Don't forget that Wed. August 15th is our first Bike to Rotary day of the year. Lets support our President and all ride our bikes to the meeting. Don't forget your helmets.Don't forget that Wed. August 15th is our first Bike to Rotary day of the year. Lets support our President and all ride our bikes to the meeting. Don't forget your helmets.
If today's academic degrees are no longer a direct pipeline to tomorrow's jobs, does higher education matter? How important is a college degree in a world where knowledge and expertise are available to all? Find out why a college education has never been more important.
John Duhring is Director of Community Relations at San Jose's Cogswell Polytehnical College and author of the new book, "Old School, New School, No School: Re-Calibrating Higher Education."
Thanks to President Helene we will be featuring the successful service our club contributes to. Watch for these at the meetings, on our website and in our bulletin.
Josh Selo thanked the Club and Youth Services AOS for its support of the West Valley Community Services Back to School Clothing Program. Thanks to the Club’s support, 180 children received clothing, shoes, a backpack and school supplies, preparing them to go back to school ready to learn. An extra special thank you to all Rotarians who volunteered last Sunday as well! Check out the pictures from the event with all the smiling faces here.
Jill Popolizio thanked the club and the Community Services AOS for its funding to replace 5 guest toilets at JW House Toilets, sharing a photo of the JW House mascot seated on one of the new toilets.
Your fellow Cupertino Rotarians, Alysa Sakkas and PP, Larry Dean, were recognized earlier this Summer as outstanding citizens by the City of Cupertino. Alyssa received the Lifetime Achievement Award for her work with the Sister Cities, Rolling Hills 4H and recognition for the Presidential Achievement Award. Larry was recognized as the Individual of the Year for his work with Walk-Bike Cupertino and promoting the development of a safer biking and walking environment. They were honored at the annual recognition event this past Memorial Day weekend. Videos of the presentations can be seen at these links: Alysa's Video, Larry's Video.
Alyssa and Larry follow a long list of Cupertino Rotarians who have made up a prominent segment of awardees over the past 25 years. (See the list here) There have been well over 30 active, past and honorary members of Cupertino Rotary who have been honored by the City of Cupertino for their outstanding contributions to the community. Congratulations to Alyssa and Larry - and to all of you Rotarians who will no doubt be recognized for your community contributions in the years to come!
Join us at the Northwest YMCA after our meeting on August 29th to give the gift of life and donate a pint of blood. It's easy and will help save someone's life. Blood donations are from 1:30-5:00 PM and you can drop in or make an appointment. Let's Lead by Example and make a donation.Our Rotary partner, De Anza College, is offering a 2 year Mandarin language and culture class and wants our Rotary members to know they are welcome to sign up. The program is great for anyone who wants to learn the basics of Mandarin. Classes will be MAND 001.02, Tu. & Thurs., 4:00-6:15 PM or MAND 001.62, Tu. & Thurs., 6:30-8:45 PM and MAND 001.63L, Sat., 9:00 AM-1:50 PM. If you have any questions contact Hua-Fu Liu (liuhuafu@fhda.edu)
Program:
PP Darryl Stow introduced today’s program, Coming to America featuring Rotarians PP Hung Wei, Don Sun, and Colleen Hudgen. Check out the video of their stories here.
PP Hung Wei grew up with her two brothers in Taiwan, but never felt it was home. She moved to the United States in her early 20s with her husband, bringing 4 big suitcases. Her first impression of the United States was that it was spacious and plentiful. After having kids in her 30s, receiving her first exposure to fundraising, volunteering, and committee work as a member of PTA. While Taiwan never felt like home, and she didn’t grow up in Mainland China like her parents, Hung’s search for a sense of home brought her to Cupertino, the community she loves.
Don Sun grew up in Beijing, China, where political protests and war were a part of his life. He volunteered for the first democratic elections in China when he was a college student. He received a full scholarship from the University of Pennsylvania to earn his Masters Degree, which he deferred to take a role working in the Prime Ministers administration. In 1988, he began studying at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a degree in Economics, with the idea of going back to Beijing. During the Tiananmen Square protests, a friend of his was jailed, which derailed his return to Beijing. Instead, Don began working at Stanford University, and ultimately went to Peninsula Law School to study law. His passion for democracy and politics has been a through line during his life and career.
