Meet Your Neighbor - Ellen McCarthy

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Ellen McCarthy, I have lived in San Leandro since 1995. I retired a few years ago from the field of public relations, before that I was a journalist, I started in radio KPFA. I wound up getting a PR job at KQED, I stayed in PR. I have always written, I have kept a journal. After retirement I started spending a little more time with my journal, crafting observations I was making, turning them into poems. I thought when I retired I would write a novel, but it wasn't my niche. Poetry I fell into it, I love doing it, almost every day. I have a lot of poems under different themes. 

One was the observations about life, finding out about how I think and feel about things that come up as you are in a beautiful place, often with my dog who died in December after 14 years. We used to take a lot of morning walks. My sister and I started putting books together, we did two of them. For the 3rd one she said let me take your natures poems, as I was assembling them I realized I had a whole bunch that referenced San Leandro. I had not come across any book that referenced San Leandro, no picture books or postcards. Here I had a collection of poems that referenced the beautiful places here that I enjoy so much, and I had my iPhone photos to go with it. I want to give a few copies to the Library, the City and the historical museum (A copy can be found in Zocalos). Purchase Book

What do you love about San Leandro?

I love the geographic location, between a lake and the San Francisco bay, with the redwood groves nearby, the eucalyptus groves and the spectacular weather which is probably the best on planet earth. I love the cultural diversity .

The poems came from the walks with your dog?

When you walk in a beautiful place and it is quiet, and you're not in conversation with anyone, you only have your thoughts. You tend to reflect on life and try to make sense out of the experience. I would stop and just take notes about something that I thought, that I wanted to remember. Then I might stop in a cafe and flesh it out a little bit, on my patio and flesh it out more, play with it until I thought it was done.

Did you find there was one walk or path that gave you more inspiration?

It depends on the time of day. Early in the morning most of the year the redwood groves like Chabot Park there are wonderful scents in the morning, the birds are very active, it's a great time to think, an especially stimulating time to think. Another time is at sunset, especially if you are on the bay, when you have clouds, when you have the light changing. At the marina where everybody walks where they have the loop and the trail that heads out to the San Mateo bridge there are a lot of seabirds. The tide is either in or out, that changes the color and the texture of everything around you. I'm not a religious person but I have become very spiritual in that setting, I think about how beautiful life is, how precious and rare. Midday everywhere is beautiful for walking and thinking, but I don't  find midday as inspirational as morning or evening

There is one photo I love which looks misty or smoky, I think it's near the Frisbee golf?

Chabot park in the early morning, it's just the fog lifting, just on my iPhone. I didn't know that is Frisbee golf. I was hit in the head once

It wasn't me  (Laughs)

He apologized profusely. It was Chabot Park about 8am. The light filtering through the mist. The fog is just starting to lift at that time of morning on a warm day. You can catch that any morning, it's gorgeous.

Any words of wisdom or a final quote?

Not sure if its words of wisdom but it is definitely something to live by, be the change you want to see in the world. Not my quote, but I love it.

Meet Your Neighbor - Roy Childress

Who are you and what do you do?

I am Roy Childress and I am owner of the Englander Sports Pub and Restaurant.

What do you love about San Leandro?

I love the progress that San Leandro is really getting into.  The community, it’s a nice community.  San Leandro is growing; they are putting new buildings up, new businesses, new housing which helps our business of course, and everyone around here.

Very cool.  What I love about the Englander is that you always have a variety of sports games on TV.  You have the Womens World Cup coming up.  Are you getting large crowds in for that?

Yes, the ladie’s games are drawing big crowds.  The women’s USA team brings in a big crowd.  The COPA America has a big crowd and then we have the Gold Cup next month which should be really good for us and all of our patrons that love soccer.

And then there are The Warriors!

Amazing! 

Wow

And you know what was nice about it, there were NO problems at all.  There were no issues at all.  It was wonderful, it really was.  Every seat was taken in the house and it was really good for us.  And of course the Warriors fans were wonderful.

It’s been a long time coming.

It sure was.  40 years.  I was at the first two games back in 1975.  My father actually took me to both of those games.  They actually won in a sweep – 4 games. 

