Stories
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Rotary Means Business |
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2019 Membership Seminar |
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 Kenneth Kaufman Palo Alto University Founder & Emeritus, presented Bob Williams the award and Proclamation with the following words. .jpg) |
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.jpg) Robert Beresford Williams B. 6/23/1921 As a teenager, Bob earned an Eagle Scout Award and was an American swimming relay record holder. As a Naval Academy midshipman, he held the highest appointive rank, Brigade Commander; the highest elective office, Class President; and was a two-sport varsity athlete. At graduation, accelerated a year because of the war, Bob received a Letter of Commendation from the Superintendent and the Class of 1897 Leadership Sword -- the acknowledged leader of his Naval Academy Class of 1945. As a shipboard officer during WW II, he fought in four Pacific campaigns. After leaving the Navy, in time Bob became the most successful international life insurance executive of his era, highly honored and highly publicized. He established offices in London and Beirut, in addition to Menlo Park. Bob developed a clientele of the rich and famous around the world, even including a Saudi Prince who later became the King of Saudi Arabia. Operating in the Middle East during the oil crises of the 1970s, he generated unequaled positive publicity for the life insurance industry. During Bob’s tenure in the life insurance business, no individual has had a greater impact on professional ethical conduct than he. As the President of the industry’s professional association, Bob tightened the ethical conduct standards. He was an innovator, creating new marketing procedures and opening up markets in the Middle East for American companies. Bob is known as an innovative thinker and charismatic leader. Indicative of his vision and impact are the more than 500 testimonials he received during his late ‘80s and ‘90s – heart-felt and enthusiastically written, from broad-based sources including colleagues and persons of influence. Oft honored, in 2012 for example, Bob received the National Eagle Scout Association’s Distinguished Eagle Scout Award for service to country, and, Bob and his wife, Carol, were honored as Distinguished Citizens. Each year, Bob’s two national initiatives, Honoring of Veterans and Enhanced Sportsmanship, the ethics of good sportsmanship, involve and inspire millions of Americans. Veterans are now honored every fall at home football games near Veterans Day by almost 600 colleges and thousands of high schools. The words of a college President, “Your work on behalf of our Veterans serves as a shining example of the values we wish to instill in our graduates.” The words of two Director of Athletics: “His sportsmanship leadership and passion have earned him the reputation as the nation’s #1 Sportsmanship authority, expert and advocate. No one can match his record for making a life-time difference for sports in America. He is a great American.” (USAFA); and, “We have fully subscribed to Bob's direction and aspire to always exceed his vision in any aspect of competition.His values and ideals have touched the lives of virtually every midshipman who participated in our athletic program.” (USNA). Bob has been honored for his visionary sportsmanship leadership – locally, nationally, even Internationally. Scotland’s N.E. Fife Sports Council named its new Boys Tournament the Bob Williams Trophy for Bob’s many years of leadership inspiring its boy golfers to “honor the game.” Bob is recognized as the Naval Academy’s #1 Volunteer, a volunteer without an equal. For more than 50 years he has transmitted his ideals, his values, his enthusiasm, his vision, his passions, and his thoughts and ideas A Naval Academy Foundation Trustee since 1969, in 2018 Bob was honored with The Chairman’s Distinguished Volunteer Award. He created four official Naval Academy ceremonies. Two occur each year, Naval Academy Founder’s Day, a day for bringing the Naval Academy family closer together and the Honoring of Veterans, at a football game near Veterans Day will, perhaps, remain in place as long as there is a Naval Academy. The other two were one-time ceremonies – the Ambassador of Exploration Award, acknowledging the receipt of the Lunar Sample (moon rock) that Bob had procured from NASA for the USNA Museum and the other honored the 50th Anniversary of the First Space Flight by Rear Admiral Shepard, Bob’s Annapolis classmate and roommate. For the training of the Naval Academy Brigade, he put in place four Brigade Traditions. His recommendation led to the creation of the annual five academy sportsmanship competition, The Superintendent’s Distinguished Citation for Sportsmanship. In 2016, Bob sponsored the highly regarded video, The Founding of the United States Naval Academy. The words of two Superintendents, “You have represented the Alumni so admirably for so long, I think that many of us can’t imagine an Alumni initiative that doesn’t involve you.” and, “On behalf of the Naval Academy and all Alumni around the world, I want to personally thank you for your continued support.” Alumni Association Chair, “…. his legacy and traditions will live on for generations. …. He is a Naval Academy and a national treasure.” Bob has left a legacy for the Naval Academy and for our country. “The seeds that Bob has planted will long serve future generations, inspiring them with the ethic of good sportsmanship, a love of their school, and a heightened respect and gratitude for those men and women who have served and are now serving their country.”
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After months of preparation, on October 2nd a dinner program, “The Time for Civil Discourse is NOW,” featuring a keynote address by the general secretary of Rotary International: John Hewko was hosted for almost 250 people at the Stanford Faculty Club. The event was the brainchild of the Palo Alto University Rotary Emeriti Group, a group of distinguished former Palo Alto University Rotarians, who are using their intellectual capital and position in the community to improve civil discourse. Club member Okke Schrijvers gave an introduction to this timely topic drawing on stories about Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. During John's presentation, he drew on the example of Rotary's efforts to eradicate polio to highlight the importance of civil discourse, and the powerful role Rotary can play in improving civil discourse. Over the years of attempting to eradicate polio, there were many falsehoods spread about the vaccination efforts. Rotary was able to overcome the obstacles and resistance by listening and understanding people’s concerns. John then linked the topic of civil discourse to the last US presidential election and the role that media, old and new, have played in polarizing the citizenry. John concluded with recommendations for how the lessons learned during polio eradication could be applied more broadly. The evening program was recorded and the video is available on the Palo Alto University Rotary Club Youtube channel at https://youtu.be/m7UGRjv0qDk. Feel free to share this link with others as we all work towards the goal of improved civil discourse. Funding for the evening was generously provided by The John Ernest Foundation of our charter president Ken Kaufman.
