Events

Sal Pizarro is a Bay Area News Group columnist who has written the Around Town column for The Mercury News since 2005. His column covers the people and events surrounding the cultural scene in Silicon Valley. In addition, he writes Cocktail Chronicles, a feature column on Silicon Valley bars and nightclubs. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara with a BA in political science.

Over the course of her career, Vidya has been an executive in the semiconductor business at both Digital Equipment Corporation and Xilinx. More recently, Vidya has been focused on the systems side of electric vehicle design from ramping up Model 3 production at Tesla to her current role as Vice-President of Engineering at Rivian. In June 2022, Vidya was named as one of Electric Vehicle’s 30 Power Players by The Business Insider.

Ken Middlebrook is the Curator of Collections at History San Jose, a museum that manages one of the largest collections of regional artifacts in California. Ken is also the Locomotive Engineer for the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad in Los Gatos Oak Meadow Park. Come hear his stories of this fabled, local landmark!

Join us for our second quarter in-meeting service project where we will assemble backpacks for sexual assault victims who are being supported by The Grateful Garment Project. This organization's mission is to ensure that every victim of a sexual crime who crosses the threshold of a Sexual Assault Response Team facility or who seeks medical attention or law enforcement involvement is provided with whatever new clothing, toiletries, snacks, and other items that they may require. 

Stan Bunger is an American broadcast journalist who was the morning co-anchor at KCBS in San Francisco for more than 20 years. Bunger is a 1973 graduate of Leigh High School and received his B.A. in Broadcast and Electronic Communications from San Francisco State University. He was inducted to the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2010 and to the San Francisco State University Alumni Hall of Fame in 2011. 

Join us while he tells stories from his new book, "Mornings with Madden". ​Despite his international fame, there was a side of football legend known only to those who listened to San Francisco morning radio. San Francisco is where John Madden grew up, lived, & died and where, for decades he found joy in a daily chat with his hometown radio station. It was a chance to unwind, tell stories, and impart his own brand of wit and wisdom. In "Mornings With Madden, Stan - who was on the other side of that radio mic - illuminates this larger-than-life figure, drawing upon memories of more than fifteen years of daily broadcasts. 

Join us as Los Gatos Mayor, Mary Badame, gives us a town update! Mary was elected to the town council in 2020 and became our mayor in 2023. In addition to her mayoral duties, Mary has been a local insurance agency owner for over 35 years. She also enjoys spending time with her daughter, son-in-law, and young grandchildren.

Dan Gordon, CEO of Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, has earned a reputation as one of America's leading brewing engineers.

Dan was the first American in more than 40 years to graduate from the prestigious 5-year brewing engineering program at the world-renowned Technical University of Munich in West Germany.  Dan, who was born in San Jose in 1960, entered the program after earning an economics degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1982.  

After completing the world's most advanced brewing program, Gordon returned to California and joined forces with restaurateur Dean Biersch to take advantage of a new state law allowing "brewery" restaurants.  In 1988, the partners opened their first Gordon Biersch brewery restaurant in Palo Alto. Now, Dan directs the operations at his state-of-the art canning and bottling San Jose brewery, the 15^th largest brewing company in the country.

Believing in the power of art to heal, Antonia Dapena-Tretter, who received her Master’s degree in art history from the University of Toronto, is the Art Curator for Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. In this role, she oversees all acquisitions, installations, and conservation for a robust permanent collection of art. She will speak to us about how the hospital’s art collection, which includes sculptures, painting, and interactive exhibits, promotes well-being and fosters a sense of belonging for young patients and their families.

