It’s Spring Break time and I hope you are finding time to enjoy it! This season brings a wide range of celebrations—Easter, Passover, the end of Ramadan, Nowruz, Holi, Opening Day, and even March Madness—there’s truly something for everyone.
This energy was also visible at our club, which had many great speakers over the past month:
Our own Dave Eshelman delivered the definitive history of the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment along with his role in it and the impact it had on his life.
We hosted a District Speech Contest featuring outstanding students from local high schools. Every speaker was very impressive, and I was grateful not to be in the judges’ seats! Congratulations to Colette Huynh (Santa Cruz Sunrise) for taking first place and advancing to the next round, with Symeona Resnick (Capitola–Aptos) earning second and I think she also advanced to the next round.
Fellow member Carol Woodward shared insightful perspectives on the neuroscience of design and color.
David Hoyt from the Computer History Museum gave us a look into the museum’s history and some intriguing artifacts.
While the holiday season is ending, our club only gets busier. Especially this month as we get all set for our Art Show at the beginning of May! This is our signature event, and your help is key. Please spread the word wherever you can—friends, family, colleagues, and even those chance conversations. A strong turnout makes all the difference.
We also have an exciting month ahead at our club meetings:
April 10 – Sheeba Garg will share stories from her treks up some of the world’s most famous mountains.
April 17 – Award-winning author Cynthia Gregory will discuss the world of publishing, from indie to traditional.
April 24 – Join us for a hands-on service project as we host a packing event for City Team.
And don’t miss these fellowship opportunities, in addition to our regular club activities:
April 9 – Networking Dinner at Pisco Bar
April 22 – Bocce Ball Fellowship Event
I hope to see you at as many of these events as possible, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic month.
March is National Save Your Vision Month. Our club, with the help of the YMCA, collected 150 pairs of gently used prescription glasses. The glasses will go to AINAK, the nonprofit that provides free vision screening and prescription glasses to children in underserved communities. AINAK is a recent recipient of a grant from the Saratoga Rotary Charitable Foundation. Thank you for supporting the gift of sight.
Saratoga Rotarians turned out en force for a very festive St Patrick’s Day Party at Marcia and Russ Hansen’s house. The weather was summer like so we were in and out which was lucky because we had a ton of folks. We outdid ourselves on food! Besides the baked potato bar we had corned beef, two chilis, a cheese ball, 12 desserts including Julie Herndon’s Guinness Chocolate Cake and Marsi’s Limoncello cake, to name just a few. Sheree brought green ball things that were delicious.
Amy Woo provided green beer. Helen Shaw brought green mimosas and Bailey’s Irish Cream was plentiful. See you on April 22 for Bocce Ball!
Once again, Read Across America Day was a great success! Our Rotary Club has been visiting Latimer School since 2015. Latimer is a Title 1 school in the Moreland District which serves grades transitional kindergarten through eighth.
Each year, Rotarians go into the classrooms to celebrate reading and Dr. Seuss’ birthday. In the TK through fifth grade, we told the students a little bit about Rotary, read a story to the students, and left each student with a book to take home. Due to scheduling issues, we did not go into the middle school classes; we hope to return to those classes next year.
Over the twelve years we have been reading, our Club, through the Saratoga Rotary Charitable Foundation, has donated over 6,000 books to students!
An exciting musical lineup set for the Saratoga Rotary Art Show
From cool jazz to hot rock, visitors to the annual Saratoga Rotary Fine Art Show will find an entertaining slate of musical acts on the weekend of May 2 and 3 at Saratoga’s West Valley College.
Local blues singer and recording artist Kaye Bohler will be the headliner, along with British pop idols Nigel and Clive, who claim (with awink) to have been the most popular band in the U.K. in the 1960s before The Beatles and other bands stole their music.
While admiring the work of over 100 area artists, strollers can also soak in the sounds of The West Valley College Jazz Combo, local favorites Severe Pleasure, jazz quartet Three Knights and a Jester, and strolling flamenco guitarist Paul Renslow.
Kaye Bohler has performed from Japan to Alaska, and up and down the west coast since 1990, delivering a Vegas-style show, while belting out the blues. Her band features searing guitar grooves and tasty harmonica work. She and her band will perform Saturday afternoon, May 6, from approximately 2pm to 4:30pm.
Key unique features of 1938 Ford fire engines include:
- Engine: The 24-stud Flathead V8, often equipped with a Model 94 Holly carburetor.
- Pump System: Many were equipped with front-mounted 300-420 gallon-per-minute rotary gear pumps, allowing them to draft water directly from water sources.
- Body & Utility: Often built on a Ford 2-ton truck chassis, they were configured with essential equipment like ladders, hose reels, fire buckets, and 300-gallon water tanks.
- Open Cab Design: The open-cab design was characteristic of the era, chosen for rapid entry/exit by fire crews.
- Historical Impact: Frequently used by smaller, municipal fire departments as their primary pumper, many survived to become preserved parade pieces, such as the one featured in "A Christmas Story"
Saratoga Rotary Club Foundation granted $7,300 to Saratoga Fire Protection District to purchase a rebuilt engine for Saratoga's Fire Protection District’s historic 1938 Ford Model A Fire Engine, which was installed by Saratoga community volunteers.
April is a significant month for Rotary International, designated as both Environment Month and Maternal and Child Health Month. It honors founder Paul Harris, born April 19, 1868, and highlights community projects like tree planting, pollinator gardens, and water conservation.
Every day mothers risk their lives giving birth and millions of children die each year from treatable, preventable causes. At least 7 million children under the age of five die each year due to malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. To help reduce this rate, Rotary provides immunizations and antibiotics to babies, improve access to essential medical services, and support trained health care providers for mothers and their children.
Environmental Focus: Rotary emphasizes environmental protection and sustainability throughout April.
March is National Save Your Vision Month. Our club, with the help of the YMCA, collected 150 pairs of gently used prescription glasses. The glasses will go to AINAK, the nonprofit that provides free vision screening and prescription glasses to children in underserved communities. AINAK is a recent recipient of a grant from the Saratoga Rotary Charitable Foundation. Thank you for supporting the gift of sight.
Saratoga Rotarians turned out en force for a very festive St Patrick’s Day Party at Marcia and Russ Hansen’s house. The weather was summer like so we were in and out which was lucky because we had a ton of folks. We outdid ourselves on food! Besides the baked potato bar we had corned beef, two chilis, a cheese ball, 12 desserts including Julie Herndon’s Guinness Chocolate Cake and Marsi’s Limoncello cake, to name just a few. Sheree brought green ball things that were delicious.
Once again, Read Across America Day was a great success! Our Rotary Club has been visiting Latimer School since 2015. Latimer is a Title 1 school in the Moreland District which serves grades transitional kindergarten through eighth. 