FogHorn March 23, 2017  -  Shop Talk:  ROSE SERDY and SUSAN SHAPIRA

 

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO CALIFORNIA?

As a teenager:  

Mother died suddenly, then a sister, and father remarried. My life was in turmoil.  I was scheduled to go to Penn State extension in my home town in the fall with dreams of becoming a social worker but my family and financial support was no longer available. 

 

“Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back,

and choose the path that leads you to wisdom.” Buddha

 

I had a brother who was married with two boys living in Los Angeles who invited me to stay with them so I could establish residency and enroll in college in California.  So, I worked all summer to save enough money to buy a one way airline ticket on TWA to California.  Well…….upon arrival things had changed. He was in the process of a divorce (not shared with the family) and was living in a studio apartment.  I was told I needed to get a job as his financial circumstances had changed and he needed help.  #FIRST LIFE LESSON:  I found a job that week as a long distance phone operator.  Too many stories to share on that life experience. We moved into a 3 bedroom apartment so his sons could be with us on the week end and I enrolled in night school.   

Enter: Michael Edward Serdy when I was working in PA and saving money for California?  Well, at work at Gimbles, I was pursued by a handsome co-worker, dated until my trip, but he also shared he too would be moving to California after he graduated from technical school. 

1966 the romance began.

I had many wonderful mentors, educational and job experiences. I will never forget the kind, loving support group I had at UCLA for a brief time in my life before following the path to fulfill my dream of traveling by becoming a flight attendant for Continental Airlines.    

NEW PATH:  Could not work as a flight attendant and be married so pursued a career in the financial world with Dean Whitter and Company which lasted for a number of years. 

 

MARRIAGE:  SEPTEMBER 2, 1967 

TRAVEL:   Michael worked for Western Airlines/Delta Airlines so we were able to able to experience many far off places: Hong Kong, Israel, China,new Territories, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, England, Ireland, Portugal, Germany , Italy, Chech Republic,Mexico, Austria and many more with some following of Fromer’s “Europe on $10 a day” book. 

RECENT TRAVELS:  Dream fulfilled on the Royal Clipper and dinner cruise on the Seine with my best friends. (s) 

MEXICAN “HAPPY PLACES”  We own time shares in Cancun and Los Cabos   

 

CAREER: 

40 Years of Real Estate with almost 20 years with Alain Pinel Realtors and  over 13year working alongside my son, Nathan. 

Non-profits:

Rotary of Half Moon Bay /Past president 2011-2012

Past president of Coastside Children’s Development Center

Past President of Coastside Hope 

Half Moon Bay Board of directors 2004-2008

 

Blessings in life:  

Melissa and Nathan 

Maddox, Paloma and Maeve

Briana and Maria 

 

I will be on this planet for 70 years on the 11th and have been blessed with the paths chosen in my lifetime.

In the end, only three things matter: 

“How much you loved, how gently you lived and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.”

 

 

Unfortunately, when it comes to Susan Shapira's shoptalk my notes only bear a vague resemblance to what she said. So with that caveat, here goes.

 

Susan is married to our own Eric Shapira and she has three children, the twins, Desiree and Sabrina, and her son Zane. She has a bunch of grandchildren but I couldn't write fast enough to get their names. Desiree lives in North Dakota and she and her husband are somehow involved in the oil bidness. Sabrina is in Grass Valley and she was a dental assistant but now she and her husband are in real estate. Susan comes from a traveling family. She has a photo of her grandparents at the Grand Canyon in 1918. Her mother and father retired from Los Angeles to Taos and then to Tucson where they lived near her sister Christine.

 

Susan's life is seriously intertwined with Rotary. She was a member of the South San Francisco Rotary for many years. She has traveled throughout the world on Rotary missions and to international conferences. She attended the Osaka Rotary international conference, she's ridden elephants in Thailand, she's been to China in the context of her husband's teaching trips on three occasions. She's been to Sri Lanka, along with her son Zane, for Rotary clean water project.

