The HUB
For those of you who couldn’t attend and those whose memories have faded:
Our second in-person lunch meeting of the year was attended by about 30 people. In addition to our members, our guests were Kent-Harris Repass from Rep. Panetta’s office, scholarship recipient Alexandra Quintero (Aptos High) and her mother Alexandra, and Constantine. Al DeCamara volunteered his time and equipment to set up Zoom attendance. Sue Lawson was on the big screen that Seascape loaned us- loyally attending while recovering from surgery.
It was Annisa’s one year anniversary with the club and to reward and encourage her ongoing participation she was fined $10.
Pam and Bee had a long letter to the editor published in the Sentinel about its article on Pacific Manor. Constantine brought in a copy of it.
Because Seascape removed the piano and Al had already brought in all the tech equipment, Kelly led the club in an a capella rendition of the welcome song. Rumors that a recording contract has been offered are unconfirmed though it was reported that a passing golfer ran up the steps and closed the exit door. Al has promised to bring his keyboard next week.
Our guest speakers were Santa Cruz County Assistant DA Kristal Salcido and DA investigator Kelli Freitas. They gave a poignant and highly informative talk and slide show on the Santa Cruz DA’s programs to combat child abuse by making reporting less traumatic and intimidating for the victims, including the multidisciplinary SKY center which expedites procedures and minimizes the intimidation of the victims. They also spoke about the prevalence of child abuse and issues facing victims, investigators and prosecutors and the efforts and methods in place to deal with those. There was a question and answer period after their formal presentation.
Kent-Harris Repass also volunteered to stay a bit late to answer a few questions though he had to get back to work. We hope to see him again soon, perhaps as a guest speaker. He had to decline honorary membership because the House of Representative Ethics committee told him it would be a conflict of interest. There is no punchline- that is true. Irony abounds.
Ken Gorman fumbled his way through the meeting despite having notes on how to proceed. How he handles a trial remains a mystery.
Matt Weinstein won the raffle after he left the meeting so that will go into a slush fund.
Seascape has been cooperative- providing the projector and screen for the slide show and having the room available 11-2. We were told however that special meal requests are not allowed other than people requesting vegetarian/vegan. All members are reminded to fill out the email form telling us whether or not you are attending the next lunch(es) and whether or not you are eating.
Looking forward to next week.