Meeting Recaps

Our speaker was Yves Masquefa, founder of KHERUT (a Hebrew word meaning freedom from slavery). He told us about his trips to Kenya and India where 7 out of 10 girls in orphanages were sold out to sex trafficking. Someone challenged him to do something in the US.
Kherut believes it’s time to empower survivors of human trafficking with the tools they need not just to survive, but to thrive. Kherut provides a platform to develop workplace skills and opportunities. The initial platform is a unique food truck called Savor.
The four pillars of lasting change are: employment, transportation, childcare, and housing.
For more info: www.kherut.org

Our speaker, Greg Lawson, Jr., comes from a law enforcement family. His dad was a policeman for 33 years and a member of KCGA. His sister works for the FBI. Greg has been with the Anaheim Police Dept. for 22 years and is one of three detectives working at the Disneyland Resort.
Due to the increase in tourism, the park now has 25 police officers on site daily from 6:00 a.m. until 3:00 a.m. the next morning.
Greg deals with financial crimes such as credit card fraud often related to on-line ticket sales. There are those who prey on tourists who are often tired and lax in guarding valuables. There are occasional fights, one recent one even made the national news.
The APD provides training to park employees on watching for suspicious activity and looking for counterfeit currency. They partner with a terrorist liaison officer and belong to a crime alert network that signals all hotels in the area when there is criminal activity.
Greg loves his job and feels that Disneyland is truly one of the safest places to visit.

The APD provides training to park employees on watching for suspicious activity and looking for counterfeit currency. They partner with a terrorist liaison officer and belong to a crime alert network that signals all hotels in the area when there is criminal activity.
Greg loves his job and feels that Disneyland is truly one of the safest places to visit.

This week’s meeting was at Emerald Court in Anaheim. Our speaker was Pauline Allen. She told us about Ms. Senior California which celebrated its 40^th year in 2019. Pauline describes herself as 73 years young.
Last years contest program described her as: aspiring senior actress, life style model, passionate about working out four times a week, loves white clouds, wears big bold jewelry, and loves spending time with her grandchildren.
Her aging philosophy: sassy at 60, sensational at 70, and elegant at 80.
She performed her monologue from the film Steele Magnolias,
“I want to know why.”

Our speaker was Rick Martinez who retired after nearly 40 years with the Anaheim Police Department. This is the 150^th anniversary of the APD.
In his role as historian he told us about the APD’s city marshals and chiefs of police from the 1800’s. In 1837 there were only two cities in Southern California – Los Angeles and Anaheim. Four officers have died in the line of duty over the years.
There were some colorful characters. Rick related stories of saloon shoot outs and scandals that in one year lead to four different chiefs of police. In 1917 the city had its first female City Marshal and in 1974, its first female patrol officer.

With the opening of Disneyland the number of officers increased from 30-130 and today there are 650 employees in the APD.

Happy 150^th Anniversary APD!

Our speaker this week was Wendy Dallin who has worked in Pupil Services with the Anaheim Elementary School District since 2005. She now works with the Early Development Index (EDI) which surveys how ready children are for Kindergarten. Teachers complete a survey which includes five key developmental areas: physical health and well-being, emotional maturity, general knowledge and communication, language and cognitive development, and social competence. She shared a map of Anaheim showing the percentage of children ready for Kindergarten based on where the children live rather than the school they attend. Knowing that 90% of a child’s brain is developed by age 5, this data can show were improvement can be made to help the child develop.

Data has been collected for 5 years and now is being shared so that action can be taken to help the children become more kindergarten ready.

This week’s speaker was our current Division 30 Lt. Governor, Ed Rairie. KCGA is Ed’s home club and he was a member of Key Club in high school and Circle K in college.
Ed talked about the challenges he has had to overcome in his personal life but it was clear that he still has a passion for Kiwanis.
He told us of his commitment to open three new clubs in our division: Westminster, Norwalk, and Buena Park.
Some of our clubs are growing. In fact La Habra has added five new members.
Ed urged everyone to reignite their passion for Kiwanis.
Kids need Kiwanis.

Our meeting this week was at the offices of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce. Our speaker was Todd Ament, the Chamber’s President/CEO. Todd gave us an update on various happening in the city and presented an overview of the sources for tax revenue.
He described the general plan for future development in the Platinum Triangle.
The Anaheim Chamber was formed in 1895 and strives to create a strong local economy, promote the Anaheim community, create networking activities through business development opportunities, and represent business interests in government affairs. They are proud to be celebrating their 125^th year.

Artists image of a plan for the Honda Center area.

Our speaker was Richard Kuo, the founder of the You Matter Global Movement. He is a former Key Club Lt. Governor and has had over a million views on his YouTube channel and spoken to students at over 100 schools across the U.S.
Richard began his presentation with an ice breaker asking members to write down a childhood memory. His own memory was of having self-esteem issues and not fitting in which he finds common with many students today. Today’s students have pressure from parents, school, and being compared to others. They also have to deal with social media.
Each member got a “You Matter Because” card. Richard urged everyone to give one to someone who may need it.
For more info visit:
www.youmatterglobal.com

Our very special speaker this week was Maddie Lewis, granddaughter of Ken Crandall. Maddie experienced many Kiwanis activities as she grew up and was awarded a KCGA scholarship upon graduation from high school.
Her topic was human trafficking.
She works with the Omaha Women’s Center for Advancement and traveled for seven months in Asia researching human trafficking.
40 million people worldwide were victims of modern slavery in 2017. 22% are in forced prostitution, 10% state imposed labor, and 68% forced labor exploitation.
Social media is one method of luring younger girls with promises of money, jobs, or education.
What can we do? Be aware, get educated, raise awareness. Click on the logo for more info.