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PAUR was proud to partner with Youth Community Service for an evening of fun and holiday cheer with our local veterans. We had a wonderful evening assisting the veterans making unique holiday crafts, gifts and decorations.  |
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As part of PAUR's commitment to Community Service and the environment, we partnered with Farming Hope (a local NGO that plants food as a mechanism to empower people out of homelessness) to plant 50 fruit trees. Our volunteers had a great time working on the project. We know that funding the fruit trees will be good for the environment, good for food insecure neighbors and ultimately good for the homeless participants in the Farming Hope program.  And, of course, more Photos in the Album! |
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PAUR was pleased to return to Stevenson House (local affordable senior housing complex in Palo Alto) to host an Oktoberfest celebration for residents and their guests. Now that Stevenson House has completed the $20M renovation, the event was hosted onsite. The event is popular with the residents and provides a great opportunity for the residents to socialize with the community.  Incoming President Uwe Bergmann with a happy Stevenson House resident. Check out the Photos in the Album! |
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Stevenson House is a local affordable senior housing complex in Palo Alto. Each October our Club hosts an Oktoberfest celebration. The residents and their guests are invited to celebrate. The event is popular with the residents and provides a great opportunity for the residents to socialize with the community.
Stevenson House is currently undergoing a $20M renovation which will ensure safe, affordable housing for years to come. This year's event provided much needed continuity for the residents.
.png) Three of our intrepid volunteers ready to provide Spaten with a smile! (L-R: Mike, Don and Bob)
This year's event was generously underwritten by:
.png) More photos are available in the photo album. http://portal.clubrunner.ca/4633/PhotoAlbums/2016-oktoberfest-stevenson-house
Videos of the residents and volunteers are posted to our FACEBOOK page.
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During the PAUR El Salvador visit in 2015, the clinic director, Dr. Marta Diaz, presented the Club a compelling request for a maternal health clinic.
The clinic was desperately needed to provide an area to provide dignified care and counseling to the women of the community. The clinic would also provide contraceptive counseling and sex education training. Upon return from the trip, the Club decided to raise the money using a variety of mechanisms. In addition to an IndieGoGo campaign, PAUR collaborated with Rotary Club Mulhouse (France) and Woodside Rotary Club to raise $30,000 to fund the building of the clinic.
The bathrooms have been constructed and the women in the community are coming by to see the new facility. There is a lot of excitement about the new facility and what it will mean for women's health in the community.
The facility officially opened November 7, 2016!
.png) For more pictures, check out the Photo Album!
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2016-09-11: We had the opportunity to see the progress of our community bees on September 11.
 It was also a great opportunity to expose the kids to the importance of bees to food production.
 Rotarian (and beekeeper) Kendal with two of our engaged youth.
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PAUR Launches IndieGoGo Campaign!
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Happy 4th of July We welcome the opportunity to celebrate the 4th of July with our community. This day celebrates our Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation.As the first service project for the Palo Alto University Rotary Club under President Richard Schoelerman, we worked with friends, family and our fellow Rotarians at the Palo Alto Rotary Club to put flags up on University Avenue in Palo Alto. Afterwards we met for snacks and fellowship.
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The Annual Debunking!
At the end of the fun-filled celebration, Sandra graciously turned over her 15 pounds of club neck ware ...
and Richard proudly donned the gear and promised the crowd they would be in for some fun - Texas style.
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2015 Rotary Convention
In June 2015 four members from the club attended the Rotary International Convention in Sao Paulo Brazil. It was a great opportunity to meet other Rotarians and learn about the many ways that Rotary is changing the world.
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We thank Stanford's Dr. Leslie Berlin for visiting our club and telling us about her approach to documenting the history of Silicon Valley. So interesting to learn about the many historical resources Dr. Berlin uses to accurately capture the stories of the companies and individuals that help define Silicon Valley.
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We are honored to have had Dr. Michael Kirst, President of the State Board of Education, as our speaker this Friday. Dr. Kirst is Professor Emeritus of Education and Business Administration at Stanford University. He has been on the Stanford faculty since 1969. In 2011, he became the President of the California State Board Of Education for the second time. Professor Kirst was a member of the California State Board of Education (1975/1982) and its president from 1977 to 1981. Dr. Kirst received his Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard. Before joining the Stanford University faculty, Dr. Kirst held several positions with the federal government, including Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Manpower, Employment and Poverty, and Director of Program Planning for the Elementary and Secondary Education of the US Office of Education.
He is currently taking on the roll-out of the Common Core Standards here in California. These standards aim to align diverse state curricula to a consistent, clear set of standards nationwide that students are expected to learn. Forty-five states, the District of Columbia, four territories and the Department of Defense Education Activity have already independently adopted the standards. This is quite an undertaking in California where he has to try and satisfy the breadth of opinion from 6.2 million students and their parents, 310,000 teachers and their administrators, and the State and Federal policy makers. No easy task. Photos Courtesy of Ted Mock.
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This week our speaker was Irwan Bello our Rotary Global Scholar. Since the revamp at the Rotary Foundation around how they now bestow scholarships, what were called the Ambassadorial Scholars are now funded by Global Grants. For the first time in two years, we have a visiting Rotary Global Scholar in our District to make a presentation to our club. An engineering graduate of Ecole Centrale in Paris, Irwan has done internships in Madagascar, India, Australia and the United States. With the help of a Rotary Global Grant, Irwan is studying for a Masters Degree in Data Science at Stanford University.
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This week we will have two representatives from Reading Partners: Nicole Johnson and Gina Roberti. Using a structured curriculum to provide one-on-one tutoring, Reading Partners has helped more than 12,000 students become strong, confident readers. In 1999 they were founded by three community leaders who launched a program to help children with the poorest reading skills at Belle Haven Community School in Menlo Park. We whole heartedly support the work they have done at Belle Haven.
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Members of Palo Alto University Rotary enjoyed two traditions this holiday season: our annual Christmas party and Friday Meeting gift exchange. Enjoy some photos courtesy of member Ted Mock of our members having a festive, good time! Thanks to Jochen and Hala Kleinknecht for allowing us to celebrate in your home and Meredith Warshaw for all her hard work organizing the event!
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Rotary continues to serve the community by putting up American flags along University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto on holidays. This Veterans Day, we were lucky enough to be joined by the little ones from the local elementary school, Walter Hayes School Girl Scouts. Look at the pictures below of our Rotarians hard at work with their families and the local Girl Scouts!
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Last Friday, Toni Schwarzenbach Burke spoke to PAUR about City Year and how they are closing the gap between what students need to succeed and what schools are designed to provide. As the Vice President and Executive Director of City Year San José/Silicon Valley, she leads 74 AmeriCorps members serving in seven schools, leading to an impact totaling more than 3,600 students every day.
