Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, March 29, 2022
 
Meeting began at 12:30 called to order by Nicholas
 
Today is National Vietnam Veteran’s Day. All veterans were acknowledged.
 
Pledge: All of the Veterans
 
Inspiration: Doug Brent, filling in for David Hubbard, read a story about a wise woman who found a stone in a well and even though it was of great value, she gave it away to a stranger who knew its value and wanted it. The stranger brought it back to her and said he wanted instead what she had inside of her that enabled her to give the stone away. The story reminds us that our orientation should be towards service and giving.
 
Tuesday Music Track: Scott Joplin’s the entertainer was Tom Boyce’s choice for today. He picked it because of his love of piano music
 
Visiting Guests: Stefka Bonev, guest of Tina Orsi Hartigan. Jo Greiner, guest of Avis La Grone. Paul Barrish, guest of Tom Boyce. Sonal Christie, who was visiting from Saratoga Rotary.
 
Rotary Anniversaries: Kaymar Nagar, Suzanne Boxer-Gassman, Grady Jeter, Preston Hill, Don McCleve, LeRoy Neider, Rami Wazni, Paul Mudgett, Steve Rice, Haryl Pascal, Craig Roberts and Larry Jinks.
 
March Birthdays Linda Lester, John Colwell, Tony James, Don McCleve, Tom Boyce, Erik Beeson, Daniel Doore, Paul Mudgett, Edward Graziani, Lisa Mize, Jamie Hekkelman and Clayton Bruntz. 
 
St. Luke’s: Thank you to all who contribute and especially for the fantastic hard-boiled eggs from Randy and Kathie.
 
Update, Regional Speech Contest: Alex Bonev was the 1st place winner. Moving on to the finals on April 24th at the San Ramon Marriott.
 
April 19, 2022 Meeting: Sammy Davis will share his stories of his time in combat. He is the real Forest Gump. No lunch at this meeting, but cookies and drinks will be served. Ron Cassel needs help to deliver flyers to local businesses advertising the talk.
 
Jo Greiner from St. Luke’s: Thanked the Rotary Club for our continued support of St. Luke’s. We not only supply them with food but also toiletries, sleeping bags, propane canisters, etc. This project began with Avis La Grone and now Tina Orsi Hartigan is the coordinator.

The Great Race: Sunday, May 1 at 8:30am. Mark your calendars. Flyers will be available at the meetings. We have 75-80 people signed up already. We are able to donate to shelter Box/Ukraine this year along with our other charities. Still in need of people to help on some of the teams.
 
Social Media: Please look for and like our posts on Social Media, great advertising for the club. Thank you to Rachelle Lopp for her fantastic job with marketing.
 
Rise Against Hunger:  April 2nd, 2022. Need help with Set-up from 8:30-10am, Packing from10-1pm, and Take Down from 1-1:30pm. We are partnering with Saratoga Rotary Club for this event.
 
Rotary International: There is a drive now happening to vaccinate 9 million children in four countries in southern and eastern Africa. 
 
Little Libraries: Lydia Norcia spoke about this new outreach with Louise Packard children’s hospital. We will be donating new or gently used books for children from 0-12 years. All types of books from board books to chapter books, in English and Spanish. Books can be donated from June 12-June 21.  Please place your books in the box, on the table, at the entrance of Shir Hadash.
 
Chef’s of Compassion:  Friday, April 1, 2022 at 6pm. More information will be forthcoming.
 
Scramble Golf Tournament: Monday, April 18, 2022. A chance to play with other Rotarians in our district. More information to follow.
 

Twenty for Twenty: 

Rachelle Lopp: donated $20 for Shelter Box Ukraine. 
Tom Boyce: donated $20 because he is heading to Las Vegas to celebrate the 21st birthday of his youngest granddaughter.
Randy Cobb: donated $20 in honor of the great article about Rotary that Jeffrey Blum wrote for the Los Gatos Newspaper.
Jeffrey Blum: donated $50 in response to Randy’s shout out about his article.
Jeffrey Barnett: donated $20 for the rain we got.
 

Club Announcements:

Saturday, April 2 Rise Against Hunger with Saratoga Rotary Club.
Tuesday, April 5: First Tuesday Happy Hour at Root Stock in Los Gatos, 5:30-7:30pm
Sunday, May 1: Great Race at 8:30am. Make sure to register!
Friday, May 20: Family BBQ at Oak Meadow.
June 12-June 21: Service Project-Little Libraries for Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital.

Presentation: Refugee Resettlement Housing Program

Debbie Michels from Jewish Family Services spoke.
Since 1978, Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley empower individuals and families facing life’s challenges by providing quality human services. They also staff the Rusnak Center and Refugee Resettlement, and The Rusnak Center for Aging and Caregiver Services. The Vision is to provide a one-stop shop of services to prevent institutionalization. They are currently in a five-year campaign to raise funds for their continued work. Jewish Family Services is 1 of 2-resettlement agencies in Santa Clara County. Since July of 2021, they have resettled 300 refugees, mostly from Afghanistan but also from the Congo, Thailand, Burma and Syria. Now they are expecting a new wave of refugees from Ukraine. They empower refugees to work with sponsor families, find affordable housing, and connect them to work opportunities so that they will no longer need government assistance. 
 
 
Up Next: Tuesday, April 5, 2022: No meeting that day, First Tuesday at Rootstock Wine Bar, 5:30-7:30. R.S.V.P to Tina if you would like to order food.
 
Nicholas adjourned meeting at 1:30pm