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| Summary of May 30th Meeting |
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Kathy Wiley and the Rotaplast Committee welcomed Rotarians and guests in the greeting line. In commemoration of Memorial Day and soldiers who sacrificed for our nation’s freedom, Paul Tumason and Phil Strong led club members in the Pledge of Allegience. Phil followed with a history of the “Taps” and then played it on his bugle. A moving tribute. The group was also moved by Fernando Zazueta’s thought of the day reading about Alzheimer’s disease, which he dedicated to his brother.
Carl Honaker introduced special guests from the Coast Guard Air Station in San Francisco.
The club welcomed new members:
John Christensen, President/CEO for HOPE Services, sponsored by Mary Ellen Petersen
Erik Hayden, Director of Land Acquisition & Development for Republic Urban Properties, sponsored by
Todd Trekell
Ruben Hernandez, Partner and Principal for Greater San Jose Hispanic Trading Company, sponsored by
Phil Strong
Gregory Nelson, Vice President for Administration for San Jose City College, sponsored by Mike Blach
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Rotarian Dan Pulcrano introduced speaker Kim Walesh, Chief Strategist and Director of Economic Development of the City of San Jose. In that capacity, Walesh oversees partnerships and initiatives related to university collaboration, downtown regeneration, cultural development and city identity. She holds a bachelors degree in economics and humanities from Valparaiso University and a master of public policy degree from Harvard University, where she was a Kennedy Fellow.
Walesh provided an upbeat overview of the city’s economic progress, with examples of “What’s Right in San Jose.” She noted that “companies go where they’re wanted and stay where they’re appreciated.” San Jose is leading the nation and Bay Area right now in job growth. It’s also the top city for clean technology and the friendliest city in California for small business, she said.
In addition, San Jose is “the most successful multicultural community on the planet.” Forty-nine percent of the college-educated work force in San Jose received their degrees in other countries, Walesh noted.
There’s a large and growing pool of young talent — 25 to 34 year old college educated young professionals. San Jose plans to support this demographic with amenities such as “wickedly fast” free outdoor wifi Internet access provided by Ruckus. The network will be faster than the wifi service provided by Google in Mountain View. How’s that for competitiveness?
The city has been successful in attracting grants to transform downtown commercial districts such as SoFA. ArtPlace contributed $1 million and more grants are anticipated. She hopes that downtown will become “the most bicycle-friendly district in the Bay Area.” Walesh also cited the San Pedro Square Market as a successful project contributing to San Jose’s emerging urban landscape. She expects the nexus of sports and high speed rail transit to create “a hot area.”
Bob Kieve expressed the view that the city was lucky to have someone like Ms. Walesh overseeing its economic development programs and asked how commerce fits into the new downtown. President Shirley praised Ms. Walesh for packing a lot of information into a well-paced presentation, calling her “the fastest talker of any speaker we’ve had this year.”
As is our annual custome, the Rotary BBQ will be held June 6 at 5pm at the San Jose History Museum. Try to remember not to show up to the Summit Center that day.
Respectfully submitted by: Dan Pulcrano, Summary Committee
Photos provided by: Paul Tumason, Photography Committee
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