We met at the Anaheim Muzeo and our speaker was Della Rose, Director of Exhibitions and Education at the Muzeo. She and Mandy Rodriquez set up the model train exhibit in two weeks (usually takes 6-8 weeks). Della grew up in New York City riding trains and also when she lived in London and Paris. This was truly a labor of love for her.
The Muzeo Express brings whimsical holiday model train dioramas to life to celebrate the season thanks to the Train Collector’s Association and the Toy Train Operating Society.
In addition to fantastic holiday model trains, Muzeo Express showcases the history and heritage of trains in Southern California with historical artifacts, exclusive exhibits and much, much more!
Muzeo has partnered with the Carolwood Foundation which is dedicated to preserving Walt Disney’s railroad legacy and the Southern California Railway Museum (formerly OERM) which provides Ward Kimball memorabilia and other treasures. With model trains, exhibits and photo ops, this is a special holiday treat that’s not to be missed!
There’s something for all ages at Muzeo Express. The exhibit runs from November 30, 2019 until January 26, 2020.

Since KCGA meets for breakfast on Thursday mornings, it has long been our tradition to have an extra special meeting on Thanksgiving. We invite members from other clubs to visit and we schedule an extra special program. This year was no exception as we were joined by Kiwanians from Brea, Cypress, La Mirada, Placentia, and Santa Ana as well as Key Clubbers from Western High School.
Our first speaker was Dr. Mustafa Kabeer. He has been at CHOC Children’s hospital for 15 years and specializes in minimally invasive surgery for pediatric sunken chest conditions. He explained the process; pre-op preparation, operative repair, and post op recovery. He showed a video of a young patient who was able to fully function as a ballet dancer after the operation. Dr. Kabeer’s journey included 10 years in residency, 6 years in adult surgery, and then full time pediatric surgery. Trauma cases have risen from 10 a month to 60 a month during his time at CHOC. He stressed the need for everyone to get involved and support CHOC.
Our second speaker, Jessica Rangel, discussed her experience as a CHOC patient and her dedication to being a mentor for other patients.

Our speakers were Carolyn and Wendall Walters founded the all-volunteer 13^th MEU Adoption Committee in October of 2007. There are three Marine Expeditionary Units in Southern California – the 11^th, the 13^th, and the 15^th all based at Camp Pendleton. The role of the MEU is to be forward-deployed and provide rapid response.
The Committee’s biggest fundraiser is the Semper Fi 5K run in May of each year.
There are many events that support the 13^th MEU including: a toy collection at Christmas, a Christmas party dinner, Easter baskets, welcome home bags when returning from a deployment, financial assistance for transportation for those going home for the holidays including gas if they drive, and in case of an emergency. Commissary gift cards are often given throughout the year.
The Baby 411 books provided by Kiwanis have been enthusiastically received by parents.

Debbie Hermann gave the history of how the Miss Anaheim Fall Festival became the Miss Anaheim Beautiful contest. Her vision was that it would be a personal growth program including a beauty pageant with two teenage ambassadors. It included over 100 hours of community service which has grown to 270 hours this year.
Applications are sent to all the high schools. The process includes a personal interview, an essay about what difference they can make in the community, and then the pageant.
This year’s Miss Anaheim Beautiful, Priscilla Oropeza, read her essay and talked about the impact the program has had on her life.
Debbie thanked the Kiwanians who have supported the program including June Glenn who set up the criteria for selecting the contestants and Frank Barry for judging the essays. Alexandria Alvarez, a former Miss Anaheim Beautiful, was our Miss Kiwanis All Star in 2018.

Our first speaker was Rose Marie Perrone who revealed that the NEA Big Read for 2020 is the Pulitzer Prize winning play Our Town by Thornton Wilder. The characters are diverse reflective of the City of Anaheim. The kick off will be March 14, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. at the Central Library. There will be a keynote speaker and discussion. Students will be ‘living wax museum figures’ representing historical celebrities of Anaheim and dramatize scenes from the play.
Joe Purtell then spoke about the Early Development Index which measures kindergarten readiness. It provides information about children in five developmental areas: physical health and well-being, emotional maturity, general knowledge and communication, language and cognitive development, and social competence. It identifies the most vulnerable neighborhoods in Anaheim.
Joe also noted some adult programs in November at the Central Library including Anaheim History Trivia Night on the 13th from 6-7:30 p.m. and the adult book club on the 14th from 6-7:30 p.m.

For Halloween our speakers were from the Chance Theater. Erika Miller is one of the founding members of the theater, established in 1998. In 2014 the Chance became the official resident theater of the City of Anaheim. Its goal is to create unique theatrical experiences that are socially conscious through live theater and to promote works of new playwrights. The Chance has received numerous awards.
Karen O’Hanlon is the Director of Education at the Chance and spoke about the three Speak Up Programs: Teens Speak Up is a six week workshop where teens develop their own personal stories for live performance. This year was the 14^th summer program. The teens perform four times. They come from all over the OC. Thanks to Kiwanis support, bus passes are given to the teens and some ride up to 3 hours to get to the theater which becomes like a second family.
The Teens on the Autism Spectrum is a similar program which aims to build confidence and public speaking skills that will help them in their daily lives.
The Veterans Speak Up Program is a six week workshop where veterans share personal narratives which can promote social healing and deepen the community understanding of local heroes. The current program performance will be December 10^th at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda.