Timothy Burroughs started his presentation with an overview of who and what StopWaste is and does. Since 1976, it has been helping helps Alameda County’s businesses, residents, and schools waste less, recycle properly, and use water, energy, and other resources efficiently. Stopwaste is a public agency governed by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board, and the Energy Council. With local partners, Stopwaste helped launch the green building movement in California and organized one of the first and largest food scrap collection programs in the country. Its work helps people make better decisions everyday about the products they buy, the resources they use, and the stuff they no longer use.
Timothy continued by describing the multiple approaches that Stopwaste employs to achieve its goals. There is not a single, one-size fits all approach. The Stopwaste website describes each of these approaches in depth along with available resource.
Within each approach, Stopwaste provides a wide variety of services to effectively meet the needs of its clients. The Circular Food System is one innovative approach to multiple issues facing the community.
As the next slide show, Outreach and Education are very important components of Stopwaste's efforts, especially in schools.
Be sure to visit the Stopwaste website,https://www.stopwaste.org/ for detailed information and resources.
Click here to see the complete slide presentation.
At the meeting, Timothy Burroughs, Executive Director of Stopwaste, described the work that Stopwaste is doing throughout the community. Since 1976, Stopwaste has been helping Alameda County’s businesses, residents, and schools waste less, recycle better, and use water, energy and other resources efficiently. We’re a public agency governed by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board, and the Energy Council. With local partners, it helped launch the green building movement in California and organized one of the first and largest food scrap collection programs in the country. Our work helps people make better decisions everyday about the products they buy, the resources they use, and the stuff they no longer use. Click here to watch the presentation.
The Club also heard a short presentation by Carol Tan, owner of Akemi Sushi at the Castro Valley Marketplace (click here) to watch the presentation) and by Rotarian Carol Bigelow regarding the Club Food Drive for Ruby's Place (click here to watch the presentation).
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley Continues Lions Club “Restaurant Walk” Tradition
On September 21, the Rotary Club of Castro Valley continued the “Restaurant Walk,” which was started by the Castro Valley Lions Club more than two decades ago. When the Castro Valley Lions Club was discontinued, Rotary Club members’ Chris Carr and Aaron Lewis became co-chairs to continue the vision and good work of Lions Club members’ Joe Farias and Michael Abel, who planned and managed this event for many years. This year would have been 25 years, if not for COVID.
The theme President Dwight Perry chose for the 2021-22 CV Rotary this year is “to have FUN and support the community!” President Perry stated “I am so proud of Chris Carr and Aaron Lewis for chairing our first fund raiser of the 2021-22 Rotary year. The entire Club got behind the Restaurant Walk and it was a great success!”
Nearly 250 people turned out, and the Village and Marketplace were packed. The participants purchased tickets that entitled them to visit several local restaurants, whose generosity and commitment to Castro Valley made this event possible: Don Jose’s Restaurant, Shari’s Pies, Cannery Kitchen & Tap, Cordial Cellar and Lounge, Farmcurious, Amphora Nueva, Mr. Pickles, MOD Pizza, Aroma Cuisine of India, Knudsen’s Ice Creamery, Rigatoni’s, Portales Taqueria, See’s Candies, Vitality Bowls, Starbucks, and Jenn’s Cupcakes & Keller Williams Castro Valley.
Because of the generosity of the restaurants who donated the food, this year’s Restaurant Walk raised approximately $5000.
Co-Chairs Carr and Lewis are so thankful for “the Castro Valley Rotarians for their volunteer efforts in staffing the restaurants to help offset the crowds that participated. We are already planning and anticipating how to include and promote even more restaurants at next year’s Restaurant Walk 2022.”
Profits from the Restaurant Walk will be used locally to fund the needs of the Castro Valley Community through the Rotary Club of Castro Valley Community Grants Program (see www.castrovalleyrotary.org/grants for information).
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley is currently providing hybrid meetings with both in-person luncheons at Redwood Canyon and online on most Tuesdays at 12:00 p.m. Speakers and links to the meetings are posted at www.castrovalleyrotary.org under Upcoming Events. The Club welcomes individuals who want to make a positive impact locally, nationally, and internationally.
Castro Valley Restaurant Walk - September 21, 2021
Rona Popal, Executive Director of the Afghan Coalition was introduced by Parvin Ahmadi. Ms. Popal explained that the exodus of refugees from Afghanistan is only the latest tragedy. Russia invaded the country in 1980 and set off the first wave of refugees. A second wave occurred when a civil war began as the Russians left the country. The Taliban triggered a third wave. The fourth wave consisted of the “children of the war.” Now after 20 years, the Americans have left the country and the Taliban is back. Many of the Taliban are the same people who were in the government 20 years ago, and they do not have a good history. Some are on the UN terrorist list.
The performance of the armed services in Afghanistan was disappointing. The likely reasons are complicated. First, the people are tired of fighting after 40 years of war. Second, Afghanistan is part of a Big-Power game in which the Afghans are simply pawns. The county has a strategic location and many natural resources. Other countries (e.g., China) want those resources. The Afghan people, especially the women, have no voice in these matters.
The lucky Afghans are in the US, and now groups are trying to help the new refugees. For example, there will be a worldwide conference on September 30 to plan that help. The Afghan Coalition is working with the US State Department to identify people who want to leave and to figure out how to help them. The Coalition recently received a generous donation of $200,000 to pay for housing for the refugees who will be arriving in the Bay Area. About 350 refugeed are expected; however, the plane was delayed in Texas due of an outbreak of measles. The $200K was nice start, but clearly, the need is much greater to care for so many people. The Afghan Coalition is soliciting for more donations of money, clothes, and housing.
One positive aspect is that Fremont has a large community of Afghans already who are willing and able to help the new refugees. Mental health services are a particular need because many of the refugees have been traumatized by the collapse of the Afghan government and the hurried escape to the West.
Craig Semmelmeyer, the developer of the Castro Valley Marketplace regarding its development and future plans for the site as well as plans for future developments that Craig has in progress along Castro Valley Boulevard; and
Stacey and Simon Tingstrom, owner of the Cordial Cellar + Lounge in the basement of the Castro Valley Marketplace.
Members and guests were reminded of
The UN International Day of Peace at Lake Chabot Regional Park on September 18 at 10:00 am-1:00 pm;
The Castro Valley Restaurant Walk on September 21at 6:00-8:00 pm; and,
The Club BBQ on September 28 at 5:00-8:00 pm.
The speaker on September 21 will be Rona Popal, Executive Director of the Afghan Coalition in Fremont and Project Director for the Afghan Health Partnership Program. Registration deadline is 9:00 pm on September 19.
Past President Gary Howard introduced the main speaker, Craig Semmelmeyer, developer of the Castro Valley Marketplace. Craig is a one of the newer members of the Rotary Club of Castro Valley. During his presentation, Craig showed many photographs of old Daughtrey's Building illustrating the state it had been in for many years and how the building has now been renovated into the Castro Valley Marketplace. The old building contained a beloved business that had many loyal customers and staff. Sadly, more recently, most people had seen the building as an eyesore on Castro Valley Blvd. Craig said that he looked at the site for 15 minutes and understood its potential, but it took three years to realize that potential.
Craig's idea was to build a stage for the merchants to be the stars. As the developer, Craig used the basic structure of the building, but allowed the merchants to arrange their own space. In this plan, customers are dealing directly with the business owner or an employee who interacts every day with the owner. Opening during COVID pandemic was a challenge for the Marketplace, but the essential businesses are open now and the current plan is to seek out non-essential businesses that will add value to the community. Craig’s own development company will open the Nite Owl, a craft cocktail lounge, on the mezzanine level soon Future shops will include a coffee business, a dessert bar, and, hopefully, a flower shop.
A new venture that Craig has undertaken is the renovation of a Quonset hut building at the corner of Wilbeam Avenue and Castro Valley Blvd. Many years ago, the site was a gas station and car showroom. Craig and partner Ken Carbone intend to return the site to its original design. The building will include a BBQ restaurant, another restaurant, and a retail business with a great deal of outdoor seating. The site should be ready in the first quarter of 2022.
At the other end of Castro Valley Blvd at the lumberyard, they intend to establish an outdoor market using the existing buildings, which will include home and garden stores. The current metal siding will be replaced by redwood siding. The first businesses of a 5-10-year development plan should open in March-April 2022.
Craig noted that he is particular about the tenant businesses because the right business can bring in other top-quality businesses. He further noted that It’s about having faith in one's properties rather than just leasing sited to just anyone. His goals to for Castro Valley to be “a place to go rather than a place to drive through.”
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley is committed to supporting outstanding community programs that align with the goals of Rotary through its Grants Program. The due date for applications has been extended to close of business on October 1, 2021.
The grants range in value up to $1000 for this round. In addition to supporting national and international projects, Grants Chair Dan Willits said “We are thrilled to be able to support some of the terrific organizations that are working to make Castro Valley an even better community.”
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley meets on Tuesdays at 12:00 noon online and in person and is always searching for individuals who want to make a positive impact locally, nationally and internationally. They will fund another round of grants in March 2022. For more information about the grant program, lunch meetings, or the Club, please visit the Rotary website at www.CastroValleyRotary.org.
Photo: Presentation of a grant to the SMART Environment Club at Castro Valley High School
Rotary Club of Castro Valley Requests Applications for Grants
On August 31, Dennis Waespi, East Bay Regional Park District(EBRPD) Director for Ward 3, concluded a month-long series of presentations by EBRPD staff. Dennis provided a short history of the District, an overview of the District and its philosophy especially during the pandemic, highlights regarding recently opened parks, information on parks currently under development, and challenges faced by the District (i.e., drought, dead and dying trees, fire, rising sea level. Ward 3 includes Castro Valley and Dennis is a Castro Vally resident who worked for EBRPD for 38 years before being elected to the Board of Directors. All the EBRPD presentations are available under the Speakers' Videos 2021-22 and Newsletters 2021-22 tabs.
Also speaking on August 31 was Julien Wagner, owner of the Seven Hills Baking Company in the Castro Valley Marketplace. Seven Hills Baking Company is the only bakery in Castro Valley focusing on breads and pastries - just ask anyone who has purchases the fresh croissants. Julien brought samples of the epi and European butter for the members to taste.
To learn more about each presentation including video presentation and additional links to more information, please click here.
On September 21 at 6:00-8:00 pm, the Rotary Club of Castro Valley will sponsor the 2021 Castro Valley Restaurant Walk. Ticket books cost $20 each and provide one (1) tasting at each of the 14 participating restaurants. For more information, please click here for details about the event and purchasing tickets. Proceeds from the Restaurant Walk support Rotary's philanthropic efforts in the community and across the world.
Heard from Brian Holt, Chief of Planning, Trails, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the East Bay Regional Park District, who provided a history of the Port Chicago Naval Station, the history of the Port Chicago 50 including the involvement of future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the conversion of Port Chicago to a park, and the recent naming of the park as Thurgood Marshall Regional Park Home of the Port Chicago 50.
Learned more about the upcoming District 5170 Wheelchair Project from Carol Bigelow and President Dwight Perry.
Heard from Bob Shayler and Bruce Johnson about the plight of two former Rotary International Exchange Students from Afghanistan and how members can assist.
Click here to read more and watch the video of each presentation.
On August 10, the Club had presentations from the Pete DeQuincy, Lifeguard Services Manager for the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD), describing the Aquatic Programs offered by EBRPD, which annually serves over 500,000 community members; and from Heather Shaw, Manager of Mike's Camera in Dublin discussing Using Photographic Services with Customers and Clients in Mind.
Click here to watch the presentations and access Meeting Highlights with more information about the presentations and upcoming Club activities.
Juliana Schirmer, Chief Administrative Officer, Regional Parks Foundation
Chief of Public Affairs
East Bay Regional Park District
Juliana will be presenting on getting to know the Regional Parks Foundation and their work to support the East Bay Regional Park District through fundraising to provide Universal Access, Environmental Stewardship, Educational and Recreational Programs, and the Acquisition of Parklands.
Juliana Schirmer joined the East Bay Regional Park District to oversee the Regional Parks Foundation in October 2015. Juliana is an experienced CEO and Chief Administrative Officer with a demonstrated history working in nonprofit administration, resource development, program management, public relations and communications, and organizational development.
Juliana is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Regional Parks Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with $10M in assets and $4M in annual revenues. In coordination with the AGM of Public Affairs and Executive Director of the Regional Parks Foundation, Juliana guides the board of director’s activities in strategic planning, governance, financial management, growth initiatives, and succession planning. She supervises a staff of seven to implement a comprehensive and aggressive fund development strategy to diversify and increase funding for the East Bay Regional Park District.
During her time with the agency, she has led and implemented the membership program restructure, redesign and launch of new brand initiatives including the 1-in-a-million campaign, marketing collateral and new website, and successful partnerships with Drake’s Brewing, Whole Foods Market and REI. Since 2015, annual revenues have grown from 2.4M to 4.0M and the agency is well-positioned to launch a capital campaign for the Tilden Environmental Education Center in 2021.
Prior to joining the Park District, Juliana served as Chief Development Officer for New Door Ventures in San Francisco where she successfully completed a $16M capital campaign while raising $3M in annual revenues to support youth development programs for 16-24-year-old disconnected youth, and her prior work included serving as Interim CEO and Development Director for Tri-City Health Center, a $20M federally qualified health center in Fremont; Development Director for Habitat for Humanity; and as principal of her own nonprofit consulting firm. Juliana attended Indiana University School of Philanthropy and she is a certified fundraising executive.
Matt Johanson, Teacher at Castro Valley High School and advisor to the Olympian
In addition to being a teacher, Matt Johanson is the author of several books about sports, the outdoors, education and politics for California newspapers and magazines. His books include: Sierra Summits: A Guide to 50 Peak Experiences in California's Range of Light, Yosemite Adventures: 50 Spectacular Hikes, Climbs and Winter Treks, and Game of My Life: San Francisco Giants. He has hiked, climbed, and skied the Sierra Nevada his entire life. He lives in Castro Valley and teaches social studies and journalism at Castro Valley High School.
Building a welcoming, safe, and rigorous learning environment
Dr. Jason Reiman, Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services, Castro Valley Unified School District
Jason Reimann, Ed.D. is an educational leader, advocate for young people, a father and husband. As a fourth-generation educator, the love for teaching and learning was a part of his family culture. Dr. Reimann served as an Assistant principal at De Anza High School in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. He was then assigned as principal of El Cerrito High School, his high school alma mater. In 2011, he completed his doctoral studies. Dr. Reimann then went on to serve as principal of Dougherty Valley High School, then ranked among the top 5% of schools in California and then on to become the director of educational services for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. There, he supervised high school programs, athletics, career technical education and directly supervised seven schools. Dr. Reimann is now the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services in Castro Valley.
June has been a busy month as the Club closes out the 2020-2021 Rotary Year (Rotary Opens Opportunities) under the leadership of President Gary Howard and begins planning for the 2021-2022 Rotary Year (Serve to Change Lives) under the leadership of President Dwight Perry. During 2020-2021, all Club meetings and events were held virtually. It is significant that the Demotion of President Gary will be the Club’s first in-person meeting/event since March 2020.
As the Club enters 2021-2022, planning is under way for hybrid lunch meetings and events as well as in person lunch meetings and events. Watch your email for regular updates and check the website, www.castrovalleyrotary.org, for regular updates posted under Upcoming Events.
Meetings in June included the following presentations:
June 1
A presentation by David Wissinger, Mechanics Banks, and Todd McGinley, SBBT, on the current state of the stock and bond market that included a historical perspective as well as a view to the future. Watch the presentation here.
A short presentation by Bonnie Kohlerite, a former elementary school science teacher in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, on her work to save wild horses and the challenges involved. Watch the presentation here. Due to technical problems, only the audio is available for part of the presentation.
June 8
June 8 (main presentation) – Project IceCube live from the South Pole. The Club and its many guests were treated to a truly outstanding and engaging, 90-minute, live presentation by Martin Wolf and Josh Veitch-Michaelis, two researchers working on Project IceCube at the South Pole. Martin and Josh shared the what life at the South Pole is like (e.g., the prior day was a “balmy” -92°F, 23 hours of darkness) and their research. Click here to learn more about Project IceCube, which is based on the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Click here to read the weekly updates and other information from the Project. Watch the presentation here.
June 15
June 15 (main presentation) - A presentation by Lorena Hernandez, the Director of Community Impact for Comcast, who oversees the Comcast California foundation, volunteerism, partnerships, and community signature programs like Internet Essentials—the largest comprehensive broadband adoption program in the country. She described the work that Comcast is doing in California, especially its efforts during the pandemic. There is not a video of this presentation.
