Rotary Youth Speech Contest
Meeting for the week of April 23 - 29, 2018
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Rotary Youth Speech Contest
Speaker: Vanessa Nguyen and Rachel Chu
Is this your first time to visit 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; read it while on public transit, waiting in line for coffee, or even at the park! Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
Welcome to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley!
Here’s a message from President-Nominee Tzviatko:
Hello Rotarians and Guests!I’m sure we all agree that investing time, effort and resources in the youth is always worthwhile. Many of you probably mentor (formally or informally) younger, less experienced professionals. You may not realize it, but you are having a profound impact in these young people’s lives.This week, we feature our club’s annual Youth Speech Contest. This is one of the ways we support and encourage leadership for dedicated young people in the Bay area.Enjoy the program!
Sincerely,
Tzviatko Chiderov,
President- Nominee
Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
Weekly Funny with the Lady of Laughter (LOL)
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 Yvonne Kwan, our “Lady of Laughter!”
Here are some jokes that'll give you a sting!
Why did the bee go to the barbershop?To get a buzz cut.
What did the bee say to the flower?Hello, honey!
Why do bees have sticky hair?They use honeycombs.
Weekly Inspiration
Every week we start our meetings with a short video highlighting innovation, inspiration, entrepreneurship, or social change.
Underneath the University of Arizona’s football stadium are the beginnings of the Giant Magellan Telescope, set to be the largest optical telescope in the world. The Richard F. Caris Mirror Laboratory is the only place equipped to manufacture gigantic 27-foot tall mirrors, the kind needed to build the heart of the Magellan. Each of the seven mirrors that will comprise the telescope weigh in at 17-tons and will produce images with 10 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope, giving scientists an unprecedented look into the fringes of our universe.
World of Rotary
Established in 1911, The Rotarian is the official magazine of Rotary International and is circulated worldwide. Thematically, "Rotarian" is filled up with articles about Rotary life. Seventeen Nobel laureates and nineteen winners of Pulitzer Prize – from Mahatma Gandhi to Kurt Vonnegut, Junior are among authors.
Coffee With a Rotarian
A natural part of Rotary is the networking and the fellowship you get out of meeting other Rotarians. Coffee With a Rotarian is a monthly program of our club where we match participating club members for one-on-one virtual (or in some cases in person) coffee meetings, so they can learn more about each other. This program is organized by member Tzviatko Chiderov.
This week we have Carlos from Monterrey, México speaking about his meeting with Roger from Kamloops, BC, Canada.
We encourage all club members to participate in Coffee With a Rotarian. You can sign up here!
For Members Only
Tell us about service you've done recently in your community. Click here to fill out The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Service Survey
Past Announcements
Member name badges will be shipped out soon.
Claim your @siliconvalleyrotary.com email address! Email Webmaster Mitty at mittyc@siliconvalleyrotary.com to get set-up with your own @siliconvalleyrotary.com email address.
Join our members-only Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/rotarysiliconvalley/
Our Events & Projects
We hold our meetings online, but we do regular service projects and social events in the Silicon Valley! This section is updated every week with our upcoming events. We welcome guests to all of the events and service projects listed here.
Also be sure to join our Meetup Group for automatic calendar updates and to RSVP for our events! These are open to all guests as well!
https://www.meetup.com/siliconvalleyrotary/
Upcoming Events:
All times are Pacific Time! (San Francisco time)
June 1-3, 2018 – San Jose, CA – Rotary District Conference for our home district, District 5170 – conference activities begin Friday night at 6 PM, includes an all-day Saturday conference, and Sunday morning service projects in San Jose
June 22, 2018 – Toronto, Canada – Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley’s RI Convention Friday Happy Hour in Toronto from 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
June 22-27, 2018 – Toronto, Canada – 2018 Rotary International Convention
August 2018 – Our eClub’s second annual charity fundraiser is coming up! More details coming soon!
More events coming soon! All events are open to guests, unless otherwise mentioned. Feel free to join us! If you ever have questions, please email inquiries@siliconvalleyrotary.com
What would you like to do?
Hey Members! What would you like to do? We’re working on putting together some exciting socials and impactful service projects for our upcoming quarter’s event calendar. Let us know what you want to do by posting in our members only Facebook Group (if you don’t have access, please request it with Webmaster Mitty). Remember, you’re only taking advantage of the full impact of Rotary when you’re stepping up to get involved.
Happy Dollars: Do Good by Sharing Something Good
Each week we ask our members to share stories with the club and toss in a few dollars to support our efforts. The primary goal of this section is to provide a fun way of getting to know each fellow members and guests, while giving back to a good cause.
