We are test driving meeting video: Click Here to View Meeting Video of July 25, 2019

Your patience with issues such as audio (be sure to turn on your volume) is appreciated as we work out the kinks.

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Cheryl Angeles is now officially a grandmother. Grandson William introduced himself July 18. She pronounced him "absolutely horrible" — no, wait, was that "adorable?" Damned microphone. President Anne introduced Cheryl to the President's Club.

 

Details to follow, but Cheryl reports that Bill has suffered a stroke. He's reportedly doing well.

 

Whom should we meet at the sign-in table than Bob Campbell, returned to San Mateo for a visit from his new home in Roseville? He appears to be missing his old associates and, possibly, the weather. He also appears in fine fettle (look it up, young'uns. While you're at it, look up 'young'uns'). And he volunteered a President's Club. This is going to be easy, PrezAnne.

 

Welcome, visitor from the Redwood City Rotary Club.

 

Mike Peterson introduced his guest, Jerry Heckert. Past President Bruce Bean (has a nice ring to it, doesn't it, Bruce?) introduced Lauren Boro of Carr McClellan Ingersoll and Thaila Sundaresan, a wonderfully intelligent and engaging person who works and an attorney for the Federal Communications Commission. We're inclined to refer to lawyers as 'attornerys,' but Thalia is definitely an exception.

Walt McCullough identified guests who attended in the company of our speaker, Hilton Obinzinger, as Gerald Shebar, Chris Bush, Tak To, May Wong, Monica Yeung Arima and Lily Chiu, all connected to the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This non-profit received a $2,000 grant from the club to further its mission of reintroducing recovering individuals suffering from mental illness back into society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Similarly this non-profit, which is the only agency in the county providing services to victims of domestic abuse, received a $2,000 grant, for which Jennifer Powell thanked the club.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hm. I don't remember what this is. But President Anne used it to state the fact that Jodi De Smidt is on jury duty — hup! two, three four, go sit down and wait some more! — and Liz Mayta was born on the Fourth of July.

By the way, the birthday cake was spectacular.

 

 

OK, three people will get the reference, but we soldier on in spite.

President Campbell noted that a primary goal of Rotary International is membership, and to that end she reported some of the results of her Spring member survey. About a third of members responded — that'll be enough of that, you guys — and all but 4 percent expressed great satisfaction with club activities, with the fellowship and friendships they have developed, some of them lasting decades.

Members seem to appreciate Spinnings, and she even managed to plug the need for Spinnings writers. The proof is before you now, providing you are one of the few who managed to wade through this far: You can say just about anything you want and no one is in a position to criticize. Or perhaps that's a function of readership?

Anne's goal for each member is to participate in at least one service activity and one club-connected outside activity this year. Connecting with non-members in that way is a great way to generate members.

Lastly, survey-takers expressed the view that they don't really know other members outside their circle very well, so look for some changes in seating arrangements in the future.

"We're going to jumble up the seating, so look for that," she said.

Check your pistols at the door.

She admitted she marveled at Bruce's success with the President's Club last year and was worried about coming up with fining dirt to make light work of the weekly cash extraction, but not to worry.

"It turns out there's a wealth of individuals out there will to do espionage."

 

 

This was the legend often stated about the G.W. Swift pork packing plants in the Midwest, apropos Tony Villanueva, first up in the President's Club. Turns out the Prez did her own spying. She and Tony shared pig's knuckles and beer at RI's Hamburg, Germany international conference on June 2, 2019. Though Tony tried to pass off the slide photo as apple strudel, Anne rapped him for $150 because it was, in fact, proof of the pudding. Pig's knuckles, that is.

 

 

Dr. Hilton Obinzinger  is Associate Director of Stanford's Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project, a suitable endeavor to identify and acknowledge the role of the Chinese in building the transcontinental railroad as the railroad itself vastly benefited the wealth of one of its partners, Leland Stanford himself. In fact, many Chinese helped build Leland Stanford Junior University in the late 1800s.

Check out the video link at the beginning of this newsletter to hear Dr. Obinzinger's presentation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

— Thank you to Dick Bennett for today's fine photos.