Meeting Recap December 17, 2020

I hope you were able to join us last week for a very interesting program.  I have attached Bob Rick's recap and the zoom recording for your review. 

 

For the next two weeks we are dark.  Our next meeting will be on January 7th for our club assembly.  I can't believe I only have six months left of my presidency.  This first half has been challenging for all of us.  I am extremely proud of what this club has been able to accomplish during these very difficult times.  We continue to help each other as good family members do and continue to provide a great service to our community.  We just had a VERY successful Christmas for Kids event. I can't wait to  share the photos! 

 

I wish you a warm, peaceful and blessed Christmas filled with gratitude and hope.  
 
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Mike Sellers

President 2020-2021

Rotary Club of Santa Clara

 

 

 

Mike Sellers, President and Leader of the Zoomers

Bob Ricks, Imported, but Humble Scrobe

John Mlnarik, Zoom Controller until U of Nebraska calls

 

Zoomers in Attendance:  We maxed out at 32 dedicated Santa Clara Rotarians and two semi-dedicated.

 

Yes, That is our president in the small photo. No, we think the background is fake. We are investigating. Stay tuned. Special note: Read all this brilliant scribe and then be rewarded with a surprise at the end……...no cheating! The Four Way Test is in place.

 

Harbir gave us a meaningful inspiration regarding the Season of Holidays for all religions and the meaning of the holidays to all their followers. It is a special time of the year all over the world. In the end they all connect to what we Rotarians do every day: Service to all above self. We are all lucky to be Rotarians. Thanks, Harbir!

 

The Pledge:  PP Andy Ratermann led us in the pledge. He got all the words correct, I verified. It was his opening of “Please stand children” that missed a beat. Too many school functions for Board Member Andy.

 

Yours truly now qualifies as both a Visiting Rotarian and Humble Scribe. President Sellers welcomed PP Bob Ricks to the meeting. PPx2 Bill Carver was unable to attend as he is presently sitting in a lawn chair watching the water flow into his new Texas sized swimming pool as the meter ticks off the gallons. Joe Sweeney has requested I not mention him this week. Walt (was in Vietnam) Marwitz has decided to eat lunch prior to the Zoom meetings.

 

Andy Ratermann introduced us to visitor Andrew Knaack with the Ronald McDonald House Association. Welcome Andrew!

 

In spite of Covid, President-Elect Bill Kelly will be found at Holder’s on his December 18 birthday enjoying a traditional giant stack of Blueberry Pancakes. Bill has also made this a tradition for his wife Barbara as her birthday is on December 19. Great way to handle two birthdays with one pancake dinner.

 

New Dad Nima will be celebrating new Mom Mahtab’s birthday on December 19.

 

PP Stan Chinchin, a member of this club for over 65 years, will celebrate birthday 93 on December 20. We all wish a Happy Birthday to one of the greats of Santa Clara. Stan has got to be happy to see our first female get elected as VP of the United States.

 

PP (and current Secretary of State) Dan Holder will celebrate on December 22. Dan wanted us all to know that he has been in the club so long, 25 years, he can now qualify as a Senior Active under the Rule of 85. This birthday put him over the hump. Congratulations. John Bertolotti will soon call you.

 

Don Skinner’s parents had a choice 65 years ago. Get an extra tax deduction for that year or wait until his actual due date in February. They decided to go for it. Don started life as a financial decision and has continued in that field. Mr. Skinner now gets a party thrown world wide in his honor each and every year. With fireworks. His birthday for 2020 will be very special…..Welcome to Medicare Don.

 

Ted Keech brought us up to date on Stan Chinchin. He has been in the hospital recently for a heart problem. Stan is home now but will need to return after Christmas for a procedure. Our thoughts and prayers are with Stan and His family at this time. Stan Chinchin is one of the key members that made Santa Clara TGRCITW.

PP Colleen Noll has put in the hours along with her team to make this weekend’s Christmas for Kids another success. The jackets and toys are set to go and the volunteers from our club will be there to help.

 

President Mike gave a special THANK YOU COLLEEN for all the extra planning and time it took to make this function a success in this unusual year. Hopefully next year we are all back to serving lunches, getting Keech back into the Grinch outfit and helping Bob Buchser take Santa pictures with the kids.

 

Dates:  We are Zoom Dark on December 24 and 31. The Club Assembly will start 2021 on January 7.

 

Honduras project update:  Harbir reported that we have plenty of clothes and kitchen items to ship to Honduras. They are all stored at Tom Brown’s warehouse. Before we ship we must inventory and make a list of all items as part of Honduras law. She and Lorenzo need help to do this. Please contact Harbir if you can assist in the inventory so we can get the goods shipped and on the way. Thanks again to all that donated to this cause.

 

Firehouse Run:  Andy reports we are just $150 away from hitting our goal in support of the Firehouse Run. This money goes to the schools. If you have some spare change, please contact Andy asap. We want to hit our goal as well as be the #1 contributor this year.

 

PP Mike Moul was going to leave this Zoom presentation to interview for a job as a male host on THE VIEW. We wish him and his lucky coat from his Santa Clara University Glee Club Days good luck!

 

Our guest speaker was introduced by EZ Perez. As a side note, the judge did not give EZ any slack when he wore this hat to court this week. EZ will go all out for his clients…...

Juan Hernandez is a graduate of San Jose State and a seasoned professional leading Non-Profit organizations. He is currently Director of the Bay Area Ronald McDonald House Charities. **********As a side note he collects Cowboy Hats…..Tom Brown took note of this as he has one to sell and one to buy.

 

Juan briefed us on the work done by RMHC all through our area and the support he receives from his 30 staff members and the community. The Ronald McDonald House at Stanford has 123 beautiful guest rooms that are provided at no charge to families with a child at the Lucille Packard Hospital for care. This includes three meals per day for all family members.

 

Juan had a great story during his presentation. He was assisting at a hospital one time and a young boy asked him, “Why are you so nice?”. Juan answered that this was his calling and he enjoyed helping other people. The young boy responded, “I want to be like you someday”. That one response made Juan’s efforts all feel worthwhile.

 

RMHC also support rooms at other area hospitals as well as a Mobile unit. The slides below will give you a good idea of the RMHC at work in our area:

 

We had questions about how we can help Ronald McDonald in these difficult times. Juan gave us the address above to visit and volunteer to help. Thanks Juan for bringing us up to date on all your team does to help kids in our area.

 

Heath and Nima need to call Daniel for a few tips……….

 

Not one, but two famous SC Rotarians…...got any ideas? President Mike will accept ideas from non-Zoomers only through December 28.

 

President Mike closed with a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. It has been one tough, unusual year. Thanks for all the Rotarians that pitched in and made the Zoom process work. See you in 2021…….gotta be better!