You probably remember lots of the problems we faced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and you could remember the dearth of rapid testing and work equipment.
The Valley Health Foundation actually hasn't forgotten, honoring Bloom Energy founder and CEO KR Sridhar at its Tribute to Heroes gala in San Jose for his contributions to keeping Silicon Valley healthy.
“In this beating heart of Silicon Valley where innovation thrives, one name stands out as a beacon of hope and progress,” said Muhammed Chaudhry, CEO of the Valley Health Foundation. “He has an innate ability to integrate innovation to support Silicon Valley.”
As employees at Valley corporations used COVID tests that took three to 4 days to provide results, Sridhar negotiated technology that brought a rapid test — with ends in just 4 hours — to Silicon Valley. Bloom employees also overcame a difficult technical challenge to repair broken but urgently needed ventilators, and Bloom helped deliver a mobile vaccination clinic that served roughly 80,000 people.
And when Carl Guardino, then a vp at Bloom Energy, pitched Sridhar on the concept of becoming the lead sponsor of an Independence Day-themed 5K/10K run to support the Valley Health Foundation in 2021, Sridhar was all in and the celebrities and The Strides run was born.
Sridhar showed rare humility for a Valley CEO in accepting the award, deflecting praise away from himself and toward Bloom Energy employees.
“They are the ones who make it happen; I am the speaker, so let me accept this on their behalf,” he said.
The Sept. 21 gala on the Hayes Mansion in San Jose was attended by greater than 450 people and raised roughly $500,000 for the inspiration, which supports the Santa Clara County Hospital System.
NOTES OF GRATITUDE: The Rev. Julia McCray-Goldsmith retired at the tip of September as dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown San Jose, a position she held for 2 years after being priest-in-charge for 3 years.
As she stepped down, McCray-Goldsmith shared a recent experience that she said illustrated what a forgiving place a church will be. She admits that she's about as much of a California liberal as one will be, since she lives in Berkeley, drives an electrical automotive and votes blue on her ballot on a regular basis.
But one afternoon, as she entered the church grounds downtown, she encountered an agitated person camped outside the side door, shouting at her and threatening to attack her. She called the police and sank right into a chair within the office of the cathedral administrator, who happened to be Shane Patrick Connolly, chairman of the Santa Clara County Republican Party.
Connolly is someone she couldn't be farther from politically, but she said they shared a standard goal on the cathedral and have become friends due to it.
“For us bishops, politics and ethical practice at the corner of Second and St. John are simple. We learn the names of our neighbors. We warmly welcome you to take part in our beautiful service. We strive to bandage their many wounds with all the Band-Aids at our disposal,” she said.
A key to this work has been the partnerships McGray-Goldsmith has fostered, including with Front Door Communities. The nonprofit held an open house Sunday for its latest boutique on the lower level of the cathedral's Fellowship Hall, providing low-cost or free clothing and other essentials to at-risk women.
A NEW “LINCOLN”: Don Hood and Harry Reed, who were classmates at San Jose High School within the Nineteen Sixties, have collaborated on a brand new musical called “The Mr. Lincoln,” opening Oct. 10-12 on the Hammer Theater Center downtown of San José will have a good time its world premiere.
The show spans many years within the lifetime of Robert Todd Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln, who was present at or related to several historic events.
“I suspect that if people have heard of Robert Lincoln, they don't know anything about him. And he had a remarkable life,” said Hood, who wrote the book and lyrics and is directing the show.
The younger Lincoln was present on the Confederate give up at Appomattox, declined an invite to Ford's Theater the night his father was assassinated, served as Secretary of War for President James Garfield and was present at his assassination, and in 1901 – when he was president of the Pullman Palace Car Co. – was taken on a train to Buffalo shortly after President William McKinley was shot and fatally wounded there.
“When I did the research, it was remarkable that he experienced all of that, and he was the only man in history to ever experience that,” Hood said.
Illustrating the passage of about six many years in about two hours, San Jose State music professor Reed's music dances through various genres – opera, rock, ragtime, salsa and even honky tonk – and lots of the actors play different characters. Brian Adams, vp of advancement at Bellarmine College Prep and former TV staffer at KICU, will help audiences keep track because the series' historical narrator.
Tickets can be found at www.hammertheater.com, and after each of the 4 performances there will likely be a catered reception for the audience.
Originally published:
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