Meeting Recap Dec 3, 2020

I hope you were able to join us last week.  We had a very interesting speaker and I made a special announcement (No I am not moving to Texas).  Please review Bob Ricks recap and I also attached the zoom recording if you want to watch  the meeting.  This week, Andy scheduled Vivian L King to speak to our club.  Vivian had a stroke at a young age of 49.  She wrote a book and will talk about her journey.  This should be a very interesting presentation.  Remember to use the new zoom link for our general meetings.  I will send out the meeting notification tomorrow.

 

Hope to see you on Thursday.

 

Mike Sellers

President 2020-2021 

Rotary Club of Santa Clara

 

 

Mike Sellers: President and Zoom Master of the Club

Bob Ricks: Humble Scribe and Truth Seeker

Gavin Newsom: Motivation and Leadership

 

Deb did a great shout out to get the meeting going and then inspired us with three quotes that even Miles Barber would agree to:

President Mike got all dressed up for the pledge…...or he had just been to Home Depot and was in the middle of decorating his house and remembered the meeting……...and the lights were blinking folks. No one dared to kneel.

 

(I apologize for all the O showing up on Mike’s nose. He did not buy a nose ring due to Covid boredom. My download was slow. Texas double checks anything coming in from California)

 

Maria Daane was online and in the audience! Welcome back Maria.

 

President Mike and Denise got the word! They are going to be grandparents. Mike’s son and daughter-in-law gave them the great news a few weeks ago. It will be a boy. Congratulations to all.

 

Deb York reported that she and Marcelo had a quiet evening at home to celebrate his birthday…...she got to cook.

 

Your humble scribe made it to 52 years married to Betty on November 23. Number 52 sure beat anniversary #1. In November 1969 I got to wait in line for a pay phone at Ft. Lewis, Washington to call Betty collect and wish her Happy Anniversary from Army basic training. (This was not a planned career move). We did a little better on Anniversary #2 in 1970 as we were by then living in a small apartment in Stuttgart, Germany as I kept America safe from a Russian invasion.

 

Tim and Julie celebrated #8 on Rotary meeting day. Tim reported that they were in Covid Jail after having slipped to Orange County and back over Thanksgiving. (He was probably doing a VIP BBQ for Governor Newsom and cannot talk about it.)  Congratulations!

 

PPFAD John Bertolotti celebrated 42 years in TGRCITW on December 2. John will say his proudest accomplishments are sponsoring Walt (was in Vietnam) Marwitz as a member and starting the first RIM in District 5170.

If you do not know what RIM is you need to contact John.

 

Tony Avelar is somewhere on a cell phone telling someone either the price is too high or its a steal as he hits #11 in the Kiwanis Club of Santa Clara…..oops, Rotary Club. Tony discovered, many times, that ringing cell phones do not work well during SC Rotary meetings. Tony managed to self fund one entire Christmas for Kids event with his cell phone fines. Come back Tony…...we miss you and we need the cash! No one can tell him that we have a special phone bell under his chair when the club funds run low.

 

Papa Hanich is also an 11th year Rotarian. Bob Buchser discovered Heath at an Open Mike event trying out jokes at the Improv. Bob lured Heath into the club to #1. Steal his jokes and # 2. Maneuver Heath into taking over the Speech Club MC job…...it worked. Ain’t membership great?

 

Don reported that Larry Fargher had been in the hospital due to an infection but was home now and on the comeback trail. Keep Larry in your thoughts as he recovers. Don’t forget Lois either. We all know Larry.

 

Nima Moridi and his wife have both had a bout with Covid but are now both recovering. Folks, this is a tough one when you also have a new baby to care for. Hopefully we see Nima on the Zoom again soon…...mask required.

Firehouse Run: Andy Ratermann is the honcho on this one. Please contact Andy if you want to participate. Do not let the word “RUN” scare you. Andy is participating but he is not running. You can walk or crawl or sit or just make a donation. It all goes to the schools.

 

Honduras: PP Lorenzo Rios and Harbir Bhatia are coordinating this effort to help the people in Honduras during a tough time due to flooding. They need clothing, pots and pans, shoes and bedding. This is time to clean out your closet and dedicate to a good cause. Contact either Rotarian for more information.

 

Membership: President Mike announced that he will be setting up a committee in January to create innovative ways to get new members in our club. If you have some ideas or want to be on the committee please contact Mike.

 

We received news this week that Chris Boyd will be leaving TGRCITW due to a promotion to the Walnut Creek Kaiser Hospital. We all wish Chris well in his new job. President Mike will soon be talking to Chris’ replacement at Santa Clara Kaiser. Heath has requested a new joke teller.

 

Club runner: Our club is working to improve ClubRunner. Every member should have their own sign on and password to get to the restricted member area of ClubRunner. If you do not, call President Mike. We need to get all the photos updated as well as member profiles. Please review your information and ensure it is correct. As a Warning:    I tried to get members to update their photos in my year as president. When I still had a few blanks I just inserted photos of my own choosing. It was not pretty but it did get a response. Anyone heard of Alfred E. Neuman?

 

Steps for Success: We will be conducting a second Steps program in February. We received a special donation to help with the project. Stayed tuned!

 

Christmas for Kids: PP Colleen Noll had a few updates:

Personal comment on the Amazon program: I use this site to donate toys.  It is great. You log into the site, pick your toy to donate, pay for it and it gets shipped directly to Colleen’s school. Easy. No store to visit. No need to go drop off anywhere. I highly recommend using Amazon.

This is the main slide. We NEED your involvement. Please contact Colleen and let her know how you can help.

 

Colleen also mentioned that we need lights this year. If you have any lights you are not using (like around Mike’s neck in this bulletin) Colleen can use them. You will get them back. Just put your name on them and they will be returned. Help!

 

Guest Speaker:

DeAnna Pursai was introduced by PP (and current club Secretary of State) Dan Holder. She is a member of the San Jose Rotary Club. Dan is now a member of the Gavin Newsom $50 and above Club. Ask Dan. He did not get a T-shirt.

DeAnna’s Journey of Joy began when her little sister Angel was born with Down Syndrome. This led DeAnna on a Journey to help similar afflicted kids and adults with educational programs. I highly recommend you watch her presentation on the Zoom video to learn how the entire program has developed. It will warm your heart.

 

One good story: The doctor’s told DeAnna’s parents that Angel would never walk or talk. Not only did she talk, she would not quit talking. Her mom had her at a prayer meeting one time where all the people got to go around the room and say a short prayer at the end. When it was Angel’s turn she simply said, “I pray mom can quit cussing.” You gotta love it.

DeAnna’s program, College of Adaptive Arts,  has now grown to help over 135 students in adaptive education that makes their life fun and challenging. If you want to learn more please check out their website above. They always need help from members of the community. DeAnna, Thanks for a great presentation.

 

PP Andy Ratermann and Speaker Coordinator Magnifico announced that next week we will have a lady, Vivian King, that lost all ability to speak at age 49 due to a stroke. Her story is guaranteed to be interesting. See you there…..on the Zoom…….no masks required!