In high-poverty communities, external factors and obstacles that students are faced with every day can interfere with their chance at education and ability to get ready for school; over 2,600 students in San José drop out of high school every year. City Year believes that education has the power to help every child reach his or her potential, so they use peer-mentors to help out San José’s most under-served schools and to address specific areas that lead to students dropping out. It was wonderful hearing about the positive impact this organization has on our future leaders.  |
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PAUR met this past Wednesday for an informational meeting on the fast-approaching trip to El Salvador, graciously hosted by our incoming President Richard Schoelerman. Doctors William Grindley and Jerry Torrance discussed the history of PAUR and our role and accomplishments in the El Salvador area. They also shared the trip itinerary, which will tentatively include visiting a medical/dental clinic, visiting the 10 students we are enabling to attend high school, and the opportunity to help mentor 8 entrepreneurs in Las Trincheras identified by ESNA that would like to establish a business.
One afternoon of the trip would be spent working in groups to assist the entrepreneurs in developing their business plans for sustainability. At least one bilingual person from ESNA would be on each team to assist with translational needs. This is a hugely exciting opportunity to bring the magic and ingenuity from the Silicon Valley mindset into entrepreneurial mentoring in a worthy area. This is a great hands-on opportunity to leave your mark on a developing area. The trip will likely be a Friday through Sunday in late January/ early February of 2015. It will be in the all-inclusive beachside resort, Royal Decameron, and is not only a great time to bond with your fellow Rotarians in a relaxing beachside environment, but also an opportunity to see PAUR’s impact in the rural community of Caluco. Thank you Richard Schoelerman for hosting such an informative event, and we hope to see a lot of PAUR members embark on this exciting journey! |
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We celebrated our Halloween morning with speaker Cyrus Khambatta, a man who has lived a healthy and fun lifestyle despite having been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 11 years prior as a senior at Stanford. Cyrus has a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry from UC Berkeley and is now a nutrition and fitness coach for people with diabetes. Using science-based whole foods nutrition and incredibly fun fitness, he helps those affected reverse the effects of insulin resistance. It was enlightening to hear about Cyrus's experience living with diabetes and his epiphany to radically change his diet and lifestyle.
Cyrus said in his bio that this "aha" moment happened when he'd hit rock bottom. "At that moment, I listened to the voice in my head that had been telling me the same thing since I was a five year old child. In a slow, confident tone, similar to the words a wise grandfather would tell his grandchildren, the voice said, 'Cyrus. The time has come. Learn how to eat.' For the first time, I listened to that voice. It was the single greatest decision I ever made."
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Thank you to everyone who came out to Oktoberfest at Stevenson House! We had a lot of fun benefiting low-income seniors, and the event was a huge success. Check out these pictures from the event!
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This past Friday we were fortunate to hear from Lenny Lind, the Founder, Chairman and Senior Consultant for Covision, a company dedicated to designing the world's ost productive meetings. Lenny took us behind the scenes of some of the biggest meetings for mega venues, such as the Clinton Global Initiative, the World Economic Forum and hundreds of senior leadership meetings, and event conducted a demonstrationof the efficient gathering of group feedback from our very own group! His expertise in technology and design for high engagement kept us fully engaged - we learned a lot thanks to Lenny's intelligence and guidance!
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It's that time of the year again! Thanks so much to Gloria Hom of the League of Women Voters for going over the ballot measures that we will vote in in the upcoming election. In can be hard to sort through the information about each measure, so we are grateful that Ms. Hom gave us an unbiased look at the pros, cons, supporters and opponents of each so we can make a more informed decision. Now, let's get out there and vote!
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We enjoyed a visit from the Rotary District Governor, Ed Jellen last Friday. Mr. Jellen comes from the Rotary Club of Oakland and shared with us his experiences in Rotary, his vision and why everything we do matters. He did all this with clarity, charm and a good sense of humor. Thanks to all club members for making him feel so welcome.
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Last Friday we welcomed Darren Hau, co-founder of Dragonfly Systems, who recently joined SunPower. He spoke about cleantech and how the industry is becoming leaner and more focused and as a result, more effective. We learned about one Stanford-affiliated cleanteach startup's success, the solar industry as a whole and future opportunities in energy.
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This last Friday we heard from two fabulous new members! Katie Cooney is an events manager with an MBA and leadership in marketing, special events, organizational strategy, fundraising, and client relationship management. Katie is a talented photographer and showed us many images from her exciting travel. Okke Schrijvers is getting his Ph.D. at Stanford in Computer Science with an emphasis in Algorithmic Game Theory. He is another of our international all-stars, coming from the Netherlands and is also the President of Dutch @ Stanford, an association that aims to share the Dutch culture with others. Welcome!!
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Daniel Hartwig, the Stanford University Archivist, spoke to PAUR last Friday. Daniel has grown to love the archive and the work associated with preserving it, and he is passionate about combining his innovative and creative tendencies with the need to digitalize Stanford's analog archives.
Daniel spoke on the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Jane Stanford, who was the wife of the founder of Stanford University. We enjoyed hearing about Jane Stanford and the legacy of our neighboring university from such a dedicated archivist.
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The Community Service Project to put up American Flags on holidays continues! Rotary at Work helped out this past Labor Day by putting up the flags along University Avenue. Below are pictures of families joining in on the Labor Day fun.
 Jake Yoo and his family had fun putting up US Flags!
 Karen and Steve Ross, and their two granddaughters, Maya (age 6) and Camila (age 4) had a great Labor Day!
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We had beautiful weather this past saturday for our PAUR picnic at Foothills Park in the Palo Alto Hills. We had a lot of fun spending time together with great food and sunny weather! Here are some pictures from the event, courtesy of Ted Mock!
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Sharon Tennison is the founder and president of the Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI), an organization that supports political and economic reforms in Russia. CCI dates back to the Cold War in 1983, when Sharon led a group of American citizens in challenging the arms race by opening communication between the U.S. and the USSR. Sharon and her group called themselves "Citizen Diplomats".
