NEW MEDICAL DIRECTOR: Dolly Goel of Monte Sereno has been named the new medical director of Valley Med.
Goel completed her residency in internal medicine at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center 12 years ago and since then has been in private practice and various administrative posts.
Born in India and raised in Chicago, Goel earned her medical degree from USC and her undergrad degree from Hayward State. She was medical director of the Santa Clara Family Health Plan that administers Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and Healthy Kids programs in the county.
Goel served as medical director of the San Jose/Good Sam Medical Group. She helped start the group's inpatient hospital service. Earlier, she worked at Livermore Veterans Affairs Hospital. Her administrative training has focused on team leadership, budget management and organizational change.
NEW E-BOOK: It took 10 years, massive rewrites and three other books under her belt, but Saratogan Lana Waite finally has a book in print. It's a print-on-demand book called Buried in Burrywood.
She knew she had what it takes to be a published author (perseverance and rewriting), but after it went through 22 agents and 16 publishers, she put her fourth effort away. A year ago she retrieved it and started on a major rewrite. After that polishing, Waite searched the Web for publishers and came to the realization that she could do it herself. Thus, she published it via eBook, and today her "cozy mystery," as she terms it, is proudly in hand. The book can be ordered through her website: http://www.waiteweb.com or through Amazon.com. It is also available in the Saratoga library.
Saratogan Davina Morgan-Witts has a website called http://www.BookBrowse.com that cites unusual and often unnoticed books, and she called attention to Waite's book recently. The BookBrowse author talked about her website to Friends of the Library this spring.
NEWLY ORDAINED OCTOGENARIAN: Willys Peck celebrated his 80th year recently with a cast of characters worthy of a Cecil B. DeMille epic, all being conveyed by train (his own scaled-down version) at the front gate for the auspicious occasion.
The most fitting gift presented him was a bench, which will be set up overlooking Heritage Orchard. A conglomerate of Willys' family and friends contributed the bench in his honor, with his name inscribed thereon. One of his Stereopticon columns about the Heritage Orchard will also be preserved next to the bench. Mr. P. is Saratoga's unofficial historian and a stalwart on the Historical Preservation Committee, History Museum, etc. His middle name should be H., if it isn't already.
TEA & CRUMPETS: The Saratoga Senior Center will hold its annual High Tea fundraiser on Sept. 11, 3-5 p.m., at the center. Tea, sandwiches, cookies and cakes will be served for a tax-deductible $12 ticket, on sale at the center or through Gloria Watson at 408.867.4757.
PIG ROAST: Saratoga Sister City will roast a pig Sept. 13 in order to give a boost to the Student Exchange Program. The exchange program was suspended this year, and since that program is at the very core of the group's mission—to increase understanding and appreciation of other cultures—a fundraiser was deemed necessary.
MULTIMEDIA EXHIBIT: PAN (Poets & Artists Network) will present a multimedia exhibit of visual art and poetry Sept. 6Nov. 6. at Bardas Coffee and Cafe, 1820 W. Campbell Ave. (in Kirkwood Plaza). A reception will be held Sept. 12, 7-9:30 p.m., at the cafe.
Artists exhibiting include Al Preciado, Tim Cottengim, Elizabeth Parashis, Anabella Pinon, Ruben Barron, Arnold Chao, Karen Tisdale, Art Gibson and Monica Limas.
CORNUCOPIA IN PAINT: Maryln Mori is exhibiting her large vegetable and fruit paintings at the Olive Hyde Art Gallery in Fremont through Sept. 13. The gallery is across from Mission San Jose at 123 Washington Blvd. The phone number is 510.791.4357.
The group exhibit is titled "Mining the Ordinary." The artists—sculptors and fiber artists, as well as painters—use ordinary materials in extraordinary ways. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
COLORFUL THANK-YOU: Kristina Wick brought a large, colorful montage executed by Colombian preschoolers as a special thank-you to the members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Saratoga.
Parishioners there make and send clothing and quilts to the children at Colegio Latinoamericano, where Kristina's parents, Dan and Barit, teach and administer through a Latin American mission program. Bible School children at Immanuel made a quilt, guided by Melva Vollersen, as a gift for the Wicks and the school.
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By Mary Ann Cook