Margaret Smith is a long-time resident of Los Gatos and owner of Domus, the iconic kitchen and home accessories store that re-opened in downtown Los Gatos in Fall of 2023. Prior to Domus, Margaret was a business attorney with her own law practice in Los Altos, California.  She is the recipient of a number of business awards, both local and national. Margaret was selected as the Business Person of the Year by the Los Gatos Chamber, the Woman Business Owner of the Year by the San Jose Business Journal, and was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame as the result of her leadership as the National President of the National Association of Women Business Owners, an organization representing the 10 million women- owned businesses in the United States. Margaret is credited with negotiating the first Women’s Entrepreneur Loan Fund with Wells Fargo Bank which established a $1 Billion loan fund for US women entrepreneurs. Within a few short years, the loan fund grew and, as of 2022, the Fund had loaned over $59 Billion to women-owned businesses.  Margaret is a graduate of George Washington University and received her law degree from Santa Clara University. She is the proud grandmother of four grandchildren who all attended Los Gatos schools. She is also a Los Gatos Rotarian!
 

Our featured guest speaker will be longtime Los Gatos resident and Local Historian, Alan Feinberg. Alan is the founder of the LOST Gatos Project - a campaign to remember and preserve our unique town history before it’s “lost” forever. He is also the developer of the free mobile app “Discover LOST Gatos” which offers self-guided walking tours of our historic downtown with content that has been carefully researched for historical accuracy. Alan also writes a monthly history feature for the Los Gatan. He will join us to share some of his favorite stories about our town’s amazing history.

It is an enduring mystery whether Frank Morris, and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, escaped from Alcatraz prison in 1962. It is widely believed that they succumbed to the waters of San Francisco Bay, though no trace of the men has ever been found―only their makeshift raft. Our guest speaker, Mike Lynch co-authored a book with the escapees' nephew, Ken Widner, in which they present compelling evidence that Morris and the Anglin uncles did in fact survive. Join us for this account of a fascinating slice of Bay Area history.

Join our CrabFest Committee to learn about all things CrabFest coming up on Saturday, February 1st. This is our club's biggest fundraiser of the year and we hope that the 2025 event will be the biggest ever! At this club meeting, we will be bringing some of the items in the fabulous auction that you can win that day! You'll learn about the CrabFest event night schedule, registering to bid, using the auction "win-it-now" option and even "otto bidding". Don't miss it!

Dr. Jennifer Zumarraga, MD., is the Medical Director, Adolescent Psychiatry, Scrivner Center for Mental Health & Addiction Services at El Camino Health. She has a decade of experience in working with children of all ages with mental health issues. She started out in research at the National Institute of Mental Health working with youth with ADHD. She continued her training at the University of Rochester and the University of Southern California. Dr. Zumarraga was involved in the formation of the ASPIRE program for teens at El Camino Health in response to the glaring shortage of services for adolescents with anxiety and mood disorders and the lack of resources for their families. 

The ASPIRE Program at El Camino Health has been transforming lives in the Los Gatos community since 2010 by providing specialized care for middle schoolers, teens, and young adults facing depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, and other mental health conditions. This presentation will explore the impact of mental health conditions on our youth and how innovative treatment programs can be a critical resource.  

Dr. Zumarraga will be joined by Sam Kotmel who is an ASPIRE graduate. The program changed Sam's life and taught her vital skills that she uses on a daily basis. She has a bachelors degree from Otis College of Art and Design and is currently applying to go back to school to pursue a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. 

In this in-meeting service project, we will make birthday cards for seniors who are clients of Peninsula Volunteers, Inc. (PVI). PVI's mission is to enable seniors to age in place by empowering them to lead independent lives, engage with their communities, and continue to get the most out of life. Joining us from PVI will be Stephanie Stephanie Figeira, Director of Nutrition Services. She has over 12 years of experience in holistic nutrition and is committed to helping seniors achieve healthy longevity through mindful eating and wellness practices. 

Each year, Rotary District 5170 sponsors a high school speech contest. Participating contestants will speak on a predetermined Rotary theme. Each Club holds a contest and judges select the 1sr, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers. The Club 1st place finisher advances to the Area contest. The winner of the Area contest goes on to compete in the Regional speech contest.  The top two finishers in the Regional advance to the District Final Speech Contest. Join us for the Los Gatos club-level contest on Tuesday, February 25th!