TOGETHER, WE
TRANSFORM
TOGETHER, WE
CONNECT
TOGETHER, WE
INSPIRE
TOGETHER, WE
SAVE LIVES
TOGETHER, WE
FIGHT HUNGER
TOGETHER, WE
EMPOWER
TOGETHER, WE
MENTOR
Attend a meeting
Join us on a Wednesday convenient to you and experience the fun and friendship of the Rotary Club of San Jose!
Contact our Executive Director, Leslee Hamilton for more details and to RSVP at (408) 297-6101.
Join us
Fill out an application and join community leaders. Become a member of the Rotary Club of San Jose.
Take action
“Service Above Self”
Rotary is a service organization of business and community leaders united worldwide. Rotarians are making a positive impact in our local and global communities.
The Rotary Club of San Jose
Benefiting the community and our world through action, integrity, service, and fellowship.
The Rotary Club of San Jose is the largest, most active and well-known service organization in the community. We are a leadership organization working together to make a difference. Our members include local business, nonprofit, professional and civic leaders. We form lasting friendships through our shared Rotary experiences including weekly meetings with interesting speakers, committee meetings and projects, social events and group service projects within our community and internationally.
Diversity & Inclusion
Having a diverse and inclusive Rotary Club means we value and welcome individuals of all ages, cultures, ethnicities, and races to our Club. We invite younger people, women, and minorities who support Rotary’s values, ideals, and mission to join our members in service to our community, and we strive to give all members equal opportunities to serve as leaders within our Club.
Service is the life blood of our Club, and it all happens through our Committees
Leigh Weimers Emerging Artists Awards
Join us to celebrate the 2024 Leigh Weimers Emerging Artists Awards recipients. You can't help but be inspired when the winners share their art through performances or discussions. The event closes with our Club presenting each artist with an unrestricted grant of $5,000. Many of our members count this as their favorite program of the year!
We welcome all members of the community, even non-Rotarians, to join us for this wonderful event.
Wednesday, October 16 at Hammer Theatre from 12:15pm-1:15pm.
It is free to attend*, but the Hammer Theatre requires everyone to register with Eventbrite! Register HERE!
*Do you want to buy a $20 box lunch? If so, click here. Please plan to arrive early enough to eat before the meeting starts; no food or drink are allowed inside.
The Lunch Order for October 16
The Party He
lpers will provide lunch ($20) at Wednesday's Leigh Weimers meeting. Please select from the choices below:
All sandwiches include a side red leaf lettuce salad with an apple and a fresh baked cookie.
- Sandwich-Baked ham with Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato on sliced bread
- Sandwich-Roasted turkey with havarti, lettuce, tomato on sourdough bread
- Sandwich-Roast beef with cheddar, lettuce, tomato on sliced bread
- Sandwich-Vegetarian with grilled vegetables, artichoke hearts, pesto on wheat bread (Vegetarian)
- Chicken Entree Salad-Red Leaf Lettuce with chicken and apples & side quinoa salad (Gluten Free)
- Entree Salad-Red Lead Lettuce with apples entree & side quinoa salad (Gluten Free and Vegan)
Important note: If you have a 10-pack, you still need to register so we have enough food.
Just a reminder that our meeting on Wednesday, October 16th is the Leigh Weimer's Emerging Artists Awards and it will be held at the Hammer Theatre. For your convenience, we will serve lunch starting at 11:30am in order for you have ample time to eat before the program. No food is allowed inside the theatre.
2025 Membership Directory Updates Due Soon
We are working on the 2025 Membership Directory! You should have received an email from Tori with your current information. If any data is incorrect or missing, please either log into DACdb to update it or reply to the email giving the updated information. All changes must be received by Friday, October 18th.
Want to update your DACdb photo?
Our talented Photography Committee will be holding a "photo booth" before the meeting on both October 23rd and October 30th from 11:30-12noon. No need to reserve a spot! Just make sure to show up early and dressed to impress! All photos are due on October 30th.
Interested in advertising your business or service?
Put an ad in the Directory! Please reach out to Tori Berninger at Tori.Berninger@gmail.com if you are interested. The deadline for commitment is October 18th. You must be a member to advertise.
Mobile App
Also, you can always access up-to-date directory information through the DACdb app, which is available for Apple and Android phones.
International Feast - Date Change Oct 18
.png)
The International Service Committee invites you to the Annual International Feast to enjoy the "Tastes of the World" focusing on Peru!
Improve Life and Health with Clean Water for Peru's Santa Rosa De Pedro Human Settlement. Enjoy a delicious international feast, music, Jaranon y Bochinche dancers, wonderful raffle prizes – and fun and friendship!
