Greg Butterfield led us in the flag salute and introduced guests.
Brenda Davis visited us from San Jose Rotary.
Sarita Johnson introduced her guest Dr. Matthew Spangler and his son Elliot.
Heidi Owens introduced Kristine.
Hal Rosen introduced his wife Lydia and gave a shout out to the 49ers.
Marty Fishman introduced his wife Barbara.
It was announced that John Foley had passed away. Marlon Smith and Don McCleve spoke about John. Services will not be held. Andrea Lee passed a card for us to sign.
Chris Potter and Heidi Owen spoke about the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz. Both volunteered on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. They both enjoyed the experience. Heidi brought her children who also enjoyed the day. The Homeless Garden Project hires homeless residents to train as farmers. The produce is sold in Santa Cruz to fund the project. Volunteers are needed year round, we could consider as a volunteer project.
Suzanne Boxer-Gassman shared a Shel Silverstein the poem Somebody Has To. She also quoted Oliver Wendell Holmes to remind us we grow old because we stop playing.
Eric Eberle announced the Rotary Ski Challenge. So far only two people have responded. He needs more people if we are going to have a team to compete. Contact Eric if you’re interested. The event is held February 28.Tina Orsi-Hartigan announced the District 5170 International Expo 2020. This will be a chance to see the international projects sponsored by area Rotary clubs. The event is February 1 9:00-noon at University of Silicon Andhra. This is the area’s newest club, recently chartered with 200 members!
Area 8 is doing a Rise Against Hunger on February 29. It will be held at Monte Vista HS 10:00-noon. Go to tinyurl.com/area8serviceproject for more info or Helene Davis at
Mike Norcia announced that ELC is coming up. There are about 200 applications for the 96 spots. This is one of the great programs we support for the youth in our area. Let Mike know if you’d like to get involved. Student selection is January 28. The conference is March 11-13.
Dave Karwowski has arranged a tour at Carbon, Inc. The tour will be lead by CEO Dr. Joseph Di Simone. The tour will be February 12. Meet at the Lodge to leave by 9:15. The tour will begin at 10:15 and last about 1 ¼ hours. We’ll have lunch afterwards. Sign up with Dave, if you’re interested, spaces are limited.
Avis Le Grone announced the Mendocino Mah Jongg Social is March 10-12. This event will benefit Rotary District 5170 Viet Nam Project. See Avis for more information.
Our club will host St. Luke’s brunch on March 17. Tina will give us more information as we get closer to the date.
Philanthropy applications for the World Service Committee (international projects), Community Service Committee (local community projects), and the Charities Foundation-Advisory Board (Local grants) are due February 28. Forms are now available.
Crab Fest updates from Patti van der Burg, Art Rabbitz, and Suzanne Boxer-Gassman. Online bidding is now open. This will be the starting bid on Saturday. Tina and Interact club will be wrapping utensils on Thursday. Meet in the office of LGHS at 2:00.
Our speaker next week is Wayne Gregori. He is the president of the Gregori Group. He has been involved in Bitcoin and blockchain technology. He will be speaking about the history of money, social drivers behind bitcoin, and competitive landscape of other crypto currencies.
The speaker today was Ann Northrup. Ann was introduced by Barbara Fishman who knows her from the Santa Clara County UCCE Master Gardener program. She gave a fascinating presentation about climate change, in particular how it is affecting our local environment.