NorCalUrban

The last few weeks have been extremely busy - evidenced by my lack of blogging.  As I write this I'm on the way home from the CCDA board meeting - of which I recently became a member. I got to O'Hare somewhat early and after a short nap on the floor - felt ready to post an update. (I'm sure I'm quite the sight as I snore away in a corner... )It's an honor to serve CCDA and Noel Castellanos - the new CEO. While I've enjoyed getting to know all the members, it's been a particular joy to spend time with Dr. Louis Carlo from (where else...) NYC. Dr. Carlo is a wonderful, fun, brilliant and warm man.  Last weekend we attended another amazing  Urban Youth Workers Institute in Los Angeles. It was a special honor to have my son Samuel do a workshop with me. We spoke on " What Do You Do When The Community You Serve Doesn't Look Like You?" Sam did a great job. He had the chance to speak about his life and experiences growing up in East Palo Alto. A cou...

During my time down with the UYWI crew we bantered around some text of scripture that would serve as a theme for next year's conference. One text that jumped out, (I don't know if it will be a part of the theme or not) - Psalm 23. John Lewis encouraged me to read it out of The Message since I had a copy with me. It really struck me between the eyes. It reads: God, my shepherd I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when my way goes through Death Valley I'm not afraid When you wank at my side Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the House of God For the rest of my life. I've read this text possibly hundreds ...

So, it's been an exciting couple of weeks. Last Friday was our annual golf tournament supporting NCUD's efforts. We had an amazing event, doubling the revenue from the previous year. If you've not had the chance to play Poppy Ridge Golf Course you really should! Better yet, mark your calendar for July 18th, 2008, the date of next year's tournament! Thanks to all our sponsors, golfers and especially our golf committee this was a fabulous event. Last Wednesday we reached an important milestone. As the press release I posted last week suggested, we had a signing ceremony where the four credit unions who have come together to make Community Trust Credit Union of East Palo Alto a reality. In the picture are the CEO's of Addison Avenue Credit Union, Patelco Credit Union, Stanford Federal Credit Union and Community Trust Credit Union (Modesto). Now once we receive our permits from the city of East Palo Alto we can begin building out the building and push toward opening ...

It's been a long week. Last weekend I was blessed to again attend 'Larry's Party', the annual Urban Youthworker's Institute conference in Los Angeles. I did a workshop on "Building Strategic Partnerships". By the way, you can hear select previous year's sessions and workshops here. Thanks to the UYWI staff for again putting on an excellent conference for those of us banging it out in the trenches. It was great to catch up with many close friends at the event. Max Torres made a surprise visit. Saw Chris Brooks for a minute. (Pray for Chris, he was in a car accident last week. Check out his blog for more information.) Of course saw fellow bloggers Rudy and Jeremy (More about him later.) A close friend and now 'country' pastor in Gilroy, Angel Ruiz, stayed with me in my mod. It was a great time catching up with him and calling him names like, "Chongo". I took Samuel with me again. Honestly, the most fun is having him there. He enj...

Sam and I are headed to the Urban Youthworker's Institute conference in LA. We come back Saturday. On Sunday I head to NYC to do some research with area credit unions. This is part of a strategic planning initiative for our project here in EPA. Posting may be sparse... Looking forward to seeing everyone in LA. Jeremy found us tickets for the Yankee game on Tuesday night - vs Boston no less! It's definitely the bright spot of the trip!