Home Page | Rotary Club of San Lorenzo Valley (Felton)

Service Above Self

PO Box 294, Felton, CA 95018

Meetings for April

Posted by Ken Macy on Apr 18, 2024

In general, we meet the second and fourth Thursday evenings of the month at 7:00pm, Scopazzi's restaurant, Boulder Creek; and the first and third Wednesday mornings of each month at 8:00am at the SLV USD District Office Multi-Purpose Room at 325 Marion Ave, Ben Lomond. However, there are exceptions, especially in the months with major holidays (I'm looking at you Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's & Fourth-of-July), so be sure to check the Club meeting calendar via the link above if there's any doubt. I try to keep the calendar accurate for the current Rotary year. Of course you can always contact our club secretary, Tiffanie Meschi, for more information. Also, there is usually an informal social time amongst members & guests for 20 to 30 minutes before the bell.

Thursday, April 25, 7:00pm, Scopazzi's Restaurant, Speaker Beth Gemeny, Safe & Secure: Online Security

Banners Re-united With Club

Posted on Apr 04, 2024

After a 5-year absence and after several attempts at finding the club’s Trading Banners collection, along with several binders of photos, news clippings and documents from the 80s, 90s & 2000s and our Flags of Nations centerpiece, they were all discovered earlier this month (March). The banners were last seen at Gil Gunn’s 100^th birthday party celebration in 2019 at Mount Hermon.

Meeting Guest Speakers in March 2024

Posted by Kenneth Macy on Apr 05, 2024

Sheriff Sgt Kyle Matson

March 6

Sheriff Kyle Matson addressed the Club this morning on the growing nuisance & threat of online SCAMs. At best these are getting to be a nuisance and at worst scammers are doing harm to vulnerable people. Sheriff Matson is a 15-year veteran of the Santa Cruz Sheriff Department, now part of the Community Engagement Initiative "Addressing AI-Driven Scams" on the population. Using various newly developed AI-driven tools, scammers these days are exploiting fear & urgency to extract personal information from seniors which then can be used in monetary fraud and outright theft. The Community Engagement Initiative is set up as a resource for seniors and others to help combat the threat.

Delle Townsend

March 20

Also at a morning meeting, club member Dell Townsend talked to the group about an organization he has recently linked up with: Guitars Not Guns. This organization, based in Washington DC with "chapters" nationwide, provides guitars and lessons to foster children and at-risk youth in a classroom setting with qualified teachers as an alternative to violence. In addition to learning how to master changing from one chord to another, children learn perseverance & discipline and build self-esteem. More importantly, the kids learn to enjoy the interaction and have fun in a group setting. Those kids who complete the full 8 week program have earned the right to keep the guitar and are invited to return for a second 8-week session of more advanced instruction. They’ve earned it!

Lynda Philips

March 28

This evening our speaker, Lynda Philips, presented on the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission and the Historic Resource Commission, of which she is a member of both. There are 40 commissions in the county and members are appointed for 4-year terms. Lynda talked primarily about public art and the process for working through the Commission for a successful installation.

February 2024 Meetings

Posted by Kenneth Macy on Mar 02, 2024

Kate Clark

Feb 7

Tucked into a forested hillside adjacent to Harvey West Park, the atmospheric cemetery was founded in 1850 making it one of the first cemeteries in the state (California became a state a few months after its founding).

It’s owned and managed by the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) and tended to by an active committee of volunteers. They have a wonderful vision to restore the grounds and create a virtual historical sculpture garden — each ornate grave marker a meaningful art piece — where residents and visitors can learn about Santa Cruz’s history in a setting that literally holds the town’s former residents and their stories. On of the volunteers for MAH, Kate Clark has been researching and docenting for this piece of Santa Cruz history for the past 12 years. She had several interesting stories to tell about it. Until the '80s it had become overgrown and "worn out". Thanks to Kate and the other volunteers Evergreen is in much better condition now.

