CPOM Kendra here: “I want to make it abundantly clear we are not writing this page and it's contents to merely toot our own horn. We do want to acknowledge the Rotarians in our club who heard the call for help & showed up to do the work that was needed by our neighbors and community.
But also The Capitola-Aptos Rotary Club's Board of Directors feels that transparency in what we do in our community, both during the good times and the bad is necessary.
Since the community at large donates to our efforts (both via direct donations for specific projects and with support of our fundraising events like the Beer Booth and Pickleball Tournament) for the work we do in "Y/OUR Community" we want to be very clear on the activities we do and support, both monetarily and via our physical labor/boots on the ground approach.”
Special Storm Cleanup Edition of The Hub
March 2023
Date: Sunday, March 12, 2023
Location: Watsonville Fairgrounds Shelter
Once we heard about the Pajaro Levee Break Co-Presidents Laura & Kendra headed out to the Fairgrounds to see if they had any immediate needs. A list of items they needed was going around, but from our club's experience in the '89 earthquake there was such an immediate response that the needs were changing by the hour. So we headed out to meet the Shelter Coordinator on site and see what they needed that we could look them in the eye and say "we'll be right back with XYZ." We met the On-Site Shelter Coordinator who was fantastic, they needed new Blankets, towels and washcloths, and men's & women's underwear. But they could not accept the items until tomorrow as they didn't have the room to store anything since it was a Sunday late afternoon. They had volunteers coming first thing Monday to sort through and organize all the donations. Armed with a donated 20% off Kohl's Coupon and $7 in Kohl's Cash, we headed to Kohl's and Ross to see what we could get.
We spent $460 and got 9 blankets, 12 bath towels, 12 washcloths, 11 packages of men's underwear, 8 packages of women's underwear, and $30 in Kohl's Cash which was used later in the week to buy 12 pairs of Under Armor Compression Crew Socks.
Unfortunately by late Monday Morning the Fairgrounds had sorted and had no more room to accept anything.
Date: Monday, March 13, 2023
Location: Cabrillo College Shelter
So on Monday Lunchtime as soon as we heard that the Cabrillo College Shelter would be opening at 5pm we decided to head down with our purchased items and see if that was what they needed.
Pictured on this table are the men's and women's underwear we had purchased the day prior!
We met the On-Site Coordinators, Georgina and Jessika, and they needed the blankets and towels and underwear! We gave them our phone numbers and said we had a budget to fill any immediate needs and to not hesitate to call us if there was something that came up that was needed.
Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Location: Coral St. Clinic & Cabrillo College Shelter
On Tuesday Afternoon we heard from Georgina, they needed someone to transport a few evacuated houseless people (who had lived on the San Lorenzo Levee are that was flooded) from the Coral St. Clinic to the Cabrillo Shelter in a van.
Since we did not have a van, and we needed a van since some of our riders had mobility issues and they all had all their possessions with them, the club rented a minivan from Enterprise (Shout out to Enterprise on Ocean who gave us a 10% discount on the rental!) and we did three round trips to transport people to the Cabrillo Shelter.
After our last transport, we talked to the On-Site Coordinator of the day (they are assigned in 12 hour shifts) and they had a family arrive from Pajaro---we had seen them walk in as we walked in some of the people we had brought from Coral St.
Laura (L) walking in one of our transportee's, Andrew (middle), along with a Twin Lakes Soup Kitchen Volunteer (R) we met at the Shelter.
The family had toddlers in diapers but there were not diapers in the sizes they needed at the Cabrillo Shelter--only newborn size diapers. So a translator and Co-Pres Laura headed over to see if there was anything else they needed since we were going to get diapers and to confirm the diaper size they needed. They explained they left so quickly the father only had the clothes he was wearing and asked if we knew of any clothes he could get. And they needed Size 5 & 6 Diapers.
So off to Costco we went and we got Sizes 4, 5 & 6 diapers (since we didn't see size 4 in the shelter inventory). We also got two boxes of wipes.
We got 1800 wipes and 798 diapers in three sizes!
On our way back to Cabrillo with the diapers and wipes we called two of our members who were about the same size as the Pajaro father, and asked if they had any clothes in good condition they could donate. They did and we want to shout out to IPP Ken and Rotarian Sam who stepped up and provided bags of clothes for this gentleman.
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Location: Second Harvest Food Bank
On the way to our Second Harvest Food Bank food sorting shift Co-Pres Kendra dropped off some of the donated clothes from IPP Ken, and checked in with the shelter's immediate needs.
Then four of our club's Rotarians, CPOM Kendra, Eric, Co-PE Lowry and Nelson, arrived at Second Harvest Food Bank for a volunteer food sorting shift.
They boxed 4,000 lbs. of Oranges, and 8,000 lbs. (which was 208 cartons) of Grapefruits!
The Rotary crew's pre-shift photo!
Lowry and Eric with the big barrel of oranges we were filling the boxes from.
Nelson with the Oranges Box! 
Nelson and Lowry. 
Eric stacking Orange filled boxes! 
Nelson filling bags of Grapefruits. 
Lowry filling the bags with Grapefruits. 
Our little crew at the end of our shift! 
#RotariansInAction #RotariansAtWork
As usual Dr. Art did his weekly volunteer shift at Pajaro Valley Loaves & Fishes, and CPOM Kendra had a discussion with Executive Director Ashley about the needs their organization will have in the coming months, as they serve the displaced migrant community during this tragedy. They are preparing for the next few months as it will be a time of grave food insecurity among the evacuated & displaced population because the crops that they should be harvesting and getting paid for their work to do, they will not be (due to the flooded fields), so in addition to losing their homes and belongings, the steady work they count on will also not be there in the quantity it usually is.
