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MEMBER DIRECTORY
Bulletin Editor
Anne LeClair
Photos by “Dr. “Flash” Webb
 
Steve Parker led us in the Pledge and Jodi DeSmidt gave us the Thought of the Day, sharing that real love is the most important thing for happiness.
Yours Truly lucked out by landing the newscast on Valentine’s Day and proceeded to share some romantic jokes, one at the expense of Paul Rogerville.  (I’m resisting the temptation to proclaim it the “best newscast ever”. LOL)
 
Prez Bruce said Bernie Mellott must not have been feeling well herself, since she was not present to give the Sunshine Report.
 
Visiting were Joe Pert , a food biz guy, as a guest of Mike Peterson, Sandra Delrahan of Express Employment Professionals as a guest of Steve Parker and future District Governor Mary  Marie Bates,  as a guest of Tom Stucker, introduced by Paul Rogerville.
 
All sang to Rosemary Azem for her birthday.  You look mah-velous, Rosemary!
 
Mike Peterson is still looking for Rotarian volunteers to help with the final dictionary distribution. Please contact Mike if interested. Mike noted that Oscar Lopez-Guerra took photos during the most recent distribution. (Did he use an Instamatic with a flash cube?)
 
Jeff Bass was hit with a fine for something I can't recall.. 
 
Prez Bruce acknowledged Rotary night at The Swingin’ Door, to which Liz Mayta responded that all there were Kung Fu Fighting.  A scary video was shown of Chris and Kelli Eckert, Jodi DeSmidt and Erin Sinclair dancing to “I’m Too Sexy for My Body”.  (You had to be there.)  Chris kept his shirt on, but apparently only because they’ve warned him in the past to stay clothed.  (We’ve wondered why he has Velcro on his shirt instead of buttons….)
Paul Rogerville touted the free-- but not really free because it’s a fundraiser--San Mateo Medical Foundation event, which falls on the same night as the San Mateo Chamber Awards dinner, February 21.  Bruce reported that 40 Rotarians have already signed up for the Chamber event.  (Our club is receiving an award from the mayor.)  Paul donated $150 to the Medical Foundation—wait, what?
 
Angel Riley reported that 20 tickets have been reserved for club members to attend a performance of Mamma Mia at Hillbarn on May 17.  Please contact Dick Bennett ASAP if you’re interested.  The show will begin a t 8, but “wine, cheese and meat” will be available at 7 PM.)
 
It was announced that our February 21 speaker will now by a Hoover Institute Fellow on the subject of GPS (or is that GPS’s?)    Try to find your way there to hear it. (We hope it doesn’t “go south”.)
 
A WINNING Presentation
With that, Mike Peterson introduced Jenny Claypool, Stanford’s Director of Championships, who gave a great, enthusiastic talk about what she does. 
Claypool, who noted that her job is “behind the scenes”, began her career at Stanford by selling tickets at the ticket window and worked her way up to her current position by September of 2000.  Her parents were a Cal grad and a Stanford grad, so she notes that she was from “a mixed marriage”.   
 
Jenny runs all post-season sporting events (with the exception of football) at Stanford and said it’s like planning for a wedding every week.  She handles everything from coordination with the PD and other departments for events, to working with hotels for rooms and meals for visiting teams.
 
Fall of 2018 was their busiest season ever, with 11 events in seven weeks.   The events ranged from PAC 12 cross country to field hockey to water polo to volleyball.  She’s had to deal with everything from a visiting team that contracted food poisoning (elsewhere, she noted), wanting a delay of game, to air quality issues.  With same-day notice, two soccer games scheduled for November 16 had to be moved and Jenny and her team moved the events to Salinas, attracting locals to the games who would never otherwise have attended, thanks to a local Salinas TV station putting out the word.  She even dealt with lightning strikes near a men’s water polo championship that caused a 30 minute delay in game.  
 
Claypool noted that her team must send the NCAA 75% of all net profits from the championships, so her budgeting is critical.   She said Stanford leads in championships, having hosted 94 since 2010.  When working 36 straight days, asking herself if she can do it, she said inevitably a student athlete will approach her and thank her for doing so much for the athletes.  “Then I know why I do this”, she said.  She called Stanford’s student athletes “amazing,  great people who are going to do great things”.
 
Great talk!
Editor’s Note: Our team has had the pleasure of dealing with Jenny and her team and they do a phenomenal job.
 

 

President Bruce Bean
 
 
Upcoming Speakers
Feb 21, 2019
China-U.S. Policy
Feb 28, 2019
Banking Before the Gold Rush
View entire list