping.
  • RotoCare is a Rotarian sponsored healthcare event that happens every Wednesday evening in San Jose for those that aren’t insured, and is accepting volunteers.
  • Red Badge members are encouraged to convert to Blue Badge, and simpler requirements have been adopted.
  • Our club BBQ (adults only) is Aug 27, 5-8:00pm at Oak Meadow Park. There will be no pig this year, But Andrew Stearns assures the menu will be delicious!
  • District news: The District Membership seminar is Aug 17. The Leadership Academy is taking applicants. There are 2 new clubs in our district and they are holding grand chartering events we are invited to. For all these, see district website.
There were a few 20 for 20’s:
  • Sarita Johnson announced she attended her twin grandkids’ college graduations, one from Loyola in LA and one from St Andrew’s in Scotland. For her European trip, she had a travel assistant that she found through member Canan Sonuk and was very grateful.
  • Mike Frangadakis announced his daughter was married in Tahoe, and as she is a nurse who married a paramedic, they will be invited to all future family vents. Marty also congratulated Mike on his cover story in Los Gatos Living, highlighting his efforts for the Veteran’s Memorial that was just completed.
  • LeRoy Neider announced his grandson has submitted a study for publication in the field of Psychology.
  • Heidi Owens, pending new member, announced she is joining the County Commission on Consumer Affairs, and will be looking in to Online Privacy.
 
 
The speaker was Cindy Chavez, member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. She noted she worked with President Marty years ago on insuring healthcare for disadvantaged kids in the county, and thanked him. She spoke of Measure A’s efforts to combat homelessness, including building housing and prevention efforts for those approaching homelessness. She noted it is cheaper to provide housing than to provide ongoing services through the hospitals, jails, and social services. She also is putting on a seminar for women in leadership Aug 17 at SJSU. She is leading an effort to get county rape kits processed in less than 30 days, where in some instances nationally it can take years to process them. Once the county proves it can be done, it is the hope others will follow. She also focuses on domestic violence services and prevention. Domestic violence is the #1 reason for violence calls to police. She also has promoted the change to allow children  to be cared for by the male relative’s family  in domestic violence aftermath.
 
 
Next weeks speaker will be  Gaylord Green speaking about “The Origins of the GPS System”
We know GPS as a way to find our way around the world.  It was created in 1972 and is still valid today.  Check out the movie The Lonely Halls Meeting “ on Amazon to meet the team that created GPS.  Today, GPS affects so many aspects of our lives.  One aspect is timing to keep the internet working and financial transaction tagged and your cell phone operating.  Another is positioning used in agriculture, air and ground transportation and in operations such as dredging and construction. GPS makes multiple activities of human beings more productive and access is free.
Gaylord Green, a GPS founder, will hope to give you an understanding of how GPS works and its importance in our lives.  He will cover some of the interesting stories in developing  the system and how the user capability has improved.