Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, speaks with entrepreneur Kevin Surace at the Community Leadership Breakfast for the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council of the Boy Scouts of America at the Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara on Thursday, May 4, 2023. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Condoleezza Rice knows a thing or two about leadership, and the former U.S. secretary of state and current director at Stanford’s Hoover Institution shared that knowledge Thursday morning with nearly 500 supporters of the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
“I can’t tell you how many kids come in to me and say, ‘I want to be a leader.’ I say, ‘That’s not a job description, that’s not a destination,’ ” Rice said at the Community Leadership Breakfast held at the Santa Clara Marriott. But organizations such as Scouting, she said, give young people a “pathway to leadership.”
“I think Scouting is really built on learning leadership characteristics, not just declaring somebody leaders,” she said. Her wide-ranging conversation with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs touched on a number of topics, including the United States’ international relations with China, Russia and Iran; campus free speech issues; and even the harmful effect of social media on today’s youth.
“From the beginning, it seemed to me to be something that could be alienating, and I think we see for some kids it is. Not all of us were popular in high school, but nobody knew it. If you’re not popular in high school today, millions of people can know it,” she said.
But she acknowledged that smartphones and social media are a permanent part of life now, so the key may be teaching young people to manage them. “I think activity is really important. You actually can’t be on your phone when you’re climbing a rope, or figure skating, or golfing or playing an instrument.”
KIWANIS AT 100: There were plenty of flapper gals and dapper dudes decked out in their 1920s best Thursday night as the Kiwanis Club of San Jose celebrated its 100th anniversary at the downtown Corinthian Event Center with a crowd of more than 150 people from all 16 local Kiwanis clubs.
The service club has left its mark all over San Jose during the past century, contributing to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, the Children’s Discovery Museum and the Edenvale Community Center. The TurnAround Scholarships Program — started by the Kiwanis Club of East San Jose — provide college money for students who have changed the trajectory of their lives for the better.
But most people probably know the Kiwanians best during the holidays, when they run the food booth in Christmas in the Park as well as a tree lot at Cambrian Park Plaza (and one Kiwanis member, Les Yeffa, spent a lot of years volunteering in a particularly jolly role for the Holiday Parade). As its 100th anniversary service project, past District Gov. Dan Connolly pushed for the club to sponsor the restoration of a sleigh, built between 1911 and 1915, by the artisans at History San Jose. It was on display at Thursday night’s party and Santa will ride in it for the opening of Christmas in the Park on Nov. 24.
There were commendations galore at the event, with San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, city council members David Cohen and Arjun Batra, and State Sen. Dave Cortese all wishing the club a happy birthday. But Milpitas Mayor Carmen Montano went one better, singing “America the Beautiful” to the crowd. Mahan may want to get out his songbook if he doesn’t want to be upstaged by San Jose’s northeastern neighbor.
ARTISTIC NEEDS: The Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose is looking to build on a successful first year of its artist-in-residence program with — what else? — a second year. The learning center is looking for artists who can use their imagination to inspire kids to draw, paint, sculpt and explore their creativity in its LeRoy Neiman Art Studio. Each seasonal residency is 12 weeks long, starting with fall on Oct. 7, and comes with a $1,500 stipend. The details you seek are at www.cdm.org/visit/exhibits/art-studio/artist-in-residence.
And the San Jose Evergreen Community College District is looking for proposals from local artists to create a mural depicting the life and legacy of labor leader Cesar Chavez. The mural, which would be a minimum of 400 square feet, is planned for an exterior wall at the Cesar Chavez Library at San Jose City College. Proposals are due by 2 p.m. May 10; get more information at https://bit.ly/427ZOTh.
MUSICAL NOTES: The 20 members of the San Jose Police Emerald Society Bagpipe Band are packing their pipes and heading to Washington, D.C., on Thursday to attend National Police Week festivities. They’re the host band for the official ceremonies and will represent the Bay Area as they lead the parade to the National Law Enforcement Memorial.
Meanwhile, the South Bay Veterans’ Chorus — a volunteer group of veterans, family members and others who just like to sing and support vets — will present a program a little closer to home as it performs “Great American Songs From Stage and Screen” on May 20 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Saratoga. Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. performance are available at www.southbaymilvetschorus.com.
Originally published at Sal Pizarro