June 22
President Gary Howard reviewed the outstanding successes of the Club during the past year despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. Click here to watch an OUTSTANDING presentation and see how much the Club accomplished during the 2020-2021 Rotary Year. Click here for the slides in the presentation.
President-Elect Dwight Perry, who was Club President in 1982-1983 and District Governor in 1994-1995 shared his vision for the coming year as the Club returns to its pre-pandemic events and projects as well as the many new events and projects the Club will be initiating in 2021-2022. Watch the presentation here.
June 29 - Demotion of President Gary Howard
On the evening of June 29, the Club is holding its first in-person event since March 2020 - the Demotion of President Gary Howard. Members will have the time to socialize with old friends and meet individuals who have become Rotarians since March 2020. President Gary will be thanked for his outstanding service and leadership during the past year, while the Club has some fun at his expense. Details in the next Meeting Highlights.
June has been a busy month as the Club closes out the 2020-2021 Rotary Year (Rotary Opens Opportunities) under the leadership of President Gary Howard and begins planning for the 2021-2022 Rotary Year (Serve to Change Lives) under the leadership of President Dwight Perry. During 2020-2021, all Club meetings and events were held virtually. It is significant that the Demotion of President Gary will be the Club’s first in-person meeting/event since March 2020.
As the Club enters 2021-2022, planning is under way for hybrid lunch meetings and events as well as in person lunch meetings and events. Watch your email for regular updates and check the website, www.castrovalleyrotary.org, for regular updates posted under Upcoming Events.
June meetings included a variety of presentations including a live 90-minute presentation from the South Pole. Click here to read about each meeting and watch the presentations.
Thank you to President Gary Howard for his outstanding leadership during the past year. Despite the challenges and restriction of the COVID pandemic, President Gary led the Club to new heights with outstanding speakers from around the world, innovative projects that served the community, and new members. One of President Gary's goals for the year was to make the Rotary Club of Castro Valley well known throughout the community. Mission Accomplished!!!
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley Announces $10,000 in Scholarships
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley Endowment Board is pleased to announce the recipients of the four scholarships awarded annually to graduates of Castro Valley High School. Each scholarship recipient received $2500.
Alina Huang received The Bob Waberski Scholarship named after long-time Rotary Club of Castro Valley member and former President, who retired as Castro Valley’s Fire Chief in 1993. Chief Waberski left a rich legacy of community service. Alina will be attending the University of California at Berkeley leaning to a career as a Physician Assistant or a teacher. Alina participated in many school service activities including the American Red Cross Club, California Scholarship Federation, Animal Rights Club, and the Tobacco Use Prevention Education Program, and was the Founder of the Animal Rights Club Pet Food Drive. She was also very busy serving our community as a Factory Farming Awareness Coalition intern, Earth Team intern, and serving as a volunteer at the George Mark Children’s House, Oakland Zoo Camp. Alina lives in Castro Valley with her parents Li Chen and Jinwen Huang.
Kelly Yu received the Castro Valley Rotary Club’s Endowment Scholarship for her commitment to serve others, which reflects Rotary’s “Service Above Self” commitment. Kelly will be attending the University with the goal of earning her BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) to serve others as a Nurse. Her School Service activities included Associated Student Body Leadership, Interact, Program 3C, Science Olympiad and CVHS Link Crew, while her Community Service outside of School included: Hemophilia Foundation of Northern California and being active in the UCSF (University of California at San Francisco) HealthLink, Stanford Medical Youth Science Program and UCSF Brain Camp. Kelly lives in Castro Valley with her parents Xueling Yu and Tingzhi Yu.
Emily Xu received The Owen Smith Scholarship named in the memory of the long-time Rotary Club of Castro Valley, who along with his wife Erma, was committed to actively promoting education, including understanding the principles of property rights, entrepreneurship, limited government, and free market. Emily will be attending the University of California at Davis studying to be a Physician. On the Castro Valley High School campus, Emily was active in the following clubs: Unicef, Medical Students Association, and American Red Cross and outside of school was active with the CV Tutors. Emily lives in Castro Valley with her parents Qiu Mei Sun and Han Lin Xu.
Ashley Fang received the Sunrise Scholarship. Ashley will be attending University of California- Berkeley preparing for her career goal to become a Physician. She was quite active on campus in the Animal Rights Club, Medical Students Association, California Scholarship Federation, Link Crew Leader, and Earth Team Intern in the community as Co-founder of Castro Valley Virtual Tutors, Oakland Zoo Teen Wild Guide, and Sulphur Creek Nature Center Summer Camp Counselor. Ashley lives in Castro Valley with her parents Andy Fang and Marcy Chien.
On behalf of the entire Rotary Club of Castro Valley and Endowment Board, Endowment Chair Bruce D. Johnson commends all of the recipients for their commitment to investing their lives in serving others stating “The students who were selected all have marvelous personal stories. Some immigrated here as young children and all are involved in a variety of school activities and community service. I appreciated that after viewing the 107 applicants that all of the recipients were on multiple committee member’s lists! We are confident all four of these students will have a tremendous impact now and in the future. We are very proud to recognize Alina, Ashley, Emily and Kelly for their outstanding service as well as their academic achievements.”
Castro Valley Rotarians John Aufdermauer, Heidi Hausauer, Bruce D. Johnson (Chair), Jim Negri, Dwight Perry, Ray Wallace (Secretary) and Dan Willitz (Vice-Chair/Treasurer) serve on the Endowment Board. For more information on The Rotary Club of Castro Valley and the Endowment, please visit www.castrovalleyrotary.org.
President Gary Howard introduced Henry Gilbert as a Renaissance Man: anthropologist, paleontologist, professor, author (Homo erectus: Pleistocene Evidence from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia) , and currently, a third-generation walnut farmer at Gilbert Orchards (founded over 100 years ago). Since he was returning from a family trip to Mexico, Henry joined us from the Houston airport.
After a brief discussion of his academic life including positions that he still holds at UC Berkeley, CSU East Bay, and the Director of the Kesem Kebena Project in Ethiopia, Henry explained how he became a walnut farmer in Wheatland, California (i.e., the death of his father in 2016 and other relatives) on 2000 acres in Wheatland.
While Henry shared photos of Gilbert Orchards, he provided a great deal of information about the history of walnuts, walnut farming, the current market including labor issues and land prices including:
Walnuts come from the foothills of the Himalayas and were spread by Alexander the Great as food for his troops. Walnuts then spread to the Mediterranean and into Europe.
In Indian and Pakistan, walnuts are part of the traditional food culture.
Since the orchards have been in the Gilbert family for over 100 years, there are many heirloom walnut trees on the farm.
Currently, walnuts bring $.60/lb compared to $2.15/lb in 2015.
Walnuts tend to be marketed to people with money and for health benefits especially the heart and brain
Chandler walnuts produced 3-4 tons per acre compared to other varietals and generate twice the price; therefore, as trees are replaced, they are replaced with Chandler trees.
Harvesting walnuts is a simple process: shake the trees; pick-up the walnuts; remove the green husks; wash and dry; and ship.
In recent years, both China and Chile have entered the market, which has depressed prices, but Henry sees the potential of a year-round, world market,
Henry described the process and value of grafting varieties of walnut trees – keeps the trees long while being able to upgrade the varietals.
Since the walnut marker is changing, Henry described some things that he is trying to maximize production from the land, such as growing
teff, an Ethiopian grain that is high in iron and gluten-free. According to Henry, teff has “yuppie appeal,” but he is growing teff for other markets as well;
peppers and tomatoes to produce salsa for the local farmer markets. Income from these sales is used to promote Mexican folkloric dance in the community; and,
cannabis on a limited basis as the laws and cannabis markets evolved.
After the formal presentation, Henry graciously answered questions on many topics and provided the following information:
Walnuts use 2’ of water/acre/per year compared to 3’ for wheat’; however, access to water is an issue as the population grows and the demand for water in Southern California increases.
The harvest season is normally September 15-October 15 and is not as sensitive as the grape harvest since walnuts will last on the ground without rain.
It takes a walnut tree 5-6 years to get to harvest with major production starting in years 7-9 that can continue for 25-30 years. Henry provided a detailed explanation of the life cycle of a tree.
Labor is a major issue due to the lack of workers and the cost of labor. Henry foresees a significant increase in the price of food in the next five years. The cost of labor not only includes wages, but health care (Gilbert Orchards paid Kaiser for its workers) and impact of Workers’ Compensation as well as “shady” labor contractors (Gilbert Orchards stopped using labor contractors). The bottom line is that there are fewer workers available, and the cost of labor continues to increase. (Watch the video for a detailed explanation.
Henry shared his anthropological and paleontology work including the dangers in Ethiopia and South Africa.
The Club sincerely thanks Henry for a truly engaging educational presentation. Watch his presentation here.
Mark Hall, CEO/President of NetSolutions in Concord, spoke on Business Computers vs. Ransomware. He started with a definition of ransomware as a type of malicious software or malware that prevents you from accessing your computer files, systems, or networks and demands you pay a ransom for their return. You can unknowingly download malware onto a computer by opening an email attachment, clicking an ad, following a link, visiting a website embedded with malware, or even loading a foreign CD or USD drive onto your computer.
Moving forward, Mark described the Most Common Methods of Ransomware Infections in North America as follows:
67% - spam/phishing emails
36% - lack of cyber security training
30% - weak passwords/access management
25% - poor user practices/gullibility
16% - malicious websites/web ads
16% - other
Next, Mark detailed the Top-Clicked Phishing Tests/Top Social Media Email Subjects as
42% - LinkedIn
20% - Facebook
12% - log in alert from Chrome
11% - You have a new message alert
9% - Direct Message from Twitter
6% - New voicemail message at <time>
He continued the discussion by focusing on the Top 10 General Email Subjects that included
31% - Password Check Required Immediately
13% - COVID-19 Remote Work Policy Update
5% - Deactivation of <email> in Process
4% - Recent Activity Report
To prevent ransomware without completely shutting down a company’s network or computers, Mark stressed
Keep operating systems, software, and applications up to date
Make sure anti-virus solutions are set to automatically update and run scans
Use firewalls for network security
Use 3rd party email filters and end user education or email security
Backup files locally, offsite, and online
Watch the video for more detailed explanations of each of the above categories and examples.
• A presentation by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Dorado describing his path to serving on the bench and his experience as a judge. During this engaging and informative presentation, Judge Dorado offer his insights on a number of issues.
• A presentation by Castro Valley Library Branch Manager Dawn Balestreri describing how the library has operated during the pandemic and its re-opening plans.
• A report from Mark Poniatowski, Co-chair of the Club's Racial Discrimination Forum, describing the work of the group, especially the petition to the East Bay Regional Parks District to name a park at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station in honor of Supreme Court Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Click here to access Meeting Highlights and the videos of the presentations.
The meeting featured presentations by Steve McLaughlin describing his career as a bar pilot on San Francisco Bay and Elizabeth Crocker from London describing the majesty and kindness of horses. Access the Meeting Highlights with the videos here.
Join the Rotary Club of Castro Valley and Castro Valley Science on June 8th at 12:00 p.m. for an extraordinary virtual presentation by scientists at the South Pole who will describe what it is like to live and work where it is dark more than 23 hours every day and where the average temperature is -50⁰F. Project Ice Cube uses a cubic kilometer of ice at the South Pole to measure neutrinos, mysterious subatomic particles that have an extremely small mass. Register here for Zoom access.
Coming June 8Project Ice Cube: Live at the South Pole
For 28 years, basso profundo Eric Alatorre sang with the world-famous acapella group Chanticleer. Born in Southern California and educated at the California State University Fullerton and San Francisco State University, Mr. Alatorre joined the San Francisco Symphony Chorus before beginning his great career with Chanticleer.
Juan Romero, the newly appointed Public Information Officer for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), provided a history, organization, and work of the District; a description of the types of air pollution; work that is being done to reduce air pollution; and resources for citizens.
The Mission of the BAAQMD is The Air District aims to create a healthy breathing environment for every Bay Area resident while protecting and improving public health, air quality, and the global climate. The District was established in 1955 and includes a 9-county jurisdiction with 101 cities, 5,340 square miles, a Board of 24 elected officials that serves 7 million residents.
Juan proceeded to describe how Particulate Matter and Ozone impact the health of the residents with the following points:
Lung irritation, and increased permeability in lung tissue
Aggravate severity of chronic lung diseases and rapid loss of airway function
Changes in blood chemistry that can result in clots that may lead to heart attacks
Increase susceptibility to viral and bacterial pathogens leading to pneumonia in vulnerable persons
Irritate the respiratory system and your eyes, nose, throat and cause coughing and headaches
Reduce lung function, or make it difficult to breathe deeply and quickly
Aggravate asthma and make people more sensitive to allergens (dust mites, pets, and pollen)
Can inflame and damage the lining of the lung, like a sunburn on your lungs!
Showing a before and after slide, Juan described how the BAAQDM has been able to improve conditions and create healthy communities through the following efforts with specific examples of each effort (watch the video for details):
Air Quality Plans & Rule Development
Compliance & Enforcement
Grants & Incentives
Outreach & Education
Monitoring, Modeling & Assessment
Juan noted that the Wildfire Season will be here before we know it and the wildfires have a major impact on air quality in the Bay Area as we have seen in recent years. To educate and keep the community informed, BAAQMD produces several publications (e.g., brochures, Air District Annual Report, Air Currents Newsletter) runs many programs (e.g., Spare the Air Day) and community outreach. Among the suggestions Juan provided for individuals to make a difference were
Consider using alternative modes of transit: walk, bike, and carpool when you can
Reduce the use of fireplaces in your home
Continue composting organics and recycling
Support Air District rule development efforts
Reach out to your county to get involved
Share your knowledge
The BAAQMD offers the following Incentive Programs:
Carol Wikle joined the Rotary Club of Castro Valley in 1994 and served as the 2016-2017 President. Before she started her financial report on the Club's Endowment, Carol shared how much she has learned about Rotary International's commitment and follow-up through her involvement with and reporting to RI on the Breathing for Life Project (BFL).
In terms of the Endowment, Carol shared that there are two funds: (1) Scholarships for graduating seniors at Castro Valley High School and (2) International Projects, such as the Breathing for Life Project. She reported that there is currently has $276,284 in the Endowment for scholarships. Since December 2013 when Mirador Capitol Partners began overseeing the investments, there has been a cumulative rate of return of 111% with a 181% return on equities. The investments are based on a distribution model (i.e., scholarships) rather than an accumulation, which has allowed the Club to distribute at least 5% of the funds annually for scholarship. The financial markets have changed over time, Carol has employed an investment strategy that rotates with the market.
Earlier this year, Teipo Brown made a short presentation on Tourism in California and the Bay Area during the Covid pandemic. He had so much great information to share and the Club members wanted to hear more so the Club invited Teipo, a 20+ year resident of Castro Valley, back to share what is happening to tourism as California begins to loosen the Covid restrictions.
Teipo started by sharing that pre-Covid tourism generated $145B spending in Calfiornia, but in the past year that figure has dropped to $59B - a significant drop with ramifications throughout the economy. Besides the drop in spending, Teipo shared that State & Local Tax Revenues have dropped from $12.3B to $7.4B and the number jobs in tourism have dropped from 1.2M to 682K. The figures supported Teipo assertion that the tourism has been extremely hard hit by the pandemic and only is starting to slowly recover.
During his presentation, Teipo shared airport and hotel statistics for the Gateway Cities (i.e., Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Orange County). The number of people passing through the airports in January 2020 was 18M per month, but his rock bottom in April 2020 at 739K. The 2021 number ar not available yet, but appear to be improving compared to 2020. Last year, air travel saw a 65% drop domestically and a 75% drop internationally. The hotel industry experienced the same drops in the past year with occupancy and revenue dropping 35% statwide and 41% in Gateway cities; however, growth is projects in the coming year.
Teipo outlined the key drivers in the tourism industry:
(1) Leisure travel that is expected to grow due the easing of restrictions and pented up demand. People are feeling safe about shorter drive/fly vacations. (2) Corporate travel that is not projected to grow to companies moving out of Calfiornia, cost savings from working from home and the cancelation of meetings and conferences, and safety issues. (3) International travel which is not projected to grow and possibly decline until borders are opened, vaccinations are more wide-spread, and vaccination passports are established.
Touching on corproate meetings and conferences, Teipo pointed out that California lost $4.1B per month due to restrictions and cancelation. Since California was the last state to open to business meetings and conferences, many weree moved to other states. These meetings and conferences are a major source of revenue for hotels. Since it takes several months to several years to plan a business meeting or conference, this sector will return more slowly. Before answwering questions, Teipo concluded by noting conditions have improved since June 2020 and the projections for the industry are looking good at this time.
