In this episode, we chat with Jasmine Basrai, the owner of Haller's Pharmacy. We hear a little of her story and how her family became influential in the establishing of Fremont's first Sikh Gurdwara and in taking over the ownership of local shops and pharmacies including Haller's. Her tales are a testament to the city's diversity and inclusivity, inviting listeners to catch a glimpse of life connected to the community by Sikh traditions.
As we talk about Fremont's cultural landscape, we discuss how the Sikh community's ethos of 'seva'—selfless service—has become an integral thread in the city's social fabric. From their philanthropic water distribution during the 4th of July parade to offering shelter and meals to those in crisis, the Sikhs' impact on Fremont is profound and multifaceted. And it's not only about the past; the episode continues to explore how Fremont has rallied around its local businesses and services.
Embracing change with resilience, we hear the transformative journey of a family-owned pharmacy—from navigating the intricacies of pandemic management to establishing a drive-through vaccination clinic. This conversation is not only about survival but about thriving through innovation and community support. By engaging in local organizations and initiatives, such as addressing the pressing issue of fentanyl and opioid use, we're sowing seeds for a happier, healthier future in Fremont. Listen in as we explore these stories and more, painting a picture of a community that embraces its legacy while boldly marching towards tomorrow.
For more information about Haller's check out their website here.
If you would like to contact The Fremont Podcast, please text us here.
Petrocelli Homes has been a key sponsor of The Fremont Podcast from the beginning. If you are looking for a realtor, get in touch with Petrocelli Homes on Niles Blvd in Fremont.
Haller's Pharmacy is here to help. They have been in our community for decades.
Founder: Ricky B.
Intro and outro voice-overs made by Gary Williams.
Editor: Andrew Cavette.
Scheduling and pre-interviews by the amazing virtual assistant that you ought to hire, seriously, she's great: your.virtual.ace
This is a Muggins Media Podcast.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
An open invitation to all Fremont student journalists
.
An open invitation to theparents of all Fremont student
journalists.
If you worked for your schoolnewspaper and would like to make
an audio story for our podcast,we will air it.
We will help you, we will edit,we will give advice.
(00:23):
We don't even have to meet inperson.
You, we will edit, we will giveadvice.
We don't even have to meet inperson.
We would love to have studentjournalists, teenagers with a
point of view and a life livedin Fremont that we don't have
access to.
We would love for you to tellyour stories, or tell the
stories of those around you, orat least tell stories from your
(00:45):
perspective.
This is a call out to thestudents as individual people.
We're not going to be able togo through your schools because
you know it's summer.
If you had more fun injournalism class than you
expected and it scratched anitch that you didn't know you
had, let's do more work.
Reach out to us through ourwebsite, thefremontpodcastcom,
(01:11):
or message us on Instagram.
Your parents are definitelygoing to have to be involved.
We will need their consent, butwe have worked with teens
before.
We'd like to do it again, torepeat myself.
An open invitation to thestudent journalists of this town
If you can come up with a storyidea and do the field reporting
(01:33):
, we can help edit and you willget airtime.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I'll tell you a really funny story Love it.
So you know you have to takedriving lessons before you turn
16 and you're in the you knowstudent driver.
Beware.
A friend of mine and I were inthe same car and we had a
driving instructor who didn'tknow what Sikhs were.
So we took him to the gurdwarafor free food during our driving
(02:03):
lesson to teach him a littlebit more about sickles.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Just laugh because we could just, if you needed to
eat, you could just go there.
Wow, and I think we changed hisperception.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Coming to you straight from Fremont,
california.
This is the Fremont Podcast,dedicated to telling the stories
of the past and present of thepeople and places of the city of
Fremont, one conversation at atime.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
You are listening to episode 119 of the Fremont
Podcast.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
So, basically, how many more episodes do we have
this season?
The season's?
Speaker 5 (02:35):
four so this Friday you said it's going to be Hall
of Fame yeah yeah.
So then that takes care of May24th, and then you've got May
31st, June 7th and June 4th Okay, Now here's your host, Ricky B.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
So I am so excited to have Jasmine.
Is it Bazarati?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Bazarai.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
Bazarai.
Okay, excited to have Jasmineon the Fremont podcast and I
have to say why I'm so excited.
She has been a huge supporterand encourager in probably every
way possible.
She has been a vocal fan of thepodcast.
As she worked with the FremontChamber of Commerce, I felt like
(03:17):
every time I showed up she wasputting in a plug for the
podcast.
And then she was also as theowner of Holler's Pharmacy.
She was a sponsor, a partnersponsor, and then she's given us
other guests to have on thepodcast.
So I can't think of another waythat we could be supported that
(03:40):
she hasn't already done so, andwe've been having this
conversation, I think, for agood long while, to have her on
the podcast and now it'sactually happened.
So, jasmine, I'm so excited tohave you on the podcast and
thank you for being here.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
So I want to hear a little bit about you, your story
.
I know that in the past you'vetold me that your family was one
of the first of a particulargroup of people that came to
Fremont.
So tell me a little bit aboutyour family coming to Fremont
and what was the dynamic of allthat.
Share some of that with me.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yeah, when I grew up in Fremont, it was a small
little sleepy town, still hadgladiola fields and farms and
things like that.
It was growing up into whatit's now, but there was a very
small Sikh community that wasrising up.
So my dad is a pharmacist andown pharmacies here in Fremont,
(04:40):
pharmacies here in Fremont and agroup of him and doctors around
the area realized the need thatSikhs needed a place to worship
and actually started the firstSikh Gurdwara, which you know
down the street here on MissionStarted actually in Newark as a
small place.
They would rent it out andstart a fundraising committee to
(05:04):
actually buy their own piece ofproperty.
So where?
you see gudwara road now is thelegacy of maybe like seven or
eight families that would meetat my dad's pharmacy on the
weekends and, okay, say howwe're going to do this, how
we're going to get involved inthe community, and because of
that they also used to do a lotof health fairs.
(05:25):
They were doctors, pharmacistspeople, nurses, a lot of medical
professionals from the Sikhcommunity.
That said you know, we want toraise our families here, so we
need a place to worship andFremont's a very inviting place
and I remember going to school,being some of the few Sikh
families here, but just beingwelcoming and being part of the
(05:50):
community right away.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
And so when did they start that?
When did they open that?
You said it started in Newark,but when was that started in
Newark?
And then when did it move toNiles?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
It's going to be sometime in the 80s.
So my dad came to Fremont in1979.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
So I want to say somewhere in the mid-80s,
especially when there was a lotof strife in India with the
Sikhs and there was a lot ofSikh migration from India in
1984.
That's when there was a biginflux of six into the
California because, uh, six aremostly farming community and so
(06:29):
you have a city and other placesyou'll see them, Uh, but in the
Bay area it was a very bigprofessional community of
doctors, engineers, a pharmacistlike my family, and so, um,
it's somewhere in the mideighties, as my family's growing
up, and uh, if you go to theSikh temple now, you'll see two
buildings the building wherethey call the Lunger Hall, where
(06:50):
they serve the food that wasthe actual original building,
and then the new hall is whatthey built up and bought more of
the property around there aswell.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
I have to admit, I'm a little unfamiliar with what
makes the Sikh community, whatdistinguishes them from, say,
other worship centers or fromother worshiping communities.
Like I see Sikh people involvedin a lot of things around
Fremont.
Like I think that the one thingthat stands out to me the like
(07:24):
a 4th of July parade.
They're always handing outwater in the, you know, to the
people that are there, and, um,I just think that's awesome.
So, so, what?
What?
Maybe you can help me a littlebit.
What is it about the Sikhcommunity?
What, maybe?
What is what drives them?
What's the mission?
What's the thought behind whatthey're doing to help be
invested in the community?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And I think my answer is going to be a lot about what
drives me.
So, it's really a fundamentalurge to give back.
It's just part of your DNA, soit is a lot about the word seva
and I'm not sikh person, likeI'm second generation sikh is
(08:05):
like what I like to say yeah andthere's a lot more people who
are much more well versed in it,but I do speak, read and write
punjabi and and gurmukhi.
I can read a little bit, whichis the sikh, which is the
language.
But, um, growing up in fremont,uh, what was so great about how
the Sikh community was accepted?
(08:26):
And you know just, it was thereand it was always about giving
back.
I'll tell you a really funnystory Love it.
So you know you have to takedriving lessons before you turn
16 and you're in the you knowstudent driver.
Beware, a friend of mine and Iwere in the same car and we had
(08:47):
a driving instructor who didn'tknow what sikhs were, so we took
him to the gurdwara for freefood oh my during our driving
lesson to teach him a little bitmore about sikhism.