Happy dollars is an opportunity to share something positive that has happened in your life whether it is personal or business. Think of it as your opportunity to brag a little, but also put a little bit into a karma jar. The money donated through happy dollars is put to charitable use, and the message that you leave for happy dollars will be posted in our online meeting the following week for the entire week for folks to see! (Pending that it’s appropriate!)Here are the happy dollars contributions from last week!
Member Tzviatko Chiderov made a $10 donation. Here is what he had to say:Please apply to Polio Plus. It's so great to hear the tremendous progress being made, and that we are already talking about preparing for a polio-free world! Goes to show the great things that are possible when good people, organizations, and governments unite behind a cause.Also, I had forgotten about the 2:1 match by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Thanks BMG!
Member Brian Liddicoat made a $15 donation. Here is what he had to say:One last day of skiiing with my son this Saturday before the ski season ends in Lake Tahoe...
Member Rory Olsen made a $30 donation. Here is what he had to say:Please apply my gift to Polio Plus. The reconstruction of my house is slowly moving forward. Tomorrow they will start working on the floor.
Member Catherine A. made a $25 donation. Here is what she had to say:I am happy to see Polio nearly eradicated due to the efforts of Rotary members. (Next, the RI board needs to have the courage to completely ban all gun shows, gun sales, gun talks and gun events, at all Rotary club-sponsored events, to support child safety here at home.)
Member Monique Ziesenhenne made a $20 donation. Here is what she had to say:Polio Plus, of course! Great update.
Member Rushton Hurley made a $20 donation. Here is what he had to say:I got to see all four of our Australian members on a trip Down Under last week - great time, and great folks!
So what are you happy about? Share with us below to help with doing good around the world.This week's happy dollars will be donated to Relay for Life at Santa Clara (Sat Apr 28th - Sun Apr 29th). This is our club's work to support the American Cancer Society in its efforts to raise money for research to fight cancer.
Selected Comments
Every week at the bottom of our meetings, there is a comments section for members and guests to tell us what they enjoyed about the meeting or to ask questions to the speaker. We select a few comments every week from last week’s meeting to be featured during this week’s meeting.
Here are the comments selected from last week’s meeting.
Member Keith Marsh said,Carol, thanks for this program on an important Rotary mission. I was priviledged to go to India in 2012 for a major polio immunization event. From your chart, I can see that lots of progress has been made since then. Keep up the good work.
Member Rebecca Fry said,Thanks so much for the update Carol! It helps with the messaging to Rotaract and Rotary members to see just how much progress has been made in the last 5 years and how close we are to making history! Inspiring to see this happening in our lifetimes and exciting times for Rotary! #endpolionow #countdowntohistory
Member Monique le Conge Ziesenhenne said,Polio Plus is one of the programs that keeps me involved in Rotary - having known several people who contracted polio during their lives, I think that the importance of eradication cannot be understated. Thanks for your work, Carol!
Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this week’s meeting after you watch the program below, and perhaps you’ll see your comment featured next week!
Program: Rotary Youth Speech Contest
Every week we bring to you a new program on innovation, education, technology, and humanitarian service.
This week, we hear from our youth speech contest participants.The Rotary Clubs of District 5170 sponsor the Richard D. King Annual Youth Speech Contest each year with three goals in mind for the Club Members and each Speech Contest Participant: (1) to increase the personal knowledge and awareness of the importance of being able to speak effectively before a group, (2) to increase public knowledge of what Rotary is and does throughout the world, especially among young people, and (3) to increase participation in the contest and to provide all high school contestants an opportunity to win prizes as top speaker, or runners-up, in District 5170.This year, our speech contest participants are Vanessa Nguyen and Rachel Chu.Vanessa is a senior at Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose. She’s been an officer of her school's Interact Club since freshman year and she is currently Co-President. Through all the events she has attended and organized the past four years, such as community service, socials, and stayovers, Interact has shaped her into a stronger leader and better friend. Outside of Interact, Vanessa is a part of a film-making/film-appreciation club and mental health club. Like any teenager, she loves sleep and food! She always tries to set time aside to practice self-care and get her sleep. Her favorite class is English (although she’s not particularly great at it), writing and literature has always been fascinating to me. She appreciates all the teachers and mentors in her life, who have inspired her to work with the youth and continue empowering future generations.Rachel Chu is a senior at Washington High School in Fremont. She currently serves as Lt. Governor for Interact District 5170 and is also the ASB treasurer of her school. Outside of her school life, Rachel is a teaching assistant at Giraffe Learning Center, and she likes beef noodle soup and boba (without sugar).Members and guests, please welcome our speakers!
Additional resources:
Share your thoughts or ask our speaker(s) a question in the comments at the bottom of this meeting page!
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 https://zoom.us/j/5104080000. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone for all recordings are listed for San Francisco, California, USA time (Pacific Time).
You’re Almost Done! One last thing: The Attendance Survey…
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done. First, 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 makeups.
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.
More importantly, for all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment below 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!
