1 00:00:35,82 --> 00:00:40,17 Hello and welcome to the media center series of local heroes in which we showcase 2 00:00:40,21 --> 00:00:45,44 a total of six people from African East Palo Alto Palo Alto Menlo Park and Stanford 3 00:00:45,70 --> 00:00:49,98 for outstanding achievement or contributions to the community we solicit 4 00:00:49,99 --> 00:00:55,11 dominations and more particularly looking for the unsung heroes each winner is an 5 00:00:55,12 --> 00:00:56,69 inspiration and each has 6 00:00:56,73 --> 00:01:02,27 a great story to tell We're here in downtown Menlo Park at Cafe brownie right next 7 00:01:02,28 --> 00:01:06,54 to Kepler's both of which as I'm sure you know are local heroes in their own lives 8 00:01:06,86 --> 00:01:11,99 and we'd like to thank you for having. Betty Gerard is 9 00:01:12,00 --> 00:01:16,87 a volunteer in Joe somebody in his office she first became interested in politics 10 00:01:17,15 --> 00:01:18,52 when she was one of only 11 00:01:18,53 --> 00:01:23,19 a handful of women at Northwest Western universities prestigious school of 12 00:01:23,20 --> 00:01:29,69 journalism since then her journalist year and Pam have had everything she's done 13 00:01:30,69 --> 00:01:36,97 many Thank you for coming my congratulations on your award. Why go some of the INS 14 00:01:36,98 --> 00:01:43,49 office and why volunteer. Well actually so stumbled into working for Joe who I had 15 00:01:43,50 --> 00:01:46,17 admired and voted for it had 16 00:01:46,18 --> 00:01:53,09 a series of been at city council school board county supervisor and then the Sam 17 00:01:53,10 --> 00:01:58,78 Lehman and now senator so I was doing publicity for that League of Women Voters 18 00:01:58,79 --> 00:02:05,30 down there and meeting at the meeting that he was the key as speaker and I thought 19 00:02:05,90 --> 00:02:06,37 I'd like to know 20 00:02:06,38 --> 00:02:09,99 a little bit more about his background and what his committees are and so forth for 21 00:02:10,00 --> 00:02:16,95 this press release and went in and his district office manager at that 22 00:02:16,99 --> 00:02:18,99 time said to like to me 23 00:02:19,00 --> 00:02:25,94 a volunteer project so I've been had that was in two thousand and two. And I've 24 00:02:25,95 --> 00:02:27,76 been there ever since a couple of days 25 00:02:27,77 --> 00:02:33,77 a week that'd be one of the things that really stand out for you about. Joe 26 00:02:34,72 --> 00:02:41,36 will these. Be his beliefs are compatible with mine in terms of education and the 27 00:02:41,37 --> 00:02:45,40 environment in general late. In life and 28 00:02:45,55 --> 00:02:52,16 a high food to describe who's an enlightened. Policies 29 00:02:52,52 --> 00:02:52,71 he's 30 00:02:52,75 --> 00:03:00,10 a good man and so. One of the things he does is an outreach to nonprofits 31 00:03:00,10 --> 00:03:05,89 . He has always had a one of his staffers to through makes 32 00:03:05,90 --> 00:03:12,77 a point of becoming familiar with the non-profits and if he he covers now send the 33 00:03:12,78 --> 00:03:18,45 tale Santa Clara County City also now has added Santa Cruz County so. 34 00:03:20,85 --> 00:03:27,55 It's been amazing to see the over eight thousand nonprofits just in the 35 00:03:27,56 --> 00:03:34,46 cemetery in Santa Clara County tremendous numbers of people giving. Very generously 36 00:03:34,47 --> 00:03:39,90 of their time volunteer effort money to support them that's 37 00:03:39,91 --> 00:03:44,46 a very special American kind of thing that you can do you know our volunteers and 38 00:03:44,53 --> 00:03:49,43 many countries don't have that what do you actually do from what I gather you do 39 00:03:49,44 --> 00:03:54,45 a lot of the behind the scenes stuff that just oh just nobody knows where to get it 40 00:03:54,46 --> 00:03:59,04 makes it makes it all work. Well he has 41 00:03:59,05 --> 00:04:05,33 a number of college and high school intrusive come in and also. Are contributing 42 00:04:05,37 --> 00:04:07,41 time you know there and 43 00:04:07,78 --> 00:04:13,56 a former school superintendent