Mayor Karla Brown presented an update on the City of Pleasanton, which is part of the Club’s effort to highlight what is happening in the communities that surround Castro Valley. Mayor Brown was elected to her first term as Mayor in November 2020 after serving two terms on the City Council. As Mayor and a Council Member, she has served on many city, county, and regional committees the impact the City of Pleasanton.
Mayor Brown has lived in Pleasanton for 28 years. For 10 years, she traveled the world a Global Account Manager for a Silicon Valley semi-conductor company, but then decided to settle down and moved to Pleasanton. Since 2002, Mayor Brown has worked as an Associate Broker in real estate, which she described as red hot currently.
In her presentations, Mayor Brown described the 127-year transition of Pleasanton from an agrarian community to a city of 82,000 residents. This transition included
An agrarian community based on dairy farms, hop fields, and vineyards.
In the 1980’s and until the late 1990’s, the population rapidly grew. In fact, at the time, Pleasanton was the 3rd fast growing city in California. The development of Hacienda Business Park occurred during this era. In the late 1990’s, Pleasanton experienced a slow growth movement.
According to Mayor Brown, Pleasanton in 2021 has three major factors going for it - location, location, and location- with an excellent transportation access (Interstates 580 & 680, BART, Wheels, ACE train). The Mayor described the testing of a driverless shared vehicle project that is currently under way.
Mayor Brown’s presentation further touched on the following topics:
Economic Development: Pleasanton is the home of many Fortune 500 companies including Safeway/Albertson’s and has seen an influx of new businesses, including Workday with a Pleasanton Police Department station in the building that services the area around BART.
Historic Preservation: There is a City Task Force working on historical preservation including older homes and downtown. Mayor Brown shared the work of volunteers to beautify and maintain Pioneer Cemetery where many of the founders and famous early residents of Pleasanton are buried.
Community Amenities: Pleasanton is well-known for its parks and sports fields. The Mayor mentioned many community amenities including Bernal Community Park with its 38 acres of oak woodlands new sports fields, bocce courts, a skateboard park, and the first all abilities playground to serve residents with disabilities. She also shared information about the new fire station that is being build.
Housing: With the high price of housing, the City has worked to create 185 affordable senior apartments at Kottinger Gardens and Sunflower Hill at Irby Ranch for adults with intellectual or development disabilities as well as the City’s Homeless Outreach program that has two officers assigned to the program.
Before taking questions, Mayor Brown concluded with an overview of how the City of Pleasanton develops and decides on its priorities.
Gina Channell, President and Publisher of the Pleasanton Weekly focused her short presentation on the Cost & Price of Local Journalism. The Pleasanton Weekly was established in 2000 and covers the news in Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon and Danville. The paper has a circulation of 9,500 (print) and 180,000 (digital) and is owned by Embarcadero Media, which also owns the Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice, The Almanac, and TheSixFifty.com
One of Gina's key points was that not all local news is created equal and then explained the types of local coverage:
local journalism (e.g., Pleasanton Weekly, Castro Valley Forum) with locally assigned reported;
regional coverage (e,g., East Bay Times) that reports local news in a newpaper that covers a much wider region and normally does not assign reporters to the local community;
aggregates which collect stories from numerous sources (i.e., Pleasanton Weekly) and publish the news often online.
Gina shared that local newspapers having been declining in signifcant number (i.e., over 2000 newspapers have folded since 2004) and as many as 1500 communities are without a newspaper. The pandemic has hastened the decline of the newspaper since advertizing revenue has fall dramatically leading to staff reductions (e.g., staffing at Pleasanton Weekly is 1/4 it was seven years ago). Pleasanton Weekly used to deliver a newspaper to every home, but has had to move to subscriptions and online publishing to survive in the current economic environment.
Gina discussed the importance of strong local journalism to democracy - keeping the people informed on issues. While discussing the role of the newspaper in a democratic society, Gina gave a shout out to The Olympian at Castro Valley High School for its work. To wrap up her presentation, Gina briefly discussed that ocal newspapers are a small business and readers need to step to to ensure that these newspapers continue to exist. According to Gina, one of the best ways is to support local advertizers and let know it.
She closed with a quote from John Oliver, "The truth is, a big part of the blame for this industry's dire straits falls on us and our unwillingness to pay for the work journalists produce. We've just grown accustomed to getting our news for free, and the longer that we get something for free, the less willing we are to pay for it. And I'm talking to you, the person watching this segment on YouTube, using the Wi-Fi from the coffee shop underneath your apartment. You're killing us! But sooner or later — sooner or later — we are either going to have to pay for journalism or we are all going to pay for it."
After opening comments by Parvin Ahmadi, Castro Valley Unified School District Superintendent and Castro Valley Rotarian, she turned the program over to Castro Valley High School Principal Blaine Torpey to provide an overview of the school and presentations. In his opening comments, Principal Torpey praised the inspiring CVHS teachers for responding to the pandemic and designing ways to support student learning. In her closing comments, Superintendent Ahmadi echoed Principal Torpey’s comments about the teachers throughout the district.
Teachers Jessica Porter and Lisa Holmes provided an overview of the Engineering Pathway, which is one of the programs in the Career Technical Department. Jessica and Lisa repeatedly stressed that the program is designed about problem-solving, project-based learning, and innovation. The goals of the Engineering Pathway are
Foster highly transferable skills in collaboration, communication, and critical thinking which are relevant for any coursework and career.
Prepare students to apply engineering, science, math, and technology to solve complex, open-ended problems in a real-world context.
Expose students to tools, practices, requirements and certification for careers and post-secondary study in engineering or related fields.
The Pathway is a 4-year Pathway (the Class of 2021 is the first class to complete all 4 years) that included the following sequence of courses:
Year 1:Introduction to Engineering Design
Year 2: Principles of Engineering
Year 3: Civil Engineering & Architecture
Year 4: Engineering Design & Development
During the presentation, Jessica and Lisa shared a great video of the program (be sure to watch it) as well as many examples of student projects and activities.
Honors Afrocentric U.S. History and Literature
This University of California approved course combines a student’s history and English courses into a two-section course. Kevin Batchelor, who teaches the U.S. section of the course, described the program that has been taught for 8 years after 2 years of development. In the Bay Area, only CVHS and Berkeley HS offer this type of course.
This class provides a comprehensive review of the history of the United States from pre-colonial times to the present with a focus on the unique role of African Americans within that history. Students will study the accomplishments, history, and culture of African Americans within the American and global context. This class is cored with an American Literature class that will focus on works by African American authors. When the course started about 90% of the students were African American, but as enrollment has grown so has the diversity of the students, but the majority remain African American.
One of the key features of the class is that students are reading literature from the historical period they are studying, which provides a better context for both the literature and the history. During his presentation, Kevin shared many of the prompts assigned to students to make the connection. (Readers are encouraged to watch video to see the complexity of the assignments.
CVHS Library Program
Teacher Librarian Angela Anthony, who is new to CVHS this year, described the two-part Mission of the Library:
(1) Create inclusive collections that acknowledge and celebrate diverse experiences to help sustain a strong reading culture on campus; and
(2) Provide instructional opportunities and spaces to empower learner as effective users and creators of information and ideas.
Angela described adding 500+ titles to the library collection that reflect the diversity of the students and implementing a weekly curbside pickup so students can access the collections during the pandemic. She described programs such as SORA, which links students virtually to the public library, and ProQuest, which provides student access to major sources of information. As a Teacher Librarian, Ms. Anthony often works in partnership with teachers, especially English teachers and students working on research projects, to expand the library program beyond the four walls of the library. Learn more about the CVHS Library here.
After graduating from the Carlson School of Management, Jeff went on to become a Hall-of-Fame Business Achiever. Jeff is most content creating creative content. One of his greatest motivators is motivating others. As an experienced and esteemed speaker, Jeff aims to deliver education, inspiration and entertainment to your sales force.
In a highly interactive and engaging presentation, Jeff Teseri shared three of the seven key abilities that one needs to achieve his/her next breakthrough. Before describing those abilities, Jeff posed three rhetorical questions:
Have you ever felt down on your luck?
Have you ever felt stuck?
Have you ever wanted to yell, “Forget this!”
From here, Jeff noted that everyone would like to
Achieve more
Receive more
Give more
Enjoy life more
From here, Jeff asked “What is the most attractive trait a person can have that not a body part?” The answer was gratitude, which was the first of the three traits that Jeff went on to describe in his presentation. Jeff stated, “If you want to be great, begin by being grateful” and proceed to explain how one does this. He concluded with “Gratitude is a choice.”
The second key ability is creating an inviting environment. Jeff noted that with each breath one can break down barrier (watch the video for examples). One issue that gets in the way of breakthroughs is that people focus too much on matters that don’t matter. He suggested the people slow the pace – not a jog, but a walk. More importantly, Jeff stressed to remove the rush to savor the simple stuff.
The third ability that Jeff described is the number one predictor of happiness – one’s connections. These connections are the life-giving link; therefore, everyone needs the ability of cultivate and create connection.
During the Club Assembly, Rotarian Jim Phillips presented a proposal for a new foundation, The Castro Valley Rotary Community Foundation, a new 501(c)3 foundation that would serve the broader community. Watch the presentation and discussion here.
Kathy Brady described the work and services of the Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program (HICAP) that assist seniors with Medicate. Watch the presentation here. Use the link in the Meeting Highlights to access HICAP in Alameda County.
Mark Pontiatowski and Gary Howard provided updates on the work of the Racial Discrimination Forum including an effort to spread the work to Area 4 and District 5170. Watch the presentation here.
At this meeting, the Club hosted the first round of the District 5170 Richard D. King Annual Youth Speech Contest for students from Csatro Valley High School and Redwood Christian High School. Due to the shelter-in-place orders, the contest was held virtually this year under the excellent leadership of Speech Contest Chair Bernie Kempen.
President Gary Howard recognized three outstanding individuals as the Rotarians of the Month for their outstanding leadership of the Castro Valley Racial Discrimination Forum.
Vocational Services Chair Chris Carr described a project with Eden Area Regional Occupational Program that is seeking the expertise of Club members.
Click here to watch the student speeches, find out who the winners were, learn about the Rotarians of the Month, and volunteer for the Vocational Services project.
We hope this message finds you well. We are reaching out to you today to inform you of a program designed to bring real world experience and education to students enrolled in vocational education with the Eden Area Regional Occupational Program Center in Hayward (Eden Area ROP).
Castro Valley Rotary’s Vocational Committee is seeking speakers and industry experts to share their insights and knowledge with students enrolled in the Eden Area ROP that are seeking alternatives to college or university programs. We especially need speakers for the engineering students (Civil, Electrical, Computer Sciences)
Your gift of time is short but tremendously valuable for students enrolled in a variety of program from engineering, medical technology, medical assistant, welding, auto body, construction, electrical, first responders and culinary sciences.
We are seeking presenter with 2 to 10 years (or more) of experience to speak for 15 to 20 minutes on a topic relevant the course materials being taught in these areas and then take 15-20 minutes of question and answers from the audience. The program runs through the end of the school year in May.
The speaker sessions will be done by video conference (Zoom or Goggle Hangouts) and you will be given an opportunity to correspond with the course instructor prior to the event to ensure that your talk is targeted to the audience and the course materials being currently covered. You are welcome to provide a slide presentation if you have one. Otherwise, we are grateful for your participation in the speaker series.
If you are interested in participating, we welcome you to visit the Castro Valley Rotary Club’s Calendly page to see what courses might fit your background. The Calendly webpage is: https://calendly.com/edenarearop
On February 23, the Rotary Club of Castro Valley hosted the First Round of the Rotary District 5170 Richard D. King Annual Youth Speech Contest for students attending Castro Valley High School (CVHS) and Redwood Christian High School (RCHS). Due to the current Shelter-in-Place orders, the contest was held virtually under the outstanding leadership of Bernie Kempen, who served as the Speech Contest Chair for the Club.
Each student's speech was recorded live on Zoom prior to the meeting according to the Speech Contest rules. The theme of this year’s contest was "Rotary Opens Opportunities,” which had to be clearly identified in the speech. Each student had to clearly relate, apply, or interweave one or more of Rotary’s Four Way Test principles into the speech:
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Is it BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
The speeches were then scored according to the Speech Contest rubrics and guidelines by Rotarians Realtor and President-Elect Murline Monet, and Attorneys Jim Phillips and Mark Poniatowski. After showing the speeches, Bernie Kempen announced the winners:
1st Place (Prize $100) - Olivia Fryling (RCHS, 12th Grade) - “A Homage to the Heroes Behind the Scenes”;
2nd Place (Prize $50) - Jonathan Burckin (RCHS, 12th Grade) - “The Forgotten of Society”;
3rd Place (Prize $25) - Rohan John (RCHS, 12th Grade) - “The Opportunity of Growth.”
Other students participating in the Speech Contest included Nathaniel Calvert (RCHS, 12th Grade) - “Building Bridges Internationally”; Quentin Hansen (CVHS, 9th Grade) - “Together Though Apart”; Rayah Miller (RCHS, 12th Grade) - “The Importance of Education for high-risk Women”; and Kaitlin Tchang (CVHS, 9th Grade) - “Opening One Opportunity at a Time.”
Olivia Fryling, daughter of Pastor Larry and Arlene Fryling of Hayward, and Jonathan Burckin, son of Mark and Becki Burckin of Castro Valley, will move onto the Area 4 Speech Contest, which includes the eight (8) Rotary Clubs in Castro Valley, Dublin, Hayward, Livermore and Pleasanton, on March 8. The winner of the Area 4 Speech Contest will then compete in the District 5170 Speech Contest.
The Speech Contest is one of the many ways Rotary promotes Youth Service among its members. The 61 Rotary Clubs of District 5170 sponsor the Richard D. King Annual Youth Speech Contest with three goals in mind for the Club Members and each Speech Contest Participant:
To increase the personal knowledge and awareness of the importance of being able to speak effectively before a group.
To increase public knowledge of what Rotary is and does throughout the world, especially among young people. Through this knowledge, we hope that they will learn, as we have in the past, “He who serves best profits most.”
To increase participation in the contest and to provide all high school contestants an opportunity to win prizes as top speaker, or runners-up, in District 5170.
Richard D. King for whom the contest is named has served in leadership roles in the Rotary Club for 35 years, as a Club President, District Governor, Trustee of the Rotary Foundation, International Director, Chairman of the Executive Committee, and last year as the world President of Rotary International. King’s term produced the single largest growth year in Rotary’s 98-year history. From July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002 some 75,000 new members joined Rotary; 1,158 new Rotary Clubs were chartered (more than one every 8 hours); 795 new Interact Clubs (high school Rotary clubs) were chartered; and $67 million (the largest sum ever raised in one year) was contributed to the annual fund of the Rotary Foundation. At the end of his 2001-2002 term, Rotary membership stood at an all-time record of 1,243,431 community leaders in 204 countries and geographical regions. Read more about Richard D. King.
Olivia Fryling Wins Youth Speech ContestRichard D. King Annual Youth Speech Contest
On the evening of February 16th, the Rotary Club of Castro Valley and the Castro Valley Educational Foundation (CVEF) co-sponosered a presentation by John Perkins, PhD, from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on Fission and Fusion at LLNL: What has nuclear physics done for you today?
In an informative and engaging presentation, Dr. Perkins shared information about energy in the atomic nucleus, how both fusion and fision release energy, the three most common methods to achieve fusion, and the work of LLNL and its impact on the world plus much, much more.
Recently, the Rotary Foundation Trustees and Rotary International Board of Directors have both unanimously approved adding a new area of focus: Supporting the Environment. Today’s speaker, the Honorable Rod Diridon, Sr., brings a wealth of experience in public service and leadership (e.g., Chair of the U.S. High-Speed Rail Association, Emeritus Executive Director (Ret.) of the Mineta Transportation Institute). Rod is working with the Rotary Climate Action Council in District 5170. His presentation, posed the question: Is Climate Change the Sixth Mass Extinction? and looked the history and causes of climate change, the current situation, and possible solutions.
The Club also heard from Bernie Kempem in his Student Speech Contest Chair role regarding regarding the upcoming virtual Speech Contest and in his International Project Chair role about a possible global grant in South Africa.
President Gary Howard shared the information regarding a Rotary Area 4 grant the provide breathing equipment to Eden Medical Center. There is a video link to the the demonstration.
Click here to read the entire issue of Meeting Highlights.
