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With President Benjamin out of town visiting family, PPx2 Chris Gaynor opened today’s hybrid meeting at Hillel at UCLA.
Our greeter today was Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow Janet Schwartz. PP Gordon Fell led the Pledge of Allegiance. PP Ed Gauld was not in attendance today, so we did not have a song.
Dave Stover gave the Thought of the Day. Dave shared with us the origins of April Fool’s Day. According to Dave, it may have originated in the 1500s in France. It seems many did not realize that the Gregorian calendar was adopted, and the start of the year was changed from April 1st to January 1st. Unaware of this change, many foolishly kept celebrating April 1st as the start of the new year.
Next, Chris shared an interesting story with us. It seems that when Rose was late in her pregnancy with Nicole, word reached Chris at work that Rose was on the way to the hospital to deliver Nicole and that Chris needed to rush there. He stopped his busy season tax work and ran out the door. As he is getting into the car, his office manager yells out to him “April Fools”!
PP Chris next called on Membership Chair PP Mark Rogo to share the good news about our newest members or members-to-be. Mark informed us all that Chuck McCreary and Matthew Yuan are approved as new members and that Ethan Kim has submitted his application for membership and once the 15-day comment period has passed, Ethan will be a new member too. Outstanding!
PP Chris Bradford, as District 5280 Global Grant Scholars Chair, came forward and informed us that that 3 of the 5 Global Grant scholar applicants the district committee interviewed were approved and that 2 of the 3 were UCLA students that our club sponsored. Alma Florez will be studying infectious diseases at London’s School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Sarah Ferguson will be studying conflict resolution and peace building at Queens University in Belfast. Chris has invited both to come to a future meeting to introduce themselves to us and share with us more about what and where they will be studying.
Next, Chris had 2 announcements:
1. Roozbeh Farahanapour’s restaurant, Delphi Greek reopens this Saturday, April 5th. We are all invited to a special reopening party that is from 3pm to 5pm.
2. Next week’s meeting will be at Hillel at UCLA but due to Passover, we will need to bring in food from a caterer. Please let President Ben or me know if you will be attending next week’s meeting so that we can order the correct amount of food.
Even though Chris told a very funny story earlier, he still felt the need to tell a joke. The joke is related to 2 brothers, Jim and Tim, and their mother. I must say, Chris delivered on this joke. Very funny but not suitable for the Windmill. If you weren’t in attendance yesterday, please ask Chris to share it with him the next time you see him.
Today’s Speakers
Chris called up fellow WVRC Rotarians, and married couple, Valeria Espinosa and Samuel Botbol to give their craft talks.
Sam and Val are very excited to be Rotarians and members of our club. They are also very excited to be given this opportunity to share with us who they are and what they are doing professionally.
Val and Sam are both from Costa Rica, but interestingly, they did not have any common friends or acquaintances at the time they met. This is likely because Sam is Jewish and Val is Christian.
Val and Sam were married on January 15, 2023. They said it was a combined Jewish/Christian ceremony. Sam says this is very relevant considering the counseling work they both are doing currently.
Sam shared with us interesting information about Costa Rica. It is in Central America, with both a west and east coast. It has over 5 million people who are almost all literates. It also does not have an army. Major crops are coffee (Sam and Val says Costa Rican coffee is the best), bananas, and pineapples.
Val next shared her professional background. Val’s background has been in education, sociology and dance. Prior to moving to the US, Val started an organization in Costa Rica called Vida Creativas. The program Val started integrated dance, movement, art and the culture into a curriculum that fostered community involvement, friendship and relationships and which leads to personal growth. Some of the Projects were in association with UNICEF and other NGOs. It was during this time that Val and Sam met.
Sam next spoke about his background. But first he wanted to point out the small gift that Val and Sam brought. It was a small token of their appreciation for being here today.
Sam said that Val and he quickly realized that they had common interests and that they are both involved in organizations that promote sustainable communities and a just society. They also realized that due to their different faiths and cultures, they needed to figure out how to make their relationship work.
After Sam completed high school, he moved to Israel and was part of the IDF for 4 years. Following his service in the IDF, he moved back to Costa Rica to finish his college degree. It was at this time he met Val. When he returned to Costa Rica, Sam focused on organizations in Latin American that provided disaster relief.
Upon arrival in the US, Val and Sam became involved in an organization called Jewish Gentile Couples. This organization provides counseling to couples where one is Jewish, and the other is not. Sam shared with us that there is a high incidence of divorce in Jewish/Gentile marriages.
Originally, they were participants but later they became counselors which brought them to LA. Besides this program, Sam and Val are involved in the Upside Down coffee shop, which is located in Westwood and a housing project in Costa Rica.
At this point Sam and Val took several questions regarding The Jewish Gentile Couples program.
Sam was also asked to share with the club, his Rotary experience in Costa Rica. Sam became aware of Rotary when a friend asked him to join a Rotaract club. At age 25, Sam was invited to join the Escazu Rotary Club.
Thank you, Val and Sam for the excellent craft talks! I must say that craft talks are some of our best programs!
Before adjourning today’s meeting, PP Chris shared the great news that Rose, and he are moving back into their Pacific Highlands home tomorrow!
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