PE Helene Davis  led them meeting.

 

Pledge: Lynn Ching

 

Inspiration: Graham Clark gave an inspiration drawing on quotes from George R. R. Martin since it was George R. R. Martin’s birthday on September 20.  One of the quotes he cited was “Why is it that when one man builds a wall, the next man immediately needs to know what's on the other side?” 

 

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Visiting Rotarians: PDG Don Allen from Rotary Club of Coeur d'Alene

 

Rotarians with Guests: Sheriff Laurie Smith (speaker) guest of Sandy James, Sheriff’s Deputies and other sheriff’s department members Rick Sung, Melanie Jimenez-Perez, Reggie Cooks, and Rich Glennon guests of Sandy James, Dr. Craig Baker guest of Anjali Kausar, Bonnie Stearns guest of Dave Stearns, Ahmer Khan guest of Hung Wei, Fabrizio Vitagliano guest of Hung Wei, Bill Allen guest of Hung Wei, Stacey Stebbins guest of Tom Avvakumovits.

 

 

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President’s Club:

Dave Stearns joined to celebrate the recent 50^th anniversary of his marriage to Bonnie.  Bonnie thanked the club for the ongoing support for Quilts for Kids.

 

 

In Memory of Margaret Kung

Don Sun shared the sad news that PP Hsing Kung’s wife Margaret passed away last week.  He shared the feeling of all club members who will miss Margaret’s many contributions and especially her gracious friendship.  Hsing spoke to the club and recounted that Margaret had especially enjoyed the opportunity to participate in Rotary trips.  He then announced that he would be making a contribution of $100,000 to the Cupertino Rotary Endowment Foundation in memory of Margaret.

 

 

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Announcements:

PP Bev Lenihan reminded members that Jim Jackson will be giving a special presentation from 1:45-3:00 on Wednesday September 27 after the next club meeting.  The topic is “The Ten biggest MISTAKES that you will make(or have made) in your estate plans.”  The presentation is free and members are welcome to invite guests.

 

Colleen Hudgen announced the third annual Western Night to be held Saturday, September 23 from 5:30-8:00 at St. Jude Episcopal Church in Cupertino.  The event raises funds for Live Oak Adult Day Services. It was a tremendous success, check out the pictures of fellow Rotarians enjoying the event here.

 

Helene Davis announced the District Avenues of Service event to be held on October 5 from 5-9 PM at the Santa Clara Biltmore Hotel.  Contact Helene to register.

 

Lynn Ching announced that the 2018 golf tournament will be held on May 5.  The committee is currently looking for applications from potential beneficiaries.  Click here to download the application guidelines from our website.  Contact Lynn for more details.

 

Annie Ho announced an upcoming fellowship event to tour the Shoreway Environmental Center.  The tour will be from 12:30-2:00 on Monday, October 2.  Members can meet at the St. Jude parking lot at 11:40 to carpool.  Contact Annie to sign up

 

PE Helene Davis announced that there will be a trip to Cupertino Sister City Bhubaneswar in India.  The trip will leave on October 22.   Contact Reena Rao if you are interested in going. Check out more details by clicking here.

 

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Presidents Report:

 

PE Helene told member about some special upcoming meetings.  The October 4 meeting will celebrate Diwali, and the October 11 meeting will be an Italian Heritage meeting. 

 

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Program:

 

Sandy James introduced the speaker Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith.   Laurie spoke about the investigation, led by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department, into the abduction and murder of Sierra Lamar.  In spite of a number of obstacles, the investigation successfully found and apprehended the perpetrator and developed the evidence necessary for his conviction.  Sierra was last seen by her mother when her mother left for work at 6am on March 16, 2012, and the last communication received from Sierra was a text at 7:11am before she left to catch the school bus.  When she did not return home that evening, her mother called 911 after fruitlessly trying to find her.  Fortunately, the responding deputy quickly realized that this was more than a teenager running away.  As a result an investigation was started with an APB issued and a search of the area initiated.  A task force was established and a 24 hour tip line setup.  Sierra’s cellphone was soon found and her backpack, found on the second day of the investigation, yielded physical clues including DNA.  The Sheriff’s Department worked closely with the FBI which was able to bring in specialized expertise.  By Day 12, the DNA evidence led to a suspect, Antolin Garcia-Torres.  With surveillance and continuing detective work, the sheriff’s department was able to obtain sufficient evidence to arrest Garcia-Torres on May 26, 66 days after the abduction.  The murder trial began five years later, and Garcia-Torres was found guilty of first degree murder as well as attempted abduction in three other cases that came to light during the investigation.

 

Laurie summed up by saying the investigation was very labor intensive, but she believe those many hours of good work were worth it for bringing some justice to Sierra’s family and taking a true psychopath off the streets. Click here to see the full presentation.