RECSDG, Saigon Restaurant,, San Diego

October 9, 2019;  6:25pm

Present: Amy Vegter, Amy Schrift, Carmen Diaz, Fernando Santos, Janet Mikelson, Benjamin Kettor, Marian Pavlovich Sargeant, Scot Sargeant, Aurora Salazar, Miriam Meleno, Jesse Navarro, Lynda Wood, Sandra Schrift

Meeting began with brief introductions and a warm welcome to our guests. 

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Following introductions, upcoming events and volunteering opportunities were announced:

-Binacional RC Fundraiser-Networking night; cost $25; October 23rd 5:30-7:30pm

-Blood Drive, October 26th 9am-2:30pm Solana ECO Club 

-Foundation Seminar, November 9th 8am $30

-Rotary Club of La Jolla-seeking teachers to help children in Mexico learn English and tech skills

-DG Martha Knight visit, November 13th at 6pm

-Holiday party/December meeting- Claudia’s home? On December 11th at 6pm

-Peace conference on January 17-18th in Ontario, CA 

For more details on some of these events, please look at District site)

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Guest speaker, Jesse Navarro, Tijuana native, came with his parents to San Diego in 1961 for a better opportunity. He was raised in North Park, and attended Hoover High School. At that time no bilingual education was offered and hispanics were greatly discriminated against. If Spanish or any other language besides English was spoken at school students would be sent home. He worked hard to excel in his studies and during his last year when he met his counselor, he was asked what he wanted to do. He wanted to be a police officer. Counselor emphasized that it was impossible and that he would only have two career options, either a mechanic or welder. Shortly after graduation, he ended up a Courtesy Chevrolet. At that time he met his wife, Maria and married her at age 19. He also kept a few gigs on the side to make ends meet. Eventually, he was approached by his manager and was laid off. The manager told him that he needed to pursue his passion. He ended up going to Mira Mesa College, studying criminal justice. And in 1974 ended up going to the Police Academy to pursue his dream of becoming a police officer. Throughout the next 15 years he learned a lot, and at the same time lost a lot of his partners in the field. He was then promoted to the position of detective for the city and traveled to many states and countries. This led him to assume an assignment with the District Attorney’s office. During this time he was approached by then acting DA, Bonnie DuManis and offered a position as her special advisor on security matters. He then also worked with the subsequent DA, Summer Stephens. A little over a year ago, he decided that when he would retire that he would devote his time to sharing his experiences with community groups. He specifically wanted to highlight the issue of identity theft. Close to 40% of the population is affected by this crime. And the worst part is that many may be unaware. The consequence for these criminals is minimal, in fact many may not get caught. It takes an average of about 2 years in many cases to adjudicate such issues. Navarro advises everyone to track their accounts on a daily basis and to run credit reports at least once a year. He also recommends to use social media sparingly to announce trips or locations. Taking extra precautions when at an ATM, and also redirecting mail to a PO Box. Consequently, these are all steps one can take to be more secure.