Colleen Hudgen began with a beautiful rendition of “Amazing Grace”, a song written by a slaver who brought African slaves to America. Colleen was born on a farm, child number 4 in a family of 15. Colleen’s family were sharecroppers, and she used to work in the fields with her family from sunup to sundown. The earliest record of her family she can find is from the 1930s.
President Helene Davis called meeting to order followed by
Pledge: Kiran Varashneya
Inspiration: Louisa Roberts shared her inspiration in two parts - the first one was in honor of two people her mother and PP Judy Wilson - who inspired her love of yoga. Louisa also shared a passage from “Salutation for the Dawn”. Click here to read this amazing passage.
Visiting Rotarians:
Rod Diridon from the Rotary Club of San Jose
Rotarians with Guests:
Don Sun introduce Rick Sung, Santa Clara County Undersheriff, Meenakshi Biyani introduced her friend Benaifer Dastoor, and Susan Black introduced her husband Bob Pruitt.
August Birthdays:
Peter Halpin led us in a celebration of August Rotarian birthdays.
Presidents Club:
Gary Jones joined the Presidents Club in honor of the birth of his first grandson, Julian Joseph Robertson.
PP Judy Wilson to thank her Rotary family for its support during her last round of treatment. She also thanked PP George Tyson who was her sponsor - he also worked on the drug earlier in his career that helped with her treatment. And a big thank you to her husband Bill Wilson.
Announcements:
Leon Davis invited club members to participate the next Blood Drive, scheduled for Wednesday August 29, 1:30-5:30pm at the Northwest YMCA.
George Tyson encouraged club members to register for Global Elegance, the World Community Services Annual Fundraising event, that supports international projects. The event will honor Bob & Char Pagett. Join us on Sunday, September 9 at Hakone Gardens from 6-9pm.
George Denise reminded members that Fall Fest will be September 15 in Memorial Park. Lots of volunteers are needed - please see George for details.
Vardy Shtein announced the last call for the Mystery Spot field trip scheduled for this coming Monday. Contact Vardy for information.
Presidents Corner:
Helene Davis announced that the 3rd Wednesday of each month will be Bike to Rotary day, encouraging Rotarians to ride their bike to the meeting. The first date will be August 15. Prizes will be awarded, including the classification of “Rotarian Order of the Spoken Wheel”.President Helene Davis thanked everyone who makes the meetings possible, including Sergeant at Arms Al Rezai, Greeter Kiran Varashneya, inspiration by Louisa Roberts, Secretary Frances Seward, Secretary Assistants Dana Stern, Judy Wilson, and Meenakshi Biyani, Editor Stuart Rosenberg, Reporter Josh Selo, Minute by Minute Judy Wilson, and cashiers JoAnn Leonard, Marj Mancuso, and Eva Martin-Long, Program Committee Chairs Alyssa Sakkas and RoseAnn Woolpert and the coordinator for today’s program, PP Darryl Stow.
The following information is for club members with articles to submit to the Rotator.
Deadline for Article Submission: To help the editors in the work they do, please plan to make your submissions by the end-of-the-day Thursday. Please email them to cupertinorotary@gmail.com. Later submissions might be deferred to the next week's Rotator, depending on how far along the editor is in processing the meeting and program staff reporting for the current week.
Our outstanding editors are assigned as follows: First Wednesday - Gary Latshaw; Second Wednesday - Stuart Rosenberg; Third Wednesday - Stuart Rosenberg ; Fourth Wednesday - Padma Chari Fifth Wednesday - Peter Troop.
Our highly esteemed meeting reporters are assigned as follows: First Wednesday - Julie Griswold; Second Wednesday -OPEN; Third Wednesday - Josh Selo; Fourth Wednesday - Bill Wilson;; Fifth Wednesday Byron Rovegno