Recently, the Rotary Foundation Trustees and Rotary International Board of Directors have both unanimously approved adding a new area of focus: Supporting the Environment. Today’s speaker, the Honorable Rod Diridon, Sr., brings a wealth of experience in public service and leadership (e.g., Chair of the U.S. High-Speed Rail Association, Emeritus Executive Director (Ret.) of the Mineta Transportation Institute). Read more about Rod’s background with the link at the end of the article.
In the presentation, Riod posed the question: Is Climate Change the Sixth Mass Extinction? Rod began by highlighting the previous mass extinctions:
This issue of Meeting Highlights covers the meetings of January 26th when Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf spoke on What's Up in Oakland? and Redwood Christian Schools Superintendent Al Hearne II, PhD addressed What in the World Are You Thinking: Rebuilding Education in the Midst of a Global Pandemic.
On February 2, Rotary Area 27 End Polio Now! Chair Bob Rogers described the efforts, challenges, and successes of the End Polio Now! campaign including a vidoe of the 2020 National Immunization Day (NID) in India, and his personal story with polio as a child.
Click hereto read the complete Meeting Highlights and be sure to click on the links in each story for complete details.
The Club warmly welcomed back Redwood Christian Schools (RCS) Superintendent Al Hearne II, PhD for an update on how RCS is educating students during the pandemic. Superintendent Hearne started by thanking the Club for its $1,500 grant that help to provide hand sanitizer stations for RCS.
During his 10-minute presentation, Superintendent Hearne explained that students are being educated both on campus and via zoom with the following breakdowns (K-5 students at the Castro Valley campus - 70/30%; 6-8 students at the San Lorenzo campus - 41/59%; and high school - 5/95%).
Al described the decision-making process to be one of balancing Risk vs. Mitigation that involves both science and health guidelines. Watch the video to see the types of decisions and responses. In a survey of parents, 20% are Cautious (i.e., primarily work from home; follow every aspect of the CDC guidelines; and prefer to stay conservative about their re-assimilation plans); 60% are Confident (i.e., don’t wear a mask; spend greater amounts of time outside the home and don’t mind tight proximity; obey the law, but don’t worry about going the extra mile; lean towards re-assimilation now regardless of the news; some think the crisis may be blown out of proportion); and 20% are Cauti-denta (i.e., finding themselves feeling and doing a little bit of everything in the Cautious and Confident profiles). People move from category-to-category in the same day. Superintendent Hearne noted that it is practically impossible to please everyone with any decision that he makes.
RCS follows all the Alameda County Health Department guidelines for returning to school that have grown from 4-pages to 50-pages. The RCS procedures include a Daily Health Screener completed by the parents; Drop Off/Pick Up procedures using the PikMyKid app, which CVUSD is also using; and a Return to School Protocol. RCS has conducted 4960 screening with 85 individuals excluded for some time. There have been seven positive cases, but only three have been students. There have been no transmissions due to the procedures used.
Click here to watch Superintendent Hearne’s entire presentation with many insightful comments and data.
What Are You Thinking? Rebuilding Education in the Midst of a Global Pandemic!
As part of the Club’s ongoing effort to highlight surrounding cities by hosting elected officials and other key community and business leaders, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf spoke to the Club about what has been happening in Oakland both pre-pandemic and during the pandemic as well at outlining the post-pandemic future for the City of Oakland.
Leader. Coach. Mentor. Cheerleader. Conscience. Scribe. Friend. These words describe just a few of the many roles Bruce Johnson, Superintendent Emeritus of Redwood Christian Schools, plays in the Rotary Club of Castro Valley. His energy, joy, and excitement animate the Club. His fingerprints are everywhere in the Club and the community. As a Rotarian committed to Service Above Service, Bruce is deeply involved in activities of the Club handling the public relationship for the Club; serving as the announcer for the Rotary-sponsored Rowell Ranch Rodeo Parade; working with youth, especially as chair for Camp RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards); lending a hand, actually many hands, and playing a special role for the Club’s Children’s Christmas Party as well as securing gifts for the Adopt-a-Family Program; and serving as President of the Rotary Club Endowment Board. In the community, Bruce serves as the Chair of the Baywood Court Board of Directors, is a member of the Castro Valley Sports Foundation Board of Directors, and was recently named as Business Consultant to the Board of Directors of the Castro Valley/Eden Areal Chamber of Commerce.
In naming Bruce Johnson as the Castro Valley Rotarian of the Month for January 2021, Rotary President Gary Howard noted, “No matter what, Bruce is always ready to help. His commitment to our community is truly amazing. It is a great pleasure to recognize Bruce as Rotarian of the Month.”
The meeting featured a presentation by Cynthia Butler from the Alameda County Clean Water Outreach Program who detailed the work of the Program and the resources provided for the community as well as sharing photos of the Program's events.
The meeting also featured a short presentation by Jordan Bernal, President of Tri-Valley Writers, a writing club that provides resources and support for published authors and those looking to be published. Chris Carr, Co-chair of the the Vocational Service Committee, provided an update on the work of the Committee and asked for volunteers to share their professional experience and expertise with students enrolled at the Eden Area Regional Occupational Program.
Click here to learn more about each presentation including the video and the slides, to review the announcements made during the meeting including the nomination of the President-Elect Nominee, and learn about upcoming speakers and events.
Alameda County Clean Water Outreach Program – Cynthia Butler
The main message of the Alameda County Clean Water Outreach Program is that everyone can do his/her part to ensure that only rainwater, not litter and chemicals, goes down the storm drain and into local creeks and the Bay. Educating the public on the difference between the storm drain system and the sewer system is a major task for the Clean Water Outreach Program.
The California Writers Club (CWC), founded in 1909, is the oldest professional writers’ organization in the western United States. It began under the influences of Jack London, George Sterling, Herman Whitaker, and Austin Lewis. CWC is a nonprofit organization with 22 branches with a statewide membership of over 2,000. Tri-Valley Writers (TVW), chartered in July 2006, is the 16th branch of CWC.
Tri-Valley Writers is a community of writers promoting the craft of writing and the business of getting published that serves the Amador, San Ramon, and Livermore Valleys, but has members throughout the Bay Area. TVW welcomes writers of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry; all ages and skill levels; and who are published or seeking to publish. TWV offers a variety of programs for members and the public:
Monthly Meetings or Workshops
Biennial Full-day Conferences that have featured many best-selling and internationally known writers.
Open Mic Nights
High School Writing Contest is designed to support writing in schools and winners receive cash prizes.
Pull Up a Chair and Write
Critique Groups
Biennial Anthology
Monthly Branch Newsletter
Social Media Group
Beta Reader Co-op & Launch Teams
Jordan encouraged Club members to participate in the activities of Tri-Valley Writers. President Gary Howard thanked her for a very informative presentation.
Earlier this year, President Gary Howard tapped Chris Carr, Lance Brede, Cliff Sherwood, and Randy Vanderbilt to revive the Vocational Service Committee. The Committee has been working closely with the Eden Area Regional Occupational Program (EAROP) to develop a strong link between EAROP and professionals in the Club and the Community. Chris reported on the Committee work and asked the Club members for their assistance.
The Club was treated to a truly outstanding presentation on a critical public health issue, Adolescent Sleep Health, by Raul Pelayo, MD at Stanford University. Dr. Pelayo has been actively involved in sleep research for many years, especially research on the impact of sleep or rather the lack of sleep on students. His research was critical in the passage of SB 328 that establishes later starting times for schools across California.
As part of the Club's ongoing Member's Moment program, Red Badge Member Monica Lee shared her personal and profession background as well as her likes and hobbies.
To read more about and watch the presentations as well as read about December's Rotarian of the Month and the Club's newest member, click here.
The Club was treated to a truly outstanding presentation on a critical public health issue, Adolescent Sleep Health, by Raul Pelayo, MD at Stanford University. Dr. Pelayo has been actively involved in sleep research for many years, especially research on the impact of sleep or rather the lack of sleep on students. His research was critical in the passage of SB 328 that establishes later starting times for schools across California. Start by watching this short video on Sleep and the Immune System.
At its December 1st lunch meeting, President Gary Howard honored Ceta Dochterman as the Rotarian of the Month for December.
As Ceta noted, “I didn’t join Rotary to say ‘no’ to helping." That statement clearly defines who Ceta is and what she does.
Whether it is helping with the Thanksgiving Senior Lunch or distributing iPads to residential senior care and nursing homes or taking part in the Club weekly meetings, Ceta is always there with her big smile and positive attitude. She also works with Officer Gabriel Walters at the Castro Valley CHP to ensure that children in shelters are provided presents each year at Rotary’s annual Children’s Christmas Party and many other community projects, such packing and distributing Thanksgiving Lunch Bags at the Kenneth Aitken Senior Center. In addition, Ceta leads the club’s singing at each weekly meeting when the Club was meeting in person and is often accompanied at meetings by rescue dogs that she is trying to place in a good home.
Service is truly in Ceta’s DNA. Her brother, Cliff Dochterman served as President of Rotary International in 1992-93.
During December the Club held only one lunch meeting (December 1), a Club Assembly (December 8), and a Holiday Dinner Concert (December 15); therefore, this issue of Meeting Highlights covers the entire month, which includes:
December 1 - Captain Martin Neideffer and Crime Prevention Sr. Program Specialist Hillary Bass describing the Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) Community Capital Policing (CCP) Program
December 1 - Linda Roark, owner of Pete's Ace Hardware, describing the services that Pete's offers and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses.
December 8 - Club Assembly addressing the Club's Strategic Plan, Blue Badge Requirements, and the Parameters and Protocols for Returning to In-Person Meetings
December 15 - Annual Holiday Concert with the Castro Valley High School Madrigals
Just a reminder that the Club does not meet on December 22 and December 29 due to the holidays. Weekly lunch meetings resume on January 5. Check out the list of outstanding speakers and programs on the January calendar.
Use this link to access the Meeting Highlightsnewsletter with complete stories, photos, the videos of the presentations - don't miss the Madrigals concert - and slides from the presentation.
On November 19, the Rotary Club of Castro Valley personally packed and delivered Thanksgiving Lunch Bags to seniors at the Kenneth Aitken Senior Center in Castro Valley.
In conjunction with Spectrum’s Sandwich program, these special lunch bags contained hand sanitizer, 5-pack washable/reusable face masks, a puzzle book and pen, an apple, wrapped candy, trail mix and applesauce! Castro Valley Rotarian Carol Bigelow coordinated the event with HARD staff, Daniela Keiffer (Senior Program Supervisor) and Jennifer Tibbetts (Coordinator of Senior Center) with Castro Valley Rotarians Ceta Dochterman, Lytrel Carter, Aaron Lewis, Margie Ramos and Dan Willits assisting with the distribution.
Pictured (left to right): Rotarians Carol Bigelow, Ceta Dochterman, Lytrel Carter, Margie Ramos and Aaron Lewis
Linda Granger, Superintendent of the Eden Area Regional Occupational Program (EAROP) provided an excellent overview of the EAROP’s history, programs, and flexibility to market demand. EAROP is celebrating 50 years of serving students in the Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, and San Lorenzo Unified School Districts. At one time, EAROP also served students in the New Haven USD. Currently, there are 4,800 students enrolled in 20 programs on high school campuses and 13 programs at the Regional Occupation Center (ROC) located on Hesperian Blvd. across from Chabot College. Since its founding, EAROP has served over 200,000 students.
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges, but nursing homes have been particularly hard hit. “Nursing homes have been easily overlooked in the pandemic,” noted Rotary Club of Castro Valley President Gary Howard. “We knew we wanted to do something to help.”
Many nursing homes have had to close their doors to visitors to protect their vulnerable residents resulting in residents being unable to have “face to face” communication with their loved ones for months. The Rotary Club of Castro Valley recognized the need, compiled a list of interested nursing homes and is now providing free iPads to the nursing homes to give residents a way to talk to and “see” their relatives and friends.
"Our residents will greatly benefit from these devices. As a Memory Care Community with more than 29 years of dedication to care for seniors with dementia, adaptability and creativity is in our nature. Now more than ever, we need tools to engage with families and friends, safely socialize, and connect with the outside world," noted Elizabeth Carson of Oak Creek, which was founded in 1991. Oak Creek was the first freestanding dementia care community in Northern California.
The Club hopes to provide iPads to other nursing homes in Castro Valley who have expressed interest in Castro Valley. “We couldn’t do this project by ourselves,” said Todd Anglin. “We also greatly appreciate our partners on this project: the Ombudsman Service of Alameda County, Eden Medical Center, and several community members.”
As a six-year old girl and member of the Oakland Zoo, Castro Valley resident Andy Soulard heard about the financial challenges that the Oakland Zoo was facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and set out to do something about it. Andy's mom started a Facebook campaign and Andy started with a $5 donation from the Tooth Fairy. Then she started selling bracelets for every donation over $25. Andy generated so many donations that she had to solicit help from friends to make all the bracelets. To date, Andy has raised over $225,000 for the Oakland Zoo.
In recognition of Andy's outstanding Service Above Self at such a young age, TRF Chair Dwight Perry presented Andy with a Paul Harris Fellow on behalf of the Rotary Club of Castro Valley. Learn more about the Paul Harris Fellow here and read the first issue of the new Paul Harris Newsletter here.
Click here to hear from Andy and watch the presentation.
Joe Farias, a founding member of the Castro Valley Lions Breakfast Club and a Castro Valley Unified School District teacher and administrator, provided an outstanding history of the Club. Joe detailed the many successes of the Club during its long history in Castro Valley. Unfortunately, due to a declining membership and the difficulty in recruiting new members, which is a pattern in local Lions Clubs as well as other service clubs, the Lions Club will end its existing in Castro Valley at the end of 2020 after distributing its remaining funds to charitable organizations throughout the community. Read the history of the Castro Valley Lions Breakfast Club here.
Joe noted that the Castro Valley Restautant Walk has been an outstanding signature event of the Lions Club. Joe expressed hope that the Rotary Club of Castro Valley can keep the tradition alive. Rotary has had preliminary discussions with Joe and the Lions Club about taking on the Restaurant Walk once the pandemic restrictions are lifted. Watch for announcements from the Rotary Club of Castro Valley.
Before introducting Superintendent Linda Granger from the Eden Area Regional Occupational Program (EAROP), Chris Carr described the work that the Vocational Serevices Committee has been doing with EAROP. President Gary Howard recently appointed Chris Carr, Lance Brede, Cliff Sherwood, and Randy Vanderbilt to serve as members of the Vocational Services Committee. The two new Rotarians, Chris and Lance, are pairing with two veteran Rotarians, Cliff and Randy, to revitalize this Committee to serve students and others. All Club members are encouraged to lend their professional expertise to the Vocational Seervices Committee. Chis described the work that the Committee has been doing with the EAROP to provide speakers with professional experience for EAROP students in a range of professional. One critical need where speakers are needed is in the area of engineering. If you know anyone who would be an outstanding speaker in this area, please contact Chris immediate. Please watch for emails from Chis and other Committee members asking you to share your professional knowledge and experts with the EAROP students, which is an excellent to demonstrate Service Above Self while serving the youth of the community.
Click here to watch Chris describe the work and needs of the Committee.
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley is pleased to present the submissions to the Pandemic: An Artist’s View show sponsored by Rotary and A.R.T., Inc. To capture the COVID-19 pandemic that has drastically changed our lives in a very short time, local artists were asked to submit original art, photographs, and poems that presented their perspective on the medical, economic, and social effects of living in a pandemic.
We encourage you to view the gallery at the following link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aY7broP4isjijBZaA. Please click on each entry to view it, the name of the artist, and the title of the piece. Contact information is provided for some artists. If the information does not automatically display, please click on the information icon (the “i” in the circle on the upper right).
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the show and to everyone at A.R.T., Inc. and the Rotary Club of Castro Valley who made this show a reality.
Gregg Giusiana is currently serving as Rotary District 5170 Governor (DG). As part of his DG duties, Gregg visits all 55+ Clubs in District 5170 at least once during the year. Gregg served ten years as the Chief of Police for the City of Gilroy before retiring in 2008.
Gregg started the day by meeting with the Club's Board of Directors. President Gary Howard organized a presentation to share with Gregg what the Club has done, is doing, and plans to do in the future. Click here to see the presentation and to hear Gregg's comments about District 5170 and Rotary.
After Board meeting, Gregg joined the Club for lunch and continued to share the importance of Rotary with all the members and what District 5170 is doing and has planned. Click here to watch the meeting and his presentation. Don't miss Gregg's personal story of what Rotary means at the end of his presentation.