who's very knowledgeable about it patients who like 44 00:04:13,57 --> 00:04:17,67 me spend several days a week in the office. But you bring 45 00:04:17,68 --> 00:04:24,11 a lot of journalism skills to what you do well I. I tend to be working with 46 00:04:24,34 --> 00:04:30,00 words doing this for his out of the law contest that he runs every year I boil down 47 00:04:30,01 --> 00:04:33,67 the two hundred fifty entries. In do 48 00:04:33,68 --> 00:04:39,62 a little summary and they differ some people dispatch out an idea that they think 49 00:04:39,63 --> 00:04:43,52 there should be a law in a sentence or two and other people submit 50 00:04:43,53 --> 00:04:45,21 a binder and you know so it's 51 00:04:45,22 --> 00:04:51,94 a matter of because the jokes and all of them and his staff people also pick out 52 00:04:51,95 --> 00:04:56,84 the was able to have the most merit Chris they have checked what is now legislation 53 00:04:56,85 --> 00:05:01,06 so that they're not reinventing the wheel you know just to summarize because people 54 00:05:01,07 --> 00:05:04,42 don't know he does have this program it's called ought to be 55 00:05:04,43 --> 00:05:11,20 a law and was Annual and people just say what they feel needs to be corrected by 56 00:05:11,21 --> 00:05:16,29 the legislature and he's gotten about ten of them actually of the law been signed 57 00:05:16,30 --> 00:05:20,62 by the respective governor Governor. In 58 00:05:20,63 --> 00:05:27,39 a way for the public to actually. Not the. Interest groups but the 59 00:05:27,40 --> 00:05:31,39 average guy who has an idea that something needs to be correct to out of the law. 60 00:05:32,84 --> 00:05:37,10 What have you learned about politics and about your community from this experience 61 00:05:37,10 --> 00:05:41,26 . That's 62 00:05:41,27 --> 00:05:48,23 a provocative question. I think. Simply 63 00:05:48,56 --> 00:05:55,20 one of the things I do too is to go through the nonprofit publications to find 64 00:05:55,29 --> 00:05:58,87 what one is doing that might be of interest to another another it's a maybe 65 00:05:58,88 --> 00:06:04,69 a guidebook or a training session or something and and have a really good 66 00:06:04,94 --> 00:06:11,58 a stone did that all of the good works that are going on you know quietly I feel 67 00:06:12,29 --> 00:06:17,75 that. I really feel that my being interviewed is is just. 68 00:06:19,92 --> 00:06:24,08 That there are literally hundreds of people like you could be talking to who are 69 00:06:24,59 --> 00:06:29,48 who are doing far more for the community than I am I tend to work with words do 70 00:06:29,49 --> 00:06:36,42 publicity for. Like neighbors have brought in they. Are sister 71 00:06:36,43 --> 00:06:43,32 city group and that is how the Historical Association. And World Affairs 72 00:06:43,33 --> 00:06:47,32 Council and the league I've just started with the League of Women Voters doing 73 00:06:47,33 --> 00:06:50,63 their publicity all of these are that's 74 00:06:50,64 --> 00:06:56,97 a lot causes things are lots. And for Joe in addition to these little 75 00:06:57,37 --> 00:07:02,73 projects that I didn't see and. He's fortunately very articulate on his feet he 76 00:07:02,74 --> 00:07:03,15 doesn't need 77 00:07:03,16 --> 00:07:09,90 a speech writer but sometimes he wants somebody to get some research material like 78 00:07:10,84 --> 00:07:17,34 I dug into. The differences between the 79 00:07:17,35 --> 00:07:22,82 electronic voting equipment for example something where it's helpful to him to kind 80 00:07:22,83 --> 00:07:28,49 of get a quick background on it and so you know in that case only 81 00:07:28,50 --> 00:07:30,06 a constituent will write 82 00:07:30,07 --> 00:07:36,72 a particularly challenging letter and that involves going in and and finding 83 00:07:37,11 --> 00:07:39,79 background information or in drafting 84 00:07:40,23 --> 00:07:44,81 a possible letter which he always you know works on so all that background material 85 00:07:44,82 --> 00:07:51,61 has been oh I work has been done by you. And others