Call to Order
President Paul Johnson called the meeting to order at 12:30.
President Paul Johnson called the meeting to order at 12:30.
Pledge of Allegiance
Jeffrey Barnett led the club in the pledge of allegiance.
Jeffrey Barnett led the club in the pledge of allegiance.
Visitors
Angel Rampi, a business coach and close friend of Ana Maria Valenzuela
Julie Klingel, a retired ICU nurse, introduced by Michelle Myers Nelson
Eric Dunsten, volunteer extraordinaire around town, introduced by Michelle Strachan
Jim, friend of John Walker who has visited the club a number of times and submitted his application for membership
Angel Rampi, a business coach and close friend of Ana Maria Valenzuela
Julie Klingel, a retired ICU nurse, introduced by Michelle Myers Nelson
Eric Dunsten, volunteer extraordinaire around town, introduced by Michelle Strachan
Jim, friend of John Walker who has visited the club a number of times and submitted his application for membership
Inspiration
Anjana Bose read the famous Robert Frost poem from 1916, The Road Not Taken. After an inspiring reading, Anjana pointed out that all of us took one great “road”, the decision to join Rotary.
Blue Badge Bio
We had an unusual dual Blue Badge Bio from Brad and Kristina Strand, sponsored by Tom Boyce. They talked through their various life phases, taking turns with Brad talking about Kristina, then Kristina talking about Brad. This is a high level summary of the many details they shared.
Kristina Strand
Kristina was born in NYC to maverick parents, then lived all around the world, a theme in both of their lives. One part of Kristina’s life was focused in Mexico and South America — Rio, São Paulo, Santiago and Mexico. Kristina is bi-lingual in Spanish and English. After her undergraduate work at Carlton, where she met Brad, she studied law in Valencia, Spain, and also studied in France and Minnesota. Before moving to Florida, she worked at the Bloom agency in Dallas.
Kristina was born in NYC to maverick parents, then lived all around the world, a theme in both of their lives. One part of Kristina’s life was focused in Mexico and South America — Rio, São Paulo, Santiago and Mexico. Kristina is bi-lingual in Spanish and English. After her undergraduate work at Carlton, where she met Brad, she studied law in Valencia, Spain, and also studied in France and Minnesota. Before moving to Florida, she worked at the Bloom agency in Dallas.
Brad Strand
Brad was an athlete, captain of just about everything, and threw great parties, according to Kristina. They met at one of his parties at Carlton, but it was not instant magic. Out of college, Brad was recruited by the Minnesota Twins, but decided to pursue an advanced degree in Computer Science. He later worked at Harris Computers in Florida, which led to a distinguished career in tech, including work on the original iPhone/iOS team at Apple, some start-up work, and culminating with years at Google where he was responsible for much of the data center infrastructure used to run Google’s services.
Brad was an athlete, captain of just about everything, and threw great parties, according to Kristina. They met at one of his parties at Carlton, but it was not instant magic. Out of college, Brad was recruited by the Minnesota Twins, but decided to pursue an advanced degree in Computer Science. He later worked at Harris Computers in Florida, which led to a distinguished career in tech, including work on the original iPhone/iOS team at Apple, some start-up work, and culminating with years at Google where he was responsible for much of the data center infrastructure used to run Google’s services.
Family and Service
Brad and Kristina married in 1988 and moved to Belgium together. They had three children, beginning with Benjamin in 1990, described as a super active youngster, followed by Avery and Liam. Together they were very active volunteering for Robotics clubs, with Kristina also serving as a fundraiser. In recent years, they have lived bi-coastal lifestyles in Los Gatos and Nantucket, but have now decided to be full-time Los Gatos residents and to contribute through their Rotary memberships.
Brad and Kristina married in 1988 and moved to Belgium together. They had three children, beginning with Benjamin in 1990, described as a super active youngster, followed by Avery and Liam. Together they were very active volunteering for Robotics clubs, with Kristina also serving as a fundraiser. In recent years, they have lived bi-coastal lifestyles in Los Gatos and Nantucket, but have now decided to be full-time Los Gatos residents and to contribute through their Rotary memberships.
Service Opportunities
For new service opportunities, please check Paul’s weekly announcement.
For new service opportunities, please check Paul’s weekly announcement.
Announcements
- Dick Konrad was named Citizen of the Month by Los Gatos Mayor Rob Moore. Well deserved, and congratulations Dick!
- Paul Johnson showed a picture and thanked the people who helped at the LG/S Rec Senior Dinner.
- Paul reminded us about the memorial service for Darrell Monda. Details are available in Paul’s newsletters.
- John Walker explained the modifications to the proposed officer and director slate for 2026–2027. The nominating committee had announced the nomination of Cindy Gentile as President Elect, and the club voted unanimously to accept the proposed slate.
Social Events
- The first Tuesday of February will be wine tasting and snacks at Gali Wine in downtown Los Gatos. Gae also mentioned opportunities for hosting First Tuesday in your homes in April, May and June.
- Skip Brewster announced the upcoming trip to Baja Mexico and the Colonet/Casita Build Project. Our club and the Los Gatos Morning club support this effort. The trip will be in the first week of April. Contact Skip or Donna if you are interested.
CrabFest Update
Michelle Strachan, Elaine Ware and Nathan Pendleton updated us on CrabFest, coming Saturday, February 7. Tickets are on sale and a sellout is expected. If you need help with tickets or bidding, see David Wells. Next week we will learn about the Fund the Need organization for this year. Elaine asked that any errors in auction listings be reported to her.
There are currently 170 bids totaling $12,000. The top bidder so far is Henry Vitkovich with 52 bids. A total of 253 tickets have already been sold. Nathan is organizing volunteers, with 50 of 80 slots filled. More volunteers are needed, particularly for refrigerator and storage space for the week leading up to the event, beginning February 1, later evening cleanup shifts, and crab tech helpers during the event.