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Attend a meeting
Join us on a Wednesday convenient to you and experience the fun and friendship of the Rotary Club of San Jose!
Contact our Executive Director, Leslee Hamilton for more details and to RSVP at (408) 297-6101.
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“Service Above Self”
Rotary is a service organization of business and community leaders united worldwide. Rotarians are making a positive impact in our local and global communities.
The Rotary Club of San Jose
Benefiting the community and our world through action, integrity, service, and fellowship.
The Rotary Club of San Jose is the largest, most active and well-known service organization in the community. We are a leadership organization working together to make a difference. Our members include local business, nonprofit, professional and civic leaders. We form lasting friendships through our shared Rotary experiences including weekly meetings with interesting speakers, committee meetings and projects, social events and group service projects within our community and internationally.
Diversity & Inclusion
Having a diverse and inclusive Rotary Club means we value and welcome individuals of all ages, cultures, ethnicities, and races to our Club. We invite younger people, women, and minorities who support Rotary’s values, ideals, and mission to join our members in service to our community, and we strive to give all members equal opportunities to serve as leaders within our Club.
Service is the life blood of our Club, and it all happens through our Committees
The Speaker for May 27th: Lerone Martin
The Young King
We know who Martin Luther King, Jr. became, but who was he at the beginning of his life? How did his youth inform his outlook and activism?
Before Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights leader, a Nobel Laureate, and a global hero, he was an emotional boy, a middling high school student devoted to fashion, dancing, and dating. Lerone A. Martin, Faculty Director of the Martin Luther King Institute at Stanford University, traces these roots to develop a fuller understanding of the influential preacher’s emotional life, his youthful confusion about his future and career direction, his teenage missteps, and his inspiration to fight for justice.
Lerone A. Martin is the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor in Religious Studies, African & African American Studies, and The Nina C. Crocker Faculty Scholar at Stanford University. He also serves as the Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute and Senior Editor of the Institute's Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project.He is also an award-winning author, recipient of multiple nationally recognized fellowships, and Co-Director of a $1 million grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to fund “The Crossroads Project,” a four-year, multi-institution project to advance public understanding of the history, politics, and cultures of African American religions. And he has been recognized for his teaching, receiving institutional teaching awards as well as fellowships from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion.
Martin’s commentary and writing have been featured on The NBC Today Show, The History Channel, PBS, CSPAN, CNN, and NPR, as well as in Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He also served as an advisor on the critically acclaimed PBS documentary series The History of Gospel Music & Preaching.
Lunch Order for May 27th Meeting
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Scott's Seafood will provide lunch ($30*) at Wednesday's meeting.The buffet lunch menu includes:
Starters: Watermelon Salad (VGT), Shrimp Bisque Soup
Entrees: Fried Fish, Chicken Piccata, Stuffed Bell Pepper (VGT)
Sides: Green Beans (VGT)
Important note: If you have a prepaid pack, you still need to register, so we have enough food.
*Rotary is underwriting the Service Charge and Sales Tax. Your lunch reservation is non-refundable once the order is placed on Monday at noon.
Seeds of Peace Monument Update
This week marked a major milestone for the Seeds of Peace Monument project. On Tuesday, the San Jos
é City Council unanimously approved the Donor Agreement, officially advancing the project toward implementation. This approval builds momentum toward a December 2026 installation.
The Seeds of Peace Committee will begin regular monthly meetings in June to prepare to launch the public phase of the capital campaign and plan activation of the site.
Kimberly Mulcahy and Diane Brandenburg will be speaking about the project from the podium on June 17. If you are interested in learning more, or know individuals in your network who may be interested in participating in the project, please reach out to Kimberly, Heather Lerner, or Leslee Hamilton.
Brian Adams' Annual Mini Masters
Rotoplast Meeting
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Please join us on Tuesday, June 2nd at 4:30pm at Joseph George Fine Wines (1559 Meridian Avenue in San Jose) for an informative meeting regarding future Rotaplast trips that will be sponsored by San Jose Rotary. Rotaplast International is a non-profit that was started by the San Francisco Rotary Club in 1992 to eliminate the burden of cleft lip, cleft palate, burn scarring and other deformities. Rotaplast sends teams of medical professionals (surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, pediatricians) and non-medical personnel abroad for two weeks to perform these surgeries. San Jose Rotary has a long history of supporting Rotaplast International by sponsoring trips and sending Rotarians on missions. To date our Rotarians have been on over 20 missions!
You don’t need to be a medical professional to go. There are many non-medical people who go on each mission and perform duties like transporting patients in wheelchairs, playing with children before their surgeries to reduce their anxiety, assisting in the post-anesthesia care unit, inputting medical records, taking photos and posting info on our blog and so much more! What you do need is enthusiasm, flexibility, and a can-do attitude!
We would love to have you join us to learn more about the opportunities available. Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect. For more information and/or to RSVP, please contact our Rotaplast Committee co-chair Terri Chapman (terrichapman3@gmail.com). Please note Terri will be on a Rotaplast mission May 9-23 so it may take a bit for her to respond to you.
