Meeting was held online via Zoom and called to order at 12:30pm by Andrew Stearns.
 
We had 60 Zoom participants.
 
Pledge of Allegiance was led by Sandy Bocks.  
 
Visiting Rotarians – Rachelle Lopp introduced her friend Jennifer Karno from Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary
 
Other Visitors Linda Lester 
 
Inspiration John Pencer provided our inspiration for today, focusing on the distribution of the COVID19 vaccine as the light at the end of the tunnel. He reminded us to celebrate while continuing to be vigilant and stay the course.
 

Announcements –

 
Blue Badge Presentation: Art Rabitz announced that Linda Lester has received her Blue Badge as an Honorary Member. Linda thanked the Club and is pleased to be involved.
 
Nominating Committee: Doug Brent, representing the Nominating Committee announced the slate of candidates for the 2021 – 2022 Board of Directors. Under President Nicholas Welzenbach, the slate is as follows:
 
President Elect - Mike Norcia
Vice President - Lisa Cheskin
Secretary - Doug Brent
Treasurer - Ed Bowen
Asst. Secretary - David Hubbard
Asst. Treasurer - Dan Snyder

Director - Jeff Barnett
Director - Meghan Burton
Director - David Wells
 
Sergeant at Arms - Gregg Butterfield

Scholarship Committee member - Tony James
Investments Committee member - Henry Vitkovich
 
Andrew asked if there were any nominations from the floor, and there were none. He then asked for a ‘yes’ vote by hand-raising then a ‘no’ vote by hand-raising. The slate was approved by the vote.
 
We Care Committee: If you know of anyone that needs help from the We Care Committee, please contact Lydia Norcia or Patti van der Burg.
 
Presidents Brunch(ish): In lieu of our Annual Presidents Brunch, Henry Vitkovich and Suzanne Boxer-Gassman created a program to honor our past Club Presidents.
 
John Pencer – John spoke about two Rotary memories of his including one from a 1972 Club Assembly and his involvement in the creation of the annual fundraising auction in1980. 
 
Tom Boyce – Tom was President in 2010 when the Town of Los Gatos was building the new Library. He oversaw the donation of $20,000, from discreet designated funds, for the new youth study room in the library. He also challenged the local Lyons Club and Kiwanis Club to raise more money for the Library. They ended up donating $20,001 and $20,002 respectively.
 
Suzanne Boxer-Gassman – Suzanne presented a beautifully crafted video presentation to honor past Presidents. It also touched on some of the highlights from this past pandemic-year.  Click here to view!
 
Henry concluded by reminding us to look forward to next year’s Presidents Brunch which will be held on December 5, 2021.
 

General Club Announcements:

  • Philanthropy – Champion Forms due February 28, 2021.
  • Please remember to contribute a gift through Family Giving Tree Holiday Drive. The link is on our website.
  • LG Gives is scheduled for tomorrow, December 16, 2020.
  • There is a Winter Wonderland – No Touch Drive-Through Market at Flights Restaurant in Los Gatos.
  • WineFest is scheduled for, January 30, 2021. Tickets are on sale now. Click here for details and to purchase tickets!
  • St. Luke’s Volunteers – thank you to the folks that donated food this week.
  • We are meeting next Tuesday, December 22, but not the following week, December 29.
 

Presentation

Our speaker today was Erika Buck. In addition to being a fellow Rotarian, Erika is the Executive Director of our local Youth Science Institute (YSI) Her presentation covered the history of YSI from 1953 – present. It was started at Alum Rock Park in San Jose, post-World War 2 to prepare young people for the challenges of a new environment. It currently focuses on School Programs, Summer Camps, Family Science Safaris and Community Events to provide science education to children, focusing on children from local underserved communities. 
 
Her presentation also highlighted the changes that the organization has made to accommodate the changes brought on by the COVID19 pandemic. This summer they offered limited enrollment modified Science Camps and Science Saturdays. They currently offer in-person, self-guided Science Safaris for families and virtual programs including; School Programs, Weekend Story Times and Meet-an-Animal Events.
 
Andrew closed the meeting at 1:30pm.