You guys have always supported the community.  How many organizations come in here and use your facility?

Quite a few, I’ve never really counted them.  There is a lot!  The Ski Club, Soroptomist, Rotary, Kiwanis, Book Club, GTO club, MG club, I mean a lot.  They will have usually lunch or dinner.   It’s good for us, it’s good for the community. 

We all appreciate what you do for all of us.

Thank you so much

Do you have any final quote or word of wisdom?

Well, just keep working hard and it will pay off.

That’s good. Thank you Roy

The Englander Website

Meet Your Neighbor - Brian Bishop

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Brian Bishop, I am the Assistant General Manager here at Monarch Bay Golf Club. I oversee the operations, staffing for the golf shop, outside services,  food and beverage. I assist with the merchandising , accounting, anything to do with operating a facility of this sort. I work with our general manager Kevin Kobayashi.

What do you love about San Leandro?

The location, we have a beautiful place here in the East Bay, we are by the water. We are very lucky to have a beautiful golf course on the bay overlooking the downtown skyline (SF).  We have a very generous community that comes in here and gives us great patronage. We are lucky to be in a beautiful place in Northern California.

There are some great things about this facility, The main course, the executive course, footgolf and a Junior Golf Program. Tell us a little about that?

As you pointed out the 9 hole executive course we do have 18 holes of footgolf. It's a new craze that is going on within the golf community, it's a way of bringing a younger demographic to the game of golf. Those who may not have picked up a club or been shown the game, a lot of them play soccer. The golf community has melded foot golf into our courses. It's been great, we have hosted some tournaments for footgolf, we have got some great feedback from the community of San Leandro, it's something new, it's something fun.

It's a lot easier than golf!

Yes (Laughs) the hole is much wider, you can get out of the hazard a lot easier, out of the sand bunkers, especially if you get a good kick on it.

We also have the junior golf program, we are currently starting our Nike camp. Last week was our first week, that runs through the whole of August. Junior from 6 all the way to 13/14 years old. It's a wonderful opportunity to expose your child to the game of golf. You learn the fundamentals of the swing, fundamentals of chipping and putting, everything to engross them into the game of golf. We really reinforce having fun on the golf course, not taking themselves or the game to seriously. Setting them up with the skills of not only being a good golfer but a good individual, to respect the etiquette of the game.

What do you think about the US Open and the finish?

You hate to see someone lose it, Jordan is a wonderful champion. Everyone was putting on the same greens, there was some controversy based on the rolling surfaces... It's all you could ask for, last group, 18th hole, putt to win the championship, you wouldn't even think he would 3 putt to lose it. The flat stick is the great equalizer. Shows you where to spend your time while you practice.

Like the US Open course this year we have a links style course here.

We do, and we have poa annua greens like Chambers Bay, maybe not as bumpy (smiles). We have a links style course, dried out a little bit like Chambers Bay without the extravagant elevation changes.

I was out here the other day, I noticed they are working on a couple of the fairways, number 2. The course is in great condition right now.

We are doing quite well, we have been doing a re-sodding project in the last month so we are filling up some of the bare spots. Greens are in great shape. We are really proud with what our superintendant has been doing.

Any Words of wisdom?

Specifically for golf? Enjoy it and have fun. For Juniors and Adults if you take yourself or your game too seriously you lose the enjoyment, the vigor, the importance of what we come out here to do. Go out have fun with your friend and family, enjoy a beautiful day right on the bay with a wonderful backdrop. Enjoy that and you will have a better golf experience.

Meet Your Neighbor - Jan Woycheshin

Who are you and what do you do?

I am Jan Woycheshin. Its pronounced like your wristwatch, "a" and then the sun. I do a lot of things, I am a small business owner, my Husband and I are partners in J & P Video Productions, we produce corporate event and training videos along with audio reinforcement, background music for receptions and parties. I also volunteer at the Chamber 2 days a week, I am also at the Chamber for event coordination. I am on the board of Friends of San Leandro creek. We organize creek cleanups and are stewards for the creek. I am on the San Leandro Senior Commission, I am the chair for that. I am on the board of directors for a nonprofit called the Acme Foundation out of Lake County, they provide monetary assistance for the elderly and disabled for their seriously ill dog and cats (Jan is also a Chamber Ambassador)

What do you love about San Leandro?