Just laugh, because we couldjust.
If you needed to eat, you couldjust go there.
Wow, and I think we changed hisperception.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Because I was always.
You know, later, in the 90s andafter 9-11, sikhs became you
know the turbans and we becamedifferent.
But you know, growing up it wasalways about giving back.
Community service was at thecore.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
And that's why you see the Sikh community do the
water, and if you ever need ameal, the kitchen's always open
and if you need a place to sleepthere, it is always open.
And that's the the part ofcommunity that brings back and
and it's really great becausethe Sikh Gurdwara here in
Fremont is a prolific one in theUnited States in terms of you
(09:43):
know it's, it's impact in itscommunity and people migrating
from different places to be in.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Fremont because of that, yeah, yeah, I think that's
great.
I you know it's interestingthat you mentioned what you did
about um 9-11 and and just theperception of of, uh, different
peoples.
I think I think it is importantand I'll and I'm going to speak
from my perspective, which Ididn't grow up here in Fremont.
I grew up in a community thatwas more of like a monocultural
(10:14):
or bicultural community and Ifeel like there's a lot more
cultures coming together in oneplace here in Fremont.
But I do think that that'ssomething as someone who came in
from the outside and is tryingto understand the people that
live here in Fremont.
I think that there are certainthings and maybe it's because of
(10:37):
movies and television that havegiven a certain stereotype, a
look, a certain stereotype thatmakes you question like what,
who is this person?
And you know what, uh, what,what are they all about?
You know, and I think that thatone of the things that's been
um, a good thing and, I think, abeautiful thing for me to learn
(10:59):
, since I've been in Fremont, um, and I had someone tell me, I
remember someone tell me veryplainly if they have a turban on
, they're the best.
Uh, you, you can trust them.
You can, you can, uh they'rethey're the good guys you know,
and I feel like that's something, um, that I'm really grateful
for, um, because I do think that, um, as I've been around here
(11:19):
long enough, uh, to observedifferent people, especially
like the parades and otherevents like that, I'm just like
man, they're doing really goodthings for other people and I
really love that.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Yeah, when I growing up, my grandfather wore a turban
and he was prolific on ACTransit to take from his house
to the Gurdwara and people wouldpick him up.
He never experienced, you know,in the years he lived to be
90-something and in the years henever felt like this wasn't his
(11:50):
second home.
That's great, you know he didn'treally talk about feeling
uncomfortable.
Growing up in Fremont walkingaround with my grandmother, who
wore full Indian clothing, andmy grandfather taking care of us
, it didn't feel out of place.
It didn't really feel like um,this was weird yeah, that's just
kind of everybody's like okay,she's got a turban and you know
(12:13):
she's here, there was never afear of we have to leave yeah,
this is not safe for us actuallylike.
You know that the mus Muslimcommunity felt the same way.
There was a rally around allcultures that one should not be
singled out because of whathappened.
(12:34):
That's great and in fact, what Ithink happened too is those
communities, especially the Sikhcommunity, said we need to be
more visible, and so for me toidentify as sick it's okay, Like
it wasn't one of those things Ineeded to hide.
And you know, while I'm notfully practicing, it did form a
lot of my experiences in my lifebecause I was raised by, you
(12:58):
know, the family that I wasraised by.
But it never felt like Fremontwasn't a safe place.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
Yeah, that's great.
I love that.
That's great, and I love thatfor my son.
Yeah, I do, that's right.
That's great.
We'll be right back.
You can hear the rest of thisconversation in just a moment.
We were talking a little bitabout this before we started
recording, but I wanted to haveyou give me a little bit of a
plug for Fremont Bank.
Have you give me a little bitof a plug for Fremont Bank?
(13:28):
Um we, uh, fremont Bank is acurrent sponsor of the podcast
and so, um you, you made a fewuh remarks about why, uh, you
bank with them with yourbusiness, and so tell me a
little bit about your experiencewith Fremont Bank as a quasi ad
for uh for them right now.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So I'm not quite a millennial, a little bit older
than that.
But you know, if in a hundredyears ago you had told me that
I'd go to the bank like once aweek in person depositing stuff
and deposit slips and all thiskind of stuff, I would have
laughed.
Everything could be electronic.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Yeah that's right.
You would say everything'selectronic.
We should automate this.
No paper.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
But the reality of owning your own business is you
deal with cash, checks,everything.
You need change for yourregisters.
You need to go to a bank.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
That's right, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
And so my experience with Fremont Bank was at least
you go to a bank that knows youand you know I, I would say, oh
no, we're going to, I'm going totry something new.
All failures, at the end of theday, that those personal
relationships, um, whether it'sas a business relationship or a
personal relationship, theymatter.
(14:39):
You need to be able to pick upthe phone, even if you want to
do it over email.
I mean, you can't do everythingover an app, sure.
And for me, when I walk intoFremont bank and everybody knows
my name, it's not like cheers,there's no, there's no beer
being served but there maybe isnow but I will say I opened my
(15:07):
new accounts there because Ican't imagine doing business
anywhere else where I needsupport.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
That's great and Fremont.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Bank supports you.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
That's great.
Well, thanks for the plug in onthat, and I've had a great
experience with them and enjoyedgetting to know the people that
I've gotten to know over at thebank as well.
If you need help navigating thelocal real estate market,
contact Petrocelli Homes onNiles Boulevard.
With almost two decades ofexperience, this family-owned
(15:40):
brokerage is an expert in thelocal real estate market.
Give Jennifer Petrocelli a call.
With her wide ranging knowledgeof the real estate industry and
expert negotiation skills,jennifer goes above and beyond
(16:00):
for her clients.
Jennifer helps her clients makesmart real estate decisions
that benefit them in the longrun.
So if you're looking for arealtor who knows what they're
doing and who genuinely caresabout your needs and wants,
reach out to Jennifer today anddiscover why Petrocelli Homes is
the right choice for all ofyour real estate needs.
I will give you information forSam Choi.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
He is the owner of Bit of an Press.
Speaker 5 (16:24):
Oh okay.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
And he his family's been here for a long time.
They've owned the businessthere for a long time.
So he told me he's like Iwanted to become a sponsor on
the podcast.
He's like because I think it'sfun.
He goes, I like the podcast, soI think he'd be somebody that
(16:48):
I'd like to have on.
I've been over there a fewtimes and talked to him.
I want to tell you aboutMinuteman Press in Irvington.
They are your quality printerto go to here in Fremont.
I have personally worked withthem before and I find their
services to be fantastic.
Look no further than MinutemanPress in Irvington no-transcript
(17:19):
.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
The Ohlone College Flea Market is happening every
second Saturday of the monthfrom 9 am to 3 pm on Ohlone's
Fremont campus.
Hey, van, if people want tocontact you, how do they get in
touch?
Speaker 5 (17:31):
So our phone number is 510-659-6285 and the email is
fleamarket at aloniedu.
More information can be foundat aloniedu slash flea dash
market.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
On the off chance that you are a parent with kids
not yet in school but have timeto listen to a podcast and
listen through the ads.
Just wanted to mention thatBanter Bookshop has two
different story times.
There's a story time onThursdays and a story time on
Saturdays.
The Thursday and the Saturdaystory times start at 10 30 am.
(18:17):
The Banter Bookshop storytimewelcomes kids of all ages.
Banter Bookshop is in downtownFremont on Capitol Avenue.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
And now back to our conversation.
Well, you grew up here inFremont and then you said your
dad was a pharmacist andcurrently you are the owner of
the pharmacies here I guess thebusinesses here.
So tell me how that happened.
Like, what was it like for yourdad?
(18:48):
He was invested in thecommunity, rooted in the
community, and then now you arein that role.
So tell me about thattransition, that part of your
life.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
It's a very deep connection because, you know, my
dad graduated from pharmacyschool the year I was born, in
1977.
He went to UOP.
So he's, you know, he came tothis country when he was still
in high school and went tocollege here.
So kind of a differentexperience for a lot of other
Indian kids growing up here.
Like you know, their parentswent to school in India or
(19:23):
migrated here, you know.
So I have kind of odd secondgeneration-ish parents.
They're cool.
I love my mom, mom and dad, Ilove you.
But you know, in 1979, my dad,you know, was looking for
something of his own and he metanother very good sort of of I
call earlier the Emperor ofNiles, harry Avila, who you know
(19:47):
was kind of in and out of thepharmacy business and said you
know, I've got this pharmacyhere across the street from the
hospital.
It's pretty good for a youngguy like you.