Rotary Night at the Symphony
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VIP Rotary Fireworks
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The Meeting Summary for May 20, 2026
Before the meeting began, President Matt displayed “Coming Attractions” of some of our club activities: May 28th Washington School Graduation Ceremony at 10:20 a.m.; May 30th Brian Adams’ Mini-Masters; and June 6th Symphony with a visit behind-the-scenes hosted by Fun and Friendship.
President Matt called the 5522nd Rotary Club of San Jose meeting to order; he welcomed Rotarians, and their guests. President Matt thanked the Unhoused Impact Committee and co-chairs Irene Smith, Brenda Swiney and Amelia Capsuto for their good works and hosting the greeting line today.
President Matt showed a video taken at the BBQ. This year’s barbecue was a smashing success with 360 Rotarians and guests in attendance, a delicious menu by the Executive Chefs, live music, and line-dancing led by Rotarian Paula Ball. Rotarian Melody Walsh won the cake baking contest with a flavorful carrot-raisin cake which was decorated divinely. (Melody will share the recipe upon request.) The Rotarian who brought the most (9) guests to the BBQ was Dagmar Schildwach.
I gave a “Did You Know?” segment about Hanford and Mary Gordon for whom our Gordon House is named. Hanford had an adventuresome life which included fighting in the civil war and against indigenous people in the upper Midwest before arriving the San Jose in 1887 where he purchased the house and 300 acres up on McKee Road for $47,000 from Catherine Senter. He left San Jose after a paternity suit and criminal case wherein he shot a man but didn’t kill him. Mary stayed in the house until her death in 1929. The house, our Gordon House, was moved to History Park and refurbished between 1986 and 1990.
New member Dora Padilla, who is sponsored by Rotarians Jonathan Padilla and Ray Castaneda was introduced. She prefers Motown music, reading, attending intimate gatherings and the symphony.
Aaron Fritz, who is sponsored by Rotarian Norm Hulberg, was introduced next. He enjoys biking trips, the Beatles and pub dining.
Rotarian Steve Preminger introduced today’s speaker Matt Moreles, Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.
The title of his talk was Your Voice, Your Values, Your Vote.
To introduce paperless voting. Santa Clara takes great scrutiny with the election process. Great scrutiny
around election process. The employees are trained on how to handle suspicious packages, white powder in
envelopes, the training of poll workers and how to de-escalate problems at the polls. This is a new norm.
Many people ask why he took the job; it was clear that he values the trustworthiness of elections both for
the candidates and the public. He wants every election to be fair accurate and inclusive (17 languages).
He detailed the cyber security requirements for tabulation and audits of ballots and results.
Mr. Moreles suggests that you vote early either by mail, curbside, poll center or drop boxes. There will be no changes this year on voting by mail. There are 112 vote centers in the county for early voting; they are collected daily. Mr. Moreles had a little time for questions and was happy to stay late for those who weren’t heard because of time.
Next week’s speaker will be Dr. Lerone Martin who is the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor in Religious Studies and Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.
The meeting was adjourned promptly at 1:15 p.m. with Here for a Good Time by George Strait.
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Respectfully submitted by Karyn Sinunu-Towery, Meeting Summaries Committee
To see all pictures, click here thanks to Hal Hendrickson, Photography Committee.
Video is available here.
New Member Dora Padilla
The Honorable Adoralida (Dora) Padilla retired as a Workers’ Compensation Judge at the San Jose Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board effective December 2025 where she had presided since September 2001. Prior to being appointed she was the managing partner at The Padilla Law Firm.She earned a degree in Political Science from Santa Clara University in 1986 and her Juris Doctorate from Lincoln Law School of San Jose in 1994.
Dora has been a frequent speaker for the State Bar and state and local attorney organizations. She has also been a career-day speaker at local high schools and junior high schools in Santa Clara County. She frequently performs marriage ceremonies and has joined over 40 couples in matrimony, having performed ceremonies all over California and also in Oregon, Hawaii, Mexico and Greece.
In 2012, Dora was honored by the Hispanic Development Corporation as a recipient of their “Portraits of Success” Award, and in 2013 was inducted to the East Side Union High School District Thomas P. Ryan Hall of Fame. In May 2025 she was honored as Alumna of the Year by Lincoln Law School of San Jose, and in September 2025, Judge Padilla was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Lawyers Association Workers Compensation Section.
In the Spring of 2017, Dora hiked 110km of Spain’s ancient Camino de Santiago pilgrim route to honor her late husband John and repeated this hike in September of 2025 with her family. She is a world-traveler, and reports her favorite city as Barcelona, Spain.
Dora has many plans for retirement including learning to play golf, engaging in community service, continuing with her world travels, reaching the newly released level 80 in Pokemon Go, and spending time with her four piebald dachshunds: Starbuck, Freya, Dama Preciosa and Loki.
Calendar
DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS
Speaker: Dr. Lerone Martin, Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor
The Young King
May 27th 2026 at 12:15 pm
More info
Speaker: Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton
Why Tommie Smith and John Carlos Represent the Best of San Jose and America
June 3rd 2026 at 12:15 pm
More info
Speaker: Erin Salazar
Local Color: Empowering Santa Clara County's Working Artists
June 17th 2026 at 12:15 pm
More info