Speaker Date Topic
Colonel Brendan Kearney Nov 19, 2024
China/Taiwan and the Implications for the Pacific
China/Taiwan and the Implications for the Pacific

Colonel Kearney will provide a fast-paced description of the foundations of the conflict between China and Taiwan. This will examine the contentious history between the two countries along with a review of China's increasingly aggressive posture in the Asia-Pacific. The possible "Road Ahead" in conflict resolution will also be addressed. 

Patrick Galvin Dec 03, 2024
Violin Alone
Violin Alone

Violinist Patrick Galvin performs solo violin works from baroque to contemporary, which are featured on his 2021 album, Violin Alone. The program includes works by JS Bach, Eugène Ysaÿe, and Grazyna Bacewicz, and demonstrates the broad and colorful range of the violin. Patrick introduces the works, describing the composers and contexts of their creation.

Mill Valley Middle School Chamber Orchestra Dec 17, 2024
Holiday Party with Chamber Music!
Holiday Party with Chamber Music!

The Mill Valley Middle School Chamber Orchestra conducted by Orchestra Director Steve Gardner will be performing at our Holiday Party. They are an award winning string ensemble who play a diverse repertoire of pieces. The students are mostly home grown talent, coming up through their amazing 4th through 8th grade program, which is funded by KIDDO! They are thankful for every chance to perform in our community.

Andrew Reddie Jan 07, 2025
Nuclear Security Risks in a New Administration
Nuclear Security Risks in a New Administration

This talk will examine the nuclear security landscape facing the new U.S. presidential administration, emphasizing key risks posed by Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. We will explore how Russia’s aggressive nuclear posture and renewed deployment of strategic assets impact global stability, with particular attention to its implications for Europe and NATO. Shifts in China’s nuclear strategy, including rapid arsenal expansion and advancements in missile technology, add another layer of complexity, potentially destabilizing the Asia-Pacific region. North Korea’s persistent nuclear advancements and tests underscore its ambition to become a credible nuclear power, raising challenges for denuclearization diplomacy. Lastly, Iran’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment efforts, alongside regional tensions, present immediate proliferation concerns. The talk will address these evolving threats and consider strategies for the U.S. to engage diplomatically, mitigate escalation, and reinforce global nuclear norms in the face of a shifting security environment.

John Geoghegan Jan 21, 2025
White Elephant Technology: An Entertaining Look at Unusual Inventions
White Elephant Technology: An Entertaining Look at Unusual Inventions

From Jeeps that flew to tanks that shouldn't; from a wave-powered boat that took forever to reach its destination to a jet-powered train that nearly shook itself apart, an entertaining look at WETech inventions which showcase an inventor's talent for building something nobody asked for. This talk will be lavishly illustrated with rare photographs and brief film clips demonstrating that failure is not just entertaining, but has something important to teach us.

Dick Spotswood Feb 04, 2025
The Matin Game !!!
The Mating Game is a Mill Valley Rotary Club game show similar in format to the Newlywed Game and Dating Game. We will have four Rotarians and their significant others answering questions about their time together. There will a special grand prize for the winning couple along with consolation prizes for the three other couples.
 
Mill Valley Rotarian Dick Spotswood will be our celebrity Master of Ceremonies. Dick is closely following in the hallowed and historic footsteps of previous television emcees Bob Eubanks, Jim Lange and Chuck Woolery. DID YOU KNOW that Jim Lange was a Mill Valley resident for many years and actually hosted one of our Mating Game programs?
 
Mill Valley Rotarian Bob Canepa will be compiling a daunting and challenging list of questions for the contestants to test their perception and knowedge of their partners.
February 14th is Valentine's Day.
 
The Mating Game program will help you get ready for Cupid.💕💘💞
Leta McCollough Seletzky Feb 18, 2025
THE KNEELING MAN and Why History Is Not Past

Leta is the author of "THE KNEELING MAN: MY FATHER'S LIFE AS A BLACK SPY WHO WITNESSED THE ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR." She will share the intimate and powerful story of a Black undercover police officer who famously knelt by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his dying moments—and the implications of this tragic event for a daughter and a nation.

Andrew Standley Mar 18, 2025
EU-US Transatlantic Relations: Stormy Seas or Smooth Sailing?
EU-US Transatlantic Relations: Stormy Seas or Smooth Sailing?
EU-US relations – based on shared values, a common history and a free market economy – have been a bedrock of the post WWII international order. Within the NATO framework, Europe has depended on the US for its security, while successive US administrations have broadly supported the EU as a means of consolidating peace, stability and prosperity in Europe.
  

But the US’ geographic focus has increasingly shifted towards the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, deep internal strains are appearing within the EU as a result of surging populism. Andrew Standley, former EU ambassador to Bolivia, Israel and Mexico, will examine the state of US-EU relations as well as the key challenges facing the EU, and identify areas where the transatlantic relationship may face headwinds.

Ed Marshall Apr 01, 2025
Liar's Club !!!
Liar's Club is a Mill Valley Rotary Club game show featuring a panel of four Mill Valley Rotarians who will use their talents and guile to try to baffle, befuddle, and bewilder the audience with their definitions and explanations of very peculiar, perplexing, and puzzling words. The audience will be broken down into teams of those seated at each table.
 
There will be prizes for the best Liar and for the winning audience team.
Megan Gorman Apr 15, 2025
All The Presidents’ Money: What The Finances of Our Leaders Can Teach Us About Wealth
All The Presidents’ Money: What The Finances of Our Leaders Can Teach Us About Wealth
We all have our opinions on how presidents have handled affairs of state, but how exactly did they handle their own financial affairs? In this delightful and chatty book, Megan offers plenty of anecdotes: how a president born wealthy died broke (Thosmas Jefferson, whose last correspondence was about buying wine on credit), a president born poor died rich (Lyndon Johnson, who used his government connections to build a tiny Texas radio station bought by his wife for $17,500 in 1942 that netted the family $105 million 30 years later after LBJ died, and a president addicted to get-rich-quick schemes (that would not be the one you might be thinking of but Ulysses S. Grant, who lost money "selling ice, developing farmland, and invested in a social club in San Francisco"). J.F.K. was wealthy but frugal, Lincolnd died without a will, and the Clintons...well, let's just say they are comfortable thanks to post-presidential speeches and books.
 
Gorman teases out lessons for all of us on what to do (and not to do) to build wealth, the best lesson being the nation's most famous peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter. That occupation helped polish his Everyman image, but thanks to the financial acument of Rosalynn, the peanut operation grew into a 3,100-acre behemoth with a side business in fertilizer. No comment on other presidents whose careers profited from slinging manure.