Sharon has recently joined the Palo Alto Rotary Club, and she spoke this past Friday on the role of Rotary across Russia and her views on the current Russian and Ukrainian crisis. She covered a lot of ground on the issue, but the situation in Russia cannot possibly be covered properly in such a short period of time. It was wonderful hearing her experience in observing how Rotary grew and influenced the people within Russia. We enjoyed listening to Sharon's thoughts and thank her for speaking.
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Our speaker, John Robichaux, is the Senior Assistant Dean at Stanford University and the Founding Director of the Office of Collegiate Programs at Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies. He is director of Stanford's Summer College Academy, a program that combines online and on campus summer courses for high-achieving students.
Dean Robichaux spoke on Stanford's innovative summer college program, which is changing the scope and reach of undergraduate academics. Through this program, students can participate remotely before regrouping in person on campus. He is extremely dedicated to providing students access to the world's best classrooms so that they may reach their fullest potential. It was wonderful hearing about such an innovative educational program so close to home.
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Last Friday, PAUR met at Belle Haven Community School, a place in which we have been involved for 25 years, to hear our speaker Dr. Gloria M. Hernández-Goff, Superintendent of Ravenswood City School District. Dr. Hernández-Goff is an expert in many facets of education, having experience as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, Title I resource teacher, staff development trainer, school administrator, school district assistant superintendent, and lecturer at Sacramento State University. She is an advocate for education reforms and initiatives to improve access to bilingual education. Dr. Hernández-Goff is the developer behind the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project, a nationally recognized model for encouraging parent involvement.
PAUR thoroughly enjoyed hearing from one of the leading voices within the educational field and would like to thank Dr. Gloria Hernández-Goff for a wonderful event.
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Yesterday in our PAUR meeting, Sally Mahoney, Martha Meyer, Pat Devaney, Bob Barrett, and Leif Erickson presented about our commitment to Belle Haven School over the last 25 years. They discussed in detail the demographic and structural changes over time that we have helped the school achieve. On top of that, talk of how to further help the school strengthen and grow was facilitated, while new ideas and plans were brought to the table.
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Big news for PAUR! This past Friday we welcomed our new president, Sandra Florstedt, to her position! Sandra is a professional business facilitator and an expert in effectiveness. Get ready for high expectations of participation from each member at our gatherings! Although Sandra claims this position will be one of her most challenging assignments yet, we have confidence that she will lead PAUR to great places.
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On Friday we had the pleasure of hearing from the head of the Cool City Challenge, David Gershon. Cool City Challenge is an initiative of empowerment facility. David discussed the goals of Cool City ranging from reducing carbon emissions to bringing neighborhoods together. He explained how cities are the places that carbon emissions need to reduce most, but are also the places that can help snowball a change in the way people live their lives.
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At our meeting on the 20th, PAUR looked back on the work our members have done in El Salvador the last 10 years. The meeting allowed old members to take a trip down memory lane, while informing our newer ones about our work and commitment on past projects. We reviewed what PAUR's original vision was going into El Salvador and the kind of impact we have had on people's lives there. While focus was primarily on the changing environment in Caluco and what kind of opportunities the people there now have. we also discussed the future of our presence in El Salvador.
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On the Friday of last week, we had the pleasure of hearing some of our PAUR veterans share their stories. We welcomed new members and celebrated long-term members. Here are some pictures from the event, thanks to Ted Mock!
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This past Friday PAUR visited the Ecumenical Hunger Program in East Palo Alto to help fight the war on hunger. The Ecumenical Hunger Program is an organization that provides support and assistance for its community to both families and individuals. We had a great time on Friday and look forward to working with EHP in the future! Thank you to Ted Mock for the following images!
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We appreciate your support!
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 Megan Mobley (yours truly) is back from maternity leave and so excited for her son Wyatt to become a part of the Palo Alto University Rotary family! Our club embraces members from all walks of life and the support first time mom Megan and Wyatt have received from fellow members demonstrates this point precisely. Here's to future generations of Rotarians! Remember Wyatt, service above self!
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Friday we heard from Sam Wineburg, the Margaret Jacks Professor of Education and of History (by courtesy) at Stanford University. He directs the Stanford History Education Group, which seeks to improve history instruction around the world. Prof. Wineburg's work questions history's role in modern society and especially how young people use the past to define themselves. Fascinating!
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Our Annual Gala "Lifting Up the Community" boasted tremendous participation from PAUR members and the community at large! This year was special because we launched our Fund for the Future, a donor designated fund that will allow us to invest into the club and make an even stronger impact in the future. Thanks to the gala committee, club members, corporate sponsors and volunteers. Our Fund for the Future has a healthy start thanks to you! And now, enjoy some images courtesy of Ted Mock!
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This Friday's Vocational Service Panel featured Fred Hornbruch, Bob Barrett, Leif Erikson and Elaine White and was MCed by Walter Moore. Enjoy some photos taken by our own Ted Mock!
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Thanks to Stephanie Martinson of Racing Hearts for sharing her personal experience with cardiac arrest and the importance of easily accessible AEDs to help save lives. Racing Hearts' mission is to place as many AEDs, which help stimulate and restart one's heart, in high risk locations including schools, community center, and more. Thanks for teaching us about the importance of AEDs!
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Thanks to Karen Kienzle, the Director of the Palo Alto Arts Center for talking with us about the newly renovated center and new plans to reach the community. Highlights of the renovated building include a new Children’s Wing with double the number of classrooms, transformed exhibition galleries, new lobby spaces and public areas and beautifully landscaped outdoor spaces for all to enjoy!
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We are excited to learn more about one of our newest members, Steve Paterson, who is the publisher of several local dailies through the Bay Area News Group. Steve is a strong believer in the connection between local journalism and the community it represents. We look forward to learning more from him as he brings his papers further into the digital space, which he says he will be aggressive about.
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Our club demonstrates just how close we are to eliminating Polio from this planet as a part of Rotary International's END POLIO NOW campaign. Thanks everyone for your participation!!
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Our speaker on Friday was Zachary Brown, 5th year PhD candidate in the Department of Environmental Earth System Science (EESS) at Stanford University. We learned about phytoplankton and its role in high-latitude marine ecosystems, as well as how it, along with the broader environment, might adapt and evolve to global climate change.
