Speakers
| Speaker | Date | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Hugh Coppen | Sep 11, 2026 |
Studying Elephant Herds in South Africa
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| John Simmons | Sep 18, 2026 |
Memories, Medicine & Metaphysics: Autobiography of a full live in Santa Clara County
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| Chuck Page, Mayor of Saratoga | Sep 25, 2026 |
Ramifications of the County Sheriff Funding Model
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| Terrie Creamer, Saratoga Rotary President | Oct 02, 2026 |
Saratoga Rotary Club Assembly
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| Henry Evans & Nick Tayler | Oct 16, 2026 |
The Intersection of Robotics, AI & Country Music
 In 2003, Henry Evans became quadriplegic and mute after a stroke-like attack. Now, working with Robots for Humanity, he's a pioneer in adaptive robotic tech to help him, and other disabled people like him, navigate the world.
Here's the CBS National Sunday Morning America feature from last fall featuring Henry Evans and Country Musician, Nick Tayler, who will be here in person playing Henry's songs:
At age 40, Henry Evans was left mute and quadriplegic after a stroke-like attack caused by a hidden birth defect. Years of therapy helped him learn to move his head and use a finger -- which allows him to use a head-tracking device to communicate with a computer using experimental interfaces.
Now, Evans is a frequent and enthusiastic collaborator with robotics teams who are developing tools to help the severely disabled navigate their lives. He collaborates with Georgia Tech professor Charlie Kemp on using the Willow Garage PR2 robot as a surrogate, as well as Chad Jenkins' RLAB at Brown on quadrotors for expanding range of motion. As the Willow Garage blog post says: "Every day, people take for granted the simple act of scratching an itch. In Henry's case, 2-3 times every hour of every day he gets an itch he can't scratch. With the aid of a PR2, Henry was able to scratch an itch for himself for the first time in 10 years." |
| Club Community Service Project | Oct 23, 2026 |
Operation Care & Comfort
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| Gary Laine, DDS | Oct 30, 2026 |
Interviews with WWII Veterans
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| Wade Nomura | Nov 13, 2026 |
Changing Lives Through the Rotary Foundation
 Wade Nomura is an international speaker having beens involved in both local and international humanitarian causes, having worked on more than 200 charitable projects benefiting over 2 million people, including an NID to India, where he has a special passion, having had polio as a child. He is a Charter member of the Rotary Club of Carpinteria Morning and served as District Governor in 2011-2012. He is the Multidistrict PETS Alliance Executive Director, a Rotary Rose Parade Float Director and past 2 times chair and has represented the Rotary International Presidents’ 13 times. Wade is the Regions Coordinator for the Rotary Foundation Cadres of Technical Advisors globally and served on the Future Vision planning committee for the Rotary Foundation. He was the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Rotary Action Group’s (WASHRAG) Operations Chair and is the Projects Support Committee Chair for HANWASH (Haiti) which was awarded the $4 million Programs of Scale grant for next year. Wade has received Rotary International’s highest individual award, the Service Above Self award and Rotary Foundation’s highest individual award, the Distinguished Service award. Wade is the former two-time Mayor and current City Council member for the City of Carpinteria with over 30 years with the City. He and his wife Debbie produced and hosted the TV shows Rotary, Serving Our Community (www.WeAreRotary.TV) for 6 seasons and the award winning Carpinteria Living TV show. Wade was a multiple BMX National Champion, World Champion, Hall of Famer and designer of the Nomura Racing bike, an icon among the avid BMX collectors. Recently Wade coauthored his biography Creating Destiny, with his wife Debbie Nomura, who is also a Rotarian. |
| Bill Freudlund, Inst. of Stdy of West.Civilization | Nov 20, 2026 |
Florence, Italy: Heart of the Renaissance
 WILLIAM FREDLUND obtained his BA and his MA from UCLA where he specialized in European history and Art history. After independent study in Europe, Dr. Fredlund came to Stanford University to pursue graduate study in history and humanities where he specialized in Renaissance Italy and completed a Ph.D. in both history and humanities. Dr. Fredlund studied in Italy on a Fulbright Fellowship where he began work on his book about Renaissance Italy. While living in Italy, he lectured extensively in Florence for American university programs such as those of UCLA and University of Michigan, as well as for University of Florence. In the United States, Dr. Fredlund has taught for UCLA, Stanford, and UCSC-Extension. Dr. Fredlund is currently writing a book entitled 1494: The Year the French Discovered Italy in which he explores the extraordinary changes that occurred in Italy during the crisis of 1494. In the photo above, Prof. Fredlund is seen sitting under the two hundred-year old oak tree at his home in Los Altos. |
| Past Presidents of Saratoga | Dec 04, 2026 |
Past Presidents Lunch Program
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| Community Service Project | Dec 11, 2026 |
Packing Holiday Gifts for Washington School Children
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| Amanda Tyler, Berkeley Law Professor | Jan 29, 2027 |
The Forgotten Story of Mitsuye Endo
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