Craft Talks - Rich and NIck

Posted by Nick Pardasani 
on Aug 10, 2015
 
This week program consisted of Craft Talks by Rich Weeda and Nick Pardasani.  The purpose of these craft talks is to get to know the newer members on a more personal level. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Instead of the usual speech, Nick devoted the entire time to questions and answers. He wanted to know what other members would like to know about him. He talked about his background, his culture and past experiences in form of answers to questions asked by other members. It was an interactive session, as everyone participated and wanted to know more. As expected, most of the questions were related to Nick's background and the unique culture of where he comes from which is India.
 
We talked about India a lot. We talked about weddings, arranged marriages, population growth, political conflicts with Pakistan, Rotary Clubs, class distinctions, cultural differences, Indian Food, and more! We also talked about local Indian Restaurants in Artesia (on Pioneer Blvd.)
 
There were questions and answers also about Nick's personal background and how he came to USA as a scholarship student, did his master's degree in Minnesota, went back to India, moved to Canada in 1971, did his MBA degree in Canada, worked for Xerox Canada, transferred to California in 1985 to work for Xerox Corporation; became a Printing Business Owner in Paramount, CA in 1992 and then got attracted to developing Web sites and data bases, with the advent of Internet in 1997. He still continues to own and manage Costumes4Less.com which is an online retailing business selling Halloween Costumes on the Internet. We also talked about his offshore resources based in India.
 
Nick also answered questions about his family. He has been married to Sheila since 1971. His son and daughter-in-law live in Seal Beach; they have two girls and a boy. His daughter and son-in-law live in Santa Monica and have a 2 month old boy. Nick talked about how much they enjoy spending time with their grandchildren.
 
His brother lives in Melbourne, Australia; his other brother lives in Mumbai, India and his sister lives in Normal, Illinois. He noted that his entire family is well-to-do and successful in what they do. They get together often. Nick also maintains close ties with cousins, some second cousins in India and close friends in Canada. 
 
In closing, Nick mentioned that even though there are cultural and behavioral differences between people from different backgrounds, basically, people are people. They are all driven by common values and motivations. He pointed at the Rotary Four way test and noted that those values are applicable universally - no matter what your background or culture may be.
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rich started his talk by mentioning that he too is from an immigrant family. His family migrated from Netherlands to Canada in 1948 because annual quotas to the United States were full. Following Canada's seven year residence requirement, the family immigrated to the United States. He was number 5 of 8 children. He brings with him his Dutch family values. He is a Christian, husband, father and grandfather.

 

 

Rich talked about the challenges in his early days. His father was severely injured and there were financial difficulties which required the children to work, developing a good work ethic early in his life. Rich has been a newspaper carrier, a cow washer, he pumped gas and fixed cars as a mechanic, washing cows was a seven day a week job. Rich talked about how he did not like school as a youngster, but his employers insisted he finish school.Rich enlisted in the US Army in 1968, serving in Germany for two and half years and knows what it is like to be a soldier.

 

 

While he was enlisted, Rich's mom kept in touch with his sweetheart, Laurie. They continued to correspond and with eleven months remaining in his enlistment, they were married and moved to Germany.

 

 

Upon returning to the US, he enrolled in Cerritos College and Long Beach State University receiving a teaching credential in Industrial Arts. Upon completing his student teaching in the Paramount Unified School District, he accepted a position as the Auto Shop Instructor at Paramount High School. He enjoyed being a car mechanic and he liked sharing this knowledge and skills with his students. For a student who did not like school in his early days; his mother was quite surprised and pleased that he became a teacher. He enjoyed working with Students and he loved working with automotive systems but with an expanding family, he pursued a position with Datsun Motor Sales, USA as a Service Training Instructor. In this position he trained dealership technicians in all areas of automotive service for nearly five years.

 

Rich spent the last 28 years of his career as an Automotive Curriculum Designer for Toyota Motor Sales, USA, designing curriculum for both Toyota and Lexus. He recently retired and has been keeping himself busy with painting, flooring, window installation, roofing and most recently helping with six month old twin grandchildren.

 

Rich is about to celebrate his 45th wedding anniversary this year and is scheduled for an Alaskan Cruise. 

 
Rich expressed his gratitude for always being warmly welcomed in Paramount Rotary Club and looks forward to working with the club in community endeavors. 
 
  Nick Pardasani is on the left and Rich Weeda is on the right.  Thanks Nick and Rich for sharing yourselves with us and we are glad to have you in the club!