As part of the Club's ongoing effort to better know the members, Lance Brede shared his background from Hayward native who attended Castro Valley High School as a freshman through his present position as a Captain with the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) Police Department. In the short time that Lance has been in the Club, he has contributed greatly.
Bill Clarkson is completing his second term as Mayor of San Ramon. He is termed out of office in December 2020 and does not plan to run for another office after serving on the San Ramon Valley Unified School District School Board and the San Ramon City Council.
He started his presentation by commenting on his connection with Castro Valley. Bill grew up in Okaland and San Lenadro, and his grandparents lived in Castro Valley. He shared that as a 12-year old, he used to take the bus from Oakland to Golden Tee Golfland on Castro Valley Blvd.
Before sharing what's new in San Ramon, Mayor Clarkson stated that he was mystified why Castro Valley was not a city because the citizens have ceded decision-making to leaders who do not live in the community.
The Rotary Club of Castro Vallley sponsored a presentation by the East Bay Regional Park District Fire Department (Chief Aileen Thiel) and the Alameda County Fire Department (Public Information Officer/ Fire Engineer Brian Centoni). The presentation was moderated by Castro Valley Rotarian John McPartland, former Battalion Chief for the Oakland Fire Department and a BART Director. Click here to watch the presentation.
Abe Hajela from Capitol Advisors traced the history of of K-12 education funding from local property taxes to Serrano v. Priest to Prop 13 to Revenue Limits to Prop 98 to the current Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). In the process, he demonstrated how Sacramento went from having little impact on K-12 education funding to being the major source of funding and concluded with that "compared to their peers, California students are at a competitive disadvantage.”
Click here to view the slides and click here to watch the video presentation.
Eden Health District CEO Mark Friedman and Board Member Pam Russo provided an update on the District including how the District with addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. CEO Friedman started on March 2, 2020, and almost immediately was shut out of his offices due to the shelter in place order, but indicated that the District has continued to serve the health needs of the community during the pandemic. The presentation provided information on
Stephen Menendian is the Assistant Director and Director of Research at the Othering & Belonging Institute, and he oversees many of the Institute’s research initiatives and ongoing projects. In particular, Stephen leads the Inclusiveness Index initiative, an assessment of global inclusivity, fair housing policy and opportunity with the state of California, and a recent investigation on the extent and harmful effects of racial residential segregation in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Stephen’s primary areas of expertise are structural racism, fair housing, affirmative action and educational equity, and civil rights law, but his research focuses on the causes and consequences of inter-group inequality (“othering”), and the design of effective equity interventions under prevailing interpretations of law.
Examples of avoidable and unavoidable stressful scenarios
Strategies for reducing stress
Resources
Marian began by defining stress as a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. She then detailed the hierarchy of stress before explaining the types of stress.
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley and A.R.T., Inc. are jointly sponsoring an online show of photographs, artworks, and poetry to document the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the Castro Valley area. We hope to illustrate the medical, economic, and social effects of the pandemic in our community. Entries will not be juried or judged.
Click on Read more button below for detailed information regarding the show and for an official entry form.
Entries may be submitted August 24 - September 6, 2020, and the show will be posted online from September 21 - November 1, 2020.
Monica has lived in Castro Valley for twenty years. She is an attorney and has a BS in Business and a JD from Cal. She is married and has two adult sons. Monica’s youngest son is currently a sophomore at UC, Santa Cruz. Her oldest son is a 2020 graduate of UC, Santa Cruz.
Throughout her children’s school years, she was active as a parent volunteer, serving as PTA President, Vice President, Secretary, and Parliamentarian of the Jensen Ranch Elementary School PTA.
Gary C. Howard grew up in the coal-mining region of Southern West Virginia. He earned a PhD in biological sciences from Carnegie Mellon University and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard and Johns Hopkins. After spending 11 years in two small biotech companies in the Bay Area, he worked 22 years as a science editor and writer for the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco. He is semi-retired, but continues to edit and write books.
In 2013, he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board of Education of Castro Valley Unified School District. Since then, he was elected in 2014 and reelected in 2018. He and his wife Shirley have lived in Castro Valley for over 26 years and their two daughters attended Proctor, Creekside, and Castro Valley High School before going on to college.
We are living in an historic time. In a very short time, the COVID-19 pandemic and its social and economic components have changed our lives dramatically. The Rotary Club of Castro Valley wants to capture these events.
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley and ART, Inc. are jointly sponsoring an online show of photographs, artworks, and poetry that document the coronavirus pandemic in the Castro Valley area. We hope to illustrate the medical, economic, and social effects of the pandemic in our community.
I hope you are all doing well during these unprecedented times! Please see updates below along with several places that would welcome any financial contributions as many have asked where they can help those in need of support around us as we’re mostly working from within our homes.
David Scharff of Silver Transitions spoke on “Long-term Care Options for Seniors.” Involving the Club members and their personal experiences dealing with the issue of aging (personally or parents), David provided valuable information in a discussion format.
Recognizing the various types of care (i.e., Medical Care that makes you better; Hospice Care to provide comfort and support; and Long Term Care for ongoing custodial care where the objective is to help you with activities of daily living), David stressed that planning is the key especially considering all alternatives well in advance.
The Empowerment Project – Sal Sbranti and Milanka Schneiderman
Rotarians Sal Sbranti (President – Elect) and Milanka Schneiderman (Immediate Past President) presented The Empowerment Project, which developed by the Rotary Club of Antioch and is presented to all 8th-12th grade females in the Antioch Unified School District as well as others.
The Empowerment Project – Sal Sbranti and Milanka Schneiderman
Rotarians Sal Sbranti (President – Elect) and Milanka Schneiderman (Immediate Past President) presented The Empowerment Project, which developed by the Rotary Club of Antioch and is presented to all 8th-12th grade females in the Antioch Unified School District as well as others.
Parvin Ahmadi – Superintendent of the Castro Valley Unified School District – New Bills Impacting Education
Parvin Ahmadi, Superintendent of Schools and Castro Valley Rotarian, spoke on the new bills impacting education and the impact of the Governor’s Proposed Budget.
Nick Lavingia - Challenges Executing International Mega Energy Projects
Nick Lavingia, who has over 40 years of Global Project Engineering, Management, Consulting and Training experience in the energy industry with Chevron, captivated the audience with stories and photos of his work on than 100 major capital projects worth well over $100 billion in more than 20 countries.
Dennis Waespi, Director – East Bay Regional Park District
East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) was the featured lunch speaker. Dennis was born and raised in Castro Valley and he chooses to live in Castro Valley. He attended Castro Valley Elementary School, A.B. Morris Junior High, and graduated from Castro Valley High School.
Program: Hayward Mayor Barbara Halliday – What’s Happening in Hayward?
Barbara Halliday, the Mayor of Hayward, provided an inspirational presentation regarding the city’s progressive and innovative accomplishments as well as its future goals. The Mayor presented a short video showcasing housing and public works projects both past and present, and then spoke about projects that showcase Hayward’s innovative spirit.
Lunch Speaker - Rodrigo Orduña, Assistant Planning Director, Alameda County Planning Department
Rodrigo Orduña who serves as the Assistant Planning Director for the Alameda County Planning Department, Community Development Agency spoke on the implications of the Residential Design Guidelines and how they impact existing homeowners and new developers.
Speaker of the Day: Dave Stark, Public Affairs Director for the Bay East Association of Realtors
Dave Stark provided a very informative, and sobering view of the housing market in the Bay Area. The fact the homeownership in California continues to decline for a variety of reasons, including the following...
Speaker of the Day: John Medlock Jr., Director of Alameda County Public Works Agency
Storm Season of 2016-2017, Preparation, Damage, and Response was the topic of Mr. Medlock’s presentation with many, many photos of the damage and the work being done to repair the damage, especially Redwood Road.
Speaker of the Day: John Medlock Jr., Director of Alameda County Public Works Agency
Storm Season of 2016-2017, Preparation, Damage, and Response was the topic of Mr. Medlock’s presentation with many, many photos of the damage and the work being done to repair the damage, especially Redwood Road.
Speaker of the Day: Ethan Fall Ethan Fall, General Manager of Health Unlimited, presented the history of the family-owned business, which opened its first store 48 years ago in San Leandro and over the years have opened two additional stores including the one in Castro Village Shopping Center.
Michael Moody, Senior Vice President of Partnerships, Affiliations, and Integration at John Muir Health provide an overview of John Muir Health (https://www.johnmuirhealth.com/) from its founding to the present.
Speaker of the Day: Rick Silva, Founder and President of B2B Gathering, Inc.
Rick introduced himself as a self-made, multi-millionaire, who went bankrupt in 2008, and considers himself one of the foremost experts on business networking and referral generation.
Michael P. Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer of the Eden Health District Michael Mahoney took over as the CEO of the Eden Health District on July 1, 2017. During his presentation, he discussed the evolving history of the District from its inception to present, and the direction for the future.
Economic Development in Castro Valley and the Eden Area – Susan McCue
Susan McCue, Economic Development Manager of Alameda County Community Development Agency, reviewed the major economic development projects in Castro Valley and the Eden Area.
Speaker: Kelley A. Way, from the Law Office of Kelley A. Way
The speaker of the day explains what I.P. assets are, what you need to know to manage them properly, and the differences between Copyright, Trademark, and Patent and how these tools can be used to protect your I.P. assets.
Parvin Ahmadi, Superintendent - Castro Valley Unified School District Sharon Trieu-Quince, Director of Facilities Construction- Castro Valley Unified School District Parvin and Ahmadi thanked Club members for supporting Measure G in June 2016 and introduced Sharon Trieu-Qunice who provided an update on the status of Measure G Projects.
District Governor Visits District Governor (DG) Orrin Mahoney was the honored guest and featured speaker. Prior to lunch, DG Mahoney met with the 2017-2018 Club officers, board members and committee chairs for 75 minutes to learn about the Club, and how the DG and District 5170 can support the Club.
What are YOU doing to make a difference? Péllo Walker, President of Daily Digital Imaging (a Green Business of the Year) was the featured speaker. After reviewing the ten characteristics that highly successful leaders possess (see the list below), he engaged the members in an interactive discussion of how...
What are YOU doing to make a difference? Péllo Walker, President of Daily Digital Imaging (a Green Business of the Year) was the featured speaker. After reviewing the ten characteristics that highly successful leaders possess (see the list below), he engaged the members in an interactive discussion of how...
Speaker of the Day Ken Sommer, Director of Advancement for the George Mark Children’s House, spoke on "A Better Way to Care for Children with Life Limiting Illnesses." George Mark Children's Hospital was the first freestanding pediatric palliative care center in the United States.
"Is the drought really over and what's up with those rates?"
Frank Mellon, Member of Board of Directors of East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), address the Club on “Is the drought really over and what's up with those rates?"
AT Stephens, Executive Director of the Hayward Area Historical Society
Executive Director AT Stephens, who is also President-Elect of the Rotary Club of Hayward, share the history of the Hayward Area Historical Society (HAHS) as well as what is new and exciting.
Lunch Speaker: Congressman Eric Swalwell, who represents California 's 15th Congressional District, was the featured speaker of the day. He was first elected to Congress in 2012 and is now serving his third term.
Castro Valley Rotarian Al West, Oriental Guide Of AAHMES Shriners of Livermore, was the day’s speaker. Al described the history of Shriners, their relationship to the Masons, and the purpose and function of Shriners. In general, all Shriners are Masons, but all Masons are not Shriners.
Lunch Speaker: Michael Kusiak, President of Castro Valley Matters
April Speaker Chair Bernie Kempen introduced Michael Kusiak, President of Castro Valley Matters (CVM), which is a membership-based, community organizing group that empowers Castro Valley citizens to assert greater control over our community’s municipal affairs and will plan for and seek to implement a vision for Castro Valley’s future by...
Speaker: Mary Ann DeGrazia, President of Castro Valley Arts Foundation (CVAF) Mary Ann shared the mission of the Castro Valley Arts Foundation, which is to provide our students and community with artistic experiences that educate, enrich, and entertain by securing resources for the Castro Valley Center for the arts.
Lunch Speaker: Glenn Pomeroy, Chief Executive Officer of the California Earthquake Authority – Preparing for the Next Big Earthquake
The risk of an earthquake happening in the Bay Area in our lifetime time is REAL. The probability of a 6.7M or higher earthquake in the Bay Area happening in the next 30 years is estimated to be 72%.
Lunch Speaker: Rebecca Passche, Director of Woodroe Woods School
Rebecca provides history of Woodroe Wood School from its founding in 1971 to the closing of the Hayward site in 2016 to the reopening if its new site in San Leandro this year.
The Club celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with song, history, dance, and jokes. Pictured above (L-R): Bill Nott, Ceta Dochterman & CHP Officer Dan Jacowitz singing “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”
The Castro Valley Eden Area Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Castro Valley have a long history of supporting each organization’s activities and programs, and anticipate even more collaboration in the coming year. Please refer to the sign-up sheet that President-Elect Jim Negri sent out.
The meeting today was devoted to the Club Level contest of the the Richard D. King Annual Speech Contest, which is always a great opportunity to witness the talented students at Castro Valley and Redwood Christian High Schools.
Mo Ghaffazadeh, owner of AgroTech in Davis, spoke on how technology is being used to more and more improve plants to deal with drought, soil conditions, insects and other factors that threaten agricultural.
Jake Stewart – Update on Redwood Canyon Golf Course
Paul Harris Presentation to Leslie Rothwell
President Carol Wikle presented Leslie Rothwell with her Paul Harris +3 pin, which represents three contributions of $1000 to The Rotary Foundation over the years. Congratulations to Leslie for her genorisity.
A Club Assembly was held on January 17th where board members and committee chairs provided status reports on activities that have occurred this year and that are planned for the remainder of the year.
The recognition of Paul Harris recipients was the highlight of the meeting. President Carol recognized the following members with Paul Harris pins for their donations to The Rotary Foundation.
Speaker - Rich Schneck, College and Career Specialist, Castro Valley Unified School District
Mr. Schneck outlined the amazing programs for students in the Castro Valley USD that get them involved and excited about...
Main Speaker - Wendy Winsted from the Sulphur Creek Nature Center.
Sulphur Creek is a Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center operated by Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (H.A.R.D).
Announcements
President Carol and Cliff Sherwood re-emphasized the need for additional donations to complete the Breathing for Life Project and pointed out the opportunity for taking the year end deductions for this worthy cause.
After laying out the facts, Dr. Mahoney offer solutions including collecting a fee on pollution/greenhouse gases, revenue sharing back to states and local agency, and tariffs on foreign products. In recent surveys, 2/3’s of those surveyed indicated support for a carbon fee, which could be directed back to address health issues.
-Speaker – Alameda County Fire Chief David Rocha
-Craft Talk
-Castro Valley Meet in the Street/Light Parade
-Announcements
-Paul Harris Recognition
-Happy Birthday
-Thanksgiving Lunch at the Castro Valley Senior Center
Castro Valley High School Interact
The leadership of the Castro Valley High School Interact Club made a brief presentation regarding their goals and activities for 2016-2017. The Rotary Club of Castro Valley sponsors Interact Clubs at both Castro Valley High School and Redwood Christian High School. President Carol announced...
An Interactive Workshop for the Rotary Clubs of District 5170
Welcome to Our Newest Rotarians!
President Carol inducted two new members: Ajay Ahluwalia (Engineer – Retired) and Michaela Thompson (CPA). Tammy Landmesser (Corporate - Recycling) will be inducted next week. Please introduce yourself to our newest members.
1. BECAUSE WE ARE ABOUT TO ERADICATE A DISEASE, AND YOU CAN BE A PART OF IT
We are 99.9 percent of the way toward ending polio. As of early June, there were only 16 cases of wild poliovirus in the world, and many think this could be the year we see the last naturally occurring case of polio.
As Rotary and our partners work to eradicate the poliovirus in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the remaining endemic countries, we also continue immunization campaigns in other high-risk countries to ensure that the disease remains gone for good. You can participate on the ground. Email polioplus@rotary.org to connect with Rotarians leading upcoming trips.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is a leadership development program run by Rotary. Over 200 high school students in District 5170 participated in Camp RYLA the week of June 27 at the Mission Springs Camps and Conference Center in Scotts Valley. RYLA includes presentations, activities, and workshops that cover a variety of topics, including:
Leadership fundamentals and ethics
Communication skills
Problem solving and conflict management
Community and global citizenship
The students will be sharing their RYLA experiences with the Club in October. It will be a meeting that you will not want to miss. Guest are welcome to attend.
Hi Rotarians! Kern's demotion will begin on Tuesday, June 28, at Rowell Ranch Rodeo Park.