and it is now let's go back a 86 00:07:51,65 --> 00:07:55,64 a few years to when you were a student very few women were in 87 00:07:55,65 --> 00:08:00,24 a program like Northwestern is at the time yeah I know I'm old I'm I'm eighty one 88 00:08:00,25 --> 00:08:05,70 and at the time that I was coming out of college. In one nine hundred forty six at 89 00:08:05,71 --> 00:08:10,65 the University of Washington. My friends were all marrying your boyfriends who were 90 00:08:10,66 --> 00:08:12,80 back from the service you know it was 91 00:08:12,81 --> 00:08:18,94 a year that the guys in bits and pieces of military uniforms were back on campus 92 00:08:19,26 --> 00:08:23,38 and very serious about their education you know they'd lost 93 00:08:23,39 --> 00:08:28,62 a lot of time so I went off to work on a master's in 94 00:08:28,80 --> 00:08:31,84 a question I had been the editors of college roommate a C. 95 00:08:32,30 --> 00:08:33,55 Decided that. I needed to learn 96 00:08:33,56 --> 00:08:40,14 a little bit more about the technical side of medicine where. So my friends had 97 00:08:40,70 --> 00:08:41,41 no idea what 98 00:08:41,42 --> 00:08:46,04 a mass just to create was funny and they were all busy having babies information 99 00:08:46,05 --> 00:08:52,86 your partner says no and the northwestern. Charming Dean said 100 00:08:53,47 --> 00:08:59,95 to one of us well. Frankly we only accepted five women and we would have preferred 101 00:08:59,96 --> 00:09:03,29 to have had none because they were bucking for 102 00:09:03,85 --> 00:09:08,92 a reputation of the city Columbia and Missouri you know and women they figured. 103 00:09:10,20 --> 00:09:13,11 Pretty much correctly in my generation worked 104 00:09:13,12 --> 00:09:17,61 a couple of years and then got married and stayed home with babies you know. What 105 00:09:17,62 --> 00:09:19,22 that the experience did to you was 106 00:09:19,23 --> 00:09:25,67 a real affront did it did it toughen you up. I was not a not 107 00:09:25,68 --> 00:09:29,68 a feminist at that point and one of the guys said to me you're right I command and 108 00:09:29,69 --> 00:09:30,51 I consider that 109 00:09:30,52 --> 00:09:35,46 a high compliment I think now the girls would be really taken I'm sure it sure 110 00:09:35,47 --> 00:09:42,18 right but it was Americans were you know. Women over there on the on the 111 00:09:42,19 --> 00:09:46,35 sufferance of the bean who were preferred to having just guys because they would go 112 00:09:46,36 --> 00:09:46,91 out and make 113 00:09:46,92 --> 00:09:53,52 a career for themselves and and bring glory to the university. Among the things 114 00:09:53,53 --> 00:09:58,07 that you did among your travels and your various experiences what were the high 115 00:09:58,08 --> 00:10:03,41 points or Aha memorable moment. And were. 116 00:10:04,99 --> 00:10:11,26 After various others you went pre-marriage I did for the city for 117 00:10:12,04 --> 00:10:17,21 I worked for Sunset magazine for Westinghouse Electric doing public relations and 118 00:10:17,26 --> 00:10:23,68 so forth and I stayed home with the family. For seventeen years partially because I 119 00:10:23,69 --> 00:10:29,37 didn't know how to drive. So learning to drive kind of freaked me out to re-enter 120 00:10:29,38 --> 00:10:35,94 the role the night. I was. We crossed these press secretary actually for 121 00:10:35,95 --> 00:10:42,01 money it was the first money I'd made many years. And that was very interesting. 