The cleanup from this set of storms and the levee break will take months if not years to fix the reverberations throughout the community. This is project will not be a sprint; it will be a marathon. And we Rotary Clubs are working together and have committed to being HERE and doing our part long after everyone else’s initial surge of help and attention is long gone.
Capitola-Aptos Rotary is supporting Pajaro Valley Loaves & Fishes both with volunteer time and with funding, and we encourage you to do so also.
Additionally our club has set aside at minimum of $4000 to go directly to Storm & Flood Disaster Relief, our only contingent on the money is that our club has to be involved in a project, we will not just be making a blind donation to another group in our area who is collecting money. We are requiring what we call "boots on the ground" involvement by some of our Rotarians. If you would like to add to our storm and flooding disaster relief funds, we will add them to our money and spend them the same way we are spending our own money, you can donate via PayPal or Venmo.
(I want to mention that we are a PayPal Certified Charity, which assures you of our integrity and also significantly reduces any transaction fee's that are usually associated with giving funds electronically.)
To learn more about our Car Seat Drives, visit this link where we wrote about our December 2022 plan!
And visit our Facebook Photos to see the pictures from our event!
Fellow Rotarians:
Our March 3 meeting was held via zoom only because of covid concerns.
Turnout was small- 15 stalwart members, no guests.
The meeting was also short because we had no guest speaker.
Our March 3 meeting was held via zoom only because of covid concerns.
Turnout was small- 15 stalwart members, no guests.
The meeting was also short because we had no guest speaker.
Co-Prez Kendra was flush with excitement at her joke of the day:
Why were lawyers created?
So that toilet plungers would have something to look down on.
Laura reminded us that International Women's Day is 3/19. Please sign up to carpool to the Rotary International event in San Jose.
Last year there were 120 attendees, about 1/3 were non-Rotarians.
Dear Rotarians,
Our February 23 meeting was at the beautiful Episcopal Church of St. John in Seacliff. Thanks to Win and Nelson for making the arrangements.
25 members and a few guests attended.
25 members and a few guests attended.
Food was brought in by Rotary Owned Catering business Busy Bee's Cafe & Catering and served buffet via buffet- as was a generous assortment of wine. No corkage fee.
No jokes about changing water into it please.
Busy Bee's Chef Ty pictured with Co Prez Kendra, and the lovely buffet we were served! Feb 23rd's menu was Meat Loaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Salad and those amazing rolls we have all come to adore!!
Members:
Apologies for the late Hubs- emergency motions filed by opposing counsel in 2 cases and a sick wife and paralegal (2 different women but equal goddesses) have impeded progress. All are well and justice prevailed.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta pictured with Club Co-Presidents Kendra Cleary & Laura Grinder
Our February 16, 2023 lunch meeting was at Seascape. We had 31 members and guests attend. We were in the little room due to Seascape Construction. Our Speaker was our Congressman Jimmy Panetta, who absolutely noticed and commented on the smallness of the room we were in. No luck convincing him that our group size had increased and fill the room better!!
Hello! 👋🏼
Did you see our (winning!) exhibit at the Santa Cruz Co. Fair Holiday Lights? Or maybe our sign in Aptos, & that's why you are visiting our website? Well, WELCOME!!!
We are Capitola-Aptos Rotary!
We are a non profit organization of like minded community leaders who want to have fellowship and be of service.
Our club was chartered in 1965 as the Rotary of Mid County, and we became Rotary of Capitola-Aptos in the 1980's. We are part of Rotary International's District 5170 (https://rotarydistrict5170.org/), Area 7 (which is all seven of the Santa Cruz County Rotary Clubs!).
The programs that we are most proud of are as follows:
1. Community Grants
The open application period is usually in Fall and local non-profits complete an application telling us about their organization and what they would be doing with the money if they are chosen.
On Dec. 8, 2022 we gave out our most recent year's Community Grants. We gave out over $18,000 to this year's twelve non-profit recipients! The 2022 focus that our club board & grant committee identified as top priority were food insecurity, mental health, children's issues and protection for parents & children (domestic violence).
In 2022 our Grant Recipient organizations were:
For Kids Foundation Monterey Bay https://www.forkidsfoundationmontereybay.org/
Grey Bears https://greybears.org/
Monarch Services https://www.monarchscc.org/
Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes https://www.pvloavesandfishes.org/
Safe Schools Project https://safeschoolsproject.org/
Santa Cruz Symphony https://santacruzsymphony.org/classical-music-classrooms
Veterans Memorial Building: https://www.veteranshall.org/revised-home-page/
Volunteer Center, Literacy Project: https://scvolunteercenter.org/programs/literacy-program/
Siena House https://www.sienahouse.org/what-we-do
Teen Kitchen Project https://teenkitchenproject.org/about-us/
Walnut Avenue Center http://www.wafwc.org/whoweare
Your Future Is Our Business https://yfiob.org/about-us/
Meals on Wheels of Santa Cruz County https://communitybridges.org/mealsonwheels/
To support our Community Grants Program, our members pay annual and quarterly dues, weekly meeting fees, and this is in addition to any annual donations our members make. We also hold a few events annually that raise more money to fund Grants. 💸💰💸
🍻🎆 4th of July Beer Booth: 🎇🍻 After the Aptos World's Shortest Parade we sell beer & hard seltzers in the Aptos Village Party in the Park. So every time you see us after the 4th of July parade buy an extra beer & leave a tip, since all the funds we raise support your local community!