 

Susan's employment history started with a job at age 16 on Catalina Island. She rode a boat from her father's sailboat to the funky restaurant where she waited. She attended Reseda high school and then the University of Arizona in Tucson. During the college years she was able to live near her grandparents. They were both in the oil business. Her grandfather was a geographer and geologist and her grandmother was a geologist. Her grandparents met at San Francisco State. They had lived and worked all over the world including Brazil and Russia.  After college, Susan's father who was an art director got her a job at MGM in Culver City. She started out as a tour guide on the back lot and then she had a wonderful job in the research department finding sites to use in movies. (I have a note that says San Francisco State geography, but I'm not sure if that means she studied geography there or taught it or what or maybe it pertained to the grandparents.) Susan taught various classes at Cabrillo adult education including international cooking. In its heyday, adult education served about 2000 students. She worked as a substitute teacher in the school district. She was the first center director for the Senior Coastsiders and she was hired by Ted Adcock for whom the facility was named. It was in the context of that employment that she met her future husband. He was giving one of those appetizing guest speaker presentations on the subject of oral cancer. After they were married she worked for many years as his business administrator in the dental office. She does not do well with blood and gore and, consequently, stayed away from the clinical side of the practice.

 

In the context of their involvement with Rotary, Susan and Eric have hosted over 100 students. She brought along what she called props that were mementos of some of her travels. She had a basket that was acquired during a three day motorcycle trip around Sardinia and a dog biscuit pillow from Ecuador and a sash with pins from Osaka and a scarf from Chile. She also brought her grandmother's sheepskin coat from Taos. Susan also talked about her job as the USO director at SFO where she was responsible for 100 volunteers. Today she continues to work part time for Charisse at the Chamber of Commerce.

Greeters: PP Dave Andrews and John Evans   Pledge: Joe Brennan and Inspirational Thought:  John Evans

    

Guests:  Nate Serdy, Rose's son, and our Honorary Rotarian Betty Shapira

 

 

Ginger Minoletti and over 200 travel companions will meet in Oakland tomorrow– Travel agents, airline personal, wholesalers Ginger is on the “purple team” and will report back to us next week.

Brian Lee – “We are all meant to thrive”.  Invites club to his leadership class from 7-8:30 at New Leaf community center. His 14-year-old son attends.

Teresa Adam – taught a finance class at Pilarcitos High School.

Mary Rogren’s son is getting married on April 1^st and her responsibility to worry about auction items will end.  Mary’s crappy news- had to put cat down and then ran over another cat. 

Great donations:  Eric “ Tree of Life”,  Ginger – Half Moon Bay Distillery donated private tour, tasting and $300. 

 

Pres Li Schuck announced we have over 150 Auction items. 

Liz Schuck, Kevin O"Brien, PE Warren Barmore, Paul Wrubel, Eric Shapira and Mitone Griffiths attended the District Assembly over the week end.  Ed Daniels was the “Sargent at Arms”. Lunch was good.

PE Warren Barmore said the theme is “Star Trek”.   Fellowship, Friendship and Leadership.  Project is anti- bullying.

Paul Wrubel informed club that Rotary District 5150 is #1 in the World for financial donations.

Dictionaries have been all passed out. Rosi Fontana and Millie Golder did Pescadero.

Half Moon Bay City Council meeting : Proclamation celebrating “100 years of Rotary foundation. Kevin O’Brien attended.

The joint dinner meeting with Pacifica is scheduled for April 11 at the Senior Center.

Kevin O'Brien announced that 5150 District Foundation is #1 in the world.  A sustaining member gives $1,000 each year.

The Annual fund is at both the District and Global level.   Members can also donate stock, and you will not be taxed on the gain.

 

Magic - 113 tickets have been sold so far.

 

 

3/18/1967 – Pirates of the Caribbean opens.

3/21/1963 – Alcatraz closes

3/22/1933 – FDR authorizes sale of beer and wine

Great article in the Review about the Miramar Beach Inn and prohibition.

3/23/1939 – Slang word – “OK” is introduced.