122 00:10:45,76 --> 00:10:51,100 There were big time reporters who came by and I skirted around and so forth and. 123 00:10:53,12 --> 00:10:59,70 I remember. Submitting a picture we set up of him on a bike talking to 124 00:10:59,71 --> 00:11:00,80 a guy with 125 00:11:00,81 --> 00:11:06,09 a backpack that kind of an environmental thing and I said I serviced it to the A.P. 126 00:11:06,10 --> 00:11:11,99 And afterward. One of the women said Did you notice it is fly was so. 127 00:11:14,58 --> 00:11:17,02 It. Was very you know it was 128 00:11:17,03 --> 00:11:23,77 a low point for me but. During the time I was of age he had 129 00:11:23,78 --> 00:11:28,97 several opportunities to interview Bill Hewitt and that was memorable I went to his 130 00:11:28,98 --> 00:11:33,73 final interview when he was retiring. He had 131 00:11:33,74 --> 00:11:38,10 a press conference the Big Time wire services the L.A. 132 00:11:38,11 --> 00:11:42,66 Times and some of the papers wanted I wanted interviews with him he wanted to leave 133 00:11:42,67 --> 00:11:44,74 and go skiing at Sun Valley where he had 134 00:11:44,75 --> 00:11:49,64 a place so he said well we'll bring them all in one time and because I was running 135 00:11:49,68 --> 00:11:54,84 the Internal Revenue Service for the company I got to go to and that was great fun 136 00:11:54,94 --> 00:12:00,30 because. Before hand the girl from The L.A. 137 00:12:00,31 --> 00:12:07,22 Times was very. Sort of supercilious and and then at 138 00:12:07,36 --> 00:12:13,66 the end of his time with them she whom she said Mr Hewitt you so wonderful they 139 00:12:13,67 --> 00:12:18,47 said that you didn't like to give you this but I don't know why you're just sitting 140 00:12:18,60 --> 00:12:22,37 with her. So that was fun and he was 141 00:12:22,38 --> 00:12:28,23 a great guy it does sound as though you have just kind of surmounted service sexism 142 00:12:28,76 --> 00:12:33,76 and you're back out into the working world after bringing up. Family which isn't 143 00:12:33,77 --> 00:12:39,28 always easy and you just. Floated easily into these loans that are difficult for 144 00:12:39,29 --> 00:12:46,03 a lot of people. Instinctively I was forty nine when I began to try to 145 00:12:46,35 --> 00:12:47,62 wiggle back into 146 00:12:48,07 --> 00:12:54,47 a professional. Work and. It was interesting 147 00:12:55,24 --> 00:12:59,54 that we had an evening business for many years in which my role was very clerical 148 00:12:59,93 --> 00:13:02,47 my husband was a linguist and 149 00:13:02,48 --> 00:13:08,09 a chemist and you know I couldn't do that and he can give me can you that I just I 150 00:13:09,04 --> 00:13:13,88 but it was for seventeen years and then I had this to the half months with 151 00:13:14,07 --> 00:13:14,72 a Class B. 152 00:13:15,02 --> 00:13:19,96 And this is what people looked at on the resume not my background I have perfectly 153 00:13:19,97 --> 00:13:24,19 good educational credentials and even some experience you know but just the 154 00:13:24,20 --> 00:13:31,20 duration of seven years of grunt labor in a post this kind of you know the Class B. 155 00:13:31,21 --> 00:13:34,87 Was sort of a hero in that sense it does sound as though you did 156 00:13:34,91 --> 00:13:39,02 a lot of things right maybe even then virtually at the time what's your advice to 157 00:13:39,03 --> 00:13:45,00 have for women in that role. One thing that. Because I. 158 00:13:47,09 --> 00:13:53,28 Was interviewing at an older age which. I didn't actually realise was 159 00:13:53,29 --> 00:13:58,98 a disadvantage but it was so not so being kind of stupid about it was helpful so I 160 00:13:58,99 --> 00:14:02,54 sailed around with my little samples and feeling I was 161 00:14:02,55 --> 00:14:09,01 a. Good buy for somebody but not recognising the age was 162 00:14:09,02 --> 00:14:15,63 a problem and it is but. I made 163 00:14:15,64 --> 00:14:21,71 a little extra effort to showcase my myself by when I went out on 164 00:14:21,72 --> 00:14:28,70 a limb doing proposals. And it was at 165 00:14:28,92 --> 00:14:35,67 Stanford. When it was in. View per couple of jobs I didn't get but in each case 166 00:14:35,68 --> 00:14:41,54 I. Tackled the problem one with the medical school and I felt that they 167 00:14:42,53 --> 00:14:49,14 needed to reach out more to the community. Talking about what they had and also 168 00:14:49,46 --> 00:14:51,76 stand for the general not you run 169 00:14:51,77 --> 00:14:56,55 a risk that these people because she clearly kind of naive and don't really 170 00:14:56,56 --> 00:15:01,77 understand what they're dealing with will think that she just. Got objectionable or 