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How much do you really get done while multitasking? Our speaker today, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, has spent the past twenty years studying people, technology, and the worlds they make. A professional futurist with a PhD in the history of science, Pang is a former Microsoft Research fellow, a visiting scholar at Stanford and Oxford universities, and a senior consultant at Strategic Business Insights, a Silicon Valley-based think tank. Pang's writings have appeared in Scientific American, American Scientist, and the Los Angeles Times Book Review, as well as in many academic publications. We appreciate the reminder that it is more efficient to compartmentalize tasks, instead of attempting everything at once!
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Margot Knight, the Executive Director of the Djerassi Resident Artists Program spoke to our group. The Djerassi Resident Artists Program is an incredible artists’ retreat set in the hills above Woodside. The mission of the Djerassi Resident Artists Program is to support and enhance the creativity of artists by providing uninterrupted time for work, reflection, and collegial interaction in a setting of great natural beauty, and to preserve the land on which the Program is situated. We enjoyed viewing images of the lands, the artwork, as well as hearing about the vision to promote artist from all over the world.
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This Friday, we were honored by a visit from Angie Hassler, our Rotary District Governor. Interestingly, PAUR welcomed Angie as the spouse of District Governor Roger Hassler and this week the roles are reversed! Ms. Hassler's objective was “to encourage and inspire us to continue the great work our club is doing in our community and world.” Cheers to that!
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Started in 1991 for students at risk of not graduating from one of the 11 regular comprehensive high schools in the East Side Union High School District, Pegasus accepts students who may have dropped out or who have significantly fallen behind in credits necessary for graduation. In the school year 2010-2011, 73% of the students at Pegasus were of Hispanic ethnicity, although only 13% were English learners. The supportive environment that Pegasus provides encourages all students to accept personal responsibility and, once successful, to move productively forward to the next stage of their lives. We loved hearing about the creative approach to teaching used at Pegasus! |
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James L. Sweeney, needs no introduction for many of our members. Jim was an original member of this club and served as “Mr. Program” for at least nine of its first 10 years in existence. We thank him for setting such a high standard for Fridayprograms that followed! It was so fun to catch up with Jim. He is welcomed back to visit our club any time!
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Our speaker this Friday was Vincent Michael, the new Executive Director of Global Heritage Fund (GHF). GHF’s mission is to provide historic preservation projects, primarily in the third world, with financial and technical resources. Preservation by Design® is GHF’s integrated conservation and development methodology - a living framework that combines long-range planning, conservation science, community engagement and monitoring and evaluation. The group really seems to empower members of the local community to respect and maintain their heritage.
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We heard from some of our newest and youngest members this last Friday about why they joined Rotary, specifically PAUR and what the experience has been like thus far. The four panelist, whose average age was about 30, spoke of the strong community within PAUR, as well as the many opportunities to serve the greater community outside PAUR. All panelists spoke of how welcomed they felt when joining, especially considering their relatively young age. Since our club is celebrating its 25 year anniversary, it's appropriate to say "Here's to the next 25 years!"
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Our speaker this week was Rosanna Palomo, the principal of Belle Haven School, our club’s adopted school. Ms. Palomo is beginning her second year as principal of this K-8 school and will also be in charge as the new Community School Director, who has been chosen by the Ravenswood District School Board. We are delighted for the positive changes that will surely come to Belle Haven now that Ms. Palomo is at the helm.
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This Friday we tried something different but juxtaposing two talks, one from one of our more 'seasoned' members, Judy Johnson, and one from one of our lovely new members, Brian Orth. Judy delighted us by explaining her new business, Unexpected Treasures, which sorts through items left after a move. Remember, one person's junk is another's treasure! Brian impressed us by talking about his business, MindMeetsMachine, which is a tech consulting firm. Brian is the club's go-to for all things technology! Thank goodness!
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SilverTree Media is a game studio located in Palo Alto, California run by the Smith brothers. By teaming up with multimedia powerhouses such as Disney, EA, Microsoft and Google, SilverTree Media built the reputation for creating a variety of entertainment products reaching audiences of all ages. The studio also develops original in-house titles for iOS and Android devices, including the highly acclaimed Cordy, Cordy Sky, Cordy 2, and Sleepy Jack. We loved hearing about their start-up adventure and applaud their efforts to bring quality content to entertain us all!
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This week we were privileged to hear from our own Walter Moore who has been president of Peninsula Open Space Trust for two years. He showed us some of the most glorious hiking spots on the peninsula and also share some of the challenges in running POST, especially as it pertains to building the coalitions required when attempting to acquire target parcels of land. Thanks for helping preserve our home's natural beauty, Walter and POST!
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Cheers to the new leadership team and thanks for discussing your goals for the year! Below are the new team members and an image of our new president, his lovely wife and pup! Welcome! SANDRA FLORSTEDT, President-Elect |
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Our speaker this Friday was Leah Katz, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in 2010-2011, here to tell us of her experience as both a student and teacher in Uganda. Leah worked with developmentally disabled children and told touching stories that helped her learn that one individual can so easily touch someone else's life. Leah is now teaching back in the US in Half Moon Bay.
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We were lucky enough to hear from Dan and Eileen Richardson about their commitment to restoring confidence and dignity in nearby the homeless by offering them a path to employment and permanent housing through organized team projects. PAUR is proud to support the Downtown Streets Team and applauds their many success stories. For anyone that is interested, there will be a benefit concert featuring Joan Baez, Jackson Browne and Emmylou Harris in support of Downtown Streets Team.
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As a part of PAUR's Silver Anniversary series, we heard from some of our beloved seasoned members about some of the club's history. Thanks to Ken Kaufman, Sally Mahoney and Georgie Gleim for taking us on a walk down memory lane showing pictures and telling stories about our founding, our tradition, our services projects and all our fantastic members.
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Thanks to Dr. Armand Neukermans (husband of member Eliane Neukermans) for offering geoengineering as a possible intervention to counter global warmingand its effects. We enjoyed going through the evidence and left pondering whether geoengineering would allow humans to control the world's climate, and at the very least, how we can affect change as soon as possible.
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Ana Angel and Tanuj Chopra of New Voices for Youth, Menlo-Atherton High School, visited our group and told us about their program whose mission is to provide students with media production training in order to create their own original documentaries on issues of importance to them. They believe that when young people understand the power of media outreach, they are more likely to get involved in various causes. The program successfully builds the students' skills such as public speaking, grassroots activism, team building, research, writing and media production. We applaud the efforts of New Voices for Youth!
