Arnold, CA….SIR, Inc. Branch 152 will hold its August 2022 meeting in the Our Lady of the Sierra Catholic church located at 1301 Linebaugh Road, in Arnold, CA. Meetings, which begin at 11:00 a.m., include a social hour and lunch, followed by a guest speaker. Our guest speaker for this meeting will be Vida Kenk.

Vida has a B.S. Biology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va., 1961, and a Ph.D. Evolutionary and Ecological Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 1966.

She and husband Bill Minkel have two adult children (Chris and Lauren) and two grandchildren (Nathan and Lilian).

While teaching at San Jose State University (1966 – 2010), she mostly taught Biology but became the Associate Dean of College of Science and then Dean of the College of Science before retiring. Taught General Biology, General Zoology, Invertebrate Zoology, Zoogeography, Ecology, Evolution, and labs in Botany and Genetics, as well as an orientation course for first-year science students. She also did research in marine biology.

She discovered the Arnold area in 1974 where she and husband Bill built their retirement home 2004 – 2006, where they now live. “Bill and I became Docents at Calaveras Big Trees State Park in 2008.  I joined the Calaveras Big Trees Association (CBTA) Board in 2011 and was President of CBTA from 2013 to 2015.  Termed off the Board for two years, re-elected to it in 2019. Became CBTA President again from 2020 to 2022, just completed that term on June 30, 2022. I am now still on the Board and serving as one of the CBTA Vice-Presidents.   I also belong to Independence Hall Quilters.”

At the luncheon, Vida will share the history of the Calaveras Big Trees Association and discuss the park’s current activities.

SIR, Inc. is a California non-profit organization that provides social activities for men over 50 whose mission is: “To improve the lives of our members thru fun activities and events while making Friends for Life.”  The parent organization was formed in 1958 in San Mateo and the Arnold  Branch was formed in 1989.   There are currently over 100 Branches in Central and Northern California and more than 10,000 members from Bakersfield to Mt. Shasta and Lake Tahoe to San Francisco.  The Arnold Branch has 108 members who normally meet on the 3rd Tuesday of each month for a luncheon at various locations in Arnold, CA.

In addition to normal monthly luncheons, the Arnold SIR Branch offers the following activities to its members:  Golfing, Ladies Day Lunches, RV outings, July BBQ, Dinner Dance and more.   Ideas for new activities are encouraged and adopted. Visitors and potential new members are welcome to sample the activities and attend luncheons.  For more information, please call Membership Chairman Jim Walton at 415-699-9396 or email jwalton2176@comcast.net.  You are cordially invited to attend our August meeting on the 16th, hear the presentation by our guest speaker and meet many of our members.

Jim Walton, Branch #152 Membership Director

Information is also available on our Branch website:  https://sirinc2.org/branch152/ .    More information can also be found at WeAreSir.com.