Meeting called to order by President Meghan Burton at 12:30pm.
Mike Norcia led the pledge of allegiance.
Judy Rodriguez gave our inspirational message: A story about an elementary school teacher named Mrs. Thompson and her fifth-grade student named Teddy Stoddard. She had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn’t play well with other children; his clothes were messy and he needed a bath. In class, Mrs. Thompson took delight in marking his papers with red pen and putting a big “F” on top of his papers.
As she was required to review each child’s past records, she finally reviewed Teddy’s. She read that in first grade he was a bright child and a joy to be around; in second grade, he was an excellent student, but his mother had a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle. His third-grade teacher wrote that his mother’s death has been hard on him and his father doesn’t show much interest. His fourth-grade teacher wrote that Teddy was withdrawn and didn’t show much interest in school.
By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and was ashamed of herself. When the children brought her Christmas presents wrapped in beautiful paper; except for Teddy’s present, which was wrapped in paper from a grocery bag, she carefully unwrapped Teddy’s present and explained how pretty the rhinestone bracelet with stones missing was while putting it on and dabbing on an almost empty bottle of perfume also from Teddy. On this day, Mrs. Thompson quit teaching reading and writing and began to teach children.
By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest in class. A year later, she found a note from Teddy that she was his favorite teacher of all.
Teddy went on to finish high school, third in his class; graduated with honors from college; and then finished medical school and was proud to sign his name Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.
When Teddy got married, he asked Mrs. Thompson to sit in a pew reserved for the mother of the groom. That day, Teddy thanked Mrs. Thompson for “believing in me”. But it was Mrs. Thompson who thanked Teddy for making a difference. “I didn’t know how to teach until I met you”.
Make a difference in someone else’s life; consider a random act of kindness.
Our Rotarian in the Wild this week is Tina Orsi-Hartigan in the Smokey Mountains.
Decorated eggs St. Lukes Pantry: Christmas Time
Visitors:
- Kohinoor Chakravarty from West Valley Community Services
- Nancy Jo Lopp introduced by Rachelle Lopp
Announcements:
Birthdays:
- Marty Fishman December 12
- AnnMarie Valle December 17
- Rachelle Lopp December 18
- Judy Rodriguez December 21
- Adam Mayer December 21
- Amy Liang December 22
- Karen Briones December 24
- Wes Sadumiano December 24
- Irene Carrion-Upson December 25
- Colin Duerson December 29
Anniversaries:
- Julian Rodriguez 34 years
- Sandy Bocks 19 years
- Gary Alllison 17 years
- Gae La Torre 16 years
- Nicholas Welzenbach 7 years
- Richard Bobis 4 years
- Barbara Fishman 3 years
- Sidd Madiwale 2 years
- Nicolette Rodman Kelly 1 year
- Michael Strachan 1 year
Rotary Foundation has raised $44,123 this year.
2023-2024 Club Officers: Proposed slate of directors and officers:
- President Elect (starts July 2025): Paul Johnson
- Vice President: Greg Gentile
- Treasurer: Ramon Ware
- Assistant Treasurer: Dan Snyder
- Secretary: David Hubbard
- Assistant Secretary: Ane Troger
- Directors: Gordon Levin, Stefka Bonev, Nicolette Rodman Kelly, Cindy Gentile Sergeant-at-Arms: Gregg Butterfield
- Investment Committee: Jean-Marc Blanchard
- Scholarship Committee: Jeffrey Barnett
The Great Race: Paul Christensen
- 46th annual running, 4 miles at Vasona Park on Sunday, April 14th. One third of proceeds goes to scholarships, two thirds go to the club.
- we need people: to make phone calls and for sponsorships
- also need sign-ups for: registration, course monitors, hang banners, etc. --$7,500 grant given from the City of Los Gatos.
El Salvador: Mike Norcia
- This year they bought a bus to transport kids
- Trip planned for February 12 or 13 to the 18th, to engage with teaching, etc. Everyone is welcome to come. For details, see Mike.
Blue Badge Bio:
Doug Carlen was raised in Sunnyvale and San Jose; he wanted to be a golfer, but went to USC where his life changed. He continued on to law school at UCSF (Hastings), then moved to LA with his amazing wife Karla and their three kids.
He has been an attorney for technology companies: high-speed internet, wave-powered ocean robots and healthcare software in solo practice.
Doug’s interests are golfing, running, travel and backpacking. He wants to continue to make an impact at the local level.
Thomas Lettiere was born and raised in Los Gatos. He has four children and built his own home in the Santa Cruz mountains. He spoke of his amazing trip to Guatemala and the impact it had on him; he is looking forward to being involved in El Salvador as well.
He has worked with the LGUSD for 20 years. His relatives, ages 89 and 91 are still involved in the Rotary; so, it follows that Thomas is a Rotarian as well.
Donna Brewster received her Blue Badge.
Lissa Kreisler received her Red Badge.
Guest Speaker:
Josh Selo, CEO of the Bill Wilson Center
The Bill Wilson Center supports and strengthens the community by serving youth and families through counseling, housing, education and advocacy. They work to prevent poverty in the next generation by connecting youth and families to education, employment, housing and positive relationships that will end youth and family homelessness. The focus is on 12–24-year-olds.
The program focuses on: Housing, Foster Care Services, Counseling and Behavioral Health, Supportive and Prevention Services and Advocacy. They provide beds for 900+ people a night.
60% of clients are Latino/Hispanic.
The Bill Wilson Center works together with other non-profits with 90% of funding coming from the government.
Foster Care Services:
The HUB provides a safe and welcoming center where foster youth, ages 15-24 feel a sense of belonging and empowerment.
The independent Living Program provides living skills and community resources such as computers, clothes, school supplies, access to showers, washing machines and dryers. And a place to hang out and celebrate holidays for youths ages 16-24.
There are 900+ beds for the range of housing programs that include shelters, transitional, respite and permanent housing. A new 43-unit housing complex will be completed in 2024.
A Safety Net Shelter that houses 20 beds for ages 11-17 offers stays up to 3 months. Services provided include counseling, medical, and education for children with no where else to go. The Shelter provides round the clock care and provides services such as taking children to school and back. The majority of children are reunited with their families and/or stable placement.
Drop in Center is “The front door”, open every day where youth and young adults experiencing homelessness will find meals, showers, counseling, youth and support groups.
Here 4 You Call Center can receive 10,000 calls/month for few shelter beds. The center offers referrals to temporary housing programs for people of all ages needing shelter.
- Matches people to emergency shelters, including transportation to shelter
- Provides assistance to sustain current housing
- Makes referrals to community resources
The Bill Wilson Center programs focus on building self-confidence and developing personal assets so youth and families can permanently change the direction of their lives.
We need to stop homelessness at the root…children.
Children make up 21% of our county’s residents and 100% of our future.