On our regular October 16, 2008 meeting, our guest speaker was
PDG
Rick Mendoza.
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Rick is the incoming Foundation chair effective
July 1, 2009
. He talked about the club's role in the Rotary Foundation. He clarified the significance of the club's contribution to the foundation in terms of achieving a Paul Harris' Fellowship designation. He also explained the current status of our club's standing, and advised the members the different ways to achieve a Paul Harris Fellow status.
His short talk also provided us some highlights of his background and experiences with the Rotary.
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Rick retired from Kaiser after 30 years of service. He was not even 50 years old at the time of retirement. His wife is a Nurse Practitioner for Kaiser. Over the years at Kaiser Mr. Mendoza had hired no less 1000 staff of which as he related, many were Filipinos. He professed a kinship to the Filipinos. Often his ethnicity would come up as he interviewed them and he would be asked if he came from the
Philippines
. Not surprisingly, Mr. Mendoza's last name is a popular Filipino/Spanish name. Soon after retirement he opened a travel agency. But the need to help others became a focus. As early as his high school days, he was already driven by a need to help others. The Rotary Club was his vehicle that took him to the call of service. Mr. Mendoza spoke of his experiences with the Rotary; the lasting friendships he developed, connections that opened up and the Rortary moment he had in
Nepal
while administering polio vaccine to the children. The deep gratitude expressed by the mothers of the children who were cured, left an indelible mark in
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Rick Mendoza's memory. The Club thanks Mr. Mendoza for joining us for fellowship and sharing with us his time and encouragement for our club's success.
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