I love San Leandro because it is so centralized to everything, its 25 minutes from San Francisco, its 4 hours from the mountains. I love the weather. I love the people. It has a small town feels, but it's a big town. It's a good place to live, the weather is great and I like being involved in the community, it's a very community oriented city.

You have been involved in Coffee connection for a long time, tell us about that?

I took over coffee connection in 2005 when we were still at the Davis street location, there was only about 3 people in attendance, it was just coffee, we tried to get people to talk about their business. Especially for the small business owners.  I thought if you feed them, they will come, let's have an open house at the Chamber.  So that December we had what I thought would be just an open house, during the course of it the then CEO said "Let's get the meeting started". I had not planned on a meeting.  That is how I started out with Coffee Connection.  It grew, we out grew the conference room. For a while we had our meeting at the Englander, when the Englander couldn't accommodate us any more we started moving the venue around.

That works out better. Each month we have a speaker that can talk about their business, they must be a Chamber member and the venue must be a Chamber member . Changing the venue allows each venue to show off their place of business.

It seems a fairly relaxed networking event.

It's a networking opportunity for about 20 minutes, then the speaker gets about 25 minutes, then everyone gets a chance to introduce themselves. Coffee connections tend to be anywhere from 20 to 60 people depending on the venue and what is going on.

If someone wants to attend a coffee connection do they have to be a Chamber member?

No. The Chamber does not have a prospective membership or orientation meeting. I tell people that if they are interested in finding out what the Chamber is about, come to a coffee connection. You will get a taste of the people who are in the Chamber, you will find out what we do, you will find a mix of people. Each coffee connection is about an hour, sometime people hang out a little longer networking. A lot of people have connected through coffee connection, it's not always who you know, it's who other people know.

You recently received an award?

Last year I received the leadership award for district 3 from San Leandro City council for some of the things I have done

Any final Words of Wisdom?

Come to San Leandro, It's a growing city, a growing community. It's a wonderful place to live. I have lived here since 1975 and I have seen a lot of changes, and things are still changing and I don't see them stopping for a very long time. I think everyone who comes here will fit right in.

Jan, Thank you so much.

Meet Your Neighbor - Jonathan Davis

Who are you and what do you do?

I am Jonathan Davis from San Leandro California. I am a manager at Orbit Skate Boutique and I love what I do. I travel, I am a wide eyed wanderer.

What do you love about San Leandro?

I was raised here, I was born in Alameda but raised here.  I love the diversity. It's the city element, being the suburbs of Oakland and San Francisco. It has a little bit of everything, it has the hiphop, you can go to the Englander, go to the skateshop. There is so much to do.

Back in the day my Dad said they had a roller-rink across the street from here. They had Neil Young, and The Byrds play. That was in San Leandro, not in Oakland or San Francisco.

You have younger sponsored skaters and a program for children keeping their grades up?

We do have a sponsor program. On top of that we have a GPA program, which we have been doing since 2001. You bring in your report card at the end of the year, K - 12 and we will give you a free gift. You have a 4.0 you get a free skateboard deck. 3.0 a free sticker pack and then gifts in-between. We get people who come from the Central Valley. It's a great incentive for the kids.

The shop always feels so friendly, doesn't matter if you are coming in to browse or to buy something. Where do you think that comes from?

We are a family. We work in a great work environment, everyone is really happy, everyone has been here for a while, we love what we do. Everything we carry we are really, really into. From the skate people to people coming to buy statues.

Final Quote?

Live in the positive of life, live in the good, live in the essence, live in the moment. Take everything for what it is and try to always effect yourself in the positive.  There is the neutral and then the middle but try and push yourself in the positive for everything you do.

Orbit is Celebrating it's 20th Birthday, they are having a street party on July 15th with Pro Skateboarders. From Dawn until Dusk

Meet Your Neighbor - Mrs. Domin

Who are you and what do you do?