You know my dad was working inHollister at the time.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
We were living in Newark okay um, but you know, we
knew we wanted yeah, we wantedto.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
We knew we wanted to be up here, and so my dad took
that opportunity.
Um and uh, there was a lot ofindependent pharmacies at the
time.
We weren't like the only rodeo.
Uh, there was some in GlenmoreMission.
Almost every district had itsown independent pharmacy yeah.
Haller's actually was the one ofthe bigger ones at that time.
It's been there longer than wewere there it's been there since
(20:28):
1957.
And so my dad's like this is agreat community.
I want to raise my family hereand bought that store.
Funnily enough, David Beretta,who owns the building, telling
me um that there was no lease onthe building and so he helped
my dad negotiate a pretty gooddeal, but that actually my dad's
(20:51):
purchase in 1979 really helpedboost um our relationship with
the community okay because wewere right across the street
from washington Right.
It was burgeoning and coming upand you know my dad was like hey
, whatever you need, I'm here.
Speaker 5 (21:08):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
He even put a second line.
We call it the bat line at thehouse After hours.
They would call that line ifthey needed something from our
pharmacy.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
We were always there.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
So that idea of service really was embedded when
my dad said, if I'm going to behere, I'm going to be here.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
That's great.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
I'm not just going to do it and then over time
pharmacies.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
A lot of people don't have a transition plan, so we
acquired a few different smallerpharmacies there was.
Washington Medical we acquireda few different, smaller
pharmacies.
There was Washington Medical,there was one right at 1800 at
(21:53):
Mission.
It was just smaller pharmacies.
As people were retiring my dadbecame a very trusted person to
do business with we were fair.
That's great.
We knew we were doing the rightthings with the community and
somewhere in the late 80s we hadthe opportunity to buy Newark
Howlers.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
And that was the original Howlers by the Howlers
family.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
And so my dad jumped at the opportunity.
They said if you can do this,we'll sell you Fremont Howlers
as well.
And so Newark Howlers was onThornton, and then Fremont
Howlers was right across thestreet from a Holy Spirit church
at the time and we said, okay,why not, let's do this, we're
all in, and so it was just kindof this thing that just became
(22:36):
our.
It just became our MO.
We're going to be the pharmacythis community, especially
because of Washington Township,and you should have somebody
from Washington in to talk abouthow Washington Hospital came,
having those supporting serviceslike an independent pharmacy.
We used to be seven days a week, 365 days a year, and so it was
(23:00):
always that you needed apharmacy to support a hospital
like that and so you know, asWashington Township grew,
haller's grew and the name grewand a lot of people don't know
we own Murray Medical, murrayPlaza, the medical supply, and
Haller's.
We never changed the names justbecause you know.
It was just the way you dobusiness, but it was always the
(23:22):
same level of service.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
That's great.
That's great.
So, speaking of level ofservice, how did you guys fare
during COVID, or how is it thatyou, how do you feel and I know
you're speaking, you're kind oftooting your own horn but how is
it that you feel that you docompared to some of the big the
chains out there and stuff?
What is it that you feel thatyou do compared to, say, some of
the big the chain the chainsout there and stuff?
(23:44):
Like, what is it that makes youguys stand out, as in your
different pharmacies that youhave around the area?
Speaker 2 (23:50):
So a little bit to go backwards.
You know I spent my career intech and my dad's like I'm ready
to be done with this, and mybrother, who is a pharmacist,
like I don't know if I could doall of this.
So I said I'll take a leave ofabsence, and I took a leave of
absence in 2018.
And started looking at thebusiness.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
So you weren't involved in, like it was your
dad's thing.
Your brother was kind ofinvolved a little bit, but you
were doing something completelydifferent.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Completely different.
I worked 20 years in tech atibm.
Okay, like, okay, yeah, totalcorporate yeah you know wore a
blue suit kind of stuff, so in2018 that's when you started
looking at you know what can wedo?
yeah took a leave of leave ofabsence and started looking at
what you could do, okay yeah,and then in 2019 we made a
decision that you know maybeit's time to transition the
(24:40):
pharmacies and you know myfamily and's time to transition
the pharmacies and you know myfamily and I decided because I
had the business background I'lltake over the stores.
And so 2019, we're goingthrough this transition.
I'm learning about pharmacy,I'm relying a lot on my staff
and we're just kind of goingthrough.
You know growing pains, youknow people like Heller's.
(25:01):
You're still around my grandmawent to hellers.
That's what I, when I joined thechamber.
It was like hellers, oh, youguys are still there.
I had a walker for my mom like10 years ago from there, so I
was like, yeah, we're stillthere and we've got these other
places.
And then, you know, as I waskind of getting into my groove,
like you said, the pandemic hityeah and you know, because I
(25:22):
wasn't a pharmacist, I wasgetting more and more involved
in the community, like thechamber, niles rotary, like just
because I couldn't work thepharmacy I can't dispense drugs
please don't ask me for drugadvice.
It's, I play one on tv I'mreally not a pharmacist, uh, but
people still ask me but um?
So when the pandemic hit uh, Iwas telling you the story
(25:44):
earlier that um, one of ourstores actually had the first
case of covet in monterey countywow and we were first known
case and I didn't know what todo yeah and I told you we hired
somebody who does like blood andguts cleaning because we're in,
we were an essential businessoh wow, yeah and I couldn't
close the doors.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
People's prescriptions were sitting there
, medications were sitting there, their vaccines were sitting
there.
We couldn't just close up, andthat experience down in Monterey
County kind of guided what Ineeded to do up here in.
Fremont.
This community wasn't anydifferent than any other
community being affected rightnow yeah and so we signed up for
(26:26):
every program.
Um, you know, at that time weapplied for waivers to do
testing.
Um, you know, there were novaccines.
Yeah, uh, we did drive up.
We, you know, made sure ourdelivery was intact.
I hired extra delivery drivers,you know, we wanted to make
sure everybody got theirmedications.
We, you know, not onlymedications, we also do medical
(26:48):
supplies, like ostomy, you know,for people who have, you know,
the bags and they need the, youknow, they need their wound care
.
I mean, this isn't stuff youcould just buy off.
Amazon all the time and so weneeded to be open and my staff
were afraid and the other thingwas masks and gloves and where.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
I was Toilet paper.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Toilet paper exactly.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
Hand sanitizer.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
We actually made our own hand sanitizer in our
compounding lab because we saidwe need to stay open.
Who else?
Speaker 5 (27:20):
needs hand sanitizer.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
And some people said you're a price gouge.
I only charged whatever I wasgetting it for whatever the cost
was.
My brother drove to LA one timeto get these Korean masks.
That became really popular.
He drove in the morning anddrove back.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
Oh, my word.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Because he had a friend down there and so we was
all hands on deck Wow, wow, ohmy word.
Because he had a friend downthere and so we was all hands on
deck Wow wow.
But what that experience taughtme is you know in between that
the organizations that neededmasks or to stay open, that
weren't getting it, we donated.
I had a friend of my brother'swhose mom started sewing masks.
Speaker 5 (27:57):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
And we started selling them and we donated
everything to Life Elder Carebecause we said these patients
or these people are sitting athome and they need their
medication, they need their food, because they can't leave the
house.
So, we just said, okay, we'regoing to give it back.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
Give it back.
That's great, and so thingswent well for you during COVID.
I guess in that way, you wereable to take the initiative to
do what you needed to do inorder to make that happen.
But did you have, did youexperience, any kind of flux?
I mean, you were an essentialbusiness, so there's that part
of it but did you feel any anystrain one way or the other
(28:35):
during during that time?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Yeah, I mean, I think the thing is, you know,
everybody did right.
Everybody felt like what, whatdo we do?
And you know everybody didright everybody felt like what,
what do we do?
Yeah, and you know, my focus atthat time was to be proactive.
This can't be the forever statesure right um, you know we we
heard that vaccines were comingout.
(28:57):
You know we knew that they weregoing to be under sub-zero
temperatures yeah the fridgecost, freezer cost, you know,
$10,000 or something like crazylike that.
I'm really grateful for the factthat I was in a city like
Fremont because I knew so manyresources to reach out to.
It was easier to go and saylook, we're preparing for the
(29:23):
influx of vaccines, we needaccess to this.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
And the city, the county, the state, the
government really came through.
But you know I had to put thework in.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
But I felt so supported in this city.
I don't know, you know.
I told you we own stores inthis city.
I don't know, you know.
I told you we've we own storesin other cities.
Fremont just became this, wow.
