Forming The Branch (1970-71)
In 1970 members of Branch 5 in Palo Alto realized that their membership had grown so large as to be unwieldy. A committee was formed to study the feasibility of forming an additional branch. This committee reported back favorably, and on November 18, 1970, by unanimous vote, it was decided to form Branch 35 in Los Altos.
Officers for the new branch, to be known as MISSION TRAIL, were named by the Executive Board of Branch 5 to serve until local elections could be held. Hal Orion was named Big Sir (President) and Ed Bit was Little Sir (Vice President). The first official meeting of the MISSION TRAIL branch was held at Pieracci’s Restaurant in Los Altos on March 16, 1971. The cost of lunch was $3.00 and drinks were $.75. After a probationary period of 6 months Branch 35 received its charter at the September, 1971 meeting.
30 Years Later (2000)
In 2000 Branch 35 celebrated its 30th anniversary. Popular activities were Golf, Bridge, Bowling, Fishing, Travel, Tennis, Singing, and Computers. Our Trail Tips newsletter was distributed by mail in hardcopy format. Luncheon meetings were priced at $13.00, and annual dues were $25.00, much of which was used to cover printing and postage for Trail Tips.
40 Years Later (2010)
Ken Newton took the helm as Big Sir (President) for 2010. The price of lunch, which had been holding steady for some time, remained at $19. Meetings were held at the Portuguese Hall on Stierlin Road in Mountain View.
Encouraged by Ken, Trail Tips editor Jim Schlatter implemented the conversion of our monthly newsletter to electronic format. Trail Tips continued to be printed for those members who preferred to get it in hard copy, but most members began to receive it via email. It was also posted to our web site (which had been up and running since 1999). This change allowed the publication to be expanded to six pages, allowing for more coverage of Branch activities.
Further strides were made in building an on-line Photo Roster of the members on the Brach website, as procedures were refined and routines established that would “capture” new members and round out our collection of photos of all our members
By the end of 2010 branch membership had swelled to 383. Ken Newton reminded the membership that back in 1991 there had been a peak of 391 members in the Branch, and he expressed the hope that our roster would top 400 before long.
Branch 35 was proud of the fact that several of its members served in state SIR state posts. Buck Kendrick was State President, John Mason was Director of Region 5, and Stan Barkey was Governor of Area 16.
50 Years Later (2020)
2020 started off great. New Big Sir (President) Andy Danver thanked the previous year’s leadership for outstanding recruiting, resulting in 31 new members. Our first two meetings of the year were held at the Palo Alto Elks Club, as they had been in 2019. Then, in March the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
In-person meetings were banned and the State went into in a multi-month lockdown. The branch officers voted by email to cancel the March luncheon. Behind the scenes, Andy Danver and the branch officers searched for a way to maintain communications during this pandemic. On March 18 the Executive Board held its first ever virtual meeting using a video application from a then small and little-known company called Zoom. By May the entire branch was invited to watch and listen to our May lunch speaker via Zoom. 195 members and guests attended that virtual meeting, including the SIR State President and 29 members from other branches who wanted to see what the Zoom experience was like. Branch 35 really led the way!
In the next few months, the branch experimented with Zoom breakout sessions before the main monthly meeting. Several informal groups of Loral and Lockheed retirees and others interested in gardening, movies, photography, etc. met in these breakout small group sessions. The branch promulgated tutorials in how to use Zoom via emails, Trail Tips, and the branch website to help increase the comfort level of members who could only “meet” virtually for the rest of the year. Andy also researched and established a link to videos of these Zoom meetings and talks that were hosted on a private YouTube channel. Members could access the links to the recorded talks via the password-controlled Membership Directory Login. Realizing the value of after-the-talk access to the presentations, the branch added links to digital copies of the in-person talks delivered in January and February.
The branch encouraged its activity groups to meet virtually on Zoom. The book club started Zoom meetings in April and several others including, bridge, investments, hiking followed suit in the ensuing months. The branch successfully met the established protocols (masks and social distancing) for allowing some of our outdoor activities (golf, biking, bocce) to meet in-person by the end of summer; although, a major flareup of new COVID-19 cases in November prompted the state SIR organization to shut down all but virtual activities through year-end.
The state SIR organization awarded Branch 35 the first State SIR Zoom Award for Large Branches for its implementation of virtual BEC, monthly meetings, and activities.
As 2020 came to an end, the branch had a healthy membership of 332 with about two thirds actively participating in virtual meetings and activities. In this pandemic year, Branch 35 had found ways to meet the mission of SIR – “Enrich the lives of our members through fun activities and events – while making friends for life.”