5:30 pm-- drinks and fellowship
6-6:15 pm--- dinner and more fellowship
7 pm--- Program (YOU JUST WAIT!! OH, SO FUN!!!)
Cost is $35. If you haven't already paid, please bring a check or cash that evening.
Make the checks payable to "The Rotary Club of Castro Valley" (No charge for kids under 18)
We had a very successful year serving our Castro Valley Area community in 2015. We ran or participated in an event in just about every month of the year. We also added special projects like renovating the local Adobe Art Center that made a material impact on improving our community. We invite you to join us in our ongoing mission to make Castro Valley one of the best places to live in the Bay Area.
We had a rockin’ and rollin’ series of speakers for our five September lunches, thanks to the hard work of September Speaker Chair Gary Bosley! Click through for a summary of what we talked about each week.
Join us for another great lunch this Tuesday at Redwood Canyon. We welcome Jim O'Connor, Assistant General Manager for Operations for the East Bay Regional Park District. He will discuss the current tenant situation at Redwood Canyon (Willow Park) and what the next steps are for securing the future of the park. That will include a new RFP for a long-term management contract.
Please invite anyone of the community you know who has an interest in the future of Redwood Canyon (and might also be a prospective member!) You can always buy them lunch to make it easy for them to say "yes"!
August 25: Club Reacquaintance Session. In the spirit of both fellowship and vocation, each attending Rotarian spent a few minutes sharing why each person joined Rotary, why they remain in Rotary, what they do for a living, and how we can help them achieve either professional or personal goals.
What we learned:
Dwight and Jerome have been master recruiters for the club over the years. Of the thirty people present, these gents brought in three people each.
People join Rotary for a hundred different reasons (though many referenced a “free lunch” got them started down the road to membership!)
People stay in Rotary for the same reasons: Friendships, mutual support and being able to share the opportunity to work together to make Castro Valley a better place.
We need to keep supporting each other in every way, especially in the spirit of the Four-Way Test!
The 2016-2017 Officers of the Castro Valley High School Interact Club, pictured with President Carol Wikle, shared their experiences and plans for the year at the meeting of August 9. he Rotary Club of Castro Valley sponsors Interact Clubs at Castro Valley and Redwood Christian High Schools.
PROGRAM - Today’s program was presented by our very own KJ Page. Her topic was Medical Marijuana. She began by giving us some statistics: Roughly 9%, or 1 out of 11, who use recreational marijuana will develop an addiction syndrome; the figure increases to 17% or 1 our of 6, who begin to use it in their early teens. This compares with lifetime prevalence rates of 32% for nicotine, 23% for heroin, 17% for cocaine, and 15% for alcohol.
KJ presented information for "Demystifying Cannabis"...
PROGRAM - Today’s program was presented by Matthew Kaser, PhD from Oxford. He is a Castro Valley resident, a molecular biologist. His topic was "How Networks Form and Stabilize or A New Way of Looking at the Universe. He based his content on the book "Linked" by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, published in 2002, 2014. Matthew told us that the professional network LinkedIn was created shortly after the book was first published. Matthew showed many diagrams, and explained how different types of networks form. He quoted the author of "Linked" who basically concluded that "nothing happens in isolation."
PROGRAM - Today’s program was tremendous as our own KJ Page walked us through a subject that few want to discuss but all need to have: Advance Care Planning. KJ stressed that we need to do this in order to prevent those we love from having to make decisions without our input. She covered a program called "The East Bay Conversation Project" to help with the process. She encouraged all of us to be proactive. Visit eastbayacp.org for more information. Attached are the informative handouts she distributed. Thanks so much, KJ!
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – From Dwight Perry: “Risk is the price you pay for opportunity” and from Bonnie Best from Will Rogers, heard at the Hayward Rotary Meeting: “If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around!”
PROGRAM - Today’s program was a tremendous, wonderful, spectacular concert by Francisco Galvez and Gregory Alvarez as we celebrated Cinco de Mayo. Simply a great celebration with talented musicians sharing their talents! A great start for Randy Vanderbilt as he kicks off his month as Program Chair ...
Sue McKinney shared what is going on with Interact and a container full of 2200 soccer balls being shipped to Vietnam this summer . . . these balls are indestructible and reinflate themselves (really!) . . . she auctioned off one of the balls for the project and ended up having three buyers at $40 each (Bill Nott, Dr. Heidi and Bruce Johnson) . . .
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – From Bruce Johnson - complete the five sayings below like you are a six year old (answers at the bottom):
An Elementary School Teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!
PROGRAM - Today’s program was John Rosenberg from Compassion and Choices. It is an organization that is working on End-of-Life rights. The presentation was informative and provided for a lot of lively discussion.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – From Bruce Johnson - complete the three sayings below like you are a six year old (answers at the bottom):
An Elementary School Teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!
VISITORS – Ruby Tuchyner (Dawn Ortiz sister-in-law), “Surfin” Tommy Gee (Hawaii Rotary), Douglas Deinhatshall (Hayward Rotary)
PROGRAM - Our own Obse Lubo gave a wonderful presentation describing her odyssey to her home town of Nejo in Ethiopia. Obse spent 24 days recently on her 6th Mission Trip to Nejo. The mission of EAMRF is to Save One City, One Hospital, and One Soul at a Time.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – From Margie Ramos: “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” (CS Lewis)
SINGING WITH CETA – Ceta led us in a lively version of Take Me Out to the Ball Game (fortunately she did NOT hurt Kern Lewis with the knife she was using like a bat!)
VISITORS – Duane Degner (chauffer for Virginia) and Meera Parikh, Mark Poniatowski’s associate, and member of Pleasanton North Rotary.
PROGRAM - April Chair Cliff Sherwood was today’s program. He has worked for many years with the Tiburcio Vasquez organization, helping them with new sites and planning. They have 20 sites in Alameda County. In 04-05 Tiburcio opened a clinic on Mission in Hayward, and last year opened their newest clinic on E 14th in Ashland area. They even have 2 high school clinics. Cliff had a diagram showin how the funding was done for the new clinic in Ashland. He explained about the need for a special purpose entity, and the way different funds and loans get distributed. They used $35,000,000 in tax credits. However these were not available until October 2015, so loans were needed to start construction so that the clinic could open in October 2015. The biggest challenge was to find a way to fund the solar panels. Cliff had a separate diagram showing how another 3rd party special purpose entity was created to solve the funding problem for solar. CA First PACE (Property Assessment Clean Energy) Program issued bonds, and the solar panels will be purchased from Sunpower, the best solar technology available today. This innovative solution is 22 days from closing. Once the solar panels are installed they are expected to generate 90+% of the electrical needs of the facility in Ashland.
Cliff is proud of this innovative solution to funding solar for this non-profit organization. He said it is a model that will be used by other developers in the future. It even won an award!
PROGRAM - March program chair Jim Negri introduced today’s program: Sharon Travers, Assistant Principal at the CV Adult School speaking on Adult Literacy. At the CV Adult School, more than one hundred adults with disabilities are served. This is critical as while other districts have closed their Adult School programs, we are blessed by a School Board (Board President John Barbieri is a CV Rotarian) and Superintendent Jim Negri (also a CV Rotarian) have been able to make this program work for us due to the commitment of the entire Board and Senior Administration. The program also serves more than five hundred ESL (English as a Second Language) students. Sharon shared many of the programs offered focusing on Adult Basics Education, High School Diploma and GED Test and Citizenship classes.
PROGRAM - Today’s program were Jim O’Negri, Superintendent of Castro Valley Unified School District, and Bruce O’Johnson, Superintendent of Redwood Christian Schools sharing their roles as school heads. Jim shared what it is like like to head a school system with a $70,000,000 budget and 9300 students on 14 campuses while Bruce shared his experiences in a Christian school with a $7,000,000 and 680 students on 3 campuses.
PROGRAM - Larry Jacobson, Award Winning Author and authority on Navigating Leadership for Entrepreneurs.
‘When it comes to overcoming tough challenges, award-winning author Larry Jacobson hasn’t just been around the block. He’s been around the world.’wn Ortiz), and Duane (Virginia’s “Sweetie” and Chauffeur).
LESLIE ROTHWELL UPDATE - As we all continue to keep our precious Leslie in our thoughts and prayers, you can follow her journey at CaringBridge.com . . . you can leave notes of encouragement for her there, too . . . Leslie is doing a great job keeping everyone informed . . . whereas we were to be encouraging her, once again, it is she who is encouraging us! Join with others as we count down her radiation treatments! Go to CaringBridge.com
PROGRAM - Today was our Club Level Speech meet. Participants were Sophomore Esther Smith from Caatro Valley High School and Seniors Ocean Cunah, Chelsea Martinez, Greg Lin from Redwood Christian High School.
PROGRAM - Bill Nott introduced Livermore Rotarian Patrick Coyle speaking on “Engineers Without Borders USA and Composting Toilets Overview & Nicaragua Project.” A tremendous program that summarized the goals of Engineers Without Borders (our Bill Nott is active!) and Sanitation Challenges and Possible Alternatives in various countries.
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Walt Schneider was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - Bruce Johnson shared “I like people who smile when it’s raining.” SINGING WITH(out) CETA - Cliff Sherwood volunteered Dwight Perry and Walt Schneider joined in to lead us in a rousing rendition of “God Bless America!” VISITORS - Tommy Gee (hardly a visitor!) SAL TEDESCO MEMORIAL HELLO SONG - None today as Tommy Gee is not really a Visitor
BLUE BADGERS - None today RED BADGERS (NEW MEMBERS) - Margie Ramos became one of us . . . she “discovered” CV Rotary at the CV Chamber Street event in September!
PROGRAM - November Program Chair Mark Poniatowski introduced Frank Mellon of the East Bay Municipal Unilities District (EBMUD).
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Walt Schneider was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - Margie Ramos: “We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” (Martin Luther King) SINGING WITH(out) CETA - Matthew asked Jia Zheng Liang (Edward is his American name) to sing a Chinese song about friendship. (Thanks, Edward!) VISITORS - Hal Fremming (soon to be member), Margie Ramos (soon to be member), Ray Harris (CV Outreach “Adopt a Family,” and Matthew Plicer (of CSUEB) brought students representing China, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam studying English at CSUE HuangB: Jieaying Zhang, Saleh Alharbi, An An, Yiming Chen, Jia Zheng liang, Bu Ran Hu, Danjian Huang, Yun Xiao Huang, Tran Nguyer, Quan Xiang Qi, Kaixin Sun, Chou Bing Wang, Jian Zhang and Yixin Zhang. SAL TEDESCO MEMORIAL HELLO SONG - Ben Gurule drafted our Hawaiian Rotarian brother, Tommy Gee!
PROGRAM - November Program Chair Mark Poniatowski planned a great program for Veterans Day featuring some of our members who served our Country in the armed forces, plus two outside speakers: one from World War II and the other who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
PROGRAM Today we had the Three Musketeers of Law Practice in Castro Valley: Jim Phillips, Mark Poniatowski and Alan West. Each spoke on a different aspect of the law and of their practice. Jim is primarily an estate lawyer and covered the multitude of items that need to be included in one’s estate including health care, managing your decline in health, living trusts and the role of the durable power of attorney. Al spoke on what to expect if you get behind the wheel while intoxicated drawing a very powerful picture of what happens stressing embarrassment for the violator and his family and/or business, jail, suspension of drivers license, getting 5-10 letters per day from attorneys who want to defend you (and usually get their clients the same results that the violator would get simply pleading guilty), the types of fines to expect, plus the breathing device for the car to prove sobriety. Mark spoke on Business and Real Estate including sole proprietorships, corporations, limited partnerships and a limited liability company.
PROGRAM - November Program Chair Mark Poniatowski introduced Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern, who presented a program few in attendance will forget in the near future. He speaks from a vast amount of experience as he has never lived anyplace but in Alameda County, and has been serving in the Sheriff’s Department since 1980 (thirty-four years). He started off with a job description that has to be challenging, even on a good day, as in addition to being the County Sheriff, he is also the Coroner, Director of Emergency Services and is an Officer of the Court. His statement early on that there are no non-violent prisoners to be released as they have already released all of them. Santa Rita is one of the most outstanding jails in the United States with a circumference of...more
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel for the sixteenth time of her Presidential Year at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Cliff Sherwood was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - Known for always practicing only the best in fashion, one of Dr. Heidi’s patients asked her “I have yellow teeth, what do you recommend?” To which Dr. Heidi responded: “Wear a brown tie.”
(Alternative Dr. Heidi response: “Wear bright red lipstick” SINGING WITH CETA - “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” once again resonated (and the Giants won Tuesday night!) VISITORS - Guy Sandoval (former teacher and guest of Dr. Heidi), and Jim Vlantis, President, San Leandro Rotary Club. SAL TEDESCO MEMORIAL HELLO SONG - Ben Gurule and Bill Mulgrew shared the assignment! LIVE UPDATE FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION - Jeff Moore shared that there will be a NEW Fire Station coming to Cherryland and the county is reviewing its sign ordinance
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - From Bonnie: Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, and Today is a Gift - that’s why we call it the Present!
SINGING WITH CETA - “Take Me Out to the Ballgame!”
VISITORS - Margie Ramos, Jen Tibbetts, Janice Friesen, and Hal Fremming.
SAL TEDESCO MEMORIAL HELLO SONG - The Dynamic Duo of Ben Gurule and Dan Willits rocked the house!
PRESENTATIONS OF GRANTS - One of the things we enjoy most at our Club is giving away money to
deserving programs within our community! Today’s organization(s) recognized: None today
GETTING TO KNOW OUR FELLOW CV ROTARIANS - (It is vocational service month) - Carol Wikle did a Vocational talk today and did a great job!! It was TERRIFIC to hear her story! Carol Wikle - 16 years in Financial Services! (Dr. Heidi: I am SOOOOOO proud of you, Carol!!)
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel for the fifteenth time of her Presidential Year at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Bob Crossett was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - Bill Nott shared his wisdom: “The true measure of one’s wealth is what they are worth once they lose it.”
SINGING WITH CETA - “How Much is the Doggie in the Window.”
VISITORS - Ben Gurule introduced Anna May, FUN Rotary (Fremont, Union City and Newark Rotary); Rishi Rhalsa, “Give a Book to Costa Rica” Peace Corps Project; and Duane Degner (Virginia’s chauffeur)
SAL TEDESCO MEMORIAL HELLO SONG - Ben Gurule and Dan Willitts shared the assignment!
PRESENTATIONS OF GRANTS - One of the things we enjoy most at our Club is giving away money to deserving programs within our community! Today’s organization(s) recognized: None today
GETTING TO KNOW OUR FELLOW CV ROTARIANS - (It is vocational service month) - TL Bailey shared his story with us . . . military service, professional training and personal . . .
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel for the twelfth time of her Presidential Year at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Bonnie Best was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY - Bruce Johnson honoring Dr. Heidi:
"Open wider." requested Dr. Heidi as she began her examination of Cliff.
"My Goodness!" Dr. Heidi said startled.
"You've got the biggest cavity I've ever seen - the biggest cavity I've ever seen."
"OK Dr. Heidi!" replied Cliff. "I'm scared enough without you saying something like that twice."
"I didn't !" said Dr. Heidi. "That was the echo."
SINGING WITH CETA - Oops . . . forgotten than Ceta was caught “hiding” behind your Scribe . . . had to be there
VISITORS - TL Bailey introduced:
Sebastian from Germany (guest of Ray Wallace); Erin McGrath, the Assistant Principal at Redwood MSHS and RCHS InterAct Sponsor, and Mike Kady, RCS Director of Advancement and Prospective CV Rotary Member (guests of Bruce Johnson); Karen Diaz (mother of speaker Annie Diaz); Margie Robinson from the CV Rotary Fall Festival Booth (guest of Dr. Heidi), Duane Degner (chauffeur of Virginia); Nona Bellows, Ambassador for CV/Eden Chamber of Commerce (guest of Al West), and Brian Schott, Hayward Rotarian.
SAL TEDESCO MEMORIAL HELLO SONG - Bill Nott blew the house down with his rousing rendition of the Hello Song . . .
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel for the eighth time of her Presidential Year at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Leslie Rothwell was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY - Bruce Johnson honoring Dr. Heidi:
Q: What is another name for Dr. Heidi’s dentist office?