171 00:15:01,78 --> 00:15:03,15 something but it shows 172 00:15:03,16 --> 00:15:09,09 a certain willingness to put some intellect and. Effort into Am I saying what their 173 00:15:09,10 --> 00:15:14,28 needs might be or if you see them you stick your neck out in other words you also 174 00:15:14,29 --> 00:15:18,71 did you've done a few things you have a space in the daily newspaper for 175 00:15:18,72 --> 00:15:24,13 a while and you also had to well not at what I did and by lighting just you know 176 00:15:24,14 --> 00:15:29,88 that right but you also did your own little personal journal based on events do 177 00:15:29,89 --> 00:15:35,92 a reading Tell me a couple from either one of those maybe maybe one example of 178 00:15:35,93 --> 00:15:42,70 a highlight one of your most you go closest to or most probably. Well. 179 00:15:43,98 --> 00:15:48,30 I began doing these little personal and I mean that they're not published or 180 00:15:48,31 --> 00:15:52,61 anything maybe my children will enjoy reading them someday what I call footnotes to 181 00:15:52,62 --> 00:15:59,23 the news when something in the in the current news reverberated with my background 182 00:15:59,23 --> 00:16:06,11 . When Congolese are rice was. Pointed to 183 00:16:06,38 --> 00:16:10,74 where I went with Bush originally I'd like to arrange that she be 184 00:16:10,75 --> 00:16:15,01 a speaker at one at Hewlett Packard because she was then for about 185 00:16:15,02 --> 00:16:19,39 a year on that trustee and she came over in time to our department and in 186 00:16:19,40 --> 00:16:22,10 government affairs and she's she now 187 00:16:22,11 --> 00:16:29,02 a very. Electrifying speaker so we had this this star talking to us for that 188 00:16:29,03 --> 00:16:34,95 was no fun and them. When 189 00:16:35,90 --> 00:16:41,90 when. Chief Justice Rehnquist. Retired. 190 00:16:44,96 --> 00:16:45,60 I remembered 191 00:16:45,80 --> 00:16:52,56 a long ago blind date that I had arranged by my. Very lively roommate 192 00:16:52,65 --> 00:16:55,88 artist roommate and her boyfriend because there was 193 00:16:55,89 --> 00:17:01,38 a Also at the Stanford Law School with Rehnquist who is known to be the best 194 00:17:01,39 --> 00:17:06,59 student so this was a blind date you had with William with Francis and so it was 195 00:17:06,60 --> 00:17:13,53 a. Pleasant evening with no particular tractions So that was the end of that woman 196 00:17:13,54 --> 00:17:19,42 my friend broke up with her boyfriend. Turned out that Rehnquist had always had his 197 00:17:19,43 --> 00:17:26,33 eye on this and bohemian artist and he took her up for dinner and then he got 198 00:17:26,34 --> 00:17:32,27 back to the apartment he said to her legal Istiklal well enough of this preamble 199 00:17:32,78 --> 00:17:39,67 take off here close. With offended her that it 200 00:17:39,68 --> 00:17:46,56 was so funny you probably can't use that here or with. This back oh 201 00:17:46,67 --> 00:17:47,13 that's a that's 202 00:17:47,14 --> 00:17:51,70 a good note to end on because you must have volumes of stories that we hope one day 203 00:17:51,71 --> 00:17:56,16 will be published but in the meantime we want to thank you very much for all the 204 00:17:56,17 --> 00:17:58,03 work you do and we have 205 00:17:58,07 --> 00:18:03,78 a plaque here for you. And honor of all your volunteerism and the various. 206 00:18:05,06 --> 00:18:10,49 Areas in the community so thank you I do this because I really enjoy it you know 207 00:18:10,50 --> 00:18:15,49 and and one of the free schools of journalism is. Journalism one 208 00:18:15,50 --> 00:18:21,54 o one is for that to stay out of the picture yourself now it now sure you're one of 209 00:18:21,55 --> 00:18:26,66 those snapshots thank you very much we're here at Cafe Brownie next to camp we're 210 00:18:26,78 --> 00:18:31,61 in downtown Milan Parker We encourage you to come down have a cup of coffee have 211 00:18:31,62 --> 00:18:36,57 a lunch buy couple books we'd like to thank grannies for having us here and thank 212 00:18:36,58 --> 00:18:36,81 you for.