🍽️🎤Annual Dinner & Roast:🍽️🎤 in the late fall we hold a gala where a local community member is roasted at a gourmet plated dinner.
🏓🎾 Pickleball Tournament:🎾🏓 2022 was our inaugural pickleball tournament and the event went so well we'll be holding our 2nd annual Pickleball in the Park Tournament in September 2023.
🐎🌹Kentucky Derby Party: 🌹🐎 In 2023 we'll be holding our inaugural Kentucky Derby Party! Stay tuned for more details but put May 6, 2023 on your calendar!
We have also fundraised and funded some very special large projects over the last decade alone!
2. High School Scholarships
We give about $6000 annually to students who are graduating from Aptos & Soquel High Schools. To receive these scholarships students apply & write an essay, then once they are chosen they must come visit one of our club meetings to meet us & tell us about themselves & their plans! They also must provide proof of enrollment & grades to Treasurer Julie for a check to be cut, which goes directly to their institution of higher education.
We also have a special scholarship called the John Fisher Scholarship---in honor of Past District Governor, RotaCare Bay Area Founder and our dear Rotarian Emeritus, John Fisher (1922-2020).
John is in the center, seated, in the blue blazer. Here he is pictured with fellow Rotarians at his 95th birthday celebration in 2017. A little about our dear John:
John was active in Rotary for over 60 years, achieving perfect attendance for decades! John served as Club President in Cupertino (1966-67) and again for the Capitola/Aptos Club (1981-82). In 1988-89 he was named as District Governor of 5170. John was a founding member of the RotaCare Free Clinics, providing no-cost medical treatment to the uninsured and working poor in the Bay Area, including Santa Cruz. RotaCare was a vision John brought to reality. John served as an active member of the RotaCare Bay Area Board of Directors from its inception. In 2019 he was honored with the RotaCare Lifetime Volunteer Award for his 30 years of service.
In 2000, John was a recipient of the KSBW distinguished Jefferson Award presented to those who have exhibited outstanding service to their community as a volunteer. He traveled to Washington, D.C. to receive this award in the chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2000, John was a recipient of the KSBW distinguished Jefferson Award presented to those who have exhibited outstanding service to their community as a volunteer. He traveled to Washington, D.C. to receive this award in the chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court.
We established the John Fisher Scholarship after John's passing and locally graduating high school students from Aptos & Soquel High Schools who are going to be attending Cabrillo College.
3. Piatt (pronounced Pie-IT) Endowment at UCSC
Capitola-Aptos Rotarian Henry Piatt and his wife Vera were children of Mid-America. Vera was born in Iowa in 1907 and Henry, in Missouri. In the late 1920's Henry was traveling the world with the U.S. Navy when he was stricken with Tuberculosis and
hospitalized for treatment in a CO military facility. Vera was a nurse in that hospital. They fell in love, Vera resigned her commission and after Henry's recovery began their lifelong marriage, which brought them to Sacramento.
Henry's business relationships led him to his first Rotary Club where he thrived in the "Service Above Self" philosophy. After relocating to Aptos, he became a member of The Rotary Club of Soquel in 1965, and remained a member until his death in 1984. His personable soft-spoken manner combined with vision & common sense made him a popular Rotarian and accounted for his long service as Club Secretary where he guided many Club Presidents during the 70's & 80's. Henry's vision of a Club Foundation to extend its capabilities to serve the community came to fruition, and in 1986 Vera established the Piatt Trust, which culminated in the Graduate Fellowship as it exists today. Vera passed on in 2007.
hospitalized for treatment in a CO military facility. Vera was a nurse in that hospital. They fell in love, Vera resigned her commission and after Henry's recovery began their lifelong marriage, which brought them to Sacramento.
Henry's business relationships led him to his first Rotary Club where he thrived in the "Service Above Self" philosophy. After relocating to Aptos, he became a member of The Rotary Club of Soquel in 1965, and remained a member until his death in 1984. His personable soft-spoken manner combined with vision & common sense made him a popular Rotarian and accounted for his long service as Club Secretary where he guided many Club Presidents during the 70's & 80's. Henry's vision of a Club Foundation to extend its capabilities to serve the community came to fruition, and in 1986 Vera established the Piatt Trust, which culminated in the Graduate Fellowship as it exists today. Vera passed on in 2007.
When asked why a graduate fellowship? Henry replied "I want to fund our community's best and brightest!"
Henry and Vera Piatt Fellowship is for Graduate Studies in the STEM Disciplines. The Piatt Fellowship provides a single award annually of $15,000 to a graduate of a Santa Cruz County Public High School who is pursuing a graduate degree at UC Santa Cruz in one of the science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) disciplines during the academic year following their application. 🧬🔬🧫🧪🔭
The Henry and Vera Piatt Fellows are:
Henry and Vera Piatt Fellowship is for Graduate Studies in the STEM Disciplines. The Piatt Fellowship provides a single award annually of $15,000 to a graduate of a Santa Cruz County Public High School who is pursuing a graduate degree at UC Santa Cruz in one of the science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) disciplines during the academic year following their application. 🧬🔬🧫🧪🔭
The Henry and Vera Piatt Fellows are:
Kevin Weatherwax (2022-2023) Megan Durham (2021-2022) John Wenger (2020-2021) Veronica Urabe (2019-2020) Alexey Munishkin (2018-2019) Chad Townsend (2017-2018) Keelan Guiley, Rubin Lab (2016-2017) Christopher Deming, Chen Lab (2015-2016) Kenji Kurita, Linington lab (2014-2015) Susanna "Susy" Honig (2013-2014) 4. Adopt-A-Beach and Quarterly Beach Cleanups: Rio Del Mar State Beach 🚮🚭🪣🚯♻️
We partnered with Save Our Shores (SOS) and have adopted Rio Del Mar State Beach in Aptos! Prior to the storm of January 2023 we even had a sign!