That's great Like the beststory I love this is the story
that, um, why I love Fremont is,uh, in the early days you guys
(29:57):
all remember when vaccines weregoing to expire and you got the
one that fell off the truck ifyou were lucky and calling
pharmacies.
Well, the county said we haveabout 220 vaccines that are
going to expire on Monday.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
And it was Wednesday night, it was 9 o'clock.
I'm looking at my phone.
I'm like is the Pope Catholic?
I'm taking these.
Yeah, yeah, I know nobody elseis up.
Yeah, I know nobody else is up,yeah.
I said we'll got them.
There's somebody to pick themup.
We're going to drive to AlamedaCounty Health Department.
We'll pick them up.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
I had no idea what I was going to do with them.
No idea, and then called themayor because you can do that in
Fremont.
Not everybody, but I will saythis Our city is accessible.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
And she put us in touch with the fire department
who said we need our firedepartment is vaccinated, but
there's a few that didn't get it, and then our police department
is lower down on the list.
Can you do this is?
Speaker 3 (31:04):
lower down on the list.
Can you do?
Speaker 2 (31:05):
this and in two days we did a drive-through clinic on
a Saturday and vaccinatedalmost 250 people.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
And this was.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
January of 2021.
Speaker 4 (31:14):
Wow.
So it was early days, veryearly on.
Wow, that's crazy.
You have been in a significantrole in the chamber of Commerce
for a couple years, so what wasyour role in the chamber?
Speaker 2 (31:27):
I was the chair.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
Chair.
Okay, and then you justmentioned also before we started
recording, that you were on thePTA for Missions and
Rehabilitation Missions.
So what else do you do?
Like, what else do you do?
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Well, I'm also on the Planning Commission, it's not
my fault.
Well, I'm also on the PlanningCommission, it's not my fault,
but early on, when I was youngerin Fremont and I learned how.
Fremont was run and I kind ofmade a conscious decision that I
don't know if I have to bepolitical, but I do want to have
(31:59):
a voice.
The Planning Commission wassomething that I really felt
like.
It guides the way a city looksfeels and acts.
You know you still have topermit things and the state
makes us do things and it'sreally hard.
But bringing that voice ofsomebody who grew up here, whose
(32:21):
son is growing up here, who'sinvolved in the community, I
just felt like that's where Icould apply my skills and so
it's been.
It's hard, like I said, don'tblame me, but I always tell my
son there's a method to mymadness, because he's like
you're always in meetings,you're on a board meeting.
(32:42):
He's like you know what are youdoing and I you know.
As he got older and there wasless things to do with him, you
know, and Ricky, you've seen himeverywhere with me, you know.
And he's like can you not goanywhere and talk to people?
And I said you know, there's alittle bit of.
(33:02):
There's a method to this.
Because when, when I came back,I always think about coming
back, even though I was livinghere before I took over the
pharmacies.
But I always say I came backwhen I really got involved in
the pharmacies and the chamberwas my first place.
I went actually Niles Rotary,sorry.
Speaker 5 (33:16):
Niles Rotary family my dad- forced me.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
No, I love Nilesiles road but it was this thing.
My dad said if you come, youhave to take thursdays off.
Come to lunch with these people.
They sing yeah, you guys allhave to experience niles road
yeah, that's right pleaseotherwise I'm gonna get in fine
for not saying it but it waslike I was a privilege.
Speaker 4 (33:34):
I had the privilege of being, uh, being a speaker
one one time.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
It was a great experience, but it was thing,
the way my dad trained me to sayyou got to do Niles roadie,
okay.
Then it was the chamber andthen it was school, because
Aiden, uh, sorry, I didn't, Imentioned you, um, but uh, the
thing was.
It was like I said, the methodwas, as you see, the need, you
(33:59):
have the skills, you have thedrive and, like you and I were
talking about before, I'm notgoing anywhere.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
Right right.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
You know, I'm a homeowner, thankfully here, I'm
a business owner here, myfriends are here, I'm invested
here.
So it is kind of I feel likeyou know, when you see that
opportunity, like, as you know,the PTA, the opportunity was,
you know, I actually went tomission for a year.
Both my brothers went tomission, my cousins went to
(34:27):
mission.
So mission was part of my DNA.
So it's kind of like it was anatural I'm going to get
involved because I can bridgethat gap between parents who are
going through it and who wentthrough it.
And so I think, if you want totalk about what makes Fremont
happy, I think there's thatuniqueness in Fremont that there
(34:49):
is more of that than we seewhen we go to events, whether
it's Street Eats or the festival, or I even went to an
engineering day thing you knowFremont brings together that
community.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
They do yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
And you know, the more we can say that it's
inviting it's, the more happierwe are.
Speaker 4 (35:14):
Yeah, that's right, I think the invitingness.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
That's right, that's even a word.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:19):
That's exactly right.
You know, something you justsaid caused me to have a little
bit of an epiphany.
I was just thinking about this.
I think that when we thinkabout happiness and when we
think about a good community, wethink about it.
I think we think about it in alimited way.
I think we think about it in animmediate, somewhat almost a
(35:41):
temporary way.
In other words, we're so usedto everything being accessible
so easily and so quickly thesedays.
The thing that made me thinkabout it is you said you know,
your dad invested, started thesebusiness.
You're a business owner, you'rea homeowner, and I'm thinking
about that.
I'm thinking that's and I'm notsaying that you didn't do
anything, and I'm saying that itwasn't your work and your
(36:03):
investment but part of thereason why you could do that is
because you have amulti-generational legacy and
foundation in which you canstand, and so there's a sense in
which I think there's two waysto look at this.
As you were talking this iswhat was coming to my mind is
that you're realizing thatperhaps your role in our
(36:25):
community is to be responsiblefor what was built on the
foundation that the previousgenerations left you and the way
that you're going to makeFremont continue to last is by
taking the responsibilityseriously to make the best use
of what was created for you,created by them, that you've now
(36:50):
taken over, and make the bestof it, make it last, make it,
make it make a difference in thecommunity.
And I do think that that's oneof the things in looking to the
future.
For people who are here I wouldsay, like myself, it's like do
I need to think about what I'mdoing now in this community to
be something that I'm onlylooking for temporary results or
immediate results, or am Ilooking to help create something
(37:14):
for the next generation?
And I think that that'ssomething.
I think, having that holistic,you know, being a caretaker of
not even a caretaker, being aninheritor, I guess, a recipient
of a beneficiary of the pastgeneration and what they've
given to us, looking at what wehave now and then looking at how
(37:38):
what we're doing is going tolast long after we're gone, I
think that's, I think it's amindset that we have to take and
I honestly think that might bepart of the secret to you know,
the happiness that exists withinour community.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
I agree because you know you talked a lot about my
dad and kind of he's in thefront.
But my mom was this sort ofundercover ninja, if you will,
who you know coming.
You know got married, came tothe California from Canada,
moved you know, immigrated fromIndia first and you know was new
(38:13):
here.
She dove, had in and you knowfelt so comfortable here in
Fremont, signed us up for allthe classes, soccer, everything.
You know that everybody's doingstill and you know didn't feel
like an outsider, made friendshere in watching my mom, you
know, completely in a new place,be this strong and having both
(38:39):
my dad and my mom and then mygrandparents they lived around
the corner from us.
You're right, themulti-generational part of it
really instills that piece of itand I think, if you know, for
those of you don't have thathere in fremont, think about
everybody else who came.
Why do you think the districtsand all of that history it's
(39:00):
really important because it'sbuilt on those families that's
right and they weremulti-generational.
If you're new here, you'regetting to benefit from their
legacies if that makes sense,that that was hard work
multi-generationally.
And I look at you know what mygrandparents did, what my mom
did, what my dad did, and nowwhat we're we're doing.
(39:22):
It's just kind of.
That's why Fremont can be theway it is, because there's
legacy and there's growth.
Speaker 4 (39:29):
Yeah, that's right, that's great, and I think that
that's something that we need toremember as a city is that we
are the beneficiary we are all,not just you, we are all
beneficiaries of the generationsbefore us.
So that's one of the reasons whywe can appreciate Niles, or we
can appreciate Centerville, orwe can appreciate Irvington or
Mission, san Jose or any of thedistricts, because they were all
(39:53):
individual communities withgenerational establishment in
those places, and so we all, asa newcomer, we're beneficiaries
of, of of what's happenedgeneration after generation, and
I think that we need to bethinking about not, yes, we need
to be thinking about what'shappening now, who we are now,
(40:13):
because I do think that that'sso important.
I think sometimes we lose, youknow.
