Writer:  Adin Miller    Editor:  Cynthia Luedtke
Photographer:  Chuck Lindauer   Publisher:  Grant Anderson

Rotator for January 26, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President STAN SCARDINO called the Rotary meeting to order, welcoming all. President SCARDINO asked SANDY MINGA to lead the Pledge of Allegiance and then introduced PP SAM HARDING, JANET HARDING, and RON STEFANI to lead the Club in the Song of the Day, “The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomand.”

President SCARDINO thanked our greeters: MIKE ABRAMS, ROBYN SCHUCK, TOM JOHNSON, and KELLY DAVIS. He thanked the Cookie Monster CINDY BOGARD-O’GORMAN, Rotator photographer PE CHUCK LINDAUER, writer ADIN MILLER, and the SSgts. at Arms: AARON NEUFELD, MIKE ABRAMS, and BRUCE FITZGERALD. Last, he thanked HANK DREW, MIKE KERR, STEVE POMEROY, and PETER THURSTON for their technical wizardry.

 

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

President SCARDINO invited PP SAM HARDING to give the Thought of the Day. SAM started off with a Toast he put together to Honor our club and Robert Burn’s birthday (1/25/1759). He encouraged everyone to enjoy a dram of Scotch from the shared bottle on the tables or any other refreshment and offered the “MacLARC Toast:”  To our clan that brings us together each Thursday / We raise our cup to our time together / And our good deeds to Many. Cheers! He followed with quotes from two Past Presidents that remind us of the work we do:ALLAN VARNI (2018-2019) - “Ok Rotarians, go out and do good in the world, and remember, we are the lucky ones” and JOHN SYLVESTER (2012-2013) - “Have a Good Day, unless you’ve made other plans.”

 

GUESTS

President SCARDINO asked President-Elect CHUCK LINDAUER to highlight visiting Rotarians and guests. Peter Landsberger, member of Cupertino Rotary Club, identified as a visiting Rotarians as well as guest of the Club.

SALLY CHAVES introduced her parents as visiting guests.

NICK WEMYSS introduced Abby Young as his guest

CINDY MURPHY introduced her husband, Patrick, as her guest.

CHUCK concluded by promoting next week’s program featuring Zach Perron of the Palo Alto Police Department who will speak on “Crime Prevention Tips: How to stay safe and avoid becoming a crime victim.”

CHUCK also announced that nominations are now open for members interested in serving a two-year term as a Board Director of the Club.

 

 

 

President SCARDINO then invited CINDY MURPHY to present her 10-minute talk to the Club.

CINDY started the presentation by jumping into training as a nurse, which took place at the University of Michigan Medical Center. After graduating, CINDY worked at a community hospital in Ann Arbor before moving to California. She then worked at the Stanford Hospital CCU and shared stories from her experiences, especially in assisting cardiac patients.After a few years as a nurse, CINDY decided to pursue a law degree and enrolled at Santa Clara Law School. She ended up working for a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. During her time at the court, she was involved in a few interesting cases. She managed the discovery process on behalf of U.S. District Judge William A. Ingram in a case between Intel and Advanced Micro devices disputing the trademark protection of the number 386. CINDY also worked on the case involving Hansgrohe vs Grohe (literally a family dispute about faucets) that settled. She conveyed the important lesson about recognizing that there are multiple sides to a story and not everyone is always correct.

CINDY also discussed a second life lesson that even when things are really hard it’s worth it. She reflected on Camp Two Sentinels, where she spends a lot of time at this camp as a volunteer with the Girl Scouts. CINDY was introduced to the camp by her oldest daughter, Laura, who was tragically killed by drunk driver in 2016. 

These days, CINDY, Patrick and their dog Willa love to go hiking and backpacking. Their second daughter, Lisa (now 28) graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, and now lives in Portland where she works for the Department of Veterans Administration. CINDY noted that Lisa and her fiancé hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2019.

President SCARDINO then invited DUANNI HURD, membership director, to confer a Blue Badge on CINDY. CINDY was sponsored by DUANNI. Her classification is Retired Nurse / Attorney. DUANNI shared a few highlights on CINDY’s background, spoke of her amazing strength and grace, and noted that she’s now involved in Climate Action Committee.

ROTARY RELATED ANNOUNCEMENTS

President SCARDINO invited PETER THURSTON to speak about Rotary Ramblers and their upcoming hike, which will take place at 10AM on February 10 and will follow a moderate loop hike in Long Ridge Preserve on Skyline Boulevard.

