Weekly Recap
President Bill Kelly
March 10, 2022
We enjoyed our lunch meeting with an in-person speaker again this week, Krishnan Thyagarajan, who is an Entrepreneurial Scientist working on fascinating projects. We reviewed our calendar for the upcoming months, which includes some Distrct functions, our President’s Dinner Cruise in March, and the upcoming Bocce Ball social event in April. A review of last night’s Board meeting was presented, as well as a significant report on our International service activities.
Meeting Highlights
Pledge: This week, our club Treasurer, CJ Grewel. Thanks, CJ.
Inspiration: This week, our inspiration was provided by Past President and District 5170 Governor, Gary Citti. Gary provided several inspirational quotes from Winston Churchill, regarding the need to display courage and inspiration in troubled times. As the British Prime Minister, his quotes to his nation and the world described his observations on government, human rights, freedom and liberty, and individual responsibility. Thanks, Gary for sharing this inspiration today.
Birthdays: Phil Auger celebrated his birthday earlier this week on March 6. Phil and his sweetheart, Barbara who celebrated her birthday the day before, went to a Monterey Jazz concert along with 1,000 of Phil’s closest friends. A popular Rotarian, Phil can really draw a crowd!
CJ Grewal celebrates his birthday today, March 10. His plans call for a trip to Denny’s to celebrate. I recommend the Grand Slam Breakfast (available any time of day); always a hit. Happy Birthday Phil and CJ!
Anniversaries: Congratulations to Dave and Keiko Cowan, who celebrated 31 years of marital bliss on March 9. Way to go, you two!
Rotary Anniversaries: Two Rotarians celebrated their club anniversary this week. Past President Ken Rowell celebrated 31 years as a Rotarian on March 7, while Ted Moorhead celebrated 13 years in our club on March 9. Thanks, Ken and Ted for your many years of membership and service in our club.
Upcoming events:
Women in Rotary event at the San Jose Rotary Club, Sunday March 13 from 4-6:30 pm.
President’s Dinner Cruise, March 26, 2022.
Area 5170 District Conference, scheduled for April 22, 23, and 24 at the Blackhawk Museum and San Ramon Marriott. Several high-caliber inspirational speakers are scheduled to deliver presentations during the conference. An Interactor talent show is scheduled for Saturday April 23, among other fun activities. More information is available at the conference website.
Bocce Ball evening social event at Campo di Bocce in Lost Gatos. We’ll be Dark for the lunch meeting as we attend the fun evening event on April 21, 2022.
President’s Report:
President-elect Tressa Williams continues to lead the club on the registration process for the annual President’s Dinner Cruise event, which is scheduled on Saturday March 26, 2022.
The evening begins with a very-fun bus ride aboard a fabulous Royal Coach bus, as we head up to Alameda for our cruise.
Tressa advised that we’re close to filling our allotment of passengers for the cruise, which will sail in the shadow of the San Francisco and Oakland skylines. This will be an exciting event as we celebrate our 85 years of service to our community.
For more information, click on this link, or contact Tressa. It’s going to be a very fun time for everyone, so sign up today!
The Rotary Club of Santa Clara has been awarded a display booth to highlight our International Project at the upcoming Rotary Women’s International Day event in San Jose on March 13 from 4:00 – 6:30 pm at the Rotary Summit Center in San Jose. Harbir Bhatia is leading the effort on Project Hope, which helps empower women in Pakistan to obtain the skills necessary to lead independent and fulfilling lives. We would like to have enough Rotarians fill up a table for this event. Please sign up online to join your fellow Santa Clara Rotarians at this event. You can also contact Harbir for more information on this educational and networking event.
Board Meeting Recap:
Our club remains fiscally sound, with our operating expenses in line with our revenues.
The Board approved $3,500 to complete the funding of our international project, Project Hope. International Director Harbir Bhatia was able to utilize our District Rotary funds along with donations from other area clubs to fund the majority of what was needed to fund this project. This supplemental funding completes the necessary costs this year.
The Board approved funding a Rotary led Ukraine relief effort in Poland. Harbir Bhatia will be traveling to Poland to assist in an international relief effort for refugees from the Ukraine war. The Board offered to match individual donations up to an amount of $1,000. Several Rotarians in attendance at today’s meeting pledged donations to help in this effort.
President-elect Tressa Williams and President Kelly will meet to review a formal membership development plan. Membership development is a key factor in remaining a healthy club. If you are interested in serving as a Membership Director, please contact either Tressa or Bill.
The District 5170 conference is scheduled for April 22, 23, and 24 at the Blackhawk museum and San Ramon Marriott. We’re looking for volunteers to help staff our House of Friendship display booth on Saturday April 23. Registration is free, but some seminars require purchase of a meal. The Board approved meal reimbursement for those Rotarians who can assist.
The Joker’s Wild activity has been updated to help ensure that it stays as exciting as ever. The prizes include an upgraded wine selection and a bigger weekly jackpot. Tickets are now $2 each, 3 for $5, or 8 for $10. The more you play, the more fun you’ll have! Thanks, Dan Holder and Jack Holder’s Restaurant for help with the purchase of these wine prizes.