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 (408) 297-6101.

Join us

Fill up an application and join community leaders. Become a member of the Rotary Club of San Jose.

Application

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“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

The Speakers for May 1, 2024: Stephanie Kavanagh & Matt Roben

Stephanie Kavanagh, a graduate of UC San Diego with a major in Biochemistry, has been in the Pharmaceutical / Medical Device Industry for more than twenty years. She is currently works for SUN Pharmaceuticals and manages the Specialty Dermatology Division for the Pacific Northwest Area. Stephanie has a passion for helping people: whether they are patients battling skin cancer or those that are underserved. She loves finding ways to use her time and talent in serving our community.

Matt Roben is currently the Chief Everything Officer at Rancho Roben Rescues, a 12-acre farm animal rescue. Matt has performed and traveled to dozens of countries, had worked on cruise ships, participated in theater, film, dance, symphony, and opera productions, and has spent time on the stages of the Joffrey Ballet, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Symphony and many others. Matt always finds a way to utilize his broad range of skills and interests to help his committees and service projects.

Lunch Order for May 1st Meeting

The Party He

lpers will provide lunch ($25) at Wednesday's meeting. The buffet lunch menu includes: Taco Bar-Beef, Taco Bar-Chicken, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Spanish Rice, and Black Bean, Corn, Tomato Salad.

Please order by Monday, April 29th at 12 noon. Plan ahead and order early!

Important note: If you have a 10-pack, you still need to register, so we have enough food.

Click here to place your lunch order.

Rise Against Hunger

Join President Karen and the Disaster Relief Committee on Sunday, May 19th to pack meals for international famine relief.

Many thanks to Mike Blach for hosting the event at his warehouse - 2244 Blach Place, SJ 95131 (in back).

Sign up here.

Fireside Hosts Needed

Firesides are a great way to get to know members in a purely social setting.

We're looking for members to open their homes or plan an activity for a small group of people. You can choose to include spouses/significant others and children - it's really up to you.

Possible activities include:
Karaoke night
Happy hour
Potluck
Games night
Piano sing along

If interested, please contact Doug@whiskyedu.org or 408-799-6242

Exite-ment Committee

Do you like Fireworks? Do you like Parades? Do you like Baseball? We need you on the Exite-ment Committee! We are only 2 1/2 months away from our new Fireworks program which we are sponsoring at Excite Ballpark in cooperation with the San Jose Giants on July 3 and 4. In addition, we are organizing a VIP party at Excite Ballpark on July 3 for the game and fireworks show, and for our Club's participation in the annual Rose, White & Blue Parade on July 4. Yes, we can use your help - so please contact Excite-ment Committee Chair Jeffrey Hare and let him know what you want to help with: Parade or VIP Party -- or both!

JeffreyHare@gmail.com
408-391-8321 (Cell)

San Pedro Square Asphalt Mural Painting

Volunteer to make history!
Interested in helping us add a huge pop of color to San Pedro Square? Grab a brush and join Local Color, the San Jose Downtown Association, and artist Jimmy Paints to help us install an asphalt mural along San Pedro Street. Become a part of history in the making! Join us as we unite to craft something extraordinary for our community. We can't wait to see you there!
Everyone Welcome! No experience necessary.

Our Paint Date: May 30 from 5 P.M. - 7 P.M.

RSVP at: www.tinyurl.com/spsmural

Rotary District 5170 Networking

Do you yearn to know more Rotarians? If so, you are not alone.

The link below is intended to collect information that will allow Rotarians to connect with other Rotarians in the same profession or having a common interest.

The District's VS Team will share this information to enable these connections. Therefore, please respond to the questions in this form, which will take only a few minutes.

If you are retired and no longer active in your prior career, you may want to select Other Profession-Career-Job to enter your current role(s). You can also use Additional Interests or Passions.

Access the Survey here.

Rotary Staff Update

Lisa Reigel has taken over the bookkeeping responsibilities from Teresa McCarthy, whose last day with us will be April 24, though we hope to see her at the June 5 BBQ. Lisa is working half time.

Tori Berninger will be filling in for Marie, who is doing well enough that she visited the Gordon House last week. Marie is looking forward to returning to work later this summer. We are thrilled to have Tori take on tasks such as coordinating the weekly lunches, managing the new member process, and working with President Karen on Wednesday meeting agendas. Tori will be working in the office Mon-Thurs. Many thanks to President-Elect Heather for the referral!

Thank you for your patience during this transition time.