Adopting a beach means we do quarterly beach clean ups at our designated location.
What is a Rotary Meeting?
Want to know what to expect?!
Our 2/2/23 lunch meeting was at the Fairfield Inn on 41st Ave. in Capitola-a few hundred yards West of the Capitola Mall.
Informal poll shows the attendees generally liked the room. Busy Bee's catered the meal. Michele the co-owner is a member of Santa Cruz Rotary and also catered deposed-President Ken’s debunking, informal food reviews were also mostly positive and Michelle came by at the end of our meeting to introduce herself and thank us for the business! The owner of the Fairfield Inn is a fan of Rotary--believes in and supports our mission and seems eager to accommodate us--a marked change from indifference/annoyance.The board is soliciting further input on the location, venue amenities, parking, food, attitude….Nelson sent out a schedule of the next several meetings- make sure to read it and to NOT show up someplace where you are the only attendee.And please RSVP!
Our January 26, 2023 lunch was at Seascape. Remember, our February 2 lunch is at the Fairfield Inn on 41st Ave. in Capitola. Do not go to Seascape at noon unless you want to avoid all of us AND get a $20 fine.
We had 18 attendees in person and 4 on zoom.
Kendra ran the meeting with her usual charisma and organization- impeded only by a new microphone system that randomly disconnected and announced the disconnection in a Lauren Bacall-esque sultry near-whisper that seems more appropriate for pay for view R rated movies than the wholesomeness of our meetings.
Kendra's announcement: PLEASE respond to her emailed RSVPs
Dr Art's thought for the day: Don’t argue with a fool in public because people might confuse the two of you. (Has he been to court lately?)
CPOM Kendra here: “I want to make it abundantly clear we are not writing this page and it's contents to merely toot our own horn. We do want to acknowledge the Rotarians in our club who heard the call for help & showed up to do the work that was needed by our neighbors and community.
But also The Capitola-Aptos Rotary Club's Board of Directors feels that transparency in what we do in our community, both during the good times and the bad is necessary.
Since the community at large donates to our efforts (both via direct donations for specific projects and with support of our fundraising events like the Beer Booth and Pickleball Tournament) for the work we do in "Y/OUR Community" we want to be very clear on the activities we do and support, both monetarily and via our physical labor/boots on the ground approach.”
Special Storm Cleanup Edition of The Hub
January 26, 2023
Date: Saturday, January 21, 2023
Location: Aptos Hills and Soquel Village
CPOM Kendra did a fabulous job organizing teams for our volunteer cleanup work. Unfortunately she out-organized the volunteer center which waited until late Friday-early Saturday to assign us and instead of cleaning up the beach or a creek 7 of us ended up at a private residence in the Aptos Hills owned by a 66 year old woman. Her driveway was flooded by a seasonal stream that dumped tons of mud and debris and moved her large wood she about 50 feet off its foundation. The driveway was passable and the rest of the work required a bulldozer, not shovels and wheelbarrows, but the stalwart Rotarians moved mud and debris to widen the path for an hour or so and achieved as much as we could by hand. Kendra has some before and after photos. Some irony in that the owner asked for assistance in part because of her age and Kendra was the only one of us who doesn't have an AARP card.
Our second job of the day that The Volunteer Center assigned to us was in Soquel, near the Soquel Creek and homes on Soquel Wharf Road that were flooded/mudded out.
Kendra, Eric and Bert volunteered shoveling out mud from the residences. The more mud we shoveled the more mud appeared!
Date: Sunday, January 22, 2023
Location: Capitola Village
Sunday our small but mighty group of 5 club members joined a swarm of volunteers to clean up Capitola Village and move mountains of washed ashore trees, limbs, fence posts, decking, and in general storm debris. The volunteer descended upon the chaos like an army of ants among huge amounts of interlinked pick up sticks. We filled a humorous "green organic" dumpster to the top. While this was a great accomplishment, looking at the beach there is still lots to be done. Watch for more information about the ongoing efforts that are needed and our opportunities to help.
The Volunteering Storm Clean Up Team are real Troopers! Everyone was very busy working this weekend. Thanks to all our Rotarians who gathered together to help the community, Kendra, Ken, Eric, Laura, Dr Art and Grandson Noah, Lowry, Kelly, Becky, Becky's Husband Ed, Julie, Nelson, Paul and Rotarian Bert, you guys rock!
CPOM Kendra again:
“At the January Board Meeting club our club has pledged $4000 to go directly to our Emergency Storm Fund, but one thing we have learned from living through the ‘89 quake and the‘95 Levee breach and the ‘98 El Niño, is that cleanup will be a marathon not a sprint.
The only stipulation the board put on the committed funds is that it needs to be spent on or in conjunction with a project where we Rotarians are “boots on the ground” involved, we will not just be cutting a check to another organization and hoping they use the funds for storm response.”
