The Pledge was led by Sandy Bocks. Inspiration led by Dan Snyder reflected on the words of Chadwick Boseman who passed recently. He was the Black Panther actor, and had many other big roles. In his Howard University commencement speech he urged students to find purpose, not a career. “Purpose crosses disciplines. Purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history.”
There were no guests. Lydia Norcia helped us celebrate the Rotary anniversaries for this month. (see slides)
President Andrew announced the sad passing of long time member Rene Friedrich. He joined the club in 1967, and was remembered by many for his love of craps and adherence to the rules, for his love of skiing, for his generosity at donating his Davos home for the annual club auction. Fond memories were retold by Grady, Tina, Paul Christensen, Sarita, and Andrew Howard. Ron Cassel noted that Rene had earned the 50 year pin, which will now be presented to his wife Trudy.
Our club continues to help fire evacuees by donating goods and gift cards. 1490 structures were destroyed, which is more damage than the Loma Prieta Earthquake. See Patti to be added to the Gift Card donation program and your card on file with the club will be charged. Patti reported $1800 has been pledged so far. Thanks to Tina for helping procure the cards. Donated items were initially taken to Prince of Peace in Saratoga, but since they are now full, items can be taken to St. Luke’s in Sunnyvale (hours are S-S: 1-4, M-F: 10-1). Our club sent 5 members to help sort donated items at Prince of Peace Monday 8/31.
Many members have agreed to give a donation weekly to the Charities Foundation, in lieu of no lunch fee being charged, in order to make up some of the fund raising losses due to Covid. Thanks for those contributing to the great response so far (roughly $400/week), and it’s not too late for others to join in. Increments suggested are $5, $10, or $20/week/person. See Dan Snyder.
Interactors t-shirt fundraiser:
The t-shirts are being sold online for the virtual conference and the students are hoping to sell many more than normal since their other fundraising efforts will be be minimal.
The Interactors have asked if members of our Rotary Club would like to purchase shirts to help with their fundraising. This year the Interact Area mascot is the Bubbly Bunnies and the shirts cost $15. Here is the link so you can see the shirts bit.ly/area11shirt. There are 3 ways to do this. You can click on the link and purchase the shirt on the site, give Tina your name and size and you will be billed by the Club, or tell Tina you want to donate $15 only (no T shirt needed). The deadline to purchase is Wednesday, Sept 9
Don’t forget the RI Convention in Taipei next summer is taking bookings. Rooms may run out mid September, so book now if going. See the RI website for details.
You may want to attend the Uplift Family Services virtual auction Sept. 18 12-1. See their website or Gae for details.
First Thursday social hour last week at Campo di Bocce was well-attended, and Maddie was thanked for her work putting it together. She noted although it was hot, it was a friendly venue with good ambiance. President Andrew was pleased we are good at “staying connected”!
The Inaugural Rotary Book Club is getting started. The book is - Wrestling The World, The Life and Times of Rodeo Champion Jack Roddy by Katie Cooney, discussion is September 30, 2020, 6:00-7:00 p.m. (http://events.
Note that the final club recognition awards (which are normally all given out at the Roast and Toast Event in June, but Covid had other plans) will be given out at the upcoming 3 meetings: Sept. 15, Sept. 29, and Oct 13 ( where Rotarian of the Year will be announced). These are “Bring your family to Rotary” zoom meetings, in order to maintain the surprise.
20 for 20 announcements:
- Andrew Howard caught salmon north of Bolinas with a friend and had a great time.
- Doug Brent was proud of the Leigh High Interactor’s drive in having an enthusiastic kick off meeting yesterday, despite the heat wave and holiday.
- Hal is still in the Sierra’s where it is windy and power grid is off, but his trusty new generator is supplying all his electrical needs.
- Patti and Erik tried to escape the 106 degree temps and smoke in Los Gatos Sunday, and liked the weather app numbers for San Francisco at 75 degrees and little smoke. Upon arrival, the conditions were the same as Los Gatos however, so don’t trust your weather apps ha! They did enjoy lunch in a beer garden before heading back.
- Meghan was pleased to celebrate the Giants being at .500 for the season and heading for a playoff bid.
Our Speaker
Meghan introduced our speaker Stephanie Kashima, president of West Valley Community College. She began as an instructor, then worked her way up in administration until she got the President role in January 2020.
- In Spring 2020 they had 8500 students, and due to Covid had to quickly move to online classes.
- She noted that the murder of George Floyd in May had a big impact on the campus, and that this year they have and anti-racism action plan and social justice training.
- They partner with Second Harvest to supply food to needy students weekly. They provide groceries and gift cards. They also try to meet the needs of homeless students by offering safe parking places overnight and long library hours.
- Tuition cost is roughly $1300/yr, Books are $1000/yr, and housing is estimated at $23,000/yr
- For hundreds demonstrating financial need, fees are paid by the college.
- West Valley College has a series on non-violent communication to engage in social justice conversations. Keynote speaker is Roxy Manning coming up in Sept and Oct.
The Bill and Leila Cilker School of Art and Design (former LG Rotarian) is having a virtual exhibit titled “Say Their Names”, a collection of photographs documenting the Bay Area protests in response to the George Floyd murder. Here is the link: https://www.westvalley.edu/
Click here to view the speakers slides from this meeting.
Next week’s speaker will be Claire Daye from the Northern California Alzheimer’s Assoc.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:30, with about 41 attendees.
Click here to view the slides from this meeting.