A: A filling station
TL Bailey also shared a Thought for the Day about Dolphins . . . could not find it on-line . . . BUT Dr. Heidi remembered some of it . . . something to do with “The dolphin did something ‘On Porpoise,’ but she forgot what! SINGING WITH CETA - In honor of Bonnie Best’s service, we sang “My Bonnie Lay Over the Ocean . . .” VISITORS - Gary Bosley introduced Aman, a student at CSUEB who comes to us from Gaza City, Palestine; and Dr. Cheryl BryantBruce and Dee Brown from Elite Wellness (next door to Dr. Heidi!) SAL TEDESCO MEMORIAL HELLO SONG - Ben Gurule asked Dawn Ortiz to assist . . . and both delivered!
PRESIDENT DR. HEIDI’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: "LIGHT UP ROTARY WITH A SMILE"
(Per our President, we will be Brush up on your Rotary knowledge, Fill a need in Community and International Service, Drill Down deep in your heart for Peace in the World and many more that your Scribe failed to record!)
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel for the eighth time of her Presidential Year at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Cliff Sherwood was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY - Bruce Johnson honoring Dr. Heidi: Q: What was the dentist doing in Panama? A: Looking for the Root Canal!
SINGING WITH (out) CETA - Two of our Brazilian Visitors treated us to “Girl from Ipanema” in Portugese! VISITORS - Nine wonderful Brazilian visitors from California State University Hayward plus Ron Mazer (San Ramon Rotary) and Janice Bella (San Francisco Rotary) SAL TEDESCO MEMORIAL HELLO SONG - Ben Gurule stepped up . . . and delivered! BLUE BADGERS - John Courtney is now eligible for fines . . . go for it, Dr. Heidi!
PROGRAM - Our tenth program of President Dr. Heidi’s year was . . . Kenneth Smith on Fair Tax. More about this below...
PRESIDENT DR. HEIDI’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: "LIGHT UP ROTARY WITH A SMILE"
(Per our President, we will be Brush up on your Rotary knowledge, Fill a need in Community and International Service, Drill Down deep in your heart for Peace in the World and many more that your Scribe failed to record!)
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL’S THEME FOR THE YEAR: "LIGHT UP ROTARY" (Think Chinese Lantern as Incoming International President Gary Huang is Chinese from Taiwan)
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel for the eighth time of her Presidential Year at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Kern Lewis was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY - Bruce Johnson honoring Dr. Heidi: The Johnsons were shown into the dentist's office, where Bruce made it clear he was in a big hurry. "No fancy stuff, Doctor," he ordered. "No gas or needles or any of that stuff. Just pull the tooth and get it over with." "I wish more of my patients were as stoic as you," said the dentist. "Now, which tooth is it?" Bruce turned to his Bride of 45 years... "Show him your tooth, Honey." SINGING WITH(out) CETA - Randy Vanderbilt was magnificent in both skill and enthusiasm! VISITORS - None today.
Long-time CV Rotarian and Past President Kim Murdock’s mother (Vivian) passed away early Wednesday morning, August 27. Kim’s Mother’s services will be held on Tuesday, September 2.
The Viewing (9:00am) and Mass (10:00am) will be at Transfiguration Catholic Church (4000 East Castro Valley Blvd. (near Crow Canyon) Castro Valley, CA 94552) followed by the graveside service following at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (26320 Mission Blvd., Hayward, CA 94544). All are invited.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a love gift be made to Janet Estrada, Kim’s Mother’s caregiver who provided selfless, loving and compassionate care to “Miss Vivian” on her gentle journey from this world. Contributions can be made payable to Janet Estrada, c/o Kim Murdock, P.O. Box 20537, Castro Valley CA 94546.
PRESIDENT DR. HEIDI READ THANK-YOU LETTERS FROM OUR ASIAN INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS WHO RECENTLY VISITED US PLUS A BEAUTIFUL LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL AT STANTON ELEMENTARY THANKING CV ROTARY FOR THE BACK PACKS FOR HER KIDS!
PRESIDENT DR. HEIDI REVIEWED OUR BUSY SOCIAL AGENDA - ABBA FAB, Club BBQ and “Over the River and Through the Woods” starring the Bride of Dwight Perry: Barbara Perry! And let’s not forget providing 75 backpacks filled with school supplies distributed to children at CVUSD and RCS.
BRAZILIAN STUDENTS COMING TO VISIT SEPTEMBER 9 - Dr. Ray Wallace shared that although he will be out of the country, we will have Brazilian students visiting us September 9.
HOUSING NEEDED FOR VISITING STUDENT FROM PALESTINE - Dr. Ray Wallace shared that there will be a student here from Gaza two weeks early for school at CSUEB as flights out of Gaza are limited. Ray is looking for someone(s) to assist for the entire time or for parts of the time. Please contact Ray at ray.wallace@csueastbay.edu . . .
OCTOBERFEST - OCTOBER 12 - MOOSE LODGE - $20 PER PERSON - EVENING INCLUDES GERMAN MUSIC, DANCING, GERMAN DINNER . . . 4:00 P.M. TO 8:00 P.M. WITH DINNER AT 6:00 P.M. to ?????????? SEE MATHILDE SCHMIDT FOR DETAILS AND TICKETS - SHE ALSO REMINDED US THAT MONDAY IS A HOLIDAY SO WE CAN SLEEP OFF OUR GOOD TIME.
42nd CV FALL FESTIVAL - Back on Castro Valley Boulevard on September 13-14 from 10am - 6pm! CV Rotary will have a booth. Great bang for the buck for businesses. Volunteers needed. See Bill Mulgrew.
VISITORS - Al West did a great job introducing everyone present, just not the regular way. He introduced Mary Oliver-Iglesias (proposed member who works at Prime Pay and sponsored by John Courtney); Wally Bloomquist (one of the all-time greats of CV Rotary!) visited from the East Coast; Leslie Poniatowski (Bride of Mark), Paul Lonsdale (neighbor of Bill Nott) and then Al pulled out his “attorneyeze” . . . President Dr. Heidi said he was going to fine Al for every one of the international students whose name was pronounced incorrectly, so Al simply had each one introduce themselves: Song (South Korea), Elllie (Shanghai), Andrew (South Korea), Ming (Hangzhou, China), YoYo (South Korea and Scribe’s favorite guest), Lu (Shanghai, China), Leo (Guangzhou, China), Marcus (Shenzhen, China) and FyFy (Shandong, China). Attorney Al then “recognized himself” $20 . . . good example, Mr. West!
PROGRAM - Our seventh program of President Dr. Heidi’s year was . . . Gary Howard, “Imaging Life” (A book he co-wrote - Biological Systems from Atoms to Tissues).
Wow, where to start . . . Dr. Gary is simply a tremendous speaker who knows how to communicate great depth despite his audience (well, some of us). Imaging life is how scientists look at the living world. It is used to put scale on living things. Understanding life requires a number of imaging techniques and then respective strengths and limitations.
Dr. Howard covered many of the modern imaging methods share great illustrations to make it much more understandable. He shared that there are two major problems: How can we tell good from bad? And what are single cells or proteins doing? He provided great examples such as Dr. Alzheimer in his work with Ms. Auguste Deter. The Robotic Microscope used even has a “Twitter” account (really!).
VISITORS - We had an abundant number of guests today (but your Scribe did not get them all): Owen McGrath (Bruce Johnson), John Barbieri, Brad Kitsen (Randy Vanderbilt), Peter Rosen (Steve Ontiveros), Duane Degner (Virginia Degner), and Douglas White (Billy Casper Golf) and Bob Geppert (Regional Manager Billy Casper Golf).
PROGRAM - Our sixth program of President Dr. Heidi’s year was . . . Jim O'Connor, East Bay Regional Parks, and Steve Falcone, Willow Park Golf Club: Informational Meeting on Willow Park. Very informational presentations by both men, questions were asked, concerns expressed regarding process and time line. Whether or not the final award for development is made, the golf course, along with bar and snack bar will be kept open. It is estimated that it will take close to $2.5M to bring the golf course back to what it was and what will be a return to its hey-day . . . the arrangement, by law, can only be for twenty-five years. Please visit http://willowparkgolfclub.org/ for the latest in the lease information and other details.
PRESIDENT DR. HEIDI’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: "LIGHT UP ROTARY WITH A SMILE"
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL’S THEME FOR THE YEAR: "LIGHT UP ROTARY" (Think Chinese Lantern as Incoming International President Gary Huang is Chinese from Taiwan)
CROCODILE DENTIST? Dr. Heidi passed out "Light Up Rotary" pins for fun when they had a turn,
but really nice "Light Up Rotary, Four Way Test" Coins for people who were bitten by the croc. (Note from Scribe: I guess one had to be present which I was not :-).
SINGING WITH CETA - In Honor of H.A.R.D. Director Dennis Waespi being our speaker, Ceta led us in "Don't Fence Me In."
VISITORS - Kristi Willits (Dan's wife); Peter Rosen from Dynamic Designs Landscape Solutions; Susan VQ Smith from East Bay Blue Print & Supply Co... and an Oakland #3 club Rotarian; Our very own Luc Dochterman (Son of Ceta)
PRESIDENT DR. HEIDI’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: "LIGHT UP ROTARY WITH A SMILE"
(Per our President, we will be Brush up on your Rotary knowledge, Fill a need in Community and International Service, Drill Down deep in your heart for Peace in the World and many more that your Scribe failed to record!)
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL’S THEME FOR THE YEAR: "LIGHT UP ROTARY" (Think Chinese Lantern as Incoming International President Gary Huang is Chinese from Taiwan)
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel for the third time of her Presidential Year at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Bonnie Best was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY - In honor of District Governor Ed Jellen’s visit to day, the following thought is offered from the father of Rotary, Paul Harris: “Whatever Rotary may mean to us to the world it will be known by the results it achieves.”
In honor of our President Dr. Heidi’s third meeting through Bruce Johnson: "Dentists, but not Dr. Heidi or Dr. Jerry, can be frustrating. You wait a month-and-a-half for an appointment, and they say, "I wish you'd come to me sooner."
SINGING WITH CETA - A sweet rendition (almost in harmony) of “God Bless America”
VISITORS - TL Bailey introduced our guests, including Ben Renner (friend of Ben Gurule), Art Liskowitz (friend of Dr. Heidi and former member of CV Breakfast Club), Ellyse Look (Past-President of the Rotaract Club of the East Bay), and John Barbieri (friend of Jim Negri and CVUSD Board Member more than twenty years).
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel for the second time of her Presidential Year at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Bonnie Best was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Dr. Heidi followed the Pledge of Allegiance asking Dwight Perry to share the passing of a truly great Rotarian, Owen Smith, followed by two of his old Rotary friends, Dwight and Cliff Sherwood, sharing their thoughts of this great man, and asked that our thoughts and prayers be with Mrs. Smith (Erma), daughter Kelly and the family. The Memorial Service will be next Wednesday at First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Grove Way and Redwood Road. The time will be either 2 or 2:30pm and will be confirmed by Dwight when confirmed. Mr. Smith’s daughter, Kelly, asked that donations be directed to either CV Rotary (not Rotary Foundation) or CV Arts Foundation. Both organizations were near and dear to Mr. Smith.
THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY - In honor of Mr. Owen Smith, who lived life well: In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current. ~Thomas Jefferson
In honor of our President Dr. Heidi’s second meeting (and knowing Mr. Smith was always ready for a good laugh) from that wise old sage, Johnny Carson channeled through Bruce Johnson: "Happiness is your dentist telling you it won't hurt and then having her catch her hand in the drill."
SINGING WITH CETA - Rather than a song, Dr. Heidi led those present in a moment of silence.
VISITORS - Numbya Aziz and Owen McGrath plus one of our favorites, Leslie Poniatowski!
SAL TEDESCO MEMORIAL HELLO SONG - Ben Gurule led the way . . .
SPECIAL THANK YOU FROM PRESIDENT HEIDI - Dr. Heidi thanked everyone who has already completed the questionnaires distributed last week and sent to us electronically . . . she distributed the responses so far . . . a master list will come later . . .
PRESIDENT DR. HEIDI’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: "LIGHT UP ROTARY WITH A
SMILE"
(Per our President, we will be Brush up on your Rotary knowledge, Fill a need in Community and International
Service, Drill Down deep in your heart for Peace in the World and many more that your Scribe failed to record!)
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL’S THEME FOR THE YEAR: "LIGHT UP ROTARY" (Think Chinese
Lantern as Incoming International President Gary Huang is Chinese from Taiwan)
* * * * *
President Dr. Heidi brought down the gavel for the first time of her Presidential Year at Don Jose’s in Castro
Valley, and Bernie Kempen was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY - In honor of our President, Dr. Heidi’s, first meeting: “Be true to your teeth or
they will be false to you!” and “Only brush and floss the ones you want to keep.”
SINGING WITH CETA - Ceta grabbed first-time visitor Mike Kady, new Director of Advancement at Redwood
Christian Schools, to join her in leading us in Auld Lang Syne to welcome in the new Rotary Year!
President Heidi then “popped the cork” digitally to bring in her new year!
VISITORS - Dr. Dick Lubman, DDS (Co-Teacher with Dr. Heidi at UOP; Linda Lee Johnson (Bride of Bruce
for 45 wonderful years – for Bruce anyway); New Director of Advance at RCS, Mike Kady; and a great group of
Dr. Heidi’s supporters, including her #1 “Mom” Hausauer, Lisa, Jenn, Darlene from Dr. Heidi’s office; and Past-
President of the Rotaract Club of the East Bay, Ellyse Look.
SAL TEDESCO MEMORIAL HELLO SONG - Ben Gurule enlisted Luc (Son of Ceta) and the combination of
old and young worked! BTW Now online here- MORE PHOTOS:Meetings - Events
PRESIDENT JOHN’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS! President John Aufdermauer brought down the gavel for the last time of his Presidential Year at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Dwight Perry to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
ANNOUNCEMENTS John A has a check for $2500 for cookies for the Chili Cookoff ($1000 for cookies, matched by Chevron, plus $500 for supplies)
President John Aufdermauer brought down the gavel at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and Carol Wikle (please see the “Hunt for the White Marble” at the end of the minutes) to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. VISITORS - Randy Vanderbilt brought his Bride, Debbie, and daughter, Faith, to lunch today! Ben Gurule brought his brother, John . . . welcome to all!
PRESIDENT JOHN’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS!
President John Aufdermauer brought down the gavel at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and asked David Gehrke to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
REMINDER - resident John let all present know that we have a project going on March 29 when we will be replacing the fence at Banyon House, a FESCO facility . . . 8:00am . . . please confirm attendance with President John!
ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT - BE SURE TO SIGN THE REMEMBRANCE BOOKS FOR BOTH MR. TEDESCO AND MR. SHORT . . . the books will be available the next Tuesday for the last time at the Club level, then taken to the District Conference for other notes of encouragement for Mrs. Tedesco and Mrs. Short and their families, and then presented to Mrs. Tedesco and Mrs. Short . . . what a GREAT idea . . . please be sure to come early to sign the books, if possible . . . thanks!
PRESIDENT JOHN’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS!
President John Aufdermauer brought down the gavel at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and asked Walt Schneider to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
BE SURE TO SIGN THE REMEMBRANCE BOOKS FOR BOTH MR. TEDESCO AND MR. SHORT . . . the books will be available the next two Tuesdays, then taken to the District Conference for other notes of encouragement for Mrs. Tedesco and Mrs. Short and their families, and then presented to Mrs. Tedesco and Mrs. Short . . . what a GREAT idea . . . please be sure to come early to sign the books, if possible . . . thanks!
PRESIDENT JOHN’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS! President John Aufdermauer brought down the gavel at Don Jose’s in Castro Valley, and asked Dawn Ortiz to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY – Bruce Johnson from Arstotle: It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
PRESIDENT JOHN’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS!
President John Aufdermauer brought down the gavel at our new meeting location at the Masonic Hall in Castro
Valley, and asked Tommy Gee (Welcome Back, Tommy, Our Hawaiian Friend!) to lead us in the us in the
Pledge of Allegiance. THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY – Bruce Johnson did NOT share the following from Arthur Ashe today as he
could not find it, but in recognition of the attack on our Great Country on 9/11/2001 and how our country
rebounded the following is being shared: “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the
urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
Bruce Johnson DID share the following today as the Thought for the Day (when he could not find the one
above) from Colin Powell, former Secretary of State (2001-2005) as well as National Security Advisor
(1987–1989), as Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command (1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff (1989–1993): “A dream does not become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard
work.” (Bruce thought it was a pretty good description of a CV Rotarian)
PRESIDENT JOHN’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS!
President John Aufdermauer brought down the gavel for the second time at our new meeting location at the Masonic Hall in Castro Valley, and asked Al West to lead us in the us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY – Jim Negri quoted alchemist Paolo Coelho: “People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”
PRESIDENT JOHN’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS!