CINDY MURPHY spoke about the Byrne Preserve Habitat Restoration. Rotarians were out the previous weekend along with several local high school students and planted native plants, and did some weeding and site cleanup.

RON LABETICH spoke about the Veterans Resource Center at Foothill College and upcoming free lunch program for veterans.

JULIE ROSE spoke about the Los Altos History Museum and three years effort to update the museum and its exhibits. She highlighted a pre-opening exhibit on February 9th; donor groups will be able to visit from 9AM – 12PM for a personal guided tour. She highlighted Rotarians who contributed and donated to the museum.

SHIV SHASTRI spoke about international scholarships and reminded that applications are due March 1. He will present more fully at a future Club meeting, but also reminded that there are seven areas of graduate study abroad support by up to $30,000 in award funds. District 5170 makes the award. Our Club’s nominee last year was selected by the District and is currently studying in London.

 

RECOGNITION

President SCARDINO introduced PP SAM HARDING for RECOGNITION.

SAM noted that LAWRENCE and LARRY CHU volunteered to join the President’s Club and then welcomed volunteers:

SAM called on himself and celebrated JANET HARDING for her volunteer activities.

PP DENNIS YOUNG celebrated PP MARY PROCHNOW and announced that Los Altan of the Year will take place on March 2.

SALLY CHAVEZ celebrated the life of Laura Murphy.

KELLY DAVIS celebrated the Grammy Award nomination of a Foothill College student.

PDG ARLEY MARLEY celebrated his wife’s path to USA citizenship.

LINDSAY CARPENTAR celebrated returning from a recent trip and joined the President’s Club.

CAROL DABB celebrated Fine Art in the Park and joined the President’s Club.

ANNE KEARNS celebrated her husband TOM JOHNSON and joined the President’s Club.

ANNIE JU celebrated DUANNI and her tenure as Membership Chair.

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

President SCARDINO asked PP HARRY PRICE to introduce our afternoon speaker, Vanessa Grigoriadis, to speak about podcasting and her True Crime Podcast on “Run Bambi Run.” Vanessa is a contributing writer at The New York Times magazine and Vanity Fair, a published author, journalist, and co-founder of Campside Media, a podcast company that produced the eight-part series exploring the story of Laurie "Bambi" Bembenek.

Laurie Bembenek was convicted of murdering her husband's former wife — a case that started a nationwide movement in her favor.

Vanessa spoke about the captivating case of Laurie Bembenek, “a Milwaukee police officer and Playboy Club bunny before being arrested for the murder of her husband’s ex-wife, a crime she insisted she did not commit. Nicknamed “Bambi Bembenek,” she became a tabloid fixation, a feminist cause célèbre and, after she escaped from prison, an American folk hero.”

Vanessa was gripped by the story and wanted to retell it for a podcast audience, while also contributing new material to the story. She played five minutes from the podcast to frame the story –the audio describes Bambi’s escape from prison and trip across the Canadian border. She also shared pictures from the trial and explained how Bambi’s escape from prison and even the contrast with the Jeffrey Dahmer case created public sympathy and support for Bambi. Vanessa discussed how she built the podcast – in particular, the search for print and audio sources that were either new or had been come inaccessible to the public.

HARRY asked about the motivation to look at the case and why Bambi ended up pleading no contest.  Vanessa responded that there was concern that she might be framed again for the murder; pleading no contest ensured that she would get out.

HARRY then followed with a question on how Vanessa, as a journalist, chooses that true crime story to focus on. Vanessa responded that she always looks to see if she can bring something new to the table that hasn’t been reviewed or understood.

RON STEFANI asked if Vanessa would ever consider reviewing the case of who killed Jane Stanford, which took place in 1905. Vanessa responded that the date of the crime makes it harder for her to her podcast company seeks to use audio that hasn’t been heard. It’s really hard for podcasters to bring a story to life with just voice actors.

CRYSTA KRAMES asked if the Milwaukee police department faced any consequences. Vanessa notes that the case (as well as Dahmer’s case) left very bad impressions of the police department but that there were further no consequences.

JULIE ROSE asked what Vanessa was working on next. Vanessa responded that she’s now producing a podcast series entitled “Infamous” that goes inside America’s biggest scandals.

President SCARDINO presented a book on behalf of the Club to Vanessa and then brought the meeting to a close.