We think about what we've been,we imagine what we can be, we,
we and we don't take, I guess,in some sense, pride or joy in
in who we are, um, and I thinkwe need to do that as well, but
I think we also need to not beso short sighted that we just
think about am I happy right now, but am I in a place that I'm
(40:33):
investing in, the happiness youknow longterm that that exists
here?
Speaker 2 (40:38):
And is that place investing in my happiness?
Speaker 4 (40:40):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
You invest in the places investing for you because
I I see so much of why I chooseto raise my son here and, you
know, go anywhere.
It didn't have to come back,like I said, but being back here
, my family's here, the places Igrew up are here.
(41:01):
I can share those experienceswith them.
My brother can share hisexperience with my son and I
could share it with his kids.
It is very unique and inCalifornia, of all places, you
think that you get this in smalltowns, but F you know
California, fremont is thebiggest small town, that's right
(41:23):
.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
That's right.
Well, I don't know exactly whatall you've been doing and how
invest what it all looks like.
You've been investing but youinvent, invested in, I guess
what I could say a campaignregarding fentanyl use or opioid
use.
Can you tell me a little bitabout that?
What is it that brought thatabout?
And tell me a little bit aboutwhat you're doing with that?
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Yeah.
So you know one thing it mightbe unique for people to think
about a pharmacy doing thesecampaigns or pharmacists.
And so, you know, a couple ofyears ago, especially after you
know a couple years ago,especially after you know, we
started doing vaccines, westarted to realize the role of
pharmacy and pharmacists in thecommunity and about getting
(42:10):
messages out, and we were tryingto hone those messages in.
Well, unfortunately, my brotherpassed away last year from
mental illness, but he did itthrough a purposeful fentanyl
overdose.
He went to San Francisco, knewexactly what he was doing, knew
exactly what was going to happen, as much as he was aware he was
(42:32):
, I don't know, hoping or wasn'tquite sure what it could do to
him, but knew completely aboutsomething called Narcan.
And for those of you who don'tknow, narcan is the nasal spray
that has become widely availableover the counter anywhere to
help with opioid overdoses.
(42:55):
And my recommendationseverybody should have one in
their car, their house,everywhere, because opioid abuse
isn't just fentanyl, it couldbe, you know, prescription drugs
that are taken accidentally.
You know a senior says, oh, Itook my pain meds and then takes
two more because they forgot.
And so you know, one of thethings is, you know, like I said
(43:17):
, I like to do things.
Speaker 5 (43:19):
I can't just sit there.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
One of the things is, like I said, I like to do
things, I can't just sit there,and while mental health was
ultimately what took my brother,this was a low-hanging fruit, I
would say.
So we partnered with anonprofit and you can go to the
Howler's website.
Speaker 4 (43:32):
I'll plug the Howler's website a little bit
and we'll put it in the shownotes for sure.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
That you can get your free kits at that pharmacy.
We've handed out over 1,000kits in Fremont.
You can find us at Street Eats.
You'll find us at the Prideevents.
You'll pretty much find useverywhere.
Because my personal belief isnobody should have to, even
accidentally or purposely, haveto go through that and it is an
(43:57):
epidemic.
We've been through a pandemicand anything that us as a
community can do, you can'tignore it.
You can't say that well, mykids don't do drugs, I don't do
drugs, but you never know.
You never know.
And this is so simple, so free.
You know I was talking tosomebody, you know, with pain
(44:21):
medication, abuse and everythingthat's happened in the.
Why this is free is, if youguys understand, is there was
all those settlements right?
Speaker 4 (44:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
So the people who created this problem are now
helping to fix this problem andwe are the vessel to help fix
this problem.
Speaker 4 (44:37):
Yeah, wow, yeah.
So if anybody is interested inthis, you said that people can
pick up kits and stuff like that, but what are some other ways
that people can become moreinformed about this?
What are some things that theycan do to become more aware and
maybe be involved in in helpingwith this problem in the
community?
Speaker 2 (44:56):
So you know there's a couple of ways.
One is inside the kits or inaddition to the kits you can get
fentanyl test strips.
There's a lot of fake drugs outthere.
Um, I am so worried about youknow and mom dad don't listen
you know we experimentation andthings.
(45:16):
You know there's it's not safeout there yeah, right and so we
offer fentanyl test strips tomake sure whatever you're
getting isn't, uh, fake or lacedwith fentanyl, and that, I
think, is really, reallyimportant, especially if you're
going off the grid yeah, yeahsecond of all, get rid of the
drugs in your medicine cabinet.
(45:37):
You are not a pharmacist, youare not a doctor If you are
prescribed something for thatparticular issue and that issue
is gone get rid of it.
We have drug take-back programs.
In the pharmacy there's a bin.
You might say oh well, maybe Ineed that pill one day.
You don't know who's going tobe in your house and take those
(45:59):
pills.
So that's another one.
And um, just train yourself onnarcan.
Any human can do it.
It doesn't take a lot.
There's a good samaritan law incalifornia.
You're not going to get introuble.
You can't hurt anybody and thegood samaritan law protects you
that if you're trying to helpsomebody who's in need, you're
(46:21):
protected.
So don't worry, I'm going tostand back and watch this person
overdose.
If you have the capability tohelp them.
And that's that's why we wantto get the information out there
, because I think so many peopleare scared or taboo about any
of these topics and you knowI'll put a plug in for my
pharmacist that's I've beentrying to bring this kind of
(46:42):
awareness to all of mypharmacies and my staff to say,
look, somebody comes in, they'recoming and they need help,
don't judge them.
We did it, even a needleexchange program about a year
and a half ago, and first mypharmacist like I don't want
these drug addicts in mypharmacy and I said don't judge.
Speaker 5 (47:02):
You don't know what somebody's going through.
Speaker 2 (47:04):
And it was very successful because they were
opening a conversation.
So keep that conversation withyour healthcare professional.
Speaker 4 (47:11):
That's great.
That's great.
Well, thank you for doing thatand thank you for raising the
awareness.
For me and for the community.
That's great.
Jasmine, thank you so much forbeing on the podcast and thank
you for your support, yourencouragement, I do think of.
I think oftentimes when I'mfeeling weary and exhausted from
(47:33):
and I'm kind of overreacting, Iguess, a little bit, but in the
moments where I'm gettingfrustrated about like what is it
that I need to cut and what isit worth it, and there are
things that you've said over thelast couple of years that have
just encouraged me and kind ofkept me going.
So I appreciate your supportand your encouragement regarding
the podcast and now, it's beena great joy to have you as a
(47:54):
guest on the podcast.
So thank you for being herewith me today.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (47:59):
This episode was hosted and produced by Ricky B.
I'm Gary Williams, andrew Kvetis the editor.
Scheduling and pre-interviewsby Sarah S.
Be sure to subscribe whereverit is that you listen so you
don't miss an episode.
You can find everything we make, the podcast and all of our
social media links atthefremontpodcastcom.
(48:20):
Join us next week on theFremont Podcast.
Speaker 5 (48:25):
This is a Muggins Media Podcast.
You.
An open invitation to all Fremont student journalists
.
An open invitation to theparents of all Fremont student
journalists.
If you worked for your schoolnewspaper and would like to make
an audio story for our podcast,we will air it.
We will help you, we will edit,we will give advice.
(00:23):
We don't even have to meet inperson.
You, we will edit, we will giveadvice.
We don't even have to meet inperson.
We would love to have studentjournalists, teenagers with a
point of view and a life livedin Fremont that we don't have
access to.
We would love for you to tellyour stories, or tell the
stories of those around you, orat least tell stories from your
(00:45):
perspective.
This is a call out to thestudents as individual people.
We're not going to be able togo through your schools because
you know it's summer.
If you had more fun injournalism class than you
expected and it scratched anitch that you didn't know you
had, let's do more work.
Reach out to us through ourwebsite, thefremontpodcastcom,
(01:11):
or message us on Instagram.
Your parents are definitelygoing to have to be involved.
We will need their consent, butwe have worked with teens
before.
We'd like to do it again, torepeat myself.
An open invitation to thestudent journalists of this town
If you can come up with a storyidea and do the field reporting
(01:33):
, we can help edit and you willget airtime.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I'll tell you a really funny story Love it.
So you know you have to takedriving lessons before you turn
16 and you're in the you knowstudent driver.
Beware.
A friend of mine and I were inthe same car and we had a
driving instructor who didn'tknow what Sikhs were.
So we took him to the gurdwarafor free food during our driving
(02:03):
lesson to teach him a littlebit more about sickles.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Just laugh because we could just, if you needed to
eat, you could just go there.
Wow, and I think we changed hisperception.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Coming to you straight from Fremont,
california.
