Valley Club News: February 2016

Kiwanis of the Valleys

It may be early in the year, but Kiwanians are already hard at work in planning for this summer’s Music at Skypark concert series. The band selection committee is finalizing its choices. The plan is to bring back perennial favorites along with some exciting new local talent. Sponsors, vendors and volunteers are needed for this event. If you can help, please contact us at: www.kiwanisofthevalleys.org/

The Kiwanis affiliated Circle K Club at UCSC continues its enthusiastic partnership with our club, bringing to us a great deal of youthful energy. We will be rewarding them with a monetary contribution to help members attend their district convention in February.

Our scholarship committee is currently distributing applications for our two scholarships to students at our 3 affiliated high schools: SV High, SLV High and Pacific Collegiate.

Upcoming event include the Kiwanis Governor’s visit to Marina on February 13th and the Kiwanis Mid-Year Northern California Conference in Sacramento on February 27th.

Kiwanis of the Valleys meets 7:00am every Wednesday morning at Bruno’s BBQ. The second Wednesday of each month is an evening meeting at Bruno’s at 6:30 pm. We invite you to join us.

Rotary Club of San Lorenzo Valley

Our Annual Rotary Speech Contest will be held on January 20. High school students participating in the contest will recite their speeches at our regularly scheduled meeting at 7:30 am. The first place winner will receive a prize of $200 and will go on to participate in the Region 7 Contest on February 25.

Speakers for the upcoming month include: January 27, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart; February 3, Desiree Sarna from Youth Service; February 17, Rubin Garcia and Philip Hill from Monarch Services; February 24, Zeda Dowell will be presenting Islam and the West.

Rotarians around the world have been committed to the eradication of polio. Recently the Rotary General Secretary announced an additional $40.4 million that Rotary will direct to the fight against polio. This new funding brings Rotary’s total contribution to polio eradication to more than $1.5 billion since 1979. If you are interested in joining a service organization, committed to supporting both global and local issues, we invite you to join us for breakfast on any Wednesday morning at Mt. Hermon Conference Center in Felton. Additional information can be found on our website slvrotaryclub.org.

Exchange Club of Scotts Valley

The Exchange Club of Scotts Valley invites everyone to hear about and discuss the state of Scotts Valley with (former mayor) Dene Bustichi, Wednesday, January 27, 5:30 at Bruno’s. February 24 come meet Lee Besse with the Scotts Valley Community Theater Guild.

We meet every 4th Wednesday of the month at 5:30 at Bruno’s. All are invited to enjoy a sociable hour with a speaker of local Interest.

Scotts Valley Rotary

Scotts Valley Rotary presents the Second Annual Trivia Cup Challenge February 27, 6pm, Bruno’s BBQ in Scotts Valley

Come and test your trivia knowledge. Build a team to compete for great prizes: Winning team gets bragging rights and hosts the engraved winning cup for one year. Up to 4 people per team and price includes limited appetizers from 5-7. The Trivia Showdown will be moderated by Thomas Todd, trivia master and former Jeopardy contestant. $50.00 per person. Tickets at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2490233

We started off 2016 with a presentation from Kim Powell at Blue Water Ventures (www.bluewaterventures.com). They offer naturalist-led field trips for students and educational adventures for adults. For schools, each field trip is customized to meet the instructional objectives of the teachers they work with. For adult programs, they design vacations that are adventurous and relaxing with an educational component. Rotary Interact District 5170 have you had a great field trip like this at your school?

Our Monday guest was Executive Director David Foster from Habitat for Humanity Santa Cruz County. He told us about a great new project called, My House, My Home. You can find details here (and they are currently looking for participants): http://habitatsc.org/myhousemyhome/

Scotts Valley Host Lions Club

Scotts Valley Lions are busy preparing for their 46th Annual Crab Cioppino Feed. The event will be held on Saturday, March 5th at the C.P.D.E.S Hall in Santa Cruz. Dinner includes all you can eat Crab and Shrimp Cioppino or Cracked crab and Shrimp, with melted butter. Our famous garlic bread, salad, Italian Pasta with meat sauce and dessert are all included in the menu. After dinner The Billy Martini Band provides 70’s rock and roll music for your dancing enjoyment. A large raffle is presented and the no host bar is available during the event. The cost for the evening is $50. For more information or tickets, contact Steve @ 234-9104 or email scottsvalleylion@aol.com.

Scotts Valley Lions are looking for high school students interested in participating in the Student Speaker Contest. There are five levels of contests and the final winner receives over $21,000 in cash and scholarships. The first level begins in February. For more information, contact Konrad @ 336-8622.

Valley Women’s Club Update

The Valley Women’s Club started the New Year with excellent newly elected Board members and exciting news about the AmeriCorps NCCC team having arrived January 12th. The newly elected Board members include Rosalyn Huffman, Maggie Barr, Chelsea Osenga and Linda Skeff. Re-elected Board Members, and Members continuing their second year term, are Roz Alley, Peter Gelblum, Barbara Hanson, Steve Edmonds, Pamela Spehar, Mary Lanctot, and Connie DeNault.

Thanks to the hard work and innovative ideas of Linda Skeff, the VWC was awarded an AmeriCorps NCCC Team of 8 young men and women from across the United States, who will be working on a wide range of projects in the coming weeks. See them on the VWC’s Facebook page.

The Redwood Mountain Faire is coming June 4th and 5th, and planners are hard at work! One hundred thirty-nine bands applied to plan; there will be 22 bands performing on two stages over the two days. Headlining on Sunday is MarchFourth! More bands will be announced soon. Applications are still available online (www.redwoodmountainfaire.com) for artists and crafters, and non-profits seeking to be beneficiaries of the Faire. Put it on your calendar!

The public is invited to the upcoming Annual Meeting, Sunday, March 13th. It’s a potluck and our local, State and US elected officials will be invited to attend. The AmeriCorps NCCC team will be introduced and a report of their accomplishments made. Plan to come!

Submitted by Jim Melehan