President John Aufdermauer brought down the gavel for the second time at our new meeting location at the Masonic Hall in Castro Valley, and asked Jim Phillips to lead us in the us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY – Bruce Johnson, from President John F. Kennedy in recognition of our changing meeting location after more than three decades at Willow Park: "For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future."
Oz will be screened on Friday August 9th, starting at 8:30 pm -Join us in an effort to reviatlize downtown with family fun activities and traffic to local businesses and restaurants.
Knudsen's Ice Creamery Alley Way - 3323 Castro Valley Blvd.
Alan West was named Rotarian of the month for March for all his hard work in making the Poker Tournament a huge success again. Alan an attorney in Castro Valley is a long term member who is actively involved in the Endowment also among other things.
Alan West named Rotarian of the month for March 2013
Our club is known for having professionals in many industries that do business in and around Castro Valley. The story of Economic Development in Castro Valley is not only for you, but it can be shaped by you. Supervisor Nate Miley has begun a year long process that allows for input from business people like you and I to shape the Economic Development futureof Castro Valley for years to come.
A stable or improving economic development plan requires work and input from stakeholders. It doesn't "just happen." This is an opportunity to have a voice for progress rather than waiting and becoming a voice of complaint. What are your concerns? What are your ideas?
Please join your Rotary friends tomorrow evening at the CV Library from 6-8:15 pm. As leaders in Castro Valley, Rotarians can and should be part of the economic development future of Castro Valley. Join us tomorrow and speak your mind so someone else doesn't do it for you!
Our club donated $250 toward Mrs' District Governor's Project for this Rotary year and based on the need in the area St. Rose Hospital was picked as the recipient. The District Governor Joe Hamilton and his wife Kathi Hamilton delivered the blankets on Wednesday February 20th. Enjoy the pictures!
President Hafsa Burt called us to order welcoming and followed by Boy Shayler leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY – Bruce Johnson from our 16th President Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday is today and he would have been 204 years old): “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
President Hafsa Burt called us to order welcoming and followed by Kern Lewi leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY – Bruce Johnson from Mark Twain: Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear; not absence of fear. Al West from Thomas A. Kida: “Don’t Always Believe What You Think” from his book Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking, but the Thought got to Al through a bumper sticker!
Rotarian of the month of January for all her work with the thanksgiving luncheon at the Senior Aitken Center and for the Ashland Children's Christmas party - Proud to have her in the club!
There are three things on which the Rotary International President and his staff evaluate a District Governor. They are: 1) progress on membership; 2) district giving to The Rotary Foundation; and 3) attendance at a District Conference.
As a district governor, I am less interested in what the Rotary International President thinks of my effort, but rather how club Rotarians, club leaders, and the District Leadership Team evaluate our collective efforts. The criteria, I believe, will be similar but more expansive.
4th Annual Valley Blues Festival Saturday October 6th, 2012
A great time was had by all! Check out these photos from the 4th Annual Valley Blues Festival. Big thanks goes to everyone who helped make this one of the best Valley Blues Festivals yet.
4th Annual Valley Blues Festival Saturday October 6th, 2012
A great time was had by all! Check out these photos from the 4th Annual Valley Blues Festival. Big thanks goes to everyone who helped make this one of the best Valley Blues Festivals yet.
President Hafsa Burt called us to order at her fourth lunch meeting as our President welcoming those present followed by Past President Bill Nott leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY – Mark Poniatowski took the opportunity to be thankful for all of the good friends he has in the Castro Valley Rotary Club (Back at ya, Mark!)
Rotary Club of Castro Valley will have a booth at the Fall Festival
Set some time aside this the weekend of Sept. 8-9 to work a shift or two. This is an important opportunity for club members to reach out to the community and tell them about all the great things we're doing as a club. New this year we will be passing out Vials for Life. Stay tuned for more details and a shift sign up sheet.
Save the date, Annual barbecue - August 14th
Fellowship at it's best! Come see how lasting friendships are built within our club!
Castro Valley Rotary is having their annual barbecue on August 14th at the Rowell Ranch Rodeo Grounds, starting at 5pm. We'll be dark that day for lunch. Cost is only $35, kids are free, contact Cliff Sherwood to sign up for the event. Hope to see you all~
Save the date, Annual barbecue - August 14th
Fellowship at it's best! Come see how lasting friendships are built within our club!
Castro Valley Rotary is having their annual barbecue on August 14th at the Rowell Ranch Rodeo Grounds, starting at 5pm. We'll be dark that day for lunch. Cost is only $35, kids are free, contact Cliff Sherwood to sign up for the event. Hope to see you all~
If you're interested in a grant from the Castro Valley Rotary for your project, please submit your applications by August 15th 2012, to be considered for this Rotary year. Applications can be downloaded under the "Grants" Tab.
Please send applications to
Castro Valley Rotary
P.O. Box 2117
Castro Valley, CA 94546
For more information please call:
(510) 502-5123
Grant Application deadline Extended to August 15th 2012.
A new Rotary year is set to begin, and with it several programs aimed at helping clubs and districts enhance their projects, share information, and increase membership. In addition, a new group of leaders will take over at the club, district, and international levels.
In a resolution introduced by Illinois United States Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk on 26 June, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved measures that encourage the U.S. to remain committed to support for eradicating polio worldwide.
Pile the kids into the mini-van and head downtown for shopping, dinner, and a show! The Rotary Club of Castro Valley is proud to present a series of Summer Outdoor Movie Nights, right in Downtown Castro Valley.
President Bill Nott called us to order for his final meeting as our President welcoming those present followed by Mike Bush leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY – from Samuel Johnson via President Bill Nott: “Our desires always increase with our possessions. The knowledge that something remains yet unenjoyed impairs our enjoyment of the good before us”.
Kern Lewis and Bill Nott are the newest recipients of the Rotarian of the month title. Both worked tirelessly on our annual Chili-Cookoff and Rowell Ranch Rodeo Parade to make both events a success yet again.
Kern is the owner of a local Marketing Company, Growth Focus. Bill Nott is a retired Mechanical Engineer, Past President of Castro Valley Rotary. He is also very involved with Engineering for Change and Robotics' Competitions in schools.
Heidi is instrumental in a lot of Rotary activities, including Chamber Mixers, PR, Annual Pancake and Putt Putt fundraiser and "adopt a family" during the holidays. She is a highy reputed dentist in Castro Valley.
Heidi Hausauer named Rotarian of the month for April 2013
Gary Bosley was named Rotarian of the Month for July 2012 for all his work in 2012 doing active PR for the club and his involvement on the Rotary board. Gary is the owner of Marketing Solutions Group in Pleasanton, CA.
Gary Bosley named Rotarian of the Month for July 2012
Kevin Forkner serves as the club's treasurer and besides working as a manger at Bay Commercial Bank in Castro Valley. He has been doing a fantastic job as the club's treasurer for several years and works tirelessly to keep the club's accounting in order.
Kevin Forkner named Rotarian of the month of October
Steve Ontiveros was named Rotarian of the Month because of all his work as the director of Public Relations and Valley Blues Festival. He is the owner of the Factoring Place here in Castro Valley and is very involved in the community.
Steve Ontiveros named Rotarian of the month of September
Steve Ontiveros was named Rotarian of the Month because of all his work as the director of Public Relations and Valley Blues Festival. He is the owner of the Factoring Place here in Castro Valley and is very involved in the community.
Steve Ontiveros named Rotarian of the month of September
We are proud to announce that the following community grants have been accepted for the current Rotary Year. Thank you to President - Elect John Aufdermaur for taking on the task of reviewing the grants submitted with his committee.
Creekside Middle School, 8th grade Science Program - $1500
Redwood Christian Schools - $1000
Learning at Play - Robotics in school - $500
CVHS Baseball - $350
CVHS alumni band - $325
Hayward Area Historical Society - $325
We are proud to announce that the following community grants have been accepted for the current Rotary Year. Thank you to President - Elect John Aufdermaur for taking on the task of reviewing the grants submitted with his committee.
Creekside Middle School, 8th grade Science Program - $1500
Redwood Christian Schools - $1000
Learning at Play - Robotics in school - $500
CVHS Baseball - $350
CVHS alumni band - $325
Hayward Area Historical Society - $325
Big Miracle will be screened this Thursday August 23rd to wrap up our summer Outdoor Movie Nights' series. Come join us at Castro Village Center near Eden Bicycles. This free of charge event has been organized to promote local dining and shopping and help the businesses during the construction on the boulevard.
Movie will start at 8:30pm, dress warm and come share the fun~
Big Miracle will be screened this Thursday August 23rd to wrap up our summer Outdoor Movie Nights' series. Come join us at Castro Village Center near Eden Bicycles. This free of charge event has been organized to promote local dining and shopping and help the businesses during the construction on the boulevard.
Movie will start at 8:30pm, dress warm and come share the fun~
...at ter first lunch meeting as our President welcoming those present followed by Dan Willits leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT(s) FOR THE DAY – from Dan Willits from Albert Einstein: Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.
Hope you can join us at Full Belly restaurant on July 24th at noon for our regular meeting. Christine, the master chef is an alumnus of the California Culinary Academy and will be wowing us with her Western Cuisine Creations.
Full Belly Restaurant is located on 3335 Castro Valley Blvd, (between Rustic Dr & Wilbeam Ave) , Castro Valley, CA 94546
Lunch will be $15 + $1 (Raffle)
Hope you can join us at Full Belly restaurant on July 24th at noon for our regular meeting. Christine, the master chef is an alumnus of the California Culinary Academy and will be wowing us with her Western Cuisine Creations.
Full Belly Restaurant is located on 3335 Castro Valley Blvd, (between Rustic Dr & Wilbeam Ave) , Castro Valley, CA 94546
Lunch will be $15 + $1 (Raffle)
ry Club of Castro Valley continued the “Restaurant Walk,” which was started by the Castro Valley Lions Club more than two decades ago. When the Castro Valley Lions Club was discontinued, Rotary Club members’ Chris Carr and Aaron Lewis became co-chairs to continue the vision and good work of Lions Club members’ Joe Farias and Michael Abel, who planned and managed this event for many years. This year would have been 25 years, if not for COVID.
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley is committed to supporting outstanding community programs that align with the goals of Rotary through its Grants Program. The due date for applications has been extended to close of business on October 1, 2021. 
J
June has been a busy month as the Club closes out the 2020-2021 Rotary Year (
Earlier this year, Teipo Brown made a short presentation on Tourism in California and the Bay Area during the Covid pandemic. He had so much great information to share and the Club members wanted to hear more so the Club invited Teipo, a 20+ year resident of Castro Valley, back to share what is happening to tourism as California begins to loosen the Covid restrictions.
Gina Channell, President and Publisher of the 
This issue of Meeting Highlights covers the meetings of March 9, 16 & 23. 
At this meeting, the Club hosted the first round of the District 5170 Richard D. King Annual Youth Speech Contest for students from Csatro Valley High School and Redwood Christian High School. Due to the shelter-in-place orders, the contest was held virtually this year under the excellent leadership of Speech Contest Chair Bernie Kempen. 
the evening of February 16th, the Rotary Club of Castro Valley and the Castro Valley Educational Foundation (CVEF) co-sponosered a presentation by John Perkins, PhD, from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on Fission and Fusion at LLNL: What has nuclear physics done for you today?
During December the Club held only one lunch meeting (December 1), a Club Assembly (December 8), and a Holiday Dinner Concert (December 15); therefore, this issue of 
On November 19, the Rotary Club of Castro Valley personally packed and delivered Thanksgiving Lunch Bags to seniors at the Kenneth Aitken Senior Center in Castro Valley. 
Meeting Highlights Dec 6th, 2016
- Speaker - World Traveler Laura Koshy
-Speaker – Alameda County Fire Chief David Rocha
Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern
Mark Your Calendar - District Governor Visit on October 4th
Presidential Sign
Castro Valley High School Interact
Welcome to Our Newest Rotarians!
PROGRAM - Today’s program was presented by our very own KJ Page. Her topic was Medical Marijuana. She began by giving us some statistics: Roughly 9%, or 1 out of 11, who use recreational marijuana will develop an addiction syndrome; the figure increases to 17% or 1 our of 6, who begin to use it in their early teens. This compares with lifetime prevalence rates of 32% for nicotine, 23% for heroin, 17% for cocaine, and 15% for alcohol.
PROGRAM - Today’s program was presented by Matthew Kaser, PhD from Oxford. He is a Castro Valley resident, a molecular biologist. His topic was "How Networks Form and Stabilize or A New Way of Looking at the Universe. He based his content on the book "Linked" by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, published in 2002, 2014. Matthew told us that the professional network LinkedIn was created shortly after the book was first published. Matthew showed many diagrams, and explained how different types of networks form. He quoted the author of "Linked" who basically concluded that "nothing happens in isolation."
PROGRAM - Today’s program was tremendous as our own KJ Page walked us through a subject that few want to discuss but all need to have: Advance Care Planning. KJ stressed that we need to do this in order to prevent those we love from having to make decisions without our input. She covered a program called "The East Bay Conversation Project" to help with the process. She encouraged all of us to be proactive. Visit eastbayacp.org for more information. Attached are the informative handouts she distributed. Thanks so much, KJ!
PROGRAM - Today’s program was John Rosenberg from 
PROGRAM - Our own 
PROGRAM - April Chair Cliff Sherwood was today’s program. He has worked for many years with the Tiburcio Vasquez organization, helping them with new sites and planning. They have 20 sites in Alameda County. In 04-05 Tiburcio opened a clinic on Mission in Hayward, and last year opened their newest clinic on E 14th in Ashland area. They even have 2 high school clinics. Cliff had a diagram showin how the funding was done for the new clinic in Ashland. He explained about the need for a special purpose entity, and the way different funds and loans get distributed. They used $35,000,000 in tax credits. However these were not available until October 2015, so loans were needed to start construction so that the clinic could open in October 2015. The biggest challenge was to find a way to fund the solar panels. Cliff had a separate diagram showing how another 3rd party special purpose entity was created to solve the funding problem for solar. CA First PACE (Property Assessment Clean Energy) Program issued bonds, and the solar panels will be purchased from Sunpower, the best solar technology available today. This innovative solution is 22 days from closing. Once the solar panels are installed they are expected to generate 90+% of the electrical needs of the facility in Ashland.
PROGRAM - Bill Nott introduced Livermore Rotarian Patrick Coyle speaking on “Engineers Without Borders USA and Composting Toilets Overview & Nicaragua Project.” A tremendous program that summarized the goals of Engineers Without Borders (our Bill Nott is active!) and Sanitation Challenges and Possible Alternatives in various countries.
PROGRAM - November Program Chair Mark Poniatowski introduced Frank Mellon of the East Bay Municipal Unilities District (EBMUD).
PROGRAM - November Program Chair Mark Poniatowski planned a great program for Veterans Day featuring some of our members who served our Country in the armed forces, plus two outside speakers: one from World War II and the other who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Today we had the Three Musketeers of Law Practice in Castro Valley: Jim Phillips, Mark Poniatowski and Alan West. Each spoke on a different aspect of the law and of their practice. Jim is primarily an estate lawyer and covered the multitude of items that need to be included in one’s estate including health care, managing your decline in health, living trusts and the role of the durable power of attorney. Al spoke on what to expect if you get behind the wheel while intoxicated drawing a very powerful picture of what happens stressing embarrassment for the violator and his family and/or business, jail, suspension of drivers license, getting 5-10 letters per day from attorneys who want to defend you (and usually get their clients the same results that the violator would get simply pleading guilty), the types of fines to expect, plus the breathing device for the car to prove sobriety. Mark spoke on Business and Real Estate including sole proprietorships, corporations, limited partnerships and a limited liability company.
PROGRAM - November Program Chair Mark Poniatowski introduced Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern, who presented a program few in attendance will forget in the near future. He speaks from a vast amount of experience as he has never lived anyplace but in Alameda County, and has been serving in the Sheriff’s Department since 1980 (thirty-four years). He started off with a job description that has to be challenging, even on a good day, as in addition to being the County Sheriff, he is also the Coroner, Director of Emergency Services and is an Officer of the Court. His statement early on that there are no non-violent prisoners to be released as they have already released all of them. Santa Rita is one of the most outstanding jails in the United States with a circumference of...more
PRESIDENT DR. HEIDI’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: "LIGHT UP ROTARY WITH A SMILE"
ANNOUNCEMENTS 
March 18, 2014
PRESIDENT JOHN’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS!
PRESIDENT JOHN’S CLUB THEME FOR THE YEAR: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS!
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