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Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Assistant Professor, John Graves, discussed the formation of the Affordable Care Act and why parts of the law were designed they way they were. He talked about the long-term goals of ACA, and how it will affect patients and providers. Incidentally, John is married to member Judy Johnson's niece! Thanks!
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We heard from Allan Berkowitz, CEO of Environmental Volunteers, whose mission is to promote the understanding of and responsibility for the environment through hands-on science education. The Palo Alto University Rotary Club learned that Environmental Volunteers arranges for 10,000 to 12,000 students to receive the benefit of the more than 500 classroom visits, so they learn about the Baylands. Thanks to Allan Berkowitz and the EcoCenter for allowing us to visit!
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We at the Palo Alto University Rotary Club had so much from meeting and hearing from Sports Consultant, Andy Dolich this last Friday. Mr. Dolich put tested our sports knowledge with an informal game of sports Jeopardy. He then put our knowledge to shame by imparting his extensive wisdom about sports history to the group. What an entertaining and informative Friday!
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The Palo Alto University Rotary Club heard from Katharina Zellweger, the 2011-2012 & 2012-2013 Pantech Fellow at The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford. Ms. Zellweger also served as the North Korea country director for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and for the Caritas Internationalis office in Hong Kong on development projects related to North Korea. Her talk couldn't be more timely and we appreciated the change to further our understanding about the turmoil in the region.
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Thanks so much to Vocational Service committee for organizing such a fun and informative service day "speed dating" session. The session featured four important causes that some of our members are involved in outside of Rotary. They are:
Reading Partners. Learn more at www.readingpartners.org
National Alliance on Mental Illness Walks. Learn more at www.namiwalksfbay.org
Downtown Street Teams. Learn more at www.streetsteam.org
Build in Business to Learn. Learn more at www.build.org/bayarea |
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Kerry Hargraves visited PAUR to talk about joyful talking: how play came improve one's engagement with life and therefore improve their health, career, relationships and more! Ms. Hargraves is an expert on calming stress with the help of some good clean, playful fun!
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Palo Alto University Rotary was delighted to hear from nearby Stanford University's new AD, Bernard Muir. Mr. Muir talks about the honor representing Stanford's premier athletic program and his goals for maintaining that top standard in the future. Mr. Muir engaged the packed audience by weaving throughout the crowd and answering questions graciously. Bernard Muir will make a great addition to the Stanford Athletics family and has PAUR's full support!
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We enjoyed your new member talks this last Friday!
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Thanks to Katherina and Robert for organizing this eye-opening Palo Alto University salon, featuring film maker Jeffrey Brown. Mr. Brown discussed human trafficking across the world, but particularly that of young girls in India and Nepal. He did so in the context of directing the film, SOLD, which follows a young girl who is trafficked from her village in the Himalayas to a brothel in India. SOLD is both a call to action and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. For more information and to support Jeffrey Brown's work to spread awareness about this urgent social issue, please like the Facebook page: facebook.com/SOLDmovie.
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Nothing less than a tornado of ill winds swept the Champagne
region of France from its esteemed position in medieval Europe and plunged it
into fate’s dark abyss where it remained for hundreds for years while
misfortune reigned. The rebound of the area
has come from a most improbable place with an even less likely cast of
characters. Jacqueline Widmar Stewart
took PAUR into the cellars of Champagne to see where this renewal
occurred in presenting her new book Champagne
Regained. Such a treat! |
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It was lovely to hear about the famous PAUR El Salvador trip! Kate and other sojourners shared wonderful pictures and stories illustrating the progress that we have helped make in Caluco. Here are a couple images to enjoy:
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Thanks to Dr. Paul Kim, Assistant Dean and Chief Technical Officer at Stanford's Graduate School of Education, for describing the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and it's effectiveness despite obvious challenges of varied locations, difference languages, large numbers, and more. The changing face of education as it grows to inlcude more online learning opportunities has serious implications for future educational opportunities for all. The potential to support education in developing countries is particularly interesting to members of Palo Alto University Rotary. We applaud all efforts to bring education to those who can't get it, no matter the vehicle, and the MOOC just might be an efficient and cost effective option.
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Sarah Lewis and our Interact Club joined us this last Friday. They are currently working on a project to build libraries for children in Bangladesh, and are already halfway to meeting their fundraising goal. They are also more than half way to their community service hours goal for the project. Palo Alto University Rotary is passionate about engaging youth in local and international community service projects, and couldn't be more proud.
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Thanks to new members Jake Woo and Denice Rice for delighting us with stories about their backgrounds! Jake is a dentist with his own practice in Palo Alto, while Denice is an event planner who has already used her skills to help plan PAUR's 25 Year Anniversary Gala, coming up in May!! |
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It was lovely to hear about the experiences of Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars, Momoko Otouka and Holger Klinge, this last Friday. We celebrate their work giving back to Rotary, as well as the community at large.
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We will never stop thanking Ewe Bergman for giving our group a tour of the Stanford Linear Acceleration (SLAC) lab! Here he is explaining some of the machinery that supports their research, including the accelerator itself, which is two miles long! Please check our our Facebook page to see more photos of our visit.
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We thank emeritus member John Perry for confirming that the common tendency to procrastinate could actually be a good thing! His new book entitled The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing embraces structured procrastination as a way to most effectively tackle one's entire to-do list. As a high-achieving group, we appreciate the notion that focusing on lesser priorities as a way to put off "more important" priorities may actually increase our productivity and/or total contribution! Bravo, procrastination!
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Thanks to Bill Liberatore and the award-winning Gunn High School Choir for warming our hearts this holiday season!
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Although many of us are reluctant to accept that social media is a permanent fixture, we thank Robin Stavisky for exposing us to the vast ways we can leverage Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging for personal and professional reasons. Ms. Stavisky not only explained the logistics behind various social media vehicles, but she provided examples of ways "social proof" online promotes individuals and businesses. Here's to the future of communication!
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Thank you for sharing your personal stories with the group. We feel lucky to have you as members!
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Thanks to member, Uwe Bergmann, for introducing last week's speaker, theoretical physicist, Professor Michael Peskin. Professor Peskin explained the famous Higgs particle, which has long been theorized as essential to confirming the standard model of the governing forces of the universe. He also explained how the CERN Large Hadron Collider helped find the Higgs boson this past July. Thanks to Professor Peskin for bringing such clarity to such an arcane topic.