I'm Marilyn Domin, I've been the Kindergartener teacher at Assumption School for the past 35 years and I am just about to retire.

What do you love about San Leandro?

What I love about San Leandro is it has a small town feel  but it has everything a city could want and people here are so friendly.

Any words of Wisdom?

Love every minute. The past is gone and the future you don't know what holds, so just enjoy the present.

Photo's taken at Mrs. Domin's retirement party.

More Photos to come

Meet Your Neighbor - Kate Livson

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Kate Livson and I teach here at San Leandro High School. I teach a class call Forensic Biology. This is my tenth year, it is an incredible class. I teach students how to solve crimes using science. It's exciting, it's a great way to learn life science, to learn Biology. You can see around the room the children have made their own mug shots. There is Goergie the skeleton. We do a lot of labs, it's very hands on.

I am also the coordinator for the Season of Service period of peace program at the school this year, this is our 7th year. We celebrate season of Service between Martin Luther King's Birthday and Caesar Chavez birthday. During those 10 weeks groups, clubs and classes around the school get together to create some projects that has to do with non violence, peace and educating our community. Bringing non violence and peace to this school, this community .

This year more than 1000 students participated at San Leandro high School. We have now included both middle schools, John Muir and Bancroft and Jefferson Elementary. We have commitment from these students to learn about non violence, to learn about peace and to bring what they have leant out into their schools and communities.

Wednesday at 7pm San Leandro High School Performing Arts Center the students will perform and present all that they have done (FREE and open to the public)

What do you love about San Leandro?

This is my 10th year and I wouldn't teach at any other high School, I love this place, it's my home. The students are open and inquisitive, they are smart, competent. There is a certain spirit to San Leandro High School that I have never seen in any other school. These students are open to looking further, to questioning more, standing up and telling the truth.

I am the adviser to Club Rainbow (Gay straight alliance) and over the years I have has as many at 50 to 60 students in this classroom looking at changing the culture. We have alliance with the football team. My students have gone into classrooms to talk about gender and bullying. It's an incredible safe and welcoming place, and when it isn't these students always look deeper and wonder how can we educate this person. It's an honor to work here.

Your role with Season of Service, period of peace and with Rainbow seem to have some similarities, can be brought together in part?

In part. It was an opportunity to coordinate it (Season of service). I was able to teach, coordinate Season of Service and be the adviser for the Club Rainbow. As teacher we are often isolated in our own classrooms. We seen 150 students every day over 5 periods, it's like tides, students come in and they go out. There are days I don't speak to another adult all day long, but as coordinator I have got to know all the advisers and I get out a little more.

What have you learnt most from the experience?

Students learn best from each other, things are changing. It used to be that we could write about what we wanted the children to understand, or we would talk about it the way adults talk about things. The way I understand social justice issues, issues of community and of non violence. It's really different the way they process these very important issues. When I say to the club "Why don't we make a Flyer and explain to the students?", "no Ms Livson that's not how we teach this".

I have learnt so much about how to communicate.

It's a new generation with teenagers use of technology.

It's extraordinary, we are invited to use computers in our classrooms. Every teacher has access to computers for every student. It's a challenge because students are on their phone, their screen time is 24/7. It's hard for me,  an old woman, to give them more screen time, but what they have taught me is that they don't learn best with words, we don't want all this language. There are other ways of communicating.  Just look at the Club Rainbow season of service video 

Most of my curriculum is hands on but I recognize that there is another road in learning.

We are all about project based learning and getting students to learn skills and collaboration, working through problems, how to learn and what to learn. This is easy for me as my students solve crimes all day. Here is the evidence, here are the clues, use your science and determine (who did it).

As a district we are moving towards project based learning.

Final quote or words of wisdom?

Don't be afraid of this place (San Leandro High School).These students are extraordinary people, they are our future. This place is full of wonderful, smart, competent, intelligent people. I think people think about high school is hooligan, they have concerns. I would invite folks in San Leandro to come here and experience what we are doing. They should come and experience it on Wednesday.