Rotarians at Work - Craft Talks
Thursday May 18th Rotarians in Action
We enjoyed craft talks from four members Thursday morning: Ezbon Jen, Steve Zwick, Leroy Carlenzoli, and Max Childs. They shared compelling accounts of their journeys in their respective career fields. Besides having impressive resumes, they also shared the passion for "Service Above Self" that was ingrained in them early on in their lives.
We first had the opportunity to learn more about Ezbon. Ezbon shared the sacrifices that his mother and father made for him and his siblings early in their lives. Though they lived a modest lifestyle in his youth, he and his siblings lived comfortably. Ezbon comes from three generations of family members who were in medicine. Both his grandfather and his father had herbal medicine clinics in the heart of Chinatown and helped members of their community get well.
Ezbon was drafted to Vietnam and left to serve his country as a medic. He kept his deployment secret from his parents, to shield them from anxiety and worry. His experience treating soldiers and Vietnamese civilians inspired Ezbon to change his concentration of study from Marine Biology to Public Health.
Ezbon has helped save lives of thousands of people ranging from communities in southern California to Tanzania. In Tanzania he helped distribute measles vaccines throughout the entire country. He discovered a Swedish manufacturer who built refrigerators run by kerosine and purchased 500 units to ensure the integrity of the vaccines. 20 years following his initial efforts, Ezbon learned that the program was still running smoothly.
Ezbon is force in our community, and we are fortunate that he resides in Sonoma County. As Dean of Santa Rosa Junior College, he fostered the growth of one of the most successful nursing programs in the United States. He created what is now also a highly successful Dental Hygienist program.
Steve Zwick shared with the club his experience with the Peace Corps in Ecuador, which led him to switch his area of focus from engineering to international banking. He spent several years living and working in banking in Argentina, and he has had the opportunity to travel all over the world. These experiences have led him to cherish joining our club in doing our mission work in Nicaragua and Vietnam.
Leroy Carlenzoli gave us a concise account of his career path. Born and raised in Calistoga, he was a whiz at math. With the support and urging his teachers, he studied engineering at Santa Rosa Junior College and transferred to Cal Berkeley. After he graduated, he worked for a large engineering firm and was a key player in building large developments in Sonoma County including Sea Ranch and Oakmont. He founded Carlenzoli Associates where he continued to help build parking lots and other structures in the community. Though he is now retired, he continues to see everything through the lens of an engineer always coming up with ideas to make improvements in our area.
Max Childs shared his experience in hospitality. He began his tenure working at the local movie theater. He was offered an opportunity by a friend to work at the Stratford Inn in Del Mar, CA. This experience is what inspired him to finish school and earn his degree in hotel management at San Francisco State University. His general manager at the Stratford despised the morning doves that flocked around the property. Concerned guests once called the Front Desk to report a crazy man outside with a BB gun shooting at birds. He had to let them not to worry – it’s just the hotel manager. While earning his degree, Max was hired to work at the St. Francis Yacht Club where he met his wife, Venus. Max has managed many hotel properties during his career. He has a passion for taking care of the hotel guests and the employees on his teams.