“At the January Board Meeting club our club has pledged $4000 to go directly to our Emergency Storm Fund, but one thing we have learned from living through the ‘89 quake and the‘95 Levee breach and the ‘98 El Niño, is that cleanup will be a marathon not a sprint.
The only stipulation the board put on the committed funds is that it needs to be spent on or in conjunction with a project where we Rotarians are “boots on the ground” involved, we will not just be cutting a check to another organization and hoping they use the funds for storm response.”
March 2023 Edit:
If you like the work we are doing on the ground here in Santa Cruz County and want to support us by adding to our Storm Fund, you can donate via PayPal at this link:
or via Venmo or PayPal through this QR code. (On Venmo please put with the payment that you want the money added to our Storm or Flood Relief fund.)
Our January 19, 2023 lunch meeting was at Seascape. The auspiciousness of the occasion was accented by a flyover by 3 Osprey heli-planes followed by a helicopter gunship and Marine One. They all would have joined us for lunch but we would have gone over our 25 person lunch allotment.
We had about 20 attendees in person plus 4 on zoom.
Dave was there in person- nice to see him again in person especially with his charming granddaughter-guest Ashleigh. Also nice to have Trish back and Jimmy K made it too. Good to have the full contingent of club lawyers.
Al did a very hip welcome song on his keyboard a la Herbie Hancock. Rumor is that Sam is working on a Hendrix-styled rendition of the 4 Way Test song. Think Purple Haze/Rotary.
Co-President Kendra ran the meeting and had a few announcements. Secret one- the reconnaissance team for an alternate venue was very pleased with the Fairfield Inn on 41st Ave.- working on a test run there soon. Watch this space and your e-mail inbox.
Kendra also relayed that we had over- volunteered for storm-related cleanup. The City of Capitola couldn't handle all of us, State Parks said they would only allow Rangers to help. So Kendra gave her contact info to the Volunteer Center and told us to stand by. More on that adventure below.
Thought of the day Dr Art: mask up and join for cleanup.
Dr Art was also the Detective. He asked several of the members to tell us how the storms had changed their lives. Most of us reported nearly no effects, but Co-prez Laura had enough happen to make up for that: long power outages, trees down, road blocked and a tornado (Auntie Em!! Are we in Kansas?)
Trish told about all the damage she saw at the beach.
Our guest speaker was Kent Benedict MD, a friend of Dr. Art's. He gave a talk and power point (slide show of the 21st century) on a 37 day pilgrimage hike that he and his wife Paula took over the Pyrenees in Southern France into Spain and over the Galicios Camino de Santiago and eventually to the Spanish Coast.
We had about 20 attendees in person plus 4 on zoom.
Dave was there in person- nice to see him again in person especially with his charming granddaughter-guest Ashleigh. Also nice to have Trish back and Jimmy K made it too. Good to have the full contingent of club lawyers.
Al did a very hip welcome song on his keyboard a la Herbie Hancock. Rumor is that Sam is working on a Hendrix-styled rendition of the 4 Way Test song. Think Purple Haze/Rotary.
Co-President Kendra ran the meeting and had a few announcements. Secret one- the reconnaissance team for an alternate venue was very pleased with the Fairfield Inn on 41st Ave.- working on a test run there soon. Watch this space and your e-mail inbox.
Kendra also relayed that we had over- volunteered for storm-related cleanup. The City of Capitola couldn't handle all of us, State Parks said they would only allow Rangers to help. So Kendra gave her contact info to the Volunteer Center and told us to stand by. More on that adventure below.
Thought of the day Dr Art: mask up and join for cleanup.
Dr Art was also the Detective. He asked several of the members to tell us how the storms had changed their lives. Most of us reported nearly no effects, but Co-prez Laura had enough happen to make up for that: long power outages, trees down, road blocked and a tornado (Auntie Em!! Are we in Kansas?)
Trish told about all the damage she saw at the beach.
Our guest speaker was Kent Benedict MD, a friend of Dr. Art's. He gave a talk and power point (slide show of the 21st century) on a 37 day pilgrimage hike that he and his wife Paula took over the Pyrenees in Southern France into Spain and over the Galicios Camino de Santiago and eventually to the Spanish Coast.
Our 2023 Inaugural lunch meeting was 1/5/23 at Seascape.
15 intrepid members braved wind and rain to attend in person and 13 of them braved the lunch (kidding?)
4 members attended by zoom. The rest of y'all best have notes from PG&E that you were without power or equally convincing excuses for not at least zooming lest 'ye be fined (Assuming a Sgt at Arms attends)...(your reporter had a deposition all day 1/12/23 and you don't want to know).
Konstantin attended in full storm regalia which even matched- a tribute to his European stylishness.
Sam led us in the Welcome Song and 4 Way test song.
Mardi zoomed us a presentation about the Christmas gifts to the Watsonville Nursing Center- it was touching to hear and see how grateful the seniors were and how much small things meant to them.
Mardi also presented a rousing montage of photos of Capitola Aptos Rotary's Greatest Hits of 2022 Video here
None of the Red Badgers, which will not excuse them from fines nor giving their requisite autobiographies.
But as an additional affront, since they all whimped out in their debut we had no program. Co-President Kendra filled the time nicely. We won First Place in the Community Groups Division for our Christmas Lights exhibit at the County Fair!!! Congrats to all who planned, set-up, maintained and took down! Video here.
