Meeting Highlights - April 5, 2022

San Francisco Fleet Week
Sonja Shin, Host of Fleet Week TV
 
Sonja Shin is the host of Fleet Week TV and Public Affairs Officer for San Francisco Fleet Week Association. She has reported news for NBC Bay Area and KPIX-TV as well as serving as a producer for The Today Show and NBC Nightly News in New York City.
 
Sonia described the events of Fleet Week, which involves the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and other services. In addition, many other civilian emergency services participate in various parts of Fleet Week. San Francisco is considered by the sailors to be the “gold standard” of Fleet Week events around the world. The last live event was October 3-11, 2021; because of the pandemic, it was the only such event conducted.
 
San Francisco Fleet Week is considered to be the world’s largest humanitarian display. The event has been in existence going for 40 years in San Francisco and over 1 million people have attended the many free events. The main attraction is the Blue Angels performing in the skies over the City, but there are 45 other events as well, including the parade of ships, visits to ships, a baseball tournament, a veteran’s art exhibit, a first responder flyout, a seminar on Department of Defense support of civil activities, and much more. In addition to those attending live events, more than 24 million people attended online.
 
Read more Sonja and Fleet Week here.  Watch Sonja's presentation here.
 
Announcements (Click here to watch the announcements.)
 
Rotarian of the Month
President Dwight named Carol Bigelow as the Rotarian of the Month for her selfless service and outstanding generosity.
 
Rotary Carpet at the Door
Ceta Dochterman noted that the carpet at the door was previously in the office of her brother, the former Rotary International President Cliff Dochterman.
 
Milpitas Rotary Club. A visitor from the Rotary Club of Milpitas announced that the Club is sponsoring a golf tournament on May 7.  Details and registration are available here.  All are welcome to participate.
 
Polio Plus
President Dwight reminded everyone that the Polio Plus campaign takes place in April and May. He asked each member to donate $50 or more to the campaign. Make checks payable to TRF (The Rotary Foundation). Polio Plus began in 1986, when Rotary International asked members to raise $120M to support the eradication of polio. Rotarians raised $240M. Since then, Rotary has vaccinated 3B children against polio. In 1986, there were 350K cases of polio worldwide (1000 per day)! Last year, there were four cases in Afghanistan and four in Pakistan. So far this year, there has been one in Afghanistan and none in Pakistan.  President Dwight also noted that RI President Dochterman started a campaign against polio six years earlier that later morphed into Polio Plus.
 
Rodeo Parade/Chili Cook-off
President Dwight noted that the Parade has many sponsors, but needs more entrants. Please think of groups/organizations that might be invited to participate. Planning for the Chili Cook-off is going well. Next planning meeting is April 12 at 5:30-6:30 pm at Direct Floor Sales. Craig Semmelmeyer has set up an excellent display in the middle of the Castro Valley Marketplace to advertise the Rodeo Parade and Chili Cook-off.  Stop by and see the display.
 
Castro Valley Car Show
President Dwight announced that registration for the Castro Valley Car Show scheduled for June 18th opened on March 15.  There are already 150 entries.
 
Castro Valley Eden Area Chamber of Commerce Mixer
Aaron Lewis announced that the Club is co-sponsoring the Mixer with the Chamber at Dig Deep Farms on April 20 (5:30-7:30 pm). Rotary will be selling wine at the event. More details here.
 
Assembly District 20 Candidate Forum
Todd Anglin announced that the Chamber is sponsoring a Candidate Forum for Assembly District 20 to replace Assemblymember Bill Quirk. The Forum is scheduled for April 11 at 6:00-8:00 pm at the Chabot Theater.