This is the Fremont Podcast,dedicated to telling the stories
of the past and present of thepeople and places of the city of
Fremont, one conversation at atime.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
You are listening to episode 119 of the Fremont
Podcast.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
So, basically, how many more episodes do we have
this season?
The season's?
Speaker 5 (02:35):
four so this Friday you said it's going to be Hall
of Fame yeah yeah.
So then that takes care of May24th, and then you've got May
31st, June 7th and June 4th Okay, Now here's your host, Ricky B.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
So I am so excited to have Jasmine.
Is it Bazarati?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Bazarai.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
Bazarai.
Okay, excited to have Jasmineon the Fremont podcast and I
have to say why I'm so excited.
She has been a huge supporterand encourager in probably every
way possible.
She has been a vocal fan of thepodcast.
As she worked with the FremontChamber of Commerce, I felt like
(03:17):
every time I showed up she wasputting in a plug for the
podcast.
And then she was also as theowner of Holler's Pharmacy.
She was a sponsor, a partnersponsor, and then she's given us
other guests to have on thepodcast.
So I can't think of another waythat we could be supported that
(03:40):
she hasn't already done so, andwe've been having this
conversation, I think, for agood long while, to have her on
the podcast and now it'sactually happened.
So, jasmine, I'm so excited tohave you on the podcast and
thank you for being here.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
So I want to hear a little bit about you, your story
.
I know that in the past you'vetold me that your family was one
of the first of a particulargroup of people that came to
Fremont.
So tell me a little bit aboutyour family coming to Fremont
and what was the dynamic of allthat.
Share some of that with me.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yeah, when I grew up in Fremont, it was a small
little sleepy town, still hadgladiola fields and farms and
things like that.
It was growing up into whatit's now, but there was a very
small Sikh community that wasrising up.
So my dad is a pharmacist andown pharmacies here in Fremont,
(04:40):
pharmacies here in Fremont and agroup of him and doctors around
the area realized the need thatSikhs needed a place to worship
and actually started the firstSikh Gurdwara, which you know
down the street here on MissionStarted actually in Newark as a
small place.
They would rent it out andstart a fundraising committee to
(05:04):
actually buy their own piece ofproperty.
So where?
you see gudwara road now is thelegacy of maybe like seven or
eight families that would meetat my dad's pharmacy on the
weekends and, okay, say howwe're going to do this, how
we're going to get involved inthe community, and because of
that they also used to do a lotof health fairs.
(05:25):
They were doctors, pharmacistspeople, nurses, a lot of medical
professionals from the Sikhcommunity.
That said you know, we want toraise our families here, so we
need a place to worship andFremont's a very inviting place
and I remember going to school,being some of the few Sikh
families here, but just beingwelcoming and being part of the
(05:50):
community right away.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
And so when did they start that?
When did they open that?
You said it started in Newark,but when was that started in
Newark?
And then when did it move toNiles?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
It's going to be sometime in the 80s.
So my dad came to Fremont in1979.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
So I want to say somewhere in the mid-80s,
especially when there was a lotof strife in India with the
Sikhs and there was a lot ofSikh migration from India in
1984.
That's when there was a biginflux of six into the
California because, uh, six aremostly farming community and so
(06:29):
you have a city and other placesyou'll see them, Uh, but in the
Bay area it was a very bigprofessional community of
doctors, engineers, a pharmacistlike my family, and so, um,
it's somewhere in the mideighties, as my family's growing
up, and uh, if you go to theSikh temple now, you'll see two
buildings the building wherethey call the Lunger Hall, where
(06:50):
they serve the food that wasthe actual original building,
and then the new hall is whatthey built up and bought more of
the property around there aswell.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
I have to admit, I'm a little unfamiliar with what
makes the Sikh community, whatdistinguishes them from, say,
other worship centers or fromother worshiping communities.
Like I see Sikh people involvedin a lot of things around
Fremont.
Like I think that the one thingthat stands out to me the like
(07:24):
a 4th of July parade.
They're always handing outwater in the, you know, to the
people that are there, and, um,I just think that's awesome.
So, so, what?
What?
Maybe you can help me a littlebit.
What is it about the Sikhcommunity?
What, maybe?
What is what drives them?
What's the mission?
What's the thought behind whatthey're doing to help be
invested in the community?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And I think my answer is going to be a lot about what
drives me.
So, it's really a fundamentalurge to give back.
It's just part of your DNA, soit is a lot about the word seva
and I'm not sikh person, likeI'm second generation sikh is
(08:05):
like what I like to say yeah andthere's a lot more people who
are much more well versed in it,but I do speak, read and write
punjabi and and gurmukhi.
I can read a little bit, whichis the sikh, which is the
language.
But, um, growing up in fremont,uh, what was so great about how
the Sikh community was accepted?
(08:26):
And you know just, it was thereand it was always about giving
back.
I'll tell you a really funnystory Love it.
So you know you have to takedriving lessons before you turn
16 and you're in the you knowstudent driver.
Beware, a friend of mine and Iwere in the same car and we had
(08:47):
a driving instructor who didn'tknow what sikhs were, so we took
him to the gurdwara for freefood oh my during our driving
lesson to teach him a little bitmore about sikhism.
Just laugh, because we couldjust.
If you needed to eat, you couldjust go there.
Wow, and I think we changed hisperception.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Because I was always.
You know, later, in the 90s andafter 9-11, sikhs became you
know the turbans and we becamedifferent.
But you know, growing up it wasalways about giving back.
Community service was at thecore.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
And that's why you see the Sikh community do the
water, and if you ever need ameal, the kitchen's always open
and if you need a place to sleepthere, it is always open.
And that's the the part ofcommunity that brings back and
and it's really great becausethe Sikh Gurdwara here in
Fremont is a prolific one in theUnited States in terms of you
(09:43):
know it's, it's impact in itscommunity and people migrating
from different places to be in.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Fremont because of that, yeah, yeah, I think that's
great.
I you know it's interestingthat you mentioned what you did
about um 9-11 and and just theperception of of, uh, different
peoples.
I think I think it is importantand I'll and I'm going to speak
from my perspective, which Ididn't grow up here in Fremont.
I grew up in a community thatwas more of like a monocultural
(10:14):
or bicultural community and Ifeel like there's a lot more
cultures coming together in oneplace here in Fremont.
But I do think that that'ssomething as someone who came in
from the outside and is tryingto understand the people that
live here in Fremont.
I think that there are certainthings and maybe it's because of
(10:37):
movies and television that havegiven a certain stereotype, a
look, a certain stereotype thatmakes you question like what,
who is this person?
And you know what, uh, what,what are they all about?
You know, and I think that thatone of the things that's been
um, a good thing and, I think, abeautiful thing for me to learn
(10:59):
, since I've been in Fremont, um, and I had someone tell me, I
remember someone tell me veryplainly if they have a turban on
, they're the best.
Uh, you, you can trust them.
You can, you can, uh they'rethey're the good guys you know,
and I feel like that's something, um, that I'm really grateful
for, um, because I do think that, um, as I've been around here
(11:19):
long enough, uh, to observedifferent people, especially
like the parades and otherevents like that, I'm just like
man, they're doing really goodthings for other people and I
really love that.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Yeah, when I growing up, my grandfather wore a turban
and he was prolific on ACTransit to take from his house
to the Gurdwara and people wouldpick him up.
He never experienced, you know,in the years he lived to be
90-something and in the years henever felt like this wasn't his
(11:50):
second home.
That's great, you know he didn'treally talk about feeling
uncomfortable.
Growing up in Fremont walkingaround with my grandmother, who
wore full Indian clothing, andmy grandfather taking care of us
, it didn't feel out of place.
It didn't really feel like um,this was weird yeah, that's just
kind of everybody's like okay,she's got a turban and you know
(12:13):
she's here, there was never afear of we have to leave yeah,
this is not safe for us actuallylike.
You know that the mus Muslimcommunity felt the same way.
There was a rally around allcultures that one should not be
singled out because of whathappened.
(12:34):
That's great and in fact, what Ithink happened too is those
communities, especially the Sikhcommunity, said we need to be
more visible, and so for me toidentify as sick it's okay, Like
it wasn't one of those things Ineeded to hide.
And you know, while I'm notfully practicing, it did form a
lot of my experiences in my lifebecause I was raised by, you
(12:58):
know, the family that I wasraised by.
But it never felt like Fremontwasn't a safe place.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
Yeah, that's great.
I love that.
That's great, and I love thatfor my son.
Yeah, I do, that's right.
That's great.
We'll be right back.
You can hear the rest of thisconversation in just a moment.