The car seat drive organized by our club and Area 7 Presidents in conjunction with Baja Bridges had 30 seats and 6 bases collected from our drop off sites, and the local Rotary total was 80 seats, eight additional bases and one stroller. There will be another round of donations in the Spring. ( No, past-prez Ken does not need a booster seat for our lunches.....) More pictures here.
[[For Immediate Release: Dec. 1, 2022]]
Capitola-Aptos Rotary Club's Youth Speech Contest to be held March 9th, 2023
LOCATION: Parish Hall of The Episcopal Church of St. John's
(125 Canterbury Dr. Aptos, CA 95003)
Happy Hour starts at 4:45pm
Dinner Served at 5pm
Speeches start at 5:15pm, Program concludes at 7pm.
RSVP for a dinner ticket to the event is required (this is so we have enough food!)
RSVP to kcleary.rotary(at)gmail.com by Sunday Evening, March 5, 2023.
Busy Bee's Catering will be doing our meal. The menu is Chicken Cacciatore, Polenta, Vegetable and those Rolls we all love! Meal ticket is $35/pp. See PayPal link below to pay in advance.
Richard D. King Speech Competition Theme:
Imagine Rotary - the future of a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.
Imagine Rotary Info:
Rotary International President Jennifer Jones wants members to imagine the possibilities in the change they can make to transform the world.
Form to Apply:
Last day to submit participant applications is February 17th, 2023
Rotary Capitola Aptos Club, gives $25 award to all students making a speech after they enter.
Do you have a car seat sitting in your shed or garage that is unused (and perhaps expired too) and you find it collecting dust year after year?!
Well Rotary has the solution! The Rotary District 5170 Area 7 Clubs (which are the clubs of Santa Cruz County) are doing a car seat drive this weekend (12/10 & 12/11)!
We are partnering with Baja Bridges to get the car seats down to---and distributed among---areas of Baja (Mulegé and Santa Rosalia during this drive) where the mortality rate of children in automobile accidents is high.
Local fire houses in Baja are rolling out safety programs educating about the importance of car seats and booster seats (similar education programs to those done in the US in the 1970's and 1980's). Now that there is interest, the next problem being experienced is there aren't car seats available for the fire personnel to give out. Fire personnel are asking for more car seats to be brought down for them to distribute among their communities. That's where we come in!
Attached is information with four of our drop off locations.
We cannot wait to see you and accept your cleaned/all parts included and working car seats next weekend, December 10th & 11th!
Our October 20th lunch at Seascape had 27 attendees in person.
Pledge Follies. Seascape’s American flag also attended, so we did not have to salute a virtual flag. Co-President Laura Grinder virtually missed seeing the real flag but recovered and did a great job leading the meeting.
Attendance, Visiting Rotarians, and Guests. Al De Camara led us in the Welcome song on keyboard. Jimmy Kutch made it in person and is looking great! Likewise, nice to see Pam Goodman and Trish Glassey in person. Visiting Rotarians Anders Per and Constantin Gehriger again provided their European sophistication. Nelson Crandall claimed that his guest Barbara Meyer has been a friend of Nelson’s wife for 60 years; not so sure Nelson, they both look way too young for that. Michele Bassi brought her guest banking buddy Alicia Kretsch from Santa Cruz Community Credit Union. Your author remembers the days when bankers all looked like Milburn Drysdale (Beverly Hillbillies) pictured below.
Our October 13 lunch was attended by 28 in person attendees plus Mardi Padilla and Jimmy Kutch on Zoom.
CPOM Laura Grinder ran the meeting with pizzaz and efficiency.
CPOM Laura Grinder ran the meeting with pizzaz and efficiency.
Our Speaker for 10/13/22 was local social media and "Aptosia" Celebrity, Native Animal Rescue's own Amy RedFeather!!! (the "other" CPOM [Kendra] has been REALLY looking forward to this meeting!!)
But first, the other bidzzzness:
Strings and Keys:
Sam and Al de Camara rocked the Welcome Song and the 4 Way Test song; good to have the band back together.
Al brought his smaller keyboard, but size doesn't matter as much as performance and Al's piano sounded way better than the Seascape upright, which is still in absentia (with the flag). It is also free.
Guest and Visitors:
Al brought his smaller keyboard, but size doesn't matter as much as performance and Al's piano sounded way better than the Seascape upright, which is still in absentia (with the flag). It is also free.
Guest and Visitors:
Laura brought her long time friend Mary Bevernick as a first time guest.
Perennial visiting Rotarian Anders Pers is in town for a while to escape the Swedish winters. And it is nice to have Bill Gray back from his yacht club-living in Washington.
Perennial visiting Rotarian Anders Pers is in town for a while to escape the Swedish winters. And it is nice to have Bill Gray back from his yacht club-living in Washington.
Honorary member Yvette Brooks also made it in person, adding to the ambiance.
Sue Lawson’s friend and our RYE alumni Celine Jolly honored us again with her presence, all the way from France; she still likes us enough to spend time here!
Also nice to see Eric Costello in person, setting the fashion trend with his suit and tie.
Dear Members (and other interested readers):
Our October 6 meeting was at Seascape (that isn't going to be news for awhile).
We had 27 attendees in person and Jimmy K on zoom
CO-Prez Laura hosted
Sue Lawson's former French exchange student Celine returned after 8 years. Celine was a sophomore at AHS in 2014 and is now a landscape engineer, traveling the world before starting work. C'est un femme charmante. Unclear why she is not a Rotarian with all of our positive influence.
