Tag Archives: San Jose

2012 Volunteer of the Year Award for the City of San Jose

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Each year, the Santa Clara County Emergency Managers Association honors individuals who volunteer their time to serve the communities in which they live.  I was pleasantly surprised when Chris Godley, the Director of the Office of Emergency Services for the City of San Jose (CA), told me that I’d been nominated to receive this award.

The awards banquet was held on Dec 20, 2012 at the Three Flames Restaurant in San Jose, CA.  Each volunteer was introduced by his or her city’s Emergency Manager and as I listened to the introductions what impressed me was the scope of everyone’s contributions.  No task was too small or unimportant and conversely, no project was too large and daunting to be taken on.  In some cases, volunteers had special skills that the agency needed but didn’t have; in other cases volunteers performed routine duties and in doing so freed up someone else’s time to do other work.

I also took a moment to reflect on why I like volunteering:

  • I can set my own schedule
  • I get to choose what projects I work on
  • I have the freedom to use all my skills and knowledge
  • I have the opportunity to learn new skills and gain more knowledge
  • I have the chance to make a difference
  • I’m appreciated for the work that I do

I feel very honored to be the recipient of the 2012 Volunteer of the Year for the City of San Jose.  It’s been a very rewarding experience and I have no plans to slow down in 2013.  If you’ve ever considered becoming a volunteer, I’d encourage you to give it a try.

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Re-designing the Electronic Medical Record

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Friday, Dec 7, 2012 – A few weeks ago, a friend and colleague approached me about entering a Challenge being sponsored by the White House.  The purpose of the Challenge was to re-design the electronic medical record currently being used by over 6 million patients receiving care through the Veterans’ Administration.  The medical records are difficult to interpret and the goal was to make it easier for Veterans to access and understand their medical history.

My friend sent me the link to the Challenge in an email that simply said “Interested?”  Two weeks later our team had grown to four people and after working night after night until the wee hours of the morning, we submitted our design.

Each of us wrote a short biography and described what motivated us to enter this Challenge.  The common thread was respect for our Veterans and the desire to improve their care.  For two of us, it was personal; my friend’s uncle was killed in the Korean War and his remains were only recently recovered.  My father was a soldier for over 29 years and fought in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. We each wanted to give a little of ourselves to make a small improvement, a positive change to the lives of the women and men of the US Armed Forces who have ‘paid it forward’.

The designs are being reviewed by a panel of judges this week and they’ll announce a winner on Dec 12, 2012.  Wish us luck, but regardless who wins the Challenge we believe our Veterans will benefit from the results and that’s what it’s really all about.

Nakama Photos Featured on VTA/BART Website

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Monday, Nov 26, 2012 – Two of the aerial photographs taken by Nakama Enterprises in October 2012 are being featured on the VTA/BART website.  The photos show the current state of the Milpitas and Berryessa stations.  It’s going to be exciting to watch the progress as the stations are being built literally from the ground up.  Click the following link to view the photos; they’re captioned ‘Milpitas Station in Progress’ and ‘Berryessa Station in Progress’.

http://www.vta.org/bart/

Red Cross Relief Efforts

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Friday, Nov 2, 2012 – As of yesterday, the Red Cross was providing relief efforts in ten states to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  The Red Cross is staffed mainly by volunteers and is funded by donations from people like you and me.  I’ve been a volunteer with the Silicon Valley Chapter (San Jose, CA) for a little over a year now and my volunteer service has been at the local level – helping those displaced by house fires.  However, many chapter volunteers travel to disaster-affected areas and work there for 3 weeks at a time to care for people who may have lost everything in the disaster.  The care is not only for physical needs; food, shelter and clothing, but also for emotional support.

In the relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy, the Red Cross has already served over 100,000 snacks and meals, opened nearly 200 shelters and deployed two-thirds of their mobile kitchens.  Please help the Red Cross continue to help those in need and make a donation today.

http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations

 

Nakama Enterprises Delivers First Set of Aerial Photos of the VTA/BART Berryessa Extension Project

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Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 – Today, Nakama Enterprises delivered the first set of aerial photos for the VTA/BART Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension project.  The images were presented to the project’s prime contractor Skanska-Shimmick-Herzog Joint Venture (SSHJV) at their project headquarters in Milpitas, CA.  Key members of the project team reviewed the images with a great deal of interest and enthusiasm and Nakama received very positive feedback.

There’s an interesting side story here that has to do with the Upper Penitencia Creek.  The first image below taken from Google Maps, shows the area before construction on the project began.  The creek bed corresponds to the line of trees that runs alongside Berryessa Rd.

Upper Penitencia Creek prior to construction

The second image, which is one of ours, shows how things look today.  Notice the creek stops short of the track alignment and picks up again towards the left of the frame.  The creek is actually dammed on both sides and the water is being pumped from one side, across the construction zone into the other creek channel.  This diversion will remain in place until later in the project when the dams will be removed and the creek will flow into the new artificial creek bed (within the dashed green lines) being constructed.

Upper Penitencia Creek – Oct 2012

This preservation effort sends a message that SSHJV is committed to minimizing impacts to the environment whenever possible during the project.  That’s very cool.

CERT Application Solution Wins Code for Change 2012 Challenge

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Friday, October 12, 2012 – A year ago, I didn’t know that “Challenges” existed.  Today, an idea that I submitted to a challenge just a couple of months ago has a working prototype and has taken the top prize!

The idea was inspired by the students in the CERT classes I was co-teaching in San Jose, CA in the spring of 2012.  With no resources to fund and develop the idea, I thought there was little chance of making the application a reality.

Fortunately for me I happened to meet Arthur Grau, manager of Innovation Leadership at Applications for Good.  A4G is a non-profit that brings together sponsors, developers and ideas for applications that benefit society. After an introductory phone call, I submitted the idea to the Code for Change Challenge and Arthur and I got to work.

My role was to define the problem, rally the local CERT teams and Emergency Managers and answer whatever questions might arise.  Arthur managed everything else including all the details of what was happening in New York.  He convinced Meagan Van Harte, a senior Program Manager in the NYC Office of Emergency Management to represent the idea in person at the Challenge.  Meagan did an excellent job and as a result attracted a very talented team of developers.  Once formed, the team was able to create a prototype in two weeks!  Amazing!

The judging took place on Friday, Oct 12, 2012 and our team won the Grand Prize based on the following 4 criteria:

  • Potential Impact on target audience
  • Feasibility to implement
  • Usability
  • Originality

We won free workspace for 6 months, a web design audit, lunch with venture capital mentors and $8,000.  In other words, we received enough resources to keep the project growing.

To view the project’s current status, visit the CERT Application Project.

Nakama Enterprises Wins VTA/BART Berryessa Project Aerial Photo Contract

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Sept 17, 2012 – Nakama Enterprises was recently awarded the Aerial Photography contract for the VTA/BART Berryessa Extension Project.  This is a multi-year project scheduled to run until early 2016.  Notification was made last Thursday by a representative from Skanska-Shimmick-Herzog, the project’s prime contractor.  “We believe this project is good for the long-term economic growth and the environmental health of the Silicon Valley” said Nakama Enterprises CEO, Annette Maxwell, “and we’re thrilled to be a part of it”.