Minor League Hockey, Major Community Impact
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF Oct. 20, 2025
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Minor League Hockey, Major Community Impact
Speaker: Zack Curran
Is this your first time visiting us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday, our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
To properly attend this meeting, please:
Read and watch the content below in its entirety.
Complete the attendance survey.
Everyone is encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Greetings Members, Rotarians, Friends and Guests:
Want to Learn More About Us? - Who We Are, What We Do, Why We Do It
Want to become a Rotarian? - Join us in helping to make the world a better place!
Thanks for joining our weekly meeting!
Ernie Rodriguez- Club Member & Director
WEEKLY FUNNY WITH SHAGS
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
Local Pronunciation
A husband and wife were driving through Louisiana. As they approached Natchitoches, they started arguing about the pronunciation of the town. They argued back and forth, then they stopped for lunch. At the counter, the husband asked the blonde waitress, "Before we order, could you please settle an argument for us? Would you please pronounce where we are very slowly?" She leaned over the counter and said, "Burrr-gerrr Kiiing."
Inspiration
This short TED talk by Linsey Pollak (on making a clarinet from a carrot) is an example of one of those moments of delightful surprise. Have you had moments when a friend showed a talent you didn't know that person had? What are you learning that your friends may not know about?
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
How Are Microchips Made?
Travel into a computer chip to explore how these devices are manufactured and what can be done about their environmental impact.
Are you receiving the Members Only Weekly Bulletin?
Our Club News and Member links are now on the Members Only ClubRunner Site and are emailed weekly as a Club Bulletin. Please make sure your email address is current on ClubRunner.
Members, be sure to read our Weekly Club Bulletin, which is sent separately to your email address from ClubRunner each Monday. In it, you will find updates and information about what our members are up to, club activities, projects, Happy Dollars, news from District 5170, and various ways you can support The Rotary Foundation. We also send your Dues notices using ClubRunner email.
Our Weekly Bulletin, sent every Monday, provides club information. To stay informed, please ensure your email is current on ClubRunner and add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your address book so it does not go into Spam.
PROGRAM: Minor League Hockey, Major Community Impact
SPEAKER: Zack Curran
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
How does Zack Curran, our speaker, describe his work with the San Jose Barracuda?
"As a proud member of the American Hockey League, our mission is to cultivate a welcoming, family-friendly environment where every fan feels at home. We are committed to offering an affordable, intimate, and uniquely engaging game-day experience. Through meaningful connections with communities across the South Bay, we strive to make every visit to The Reef feel inclusive, memorable, and deeply rooted in a sense of belonging. Our goal is to build a community that feels like family—one that inspires fans to return game after game, season after season, to their home away from home.
"The vision of the San Jose Barracuda is to make a lasting, positive impact within the dynamic and ever-evolving world of hockey. By embracing emerging trends, expanding group experiences, and setting ambitious goals for the future, we aim to elevate every aspect of who we are—as a team, a fan base, and an organization. At the heart of this vision is our celebration of the game of hockey and our unwavering belief that hockey is for everyone."
Our speaker, Zack Curran, is coming into his third season with the Barracuda, working closely with local community groups, schools, and season ticket holders on events and special games. We'll learn how those connections make the games more exciting and simultaneously make the larger community a stronger one.
Members and guests, please welcome Zack Curran!
To learn more, go to:
https://sjbarracuda.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sjbarracuda
https://x.com/sjbarracuda
https://www.facebook.com/sjbarracuda
https://www.youtube.com/@SanJoseBarracuda1
https://www.tiktok.com/@sanjosebarracuda
To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:
http://rotary.cool
Our Three Podcast Series
Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week, they are available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as many other platforms.
Our weekly podcast is now called:
Inspiring People - Stories of Innovation and Service
Inspiring Solutions for a Better World
Our original podcast, featuring some of the best of our previous speakers, is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
Inspiring Women: Celebrating Trailblazers
Our newest podcast celebrates trailblazing women. It is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
THE ATTENDANCE SURVEY
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done.
We have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.
Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeup.
Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.
For all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!
Important: Once you submit the Attendance Survey below, please make sure you see the confirmation message. If you get an error message instead, please try the 'submit' button again, and if that doesn't work, please refresh the page and fill out the form again. Thanks!