Our October 6 meeting was at Seascape (that isn't going to be news for awhile).
We had 27 attendees in person and Jimmy K on zoom
CO-Prez Laura hosted
Sue Lawson's former French exchange student Celine returned after 8 years. Celine was a sophomore at AHS in 2014 and is now a landscape engineer, traveling the world before starting work. C'est un femme charmante. Unclear why she is not a Rotarian with all of our positive influence.
Rotarian Sue Lawson with her Rotary Youth Exchange daughter Celine! Celine was our exchange student 8-9 years ago. She is from Angé, France. It’s been so wonderful to have Celine joining us again!
Mel Defe, executive director of Siena House was our Speaker on 10/6/22
Our September 29 lunch at Seascape was attended by 23 folks in person and Jimmy Kutch and Sue Lawson on zoom.
Anders was in attendance- great to see him, Konstantin was also with us again
Lori Teller brought Dave, Sam brought his lovely wife, Dagmar's mom graced us with her presence.
Co-President Kendra led the proceedings and festivities.
Sam led us in the Welcome Song with a rousing guitar variation and the 4 way Test song, augmented by Kelly's chorus from Running Bear.
Sam also told a short joke that was both misogynistic and accurate.
Kendra reported that the Chamber Showcase was a great success- we had a booth at the 10th hole and great participation. Kudos to Doug Deaver for all the work he put into it.
Anders was in attendance- great to see him, Konstantin was also with us again
Lori Teller brought Dave, Sam brought his lovely wife, Dagmar's mom graced us with her presence.
Co-President Kendra led the proceedings and festivities.
Sam led us in the Welcome Song with a rousing guitar variation and the 4 way Test song, augmented by Kelly's chorus from Running Bear.
Sam also told a short joke that was both misogynistic and accurate.
Kendra reported that the Chamber Showcase was a great success- we had a booth at the 10th hole and great participation. Kudos to Doug Deaver for all the work he put into it.
Our September 15 lunch meeting was at Seascape, which is noteworthy because owing to a recent conflagration alternate venues are in short supply.
We had 22 members in person, Jimmy and Sue on zoom.
Kendra presided and has glided into the role with far more class and ease than her predecessor (says the IPP, not referring to previous CPOM!).
Dr. Art, consensus nominee for Man of the Year (write-in for Man of the Decade) gave the thought for the day: to do well in old age we have to start early. Not sure what that means but your author started drinking at 16 and hopes that counts.
It was also Dr Art's anniversary, so much to celebrate.
We had 22 members in person, Jimmy and Sue on zoom.
Kendra presided and has glided into the role with far more class and ease than her predecessor (says the IPP, not referring to previous CPOM!).
Dr. Art, consensus nominee for Man of the Year (write-in for Man of the Decade) gave the thought for the day: to do well in old age we have to start early. Not sure what that means but your author started drinking at 16 and hopes that counts.
It was also Dr Art's anniversary, so much to celebrate.
The Hub
September 8, 2022
Our September 8, 2022 meeting was at Seascape Golf Course ran by El Presidente Laura and El Presidente Kendra ran the technology in Secretary Nelson's sted (we wish him a negative Covid test and good health!).
Then our speaker for the day was Sherry Cassedy to talk about Marriage and her new book called Marriage Unveiled.
Today we had a Fisher Scholarship recipient, Andrew Morrissey come to the club today to give us an update on his plans after Cabrillo to attend Colorado School of Mines.
Andrew was familiar to us as he participated in our Aptos High Interact Club and the Richard King Speech Contest!
Andrew (center) pictured with President Laura Grinder (R) and Capitola-Aptos Rotary Foundation's Al DeCamara (L)
Our August 18 meeting at Seascape had 22 in person and 2 zoom attendees.
Great Big Welcome Back to Jimmy Kutch!!! Congrats on being well enough to join us- always a better event with Jimmy K there. Also nice to see Marie at lunch again – we are hoping she can convince her daughter to join.
Kendra Cleary and Jimmy Kutch; Marie Mosely.
Sam led us in the Welcome Song and 4 Way Test song and we got a taste of Kelly's oompa oompa beat.
Dr. Art provided a thought for the day that paraphrased Steven Hawking, who said, “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet.” Dr. Art’s version left his audience deep in thought.
It was CPOM Laura's birthday and Sam led us in the Birthday song- happy 54th Madam Co-President. Happy Birthday Laura!!!
Written By Club Secretary, Nelson Crandall,
Pre-Meeting. Setting up Zoom for the Club meeting at Seascape is like a box of chocolates. I never know what I’m going to find. Will there be a piano? Will there be an American flag? Will the flagpole be larger than the flag itself? Will there be an extension cord? Will there be something to prevent the cord from becoming a tripping hazard? Will there be a table for the projector? The treat this week was two upside tables instead of a flag. The creativity is amazing.
Call to Order. CPOM Laura Grinder presided over the August 9 Club meeting. (CPOM stands for “Co-President of the Month.”) Laura started what I hope is a new tradition – acknowledging three members who joined us on Zoom.
Thought of the Day. Dr. Art Dover paraphrased Dr. Martin Luther King, who said, “it is cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps.”
Thank You Note. Nelson Crandall shared a lovely thank you note from our scholarship recipient, Celeste Ferreira.
Keith's Celebration of Life. Al De Camara announced that Keith Medeiros's celebration of life will be held at Keith's home on Saturday, August 27.