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Palo Alto University Rotary is lucky to have Abraham Sofaer, George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy and National Security Affairs at the Hoover Institute, as a member and guest speaker. Sofaer's work focuses on the US government's power over war and issues related to international law, terrorism, diplomacy, and national security. This last Friday, he focused primarily on his latest book, Taking on Iran, and the strategies the US government should employ to handle the impending threat of nuclear weapons in Iran. We appreciate Abe Sofaer's perspective on the issue and encourage members to support him and Stanford University by picking up a copy of Taking on Iran.
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Palo Alto University Rotary enjoyed a visit from Celia Fushille, who is the Artistic and Executive Director of Smuin Ballet, based in San Francisco. Ms. Fushille is a founding member of Smuin Ballet and was the principal dancer for over 12 years. By developing and managing the company's programs, she preserves their mission to introduce contemporary influences to the classic elegance of ballet. We look forward to Smuin Ballet's holiday performances at the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts.
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Palo Alto University Rotary thanks Ryan Gawn, fomer Rotary Peace scholar, for delighting our chapter with images and stories from his experiences studying at the Peace Center in Argentina and then continuing his career working primarily with community development and conflict resolution all over the world. Thanks to Ryan Gawn for actively living out the mission of Rotary day to day. |
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This week, we were fortunate to have Kathy Armstrong of the League of Women Voters return to summarize some of the recent California ballot measures. She focused her discussion on the two ballot measures, Prop 30 and 38, that will raise funds to support our schools and provided an unbiased explanation of both initiatives' pros and cons. Palo Alto University Rotary applauds the League's efforts to inform the community in a nonpartisan fashion.
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Palo Alto University Rotary welcomed Dr. Laurie Marker, Founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which aims to preserve the Namibian Cheetah population, as well as their ecosystem by spreading awareness, raising funds, and educating the local community. Dr. Marker spoke of the plight of this endangered cat and how a steady population actually improves the surrounding environment, which helps local livestock owners by balancing the ecosystem. Dr. Marker also discussed the prevalence of the invasive Namibian thorn bush, and how the Cheetah Conservation Fund harvests the bush and sells pieces as firelogs. What a clever way to improve the land and support this beautiful animal!
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Palo Alto University Rotary was pleased to welcome Rotary District Governor Joe Hamilton and his wife, Kathy, to our October 5th morning program. During their visit, Joe and Kathy reinforced the core vision of Rotary, "peace through service", by introducing the greater Rotary network's latest initiatives. First, Joe and Kathy promoted next year's District Conference, which will take place March 21-24 in Napa, which will give Rotarians a chance to convene, share ideas, and get inspired about future service projects. Joe also shared his recent trip to Guatemala with Faces of Hope where a medical team performed corrective surgery on children born with cleft palates- like many Rotary service projects, this trip not only helped these children, but gave him a tremendous sense of fulfillment. Finally, Kathy introduced a new program to collect baby blankets to donate to new mothers, who may not be able to afford baby supplies, and our chapter generously donated to the cause. Overall, Joe and Kathy Hamilton reminded us why we joined Rotary: for fellowship, but more importantly, to serve the less fortunate across the world.
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As usual, our club never ceases to amaze with the scintillating stories of our new members. We were entertained by two amazing new members, Megan Heinen who organized the recent Salon and Ted Marston, who most recently gave us a talk on energy.
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Hal Louchheim, Jim Van Horne, Eliot Terborgh, Jamie, Jeff, JT, and Claire Barnett, Paul and Imani Oseso, Oliver and Katharina Breme, Patrick O'Regan, and Steve and Karen Ross. |
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Palo Alto University Rotary was recently honored by the presence by local icon, Stanford Women's Basketball Coach, Tara Vanderveer. Tara delighted the club with a humorous and inspiring speech about how she came to be one of the most successful women's basketball coach of all time. She also discussed the outlook for the upcoming season and praised the integrity of the team this year, as well as years past. She stressed the important role competitive sports play in one's life- on and off the court- and expressed pride in the directions her past team members have taken post Stanford basketball. We truly look forward to supporting Stanford Women's Basketball this year!
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At our most recent Friday morning meeting, we heard from Peter Young, a banking and financial services professional, who worked in a building adjacent to World Trade Center Tower 1. He discussed his step-by-step reaction to the events surrounding him and how he reconciled the need to find safety with following civic rules, helping others, and most importantly, figuring out exactly what was going on. Fortunately, Peter was able to find his way out of the chaos and back to his family, but his experience gave a glimpse of the intensity of that one day, which influenced the psyche of our nation long after. Thanks to PAUR member Sandra Wang for introducing us to Peter so we could reflect on these events their anniversary week.
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Thanks to Adriano Farano for introducing StartX, the Stanford Student Startup Accelerator, and WatchUp, his own mobile startup which improves the user experience for watching videos on tablet devices. Mr. Farano introduced the goals and success of StartX, which has helped Stanford affiliated innovators launch their startups by affording mentorship, community, education, and resources. StartX has successfully incubated several ventures, including 6Dot, which we learned about two weeks ago, and WatchUp, Adriano's startup project. We enjoyed Mr. Farano's energy, passion, and commitment to improving the video news space.
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Ray Purpur, Deputy Athletic Director at Stanford joined us this last Friday, August 17th to talk about athletics at Stanford, as well as to accept being recognized as an honorary member of Palo Alto University Rotary. Mr. Purpur discussed his focus on Stanford athletics upcoming year as a part of the Pac 12, and expressed pride in Stanford athletes' impressive showing at the recent London Olympics. Stanford sent 23 women and 22 men to London, and among them set multiple records, including 12 world records, 2 Olympic records, 1 American record, and 1 collegiate record. Although Stanford boasts an impressive record of "wins", Mr. Purpur stressed the importance of sportsmanship and believes focusing on sportsmanship has guided Stanford to so many victories, including multiple Director’s Cups. We applaud that philosophy.
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Friday morning, Palo Alto University Rotary heard from Karina Pikhart about her company 6dot and a device they engineered to help the blind access common objects. 6dot's original creation is a label maker that allows users to print labels in braille, using only six keys, associated with the six dots of the braille alphabet. 6dot has already manufactured and sold this label maker globally with a clear mission to touch more lives and create further innovations to support the vision impaired. Ms. Pikhart and 6dot exemplify the importance of social entrepreneurship and the need for businesses to consider social needs in their approach.
