Events

The Rotary Veterans Initiative’s (RVI) mission is to help veterans succeed by supporting their education, training, and job search opportunities.  RVI, led by members of the Rotary Clubs of Carlisle and Mechanicsburg North (PA), does this by providing scholarship and book/device voucher monies and career-focused mentoring to student veterans. Since 2015, RVI has helped 209 veterans achieve their dreams with a total of $145,000 of financial support.  RVI-supported student veteran achievements include their earning college degrees, trades and technical certifications, and leading community-based efforts to help homeless veterans.  Rick Coplen, decorated combat and peacekeeping veteran and RVI Chairman, looks forward to discussing RVI with us on Veterans Day.  

In time for Thanksgiving, we bring our Three Amigos to speak words of wisdom for the season. This is an annual event much loved by Rotary members. Our own Father Mike Mahoney, Rabbi Jay Miller, and Pastor Paul Watermulder join together in harmony to let us know what they are thankful for. 

Thomas A. Nazario is an attorney and former Assistant Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Tom Nazario has authored four books on children’s rights including the nationally acclaimed In Defense of Children. These publications have made him a recognized expert on the legal rights and problems of children in America. He has appeared on CNN, Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, the Today Show, and the Tom Snyder Show, as well as dozens of other television and radio programs while, at the same time, serving as a consultant to law firms throughout the country litigating cases involving children who have been abused or neglected, the subject of an intense custody battle, lost in foster care, or injured or killed as a result of someone’s negligence.

Americans are turning to RVing as the last safe way to see this great land, but is it a new kind of freedom or just a bad trip?

Peggy and Tony Barthel’s presentation will share fun and funny stories, great tips on free camping, places to go and see near you and relatable stories about the RV lifestyle so you can decide if this is the right thing for you.

This presentation is about 15-20 minutes of images and videos about the RV lifestyle featuring the good, the bad and the truthful and is meant for all audiences. With RVing being such a hot topic this should be fun.

Lynda Bettencourt is an educator in Elk Grove as a skills intervention teacher currently working with “at risk” youth and mentoring other teachers.  She was recently named as Sacramento County Teacher of the Year for 2021.  She has advance to the statewide competition where five teachers will be identified as California’s Teachers of the Year.

Jan has over 30 years of energy and utility experience, with a focus on renewable energy contracting and financing. She formerly worked at Silicon Valley Power, and has founded four energy-related start-ups.

Jan was elected to the city council of Los Altos in 2012 and served as Mayor from December 2014 to December 2015. She was re-elected in 2016 for a second four-year term.  She served on the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District from 2013 to February 2017.  She earned a BS in civil engineering and an MBA, both from Stanford University. Jan is a registered professional engineer in California.

At APX, she developed and pioneered the first use of renewable energy credits, which are now the standard currency for trading and tracking renewable power. At Clean Power Markets, her company designed and implemented the successful Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program for the State of New Jersey.

San Mateo’s Rob “Birdlegs” Caughlan has written a memoir, “A Surfer In the White House,” and it is warm, funny, optimistic, and a primer for those who want to turn their personal passions into social progress and a career. In addition to life on the waves, Rob has spent decades working with a who’s who of American and Peninsula politics, including President Jimmy Carter, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

The Port of Redwood City is located 18 nautical miles south of San Francisco and is the only deepwater port in south San Francisco Bay. Its strategic location between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, as well as its connections to Highway 101 and the Union Pacific railroad make it a transportation hub serving several industries. including construction materials, recycled metals, etc. The Port specializes in bulk, neo-bulk and liquid cargoes. The Redwood City channel is a federally-authorized navigation project maintained at 30 ft. depth. In addition to cargo facilities, the Port has recreational boating facilities. Founder of the Redwood City PortFest, a community outreach event that attracts thousands of visitors to the Port of Redwood City and has received the Award of Recognition from the American Association of Port Authorities.

Despite its positive origins, the term hacker has taken on a negative connotation over the past 20 plus years. But over the past ten years, organizations have increasingly tapped the creativity of humans to try and break into their systems before the bad guys do. These so-called ‘white-hat hackers’ are racing against the bad guys - the black hats - to try and make the internet a safe place again. With all the advances in security technology, there are some things that humans can still do best. This talk will describe the origins of hacking, how the concept of paying hackers for good came to be, and how the U.S. government is leading the charge to get everyone to do it.

DO NOT miss this program! Jim Weil, president and host of the MPSF Speaker Series, will give us a brief overview of the MPSF Speaker Series. Then, he will open things up for our questions. He’s happy to tell us about his experiences with speakers on and off stage.
 
For those who don’t know the MPSF Speaker Series, founded in 1990, is the largest community speaker series in the United States. It brings nationally recognized speakers to San Mateo, Marin, and Oakland. This season’s line up includes Jane Goodall, Wynton Marsalis, W. Kamau Bell, Kara Swisher, Rick Steve, Theresa May, and Michael Pollan. 

Jeff Krolik served as President, FOX Sports Regional Networks, where he oversaw the day-to-day operation of FOX Sports’ 22 regional sports networks, the largest such RSN group in the country.  In this role, Krolik managedvrelationships with 44 NBA, NHL, and MLB team partners and was responsible for a business that produced more than 5,000 live sports telecasts annually.  

Previously, Krolik served as Executive Vice President, FOX Sports Regional Networks since 2007.  Before that, he served as General Manager of Fox Sports Bay Area from 1995 – 2007, where his responsibilities included overseeing all operations of the network, including affiliate relations, advertising sales, programming, production, marketing, and public relations.  During his tenure at Fox Sports Bay Area, Krolik led the effort to convert the network from a premium channel to a basic cable channel.  

Before joining FOX Sports, Krolik spent 15 years at HBO.  His last role was as vice president of HBO International, where he was responsible for identifying and developing pay-TV channels and other media ventures in key global markets.  Among his notable achievements was the successful launch of HBO in Brazil.  Earlier in his career at HBO, Krolik held a series of positions in sales and marketing in New York, Florida, and California.  Krolik began his professional career in government as staff assistant to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller.   

A native of New York City, Krolik graduated from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English.