Amber Rowland

Feb 15

Amber Rowland is the new General Manager of the Santa Cruz Animal Shelter. There are lots of animals available for adoption. There is a spay & neuter service, licensing & help with lost pets.

Adoptions are first come, first served! Please view available animals here on their website and then visit the Shelter at 1001 Rodriguez St. in Santa Cruz to turn in your application. All adoptions require proof of home ownership or landlord approval. Please have this information prepared. If an animal is in Foster Care, please bring in your adoption application and schedule an appointment to meet the animal.

Speech Contest

Feb 29

The club's annual speech contest was held this morning. This year our interact chairman Aaron Brandt organized an SLV Middle-School level event, in addition to the High School. There were three contestants from the Middle School and one twelfth grader from SLV High. They all spoke with the Rotary theme of Create Hope.

Middle School

High School

Tim Robinson

Feb 29

Tim Robinson is a docent at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. He spoke on the inventions of Charles Babbage.

Charles Babbage invented the first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine. He went on to develop the more complex Analytical Engine, though also mechanical, it has all the characteristics and capabilities of modern general purpose computers. Some of the primary differences between these devices and modern day computers being storage capacity, speed and I/O devices like keyboards, displays and printers. Tim himself has built a couple of models of Babbages machines from "Meccano" sets, the British version of our Erector Sets. Tim lives here in Boulder Creek with his wife Lisa who is current president of the SLV Museum.

January 2024 Meetings

Posted by Kenneth Macy on Feb 05, 2024

Bruce McPherson

1/25

Fifth District Supervisor Bruce McPherson was our speaker this evening. Bruce is retiring from public service now and wanted to recount some of the things that stood out during his tenure.

There were seven state-declared natural disasters involving the SLV during that time including the CZU wild fire, rain & flood emergencies, road outages, power outages & ... . One important item in the process of mitigation is the Big Basin Water Company infrastructure failures and bankruptcy. BBWC is now being operated by a receiver while discussions are ongoing for a long-term "fix". There has also been a recent $850,000 grant from the state to begin improvements. Two other items in the early stages of discussion are an "escape" route for the Lompico neighborhoods and a sewer line for the densely built-up areas along highway 236. Bruce is looking forward to his retirement and becoming a private citizen again.

Carol Weisenstein

1/17

Carol Weisenstein is a Puppy Raiser with the Canine Companion organization. She became interested in this after the 9/11 disaster and knew her daughter had a friend who worked there. This is a nation-wide group who raise & train then gift companion dogs to "those in need".

They were founded in 1975 and now have offices and training facilities (6 of these in all) across the U.S. Carol is associated with the Training Center in Santa Rosa. There are currently 270 employees raising 800 puppies per year, over 90% of which are 50/50 mixes of Labrador and Golden Retriever. The dog she is raising now is Dexter and he came with Carol to the meeting today.

Rachael Brown

1/11

The author of the book "For Fork's Sake", Rachael Brown is a proponent of diets structured around whole foods, plant based and no oil. She went on this diet herself several years ago as a defense against Alzheimer's disease.

During a DNA analysis, she discovered she had the gene associated with this disease; there is also a family history. She found "The China Study" which recommended this regimen. Rachael is associated with the Bay Area Institute for Plant Studies. 50% of the proceeds from sale of her book go to charity.

Rotary 5170 District Conference
Hayes Mansion

Apr 26, 2024 – Apr 28, 2024
Valley Women's Club Annual Meeting (not Rotary)
Highlands Park

Apr 28, 2024
11:00 AM – 2:30 PM

Pay your detective fines, general fines or other donations to the club here.

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Beth Gemeny, SLV Rotary member

Apr 25, 2024 7:00 PM

Safe & Secure: Online Security

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Are you interested in learning more about Rotary? Perhaps attending one of our weekly meetings? Want to contribute directly to the San Lorenzo Valley communities? Call Michelle Peters, SLV Rotary Membership Chair at (408) 508-9423 or email michypeters@gmail.com. Or even easier, click the "Contact Us" link at the top of this home page. We look forward to hearing from you.