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This morning at our weekly breakfast meeting, Palo Alto University Rotary had the pleasure of learning about the United States energy situation, namely the route of our energy usage, where our energy comes from, and the implications for the future, by seasoned energy expert Ted Marston, PHD, of Marston Consulting. Dr. Marston clearly identified the gravity of United States energy consumption and how personal conservation and efficient energy innovations should be top of mind for policy makers and individuals in order to avoid a serious energy crisis for future generations. We all know the significance of the personal decision to minimize one's carbon footprint, but what was compelling from Marston's talk was just how much energy is wasted through commerce across the country and globe, as well as through the processing and protection of energy sources. Dr. Marston and his consulting firm fight to improve the carbon footprint of a range of companies by creating appropriate sustainable energy strategies for each. Learn more at http://www.marstonconsulting.net.
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The 2012 Picnic was a tremendous success. Our group congregated at the beautiful Foothills Park in Los Altos Hills and enjoyed games, a potluck style food buffet, and great conversation. Special thanks to Cassandra and Kate for organizing the event, as well as all the volunteers, who helped set up, prepare food, and clean. Because of everyone's cooperation and delicious dish offerings, in addition to perfect weather, the event couldn't have gone better. We look forward to next year! Look out for the pictures under Photo Albums.
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In a much awaited talk, Ken Graham gave a heart wrenching talk on Healthcare and the possible impacts the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling could have. Ken has kindly availed the power point presentation on popular demand from members. It is on this page under downloads. |
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It's official! The debunking dinner took place at Chez George, Georgie and Stuff's house on 140 Island Drive as planned. What a successful evening it turned out to be. Let the pictures speak for themselves..
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Ellen Kitamura led a group of Rotarians to serve lunch at Stevenson House on Saturday June 2, 2012. This was the first of many with the next one scheduled for Saturday September 8, 2012. Those in attendance were, Ellen Kitamura, Bob Barrett,Leif Erickson,Jamie Barnett and son JT, Ted Mock, Paul Oseso and Tom Pamilla. Remember to sign up for the next one. It was fun!      |
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General Secretary and CEO of Rotary International, John Hewko and Ken Kaufman, our Charter President, met in Ohio recently. Notice the University Rotary banner Mr. Hewko is holding. In all of his Rotary travels, he had never seen something similar. Margo Hewko is his great asset promoting Rotary International.  |
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Wow, what a spectacular evening! Thank you one and all for your dedication, contribution, and enthusiasm for helping to make this such a successful event. From the beautiful theme and decor, to the artistic signs and program, to the many wonderful auction items, to the tables full of members and guests, and to your generosity to RotaCare Bay Area - thank you!! |
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All those who ventured down the long, long driveway of WILLIAM and SUSAN GRINDLEY on Friday were rewarded with a great German band, miles of sausages, piles of pretzels, strudel and, of course, an endless supply of beer. Click through for pictures of the event! |
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As Blair Stewart notified the club at our Oct. 21 meeting, El Salvador has really taken a blow from the recent storms and is seeking our help.
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Heavy rains, caused by a tropical depression off the Pacific coast have caused flooding and landslides in various parts of El Salvador. School has been suspended in 8 of the country's 14 departments. The weather system has left 18 people dead across Central America, including two women in El Salvador who died in separate landslides. Click through to read more about the plight of our Central American friends... |
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Glow Scholar Dinner: April 30th, 2011 at the Hilton San Francisco Airport from 6-10pm
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Sandra and John Wang are happy to announce the birth of Alexander Jacob Wang on March 10, 2011. Congratulations to Sandra, John and "big brother" Anthony!
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Does the Internet and tech gadgetry only serve to isolate us from our peers and splinter society? Don't believe it! Read the latest results from the Pew report, then visit the Palo Alto University Rotary Club presence on Facebook!
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......A way to express what you think Rotary in the 21st Century should look like.... The Palo Alto University Rotary is not your dad's Rotary Club..... Volunteer to be the Meeting Chair. You can host the entire hour or work with Rob Jack to find/supply a speaker. Finding a speaker is not a requirement. Step up and participate in YOUR Rotary Club. |
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Check out the link below to see PAUR's own Sandra Wang highlighted in an article about "Money Issues That Can Test Even a Rock-Solid Marriage."
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This is a very informative article on the Polio Plus program that Tom Pamilla would like to share with our club.
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Our speaker this Friday was Leah Katz, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in 2010-2011, here to tell us of her experience as both a student and teacher in Uganda. Leah worked with developmentally disabled children and told touching stories that helped her learn that one individual can so easily touch someone else's life. Leah is now teaching back in the US in Half Moon Bay.
Lea |
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Cheers to the new leadership team and thanks for discussing your goals for the year! Below are the new team members and an image of our new president, his lovely wife and pup! Welcome! SANDRA FLORSTEDT, President-Elect |
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Stanford Rotaract shares photos of their recent trip to Guatamala, where they installed 100 stoves for some Mayan families. PAUR donated $1,000.00 for this project. http://s916.photobucket.com/albums/ad1/rotaract_guatemala2009/ |
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Our new President will give us her goals and ideals for this upcoming year. See you Friday morning. |
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Report: The 2010 Palo Alto University Rotary Fundraising Gala was a smash, where a marvelous time was had by all. Hats, apparently
worn by the courageous to celebrate "The Many Hats We Wear," ranged from the cowboy kind to fedoras to Pharaohs to
fireman's helmets to
indeterminate.
Silent auction items were purchased, live auction items were successfully bid for, and while we await the final tally of funds raised, the social part of the evening was a great success. The money raised will help support the many worthy causes espoused by the club. A special "Thank you!"goes out to all who worked so very hard, for so many weeks on this event. |
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If you are in need of ideas for some fantastic local outings, check out these recommendations from Walter Moore
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Welcome to the Palo Alto University Rotary Club, right in the heart of Silicon Valley. The ideal of our Club is to be attractive to energetic members who would translate the founding Rotary vision to those who could carry it with appeal into the future.
One of the hallmarks of University Rotary is creative, stimulating programming. Due in part to the proximity to Stanford, programs often take on intellectual and cultural thrusts not common to business talks over breakfast. |
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