We were talking a little bitabout this before we started
recording, but I wanted to haveyou give me a little bit of a
plug for Fremont Bank.
Have you give me a little bitof a plug for Fremont Bank?
(13:28):
Um we, uh, fremont Bank is acurrent sponsor of the podcast
and so, um you, you made a fewuh remarks about why, uh, you
bank with them with yourbusiness, and so tell me a
little bit about your experiencewith Fremont Bank as a quasi ad
for uh for them right now.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So I'm not quite a millennial, a little bit older
than that.
But you know, if in a hundredyears ago you had told me that
I'd go to the bank like once aweek in person depositing stuff
and deposit slips and all thiskind of stuff, I would have
laughed.
Everything could be electronic.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Yeah that's right.
You would say everything'selectronic.
We should automate this.
No paper.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
But the reality of owning your own business is you
deal with cash, checks,everything.
You need change for yourregisters.
You need to go to a bank.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
That's right, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
And so my experience with Fremont Bank was at least
you go to a bank that knows youand you know I, I would say, oh
no, we're going to, I'm going totry something new.
All failures, at the end of theday, that those personal
relationships, um, whether it'sas a business relationship or a
personal relationship, theymatter.
(14:39):
You need to be able to pick upthe phone, even if you want to
do it over email.
I mean, you can't do everythingover an app, sure.
And for me, when I walk intoFremont bank and everybody knows
my name, it's not like cheers,there's no, there's no beer
being served but there maybe isnow but I will say I opened my
(15:07):
new accounts there because Ican't imagine doing business
anywhere else where I needsupport.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
That's great and Fremont.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Bank supports you.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
That's great.
Well, thanks for the plug in onthat, and I've had a great
experience with them and enjoyedgetting to know the people that
I've gotten to know over at thebank as well.
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(15:40):
brokerage is an expert in thelocal real estate market.
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expert negotiation skills,jennifer goes above and beyond
(16:00):
for her clients.
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So if you're looking for arealtor who knows what they're
doing and who genuinely caresabout your needs and wants,
reach out to Jennifer today anddiscover why Petrocelli Homes is
the right choice for all ofyour real estate needs.
I will give you information forSam Choi.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
He is the owner of Bit of an Press.
Speaker 5 (16:24):
Oh okay.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
And he his family's been here for a long time.
They've owned the businessthere for a long time.
So he told me he's like Iwanted to become a sponsor on
the podcast.
He's like because I think it'sfun.
He goes, I like the podcast, soI think he'd be somebody that
(16:48):
I'd like to have on.
I've been over there a fewtimes and talked to him.
I want to tell you aboutMinuteman Press in Irvington.
They are your quality printerto go to here in Fremont.
I have personally worked withthem before and I find their
services to be fantastic.
Look no further than MinutemanPress in Irvington no-transcript
(17:19):
.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
The Ohlone College Flea Market is happening every
second Saturday of the monthfrom 9 am to 3 pm on Ohlone's
Fremont campus.
Hey, van, if people want tocontact you, how do they get in
touch?
Speaker 5 (17:31):
So our phone number is 510-659-6285 and the email is
fleamarket at aloniedu.
More information can be foundat aloniedu slash flea dash
market.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
On the off chance that you are a parent with kids
not yet in school but have timeto listen to a podcast and
listen through the ads.
Just wanted to mention thatBanter Bookshop has two
different story times.
There's a story time onThursdays and a story time on
Saturdays.
The Thursday and the Saturdaystory times start at 10 30 am.
(18:17):
The Banter Bookshop storytimewelcomes kids of all ages.
Banter Bookshop is in downtownFremont on Capitol Avenue.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
And now back to our conversation.
Well, you grew up here inFremont and then you said your
dad was a pharmacist andcurrently you are the owner of
the pharmacies here I guess thebusinesses here.
So tell me how that happened.
Like, what was it like for yourdad?
(18:48):
He was invested in thecommunity, rooted in the
community, and then now you arein that role.
So tell me about thattransition, that part of your
life.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
It's a very deep connection because, you know, my
dad graduated from pharmacyschool the year I was born, in
1977.
He went to UOP.
So he's, you know, he came tothis country when he was still
in high school and went tocollege here.
So kind of a differentexperience for a lot of other
Indian kids growing up here.
Like you know, their parentswent to school in India or
(19:23):
migrated here, you know.
So I have kind of odd secondgeneration-ish parents.
They're cool.
I love my mom, mom and dad, Ilove you.
But you know, in 1979, my dad,you know, was looking for
something of his own and he metanother very good sort of of I
call earlier the Emperor ofNiles, harry Avila, who you know
(19:47):
was kind of in and out of thepharmacy business and said you
know, I've got this pharmacyhere across the street from the
hospital.
It's pretty good for a youngguy like you.
You know my dad was working inHollister at the time.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
We were living in Newark okay um, but you know, we
knew we wanted yeah, we wantedto.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
We knew we wanted to be up here, and so my dad took
that opportunity.
Um and uh, there was a lot ofindependent pharmacies at the
time.
We weren't like the only rodeo.
Uh, there was some in GlenmoreMission.
Almost every district had itsown independent pharmacy yeah.
Haller's actually was the one ofthe bigger ones at that time.
It's been there longer than wewere there it's been there since
(20:28):
1957.
And so my dad's like this is agreat community.
I want to raise my family hereand bought that store.
Funnily enough, David Beretta,who owns the building, telling
me um that there was no lease onthe building and so he helped
my dad negotiate a pretty gooddeal, but that actually my dad's
(20:51):
purchase in 1979 really helpedboost um our relationship with
the community okay because wewere right across the street
from washington Right.
It was burgeoning and coming upand you know my dad was like hey
, whatever you need, I'm here.
Speaker 5 (21:08):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
He even put a second line.
We call it the bat line at thehouse After hours.
They would call that line ifthey needed something from our
pharmacy.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
We were always there.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
So that idea of service really was embedded when
my dad said, if I'm going to behere, I'm going to be here.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
That's great.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
I'm not just going to do it and then over time
pharmacies.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
A lot of people don't have a transition plan, so we
acquired a few different smallerpharmacies there was.
Washington Medical we acquireda few different, smaller
pharmacies.
There was Washington Medical,there was one right at 1800 at
(21:53):
Mission.
It was just smaller pharmacies.
As people were retiring my dadbecame a very trusted person to
do business with we were fair.
That's great.
We knew we were doing the rightthings with the community and
somewhere in the late 80s we hadthe opportunity to buy Newark
Howlers.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
And that was the original Howlers by the Howlers
family.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
And so my dad jumped at the opportunity.
They said if you can do this,we'll sell you Fremont Howlers
as well.
And so Newark Howlers was onThornton, and then Fremont
Howlers was right across thestreet from a Holy Spirit church
at the time and we said, okay,why not, let's do this, we're
all in, and so it was just kindof this thing that just became
(22:36):
our.
It just became our MO.
We're going to be the pharmacythis community, especially
because of Washington Township,and you should have somebody
from Washington in to talk abouthow Washington Hospital came,
having those supporting serviceslike an independent pharmacy.
We used to be seven days a week, 365 days a year, and so it was
(23:00):
always that you needed apharmacy to support a hospital
like that and so you know, asWashington Township grew,
haller's grew and the name grewand a lot of people don't know
we own Murray Medical, murrayPlaza, the medical supply, and
Haller's.
We never changed the names justbecause you know.
It was just the way you dobusiness, but it was always the
(23:22):
same level of service.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
That's great.
That's great.
So, speaking of level ofservice, how did you guys fare
during COVID, or how is it thatyou, how do you feel and I know
you're speaking, you're kind oftooting your own horn but how is
it that you feel that you docompared to some of the big the
chains out there and stuff?
What is it that you feel thatyou do compared to, say, some of
the big the chain the chainsout there and stuff?
(23:44):
Like, what is it that makes youguys stand out, as in your
different pharmacies that youhave around the area?
Speaker 2 (23:50):
So a little bit to go backwards.
You know I spent my career intech and my dad's like I'm ready
to be done with this, and mybrother, who is a pharmacist,
like I don't know if I could doall of this.
So I said I'll take a leave ofabsence, and I took a leave of
absence in 2018.
And started looking at thebusiness.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
So you weren't involved in, like it was your
dad's thing.
Your brother was kind ofinvolved a little bit, but you
were doing something completelydifferent.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Completely different.
I worked 20 years in tech atibm.