Jacob's Heart School Supply Drive. Julie Lambert announced that last week Club members generously pledged $ 1,000 to be matched by the Capitola-Aptos Rotary Foundation for Jacob's Heart. Julie asked that anyone who had not yet made good on their pledge to pay Julie in cash or by check or to pay Michele Bassi by Venmo.
Field Trip to Second Harvest Food Bank
On August 4th, 19 Club members met at the Second Harvest Food Bank in Watsonville. About 8 of us carpooled. In attendance were Co-Presidents Laura Grinder and Kendra Cleary, Co-Presidents Elect Pam Goodman and Lowry Fenton, Michele Bassi, Craig Bagley, Nelson Crandall, Eric Costello, Al De Camara, Win Fernald, Trish Glassy, Dagmar Leguillon, Mardi Padilla, Julie Lambert, Sam Nigh, Anissa Novak, Becky Peters, Kate Southerland, and Matt Wetstein.
We gathered in the front patio, enjoying the pleasant weather and beautiful tile wall. Julie pointed out her family’s tile, but it’s not in the picture
Sandra, Pam, Win, Laura, Craig, Mardi, and Eric.
A sign in sheet was circulating as we arrived. We learned later that as part of its food security protocols, everyone who enters the warehouse must sign in and sign out.
The first announcement was that everyone who had parked on the concrete next door was illegally parked. Five of us immediately scampered off to move our cars.
Chief Development Officer Suzanne Willis, seen below left thinking “Is he really a Rotarian?”, gave us a tour with a nifty headset and belt-worn speaker to ensure everyone could hear. Brand new CEO Erica Padilla-Chavez tagged along to make us feel important.
First stop was the warehouse, piled high with canned goods on palate racks. They didn’t have palate racks in 1989, leaving them a lot to pick up when the shaking stopped.
Left to right, Suzanne, Julie, Laura, Sandra, Lowry, Trish, Win, Michele, Anissa, Craig.
Left to right, Craig, Kate, Trish, Al, Dagmar, Erica, Sam, Sandra, Matt, Suzanne.
The biggest question on everyone’s mind was, “What is lezinine?” but no one had the nerve to ask out loud. Instead, we learned that Second Harvest acts as a distribution hub rather than as a distribution point. Second Harvest provides food to dozens of organizations that distribute food directly to consumers.
From there we moved to a narrow hallway with a 50-year timeline. Who knew that Second Harvest, the nation’s second food bank, was inspired by the Santa Cruz branch of the Black Panthers who were participating the Black Panthers’ nationwide Free Breakfast for School Children Program?
From that narrow hall we moved to the shipping and receiving room and its labor-saving loading docks. Before the loading docks were built, it took half an hour or longer to unload a truck. Now, it takes five minutes.
This painting adorns the wall of the shipping and receiving room, along with a warning from the voice of experience:
From there we passed a capacious freezer with a padded roll-up door that opens and closes in the flash an eye; too fast for the camera to capture. With the door open, everyone with exposed skin below the knees could feel the cold air flowing out of the freezer. Next to it was an equally impressive cooler.
One of our resident vegans, Dagmar, ironically asked if Second Harvest handled meat. Dagmar, why would you want to know? Yes, Second Harvest handles meat. But not normally turkeys. Who has room for multiple frozen turkeys? (Al said that Sam did, but Sam denied it.) Frozen chickens are about as large as people can handle. Most of the meat is canned and comes through the Department of Agriculture.
Next stop was another cooler stocked with strawberries and watermelons, among other things. In answer to questions, we learned that before the pandemic, Second Harvest served around 50,000 persons, roughly 20% of the county’s population. At the height of the pandemic, that figure soared to 100,000 and presently is about 85,000.
We also learned that much of Second Harvest’s offerings includes local fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes it is produce that isn’t pretty enough for the retail trade; sometimes it is produce that is too ripe to survive a round trip to a Central Valley distribution center before returns to local shelves.
Food that is not good enough for humans is distributed as animal feed, unless there are too many berries. Animals can stand only so many berries. Food not good enough for animals goes to the composing facility in Seaside.
All the food Second Harvest distributes is given away for free. Well, almost. Sometimes a non-profit needs a food that Second Harvest does not have in stock, such as peanut butter. In that case, Second Harvest will use its buying power to purchase the item at a deeply discounted price with the non-profit contributing a small portion of the purchase price.
After the tour we lunched on deli sandwiches and water in the employee picnic area. The meeting ended promptly on time, with everyone both spiritually and physically sated.
Here is the link for August 2022 Meeting's RSVP Form!
Please indicate your plans for that Thursday's meeting by the Sunday Evening prior as we have to get a count into Seascape!!
Attendance. Our July 21 lunch meeting at Seascape was attended by 20 members and 2 guests in person, 4 members on Zoom, and our guest speaker.
Guests. Our guests were attorney Shelli Strohle, whom we hope to see as a member soon; and Marie Moseley's daughter Michelle, who has recently returned here from Texas. Michelle was president of Interact at Aptos HS.
Happy New Year! The peaceful transition of power is complete: Co-President Kendra hosted and, of course, ran the meeting seamlessly...pretty much..., especially impressive because she had just headed her first Board meeting and timed it perfectly. Co-Prez Laura was sick and attended on Zoom.
Professor Carrie Partch on Circadian Rhythms. Our guest speaker was Carrie Partch PhD, a biochemist at UCSC, who spoke and presented a power point on Circadian rhythms. (Not to be confused with cicadas, the 17 year locusts....Rich.)
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