Pledge was led by Henry Buffalow
Inspiration: Harvey Barnett
End of year sentiment expressed in a poem---and a reminder to keep in touch with those you love while you have the chance—tell them now.
Announcements: Holiday Party—
Leslie Hay—December 8—5:30 $99. To be held at the Saratoga Country Club. IT will be a great event! With dancing, music, a 3 course meal and lots of fellowship! Registration is open
now click here.
Thanksgiving –
George Denise—Introduced his friend TOM Turkey—buttered up for the coming Thanksgiving dinner. Please help deliver meals to the needy—20 more sign-ups needed!
Click here to sign up.
Operation Snowflake—Leslie Davis: December 7 (kids) and December 14 (adults). Please donate your time, some toiletries and your presence! Please contact Leslie to sign up.
Holiday Luncheon—
Maggie Padovani—Senior Holiday lunch will be December 11. Please come and sponsor a senior for lunch. Make them feel special! Again, signup on line by
clicking here.
Kids shopping (Gifts of Hope)—Tina Ferguson . This is a partnership with WVCS to help create a special Christmas for needy families. The list of requested items, and the funding, will be provided to volunteers. Please go shopping and bring the items back to WCVS by Dec 4. Contact Tina to participate.
Veteran’s Recognition: Will Fluewelling and Sandy James : Next Monday is 11/11/11—a special Veteran’s Day! Ceremony at Memorial Park for both living and passed Veterans. 11am -1pm. Come and be part of the recognition of all that our Veterans have given us.
Fly-up: April Bignell has the touch to have many new fly-ups!
Jennifer Chang sponsored by Joann (Jerra stood in). She is the recipient of the Neil J Hoffman award—for exemplary leadership in District 5170.
Kiran Varshnaya, sponsored by Annie Ho. Both are very active in our club and at the District level. were inducted on the same day in April and are now flying up in unison.
Good work, Jennifer and Kiran!
Personal talk: Paige Zhang; Born and raised in China, reaching adulthood during the late 1980s and early 1990’s. China was opening its doors, and many students were going abroad to study. She went to Georgetown. She came to Silicon Valley and met her husband through work. She is an artist, a hiker, a mother, spouse and intrepid traveler. She meditates with food and baths in hot springs. She showed many interesting photos from her travels. She is also an active volunteer with the Cupertino schools. She has come to appreciate the importance of close community to our wellbeing (physical and spiritual), and this is why she loves being part of Cupertino Rotary.
President Padma shared a Japanese proverb: “Vision without Action is a daydream/ Action without vision is a nightmare.”.
Speaker—Jane Grodem---introduced by
Alyssa Sakkas. She is a former Rotary exchange student to Japan and the founder of Spark Joy of the Bay Area—all about organization, Kon Mari and simple living as a means of finding peace in life. This stems from the Japanese culture of tidying. Check out her full presentation on
video by clicking here.
“Sparking Joy”----she discussed the science behind the correlation of clutter and stress. Several studies have shown that women, particularly, are stressed by clutter. She is also working in the tech industry. She freelances as a Kon Mari consultant. She now helps clients tidy their homes according to the Maris Kondo method so that they are able to better enjoy their environments.
The hard part is getting the method in place. Once done, it is easy to maintain.
The idea is to have your environment reflect who you are today—not who you were in the past.
The method:
Commit to Tidying up (with a specific, realtively near-term time frame)
Imagine your ideal lifestyle—how do you want your home to feel?
Finish discarding first
Tidy by category, not by location—
Follow the right order {clothing, books, papers, Komono (misc), sentimental}
Ask yourself if it sparks joy
How do you decide if it sparks joy? Find something and then hold it close—what are you feeling? Tune into it and go with it. Express gratitude to the things you are giving away.—and be intentional about who the recipients will be. The method applies to all kinds of category—including your office!
She also demonstrated the science and art of vertical folding! Roll and let it stand vertically.
Lawson Sakai is a Japanese American, born in Los Angeles, California on October 27, 1923. When he tried to enlist in the military on December 8, 1941, he was denied because of Japanese-American’s newly classified status as 4-C, enemy alien. In 1943, when the government asked for volunteers to form the 442ndRegimental Combat Team (442ndRCT), he quickly joined. Lawson participated in all major campaigns of the 442ndRCT, most notable being liberation of Bruyeres, France; rescue of the “Lost Battalion, France; and breaking of the Gothic Line (Italy). Sakai received four Purple Heart Medals and a Bronze Star Medal. Come celebrate our Vets and listen to Lawson tell us what it was like during that time and for him in particular as a Japanese American.
Rotary Holiday party- Will be December 8—5:30 $99. To be held at the Saratoga Country Club. IT will be a great event! With dancing, music, a 3 course meal and lots of fellowship! Registration is open 
Don't miss our annual Senior Holiday Luncheon—on December 11th. We will host and introduce seniors, enjoy a great holiday meal, maybe a visit from someone special and hear great music from the local HS Choir. Please join us and sponsor a senior for lunch. Make them feel special! Signup on line by 
The annual Inner Wheel Holiday Party is being held on Wednesday, December 11th. This is a festive way to bring in the holidays and everyone's generosity helps make the holidays brighter for the many clients of West Valley Community Services.
Check out our many upcoming service 