The Meeting Summary for April 24, 2024

Following the wonderful slide show highlighting the week’s past club events, President Karen welcomed Club members and guests to the 5,434^th meeting of the San Jose Rotary Club. Sarah Clish led us in singing America the Beautiful, followed by President Karen’s special thank you’s to the Fish Committee for another great annual Fish Day event, and for the pre-meeting wine reception in honor and celebration of Teresa McCarthy. Birthday wishes to Laura Chmielewski today, and other Rotarians celebrating birthdays in the coming week, concluded President Karen’s introductory remarks.

Red Badgers Chelsey Souza and Kelly Dippel carried today’s traveling microphones, welcoming our many guests and visiting Rotarians. We also had a special Zoom appearance by our past Rotary Club CEO, John Kennett, in honor of Teresa’s last day.

Sandra Jewett then took the stage for the Culinary & Hospitality Committee update on the Blind Wine Tasting happening next Tuesday, from 5-7pm, at Joseph George Wines.

Rod Diridon, Sr. introduced our newest club Rotarian and member of the “Rod Squad,” Christian Pellecchia. You can read more about Christian in the bulletin. Welcome, Christian!

President Karen then introduced our special guest, District 5170 Assistant Governor Renee Johnson, who promoted the District 5170 Conference this weekend (64 clubs in our district!) and highlighted not only the Polio Walk at 8am on Sunday, but also club member Brenda Swiney, receiving the Sid Mitchell Rotarian of the Year award.

“President’s Time” at the podium was dedicated to our own Teresa McCarthy, retiring from her myriad roles at the Rotary Office and our Rotary Club, after 20 years of service. Our club CEO Leslee Hamilton, in her send-off “thank you” accolades, noted quite aptly that throughout our club’s many transitions, Teresa has been “the glue that kept us together.” Previous & long-time San Jose Rotary Club CEO John Kennett showered his praise via Zoom. Past-President Carl Salas (2014) applauded Teresa’s profound effect on our club and her priceless service to Rotary. A standing ovation from the club, along with a bottle of 2009 Cabernet from always-generous Bert George, and a photo book of her 20 years with the club, was a fitting tribute for sure!

Jim Towery introduced today’s speaker, the Honorable Patricia (Pat) Lucas, retired California Superior Court judge for Santa Clara County, where she served for 20 years, including a term as presiding (chief) judge. Judge Lucas engaged us with several “multiple-choice” and “true-false” questions as she embarked on her topic, Judicial Independence and the Rule of Law. The importance of judicial review being so critically important as set forth by our constitution and the need for absence of politics—Independence is Impartiality—were key themes. We learned of waning public confidence in the Supreme Court over the past decade, and the myriad systemic challenges, not least of which is the absence of an ethical code of conduct. Judge Lucas candidly and informatively answered the many questions from the audience during the Q&A session, and agreed to stay after the meeting to answer any other questions from our club members and guests.

President Karen thanked Judge Lucas for today’s program and honored her with a Rotary contribution to Loaves and Fishes.

Next week’s speakers will be Stephanie Kavanagh and Matt Roben, sharing their personal stories. Should be a riveting good time!

President Karen adjourned the meeting after sharing her closing thought on goodbye’s really meaning “until we meet again.”

Respectfully submitted,
Linda Gold, Meeting Summaries Committee

Photos taken by Jeff Faulkner.
To view a video for the full meeting, click here.
To view all photos taken, click here.

New Member Shawna Lucey

Shawna Lucey is the General Director & CEO of Opera San José. Originally from Houston, Texas, she was directing at the Metropolitan Opera when she received her appointment and moved to San José in 2022. Her work has been seen at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Santa Fe Opera, and many others. Her legacy production of Tosca launched San Francisco Opera’s 99th season in 2021 and was followed in 2022 by her centennial celebration legacy production of La Traviata which in 2024 had its debut at LA Opera. She made her directorial debut with Opera San José in 2018 with La Traviata, and she launched that company’s 2023/24 season with a new production of Roméo et Juliette, followed by Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Since 2022 she has been General Director & CEO of Opera San José, Silicon Valley's premiere opera company. She boasts an international reputation, staging works in Spain, Russia, Germany, Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Bolshoi Theater and Schauspiel Hannover. She is the proud mother of almost 3-year old JJ and her nail art can be seen on her Instagram page. shawnalucey.com | @29flames

New Member Christian Pellecchia

Christian Pellecchia was raised in Brooklyn N.Y. and worked as a High School Biology teacher from 2001 until 2004. In 2004, Christian moved to the Silicon Valley area to return to graduate school and pursue a different career path. While in graduate school, Christian became a small business owner for two different companies, which lasted for over six years. In 2010, Christian began working for a local General Contractor, and he remained with them until 2023. Currently, Christian is in a Senior Management position with JE Dunn Construction.