WHEN: Friday, October 18th, 2024 at 5:30pm
WHERE: Gordon House, 1690 Senter Rd, San Jose, 95112
COST: $70 per person, additional donations are welcome!
Avenues of Service
.png)
World Polio Day - The Fight for a Polio-Free World
.png)
Next Big Project - Mobile Medical Clinic Public Launch
The Other Mr. Lincoln
Location: Hammer Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio (between 2nd and 3rd St), Downtown San Jose.
Performances
- Friday, Oct 11th @ 8pm
- Saturday, Oct 12th @ 2pm and 8pm
Enter discount code "POL" at checkout and the tickets will be FREE.
The Meeting Summary for October 9, 2024
Rotarians and guests were greeted by members of the Pickleball Committee. This cool as a cucumber group, chaired by RYAN SEBASTIAN and LESLYE CORSIGLIA, seemed to have a dilly of a time welcoming all. Adding to the spirit of hospitality, wine was served in the lobby, courtesy of BERT GEORGE, and wonderful piano music was provided by the talented JEFF POHLE.
MATT ROBEN provided information about the Paws Committee Pack Walk, an opportunity to take pets out for a stroll at Vasona Park on October 26. Getting steps in with four-legged friends could give one a new leash on life.
The aforementioned Ryan Sebastian was introduced to the Club as a new member by sponsor JANIKKE KLEM. Welcome, Ryan, and thank you for saying “yes” to Rotary.
President Heather then also provided information about World Polio Day, happening October 24; the Rotary District 5170 Avenues of Service event on October 19; and a Disaster Relief update, which is basically that further research is taking place on how best to address the needs of those most impacted by recent hurricanes and flooding. Stay tuned.
JIM “SPARKY” SPARACO introduced guest speakers Randy Hahn, television play-by-play commentator for the San Jose Sharks, and Chris Shay, VP of Operations for Sharks Sports & Entertainment, LLC.
Randy is excited about this season of Sharks hockey, which is different from last season. As he mentioned: “Last year at this time, I was not exactly bathed in excitement …” The silver lining of the Sharks being in last place last year is the fact that the team had first pick in the NHL Draft this year, securing young college hockey MVP Macklin Celebrini. At age 18, he joins another college phenom, 19-year-old Will Smith. Randy said that these new, young players will reside with the families of Sharks veterans Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. This season there are nine players with the Sharks who were not with the team last year. Randy noted that the 82 game regular NHL season is “a grind” and can be described as “a roller coaster ride wrapped up in a soap opera.”
President Heather adjourned the meeting at 1:15 p.m.
.jpg)
Respectfully submitted (and on thin ice as usual), Brian Adams, Rotary Meeting Summaries committee.
To see all pictures, click here, thanks to Jorge Taborga, Photography Committee.
Video is available here, thanks to Tori Berninger.
New Member Ryan Sebastian
Ryan is an East San Jose-based entrepreneur with a focus on community development. His connection to Rotary began as a member of the Interact Club at William C. Overfelt High School. Later, he ran O’Brien’s Ice Cream Parlor at History Park, a project funded by Rotary. Today, Ryan leads several successful ventures: Moveable Feast, a food truck service; San Jose Made, a platform for local makers; Moment, a pop-up storefront service; and Moveable Inc., a consulting firm focused on placemaking and marketing.
Recently, Ryan worked with Rotarian and Councilmember Bien Doan to launch the Story Road Night Market, now the largest free-admission night market in the Bay Area. He also collaborated with SJDA CEO and Rotarian Alex Stettinski to expand Moment in Downtown San Jose, where 15 local businesses now thrive in formerly vacant storefronts.
Ryan also serves as co-chair of our Rotary Pickleball Committee and enjoys hosting campfire nights at his home for friends and family.
New Member Cristene Burr
Cristene Burr has served as the President and CEO of Junior Achievement for the past 7 years. Previously, she invested 9 years as the Executive Director for the San Ramon Valley Education Foundation. Prior to that, she worked in higher education college publishing in various marketing and sales roles with McGraw Hill and what is now known as Cengage. She also serves on the board for San Francisco Bay University in Fremont.
Education has been a strong theme throughout her career and her passion for helping students vet various career pathways and understand what jobs of the future will look like informs the work she does with corporate and education partners. She’s also passionate about helping students be financially literate and the new state mandate for high school students to take a personal finance course before graduation motivates her as Junior Achievement is uniquely positioned as the best solution provider in that space.
Cristene has two adult children, three dogs and lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains with her husband of 30+ years. When she’s not working to close the opportunity gap for underserved youth, she’s paddleboarding in the Monterey Bay.