Okay, like, okay, yeah, totalcorporate yeah you know wore a
blue suit kind of stuff, so in2018 that's when you started
looking at you know what can wedo?
yeah took a leave of leave ofabsence and started looking at
what you could do, okay yeah,and then in 2019 we made a
decision that you know maybeit's time to transition the
(24:40):
pharmacies and you know myfamily and's time to transition
the pharmacies and you know myfamily and I decided because I
had the business background I'lltake over the stores.
And so 2019, we're goingthrough this transition.
I'm learning about pharmacy,I'm relying a lot on my staff
and we're just kind of goingthrough.
You know growing pains, youknow people like Heller's.
(25:01):
You're still around my grandmawent to hellers.
That's what I, when I joined thechamber.
It was like hellers, oh, youguys are still there.
I had a walker for my mom like10 years ago from there, so I
was like, yeah, we're stillthere and we've got these other
places.
And then, you know, as I waskind of getting into my groove,
like you said, the pandemic hityeah and you know, because I
(25:22):
wasn't a pharmacist, I wasgetting more and more involved
in the community, like thechamber, niles rotary, like just
because I couldn't work thepharmacy I can't dispense drugs
please don't ask me for drugadvice.
It's, I play one on tv I'mreally not a pharmacist, uh, but
people still ask me but um?
So when the pandemic hit uh, Iwas telling you the story
(25:44):
earlier that um, one of ourstores actually had the first
case of covet in monterey countywow and we were first known
case and I didn't know what todo yeah and I told you we hired
somebody who does like blood andguts cleaning because we're in,
we were an essential businessoh wow, yeah and I couldn't
close the doors.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
People's prescriptions were sitting there
, medications were sitting there, their vaccines were sitting
there.
We couldn't just close up, andthat experience down in Monterey
County kind of guided what Ineeded to do up here in.
Fremont.
This community wasn't anydifferent than any other
community being affected rightnow yeah and so we signed up for
(26:26):
every program.
Um, you know, at that time weapplied for waivers to do
testing.
Um, you know, there were novaccines.
Yeah, uh, we did drive up.
We, you know, made sure ourdelivery was intact.
I hired extra delivery drivers,you know, we wanted to make
sure everybody got theirmedications.
We, you know, not onlymedications, we also do medical
(26:48):
supplies, like ostomy, you know,for people who have, you know,
the bags and they need the, youknow, they need their wound care
.
I mean, this isn't stuff youcould just buy off.
Amazon all the time and so weneeded to be open and my staff
were afraid and the other thingwas masks and gloves and where.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
I was Toilet paper.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Toilet paper exactly.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
Hand sanitizer.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
We actually made our own hand sanitizer in our
compounding lab because we saidwe need to stay open.
Who else?
Speaker 5 (27:20):
needs hand sanitizer.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
And some people said you're a price gouge.
I only charged whatever I wasgetting it for whatever the cost
was.
My brother drove to LA one timeto get these Korean masks.
That became really popular.
He drove in the morning anddrove back.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
Oh, my word.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Because he had a friend down there and so we was
all hands on deck Wow, wow, ohmy word.
Because he had a friend downthere and so we was all hands on
deck Wow wow.
But what that experience taughtme is you know in between that
the organizations that neededmasks or to stay open, that
weren't getting it, we donated.
I had a friend of my brother'swhose mom started sewing masks.
Speaker 5 (27:57):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
And we started selling them and we donated
everything to Life Elder Carebecause we said these patients
or these people are sitting athome and they need their
medication, they need their food, because they can't leave the
house.
So, we just said, okay, we'regoing to give it back.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
Give it back.
That's great, and so thingswent well for you during COVID.
I guess in that way, you wereable to take the initiative to
do what you needed to do inorder to make that happen.
But did you have, did youexperience, any kind of flux?
I mean, you were an essentialbusiness, so there's that part
of it but did you feel any anystrain one way or the other
(28:35):
during during that time?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Yeah, I mean, I think the thing is, you know,
everybody did right.
Everybody felt like what, whatdo we do?
And you know everybody didright everybody felt like what,
what do we do?
Yeah, and you know, my focus atthat time was to be proactive.
This can't be the forever statesure right um, you know we we
heard that vaccines were comingout.
(28:57):
You know we knew that they weregoing to be under sub-zero
temperatures yeah the fridgecost, freezer cost, you know,
$10,000 or something like crazylike that.
I'm really grateful for the factthat I was in a city like
Fremont because I knew so manyresources to reach out to.
It was easier to go and saylook, we're preparing for the
(29:23):
influx of vaccines, we needaccess to this.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
And the city, the county, the state, the
government really came through.
But you know I had to put thework in.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
But I felt so supported in this city.
I don't know, you know.
I told you we own stores inthis city.
I don't know, you know.
I told you we've we own storesin other cities.
Fremont just became this, wow.
That's great Like the beststory I love this is the story
that, um, why I love Fremont is,uh, in the early days you guys
(29:57):
all remember when vaccines weregoing to expire and you got the
one that fell off the truck ifyou were lucky and calling
pharmacies.
Well, the county said we haveabout 220 vaccines that are
going to expire on Monday.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
And it was Wednesday night, it was 9 o'clock.
I'm looking at my phone.
I'm like is the Pope Catholic?
I'm taking these.
Yeah, yeah, I know nobody elseis up.
Yeah, I know nobody else is up,yeah.
I said we'll got them.
There's somebody to pick themup.
We're going to drive to AlamedaCounty Health Department.
We'll pick them up.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
I had no idea what I was going to do with them.
No idea, and then called themayor because you can do that in
Fremont.
Not everybody, but I will saythis Our city is accessible.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
And she put us in touch with the fire department
who said we need our firedepartment is vaccinated, but
there's a few that didn't get it, and then our police department
is lower down on the list.
Can you do this is?
Speaker 3 (31:04):
lower down on the list.
Can you do?
Speaker 2 (31:05):
this and in two days we did a drive-through clinic on
a Saturday and vaccinatedalmost 250 people.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
And this was.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
January of 2021.
Speaker 4 (31:14):
Wow.
So it was early days, veryearly on.
Wow, that's crazy.
You have been in a significantrole in the chamber of Commerce
for a couple years, so what wasyour role in the chamber?
Speaker 2 (31:27):
I was the chair.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
Chair.
Okay, and then you justmentioned also before we started
recording, that you were on thePTA for Missions and
Rehabilitation Missions.
So what else do you do?
Like, what else do you do?
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Well, I'm also on the Planning Commission, it's not
my fault.
Well, I'm also on the PlanningCommission, it's not my fault,
but early on, when I was youngerin Fremont and I learned how.
Fremont was run and I kind ofmade a conscious decision that I
don't know if I have to bepolitical, but I do want to have
(31:59):
a voice.
The Planning Commission wassomething that I really felt
like.
It guides the way a city looksfeels and acts.
You know you still have topermit things and the state
makes us do things and it'sreally hard.
But bringing that voice ofsomebody who grew up here, whose
(32:21):
son is growing up here, who'sinvolved in the community, I
just felt like that's where Icould apply my skills and so
it's been.
It's hard, like I said, don'tblame me, but I always tell my
son there's a method to mymadness, because he's like
you're always in meetings,you're on a board meeting.
(32:42):
He's like you know what are youdoing and I you know.
As he got older and there wasless things to do with him, you
know, and Ricky, you've seen himeverywhere with me, you know.
And he's like can you not goanywhere and talk to people?
And I said you know, there's alittle bit of.
(33:02):
There's a method to this.
Because when, when I came back,I always think about coming
back, even though I was livinghere before I took over the
pharmacies.
But I always say I came backwhen I really got involved in
the pharmacies and the chamberwas my first place.
I went actually Niles Rotary,sorry.
Speaker 5 (33:16):
Niles Rotary family my dad- forced me.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
No, I love Nilesiles road but it was this thing.
My dad said if you come, youhave to take thursdays off.
Come to lunch with these people.
They sing yeah, you guys allhave to experience niles road
yeah, that's right pleaseotherwise I'm gonna get in fine
for not saying it but it waslike I was a privilege.
Speaker 4 (33:34):
I had the privilege of being, uh, being a speaker
one one time.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
It was a great experience, but it was thing,
the way my dad trained me to sayyou got to do Niles roadie,
okay.
Then it was the chamber andthen it was school, because
Aiden, uh, sorry, I didn't, Imentioned you, um, but uh, the
thing was.
It was like I said, the methodwas, as you see, the need, you
(33:59):
have the skills, you have thedrive and, like you and I were
talking about before, I'm notgoing anywhere.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
Right right.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
You know, I'm a homeowner, thankfully here, I'm
a business owner here, myfriends are here, I'm invested
here.
So it is kind of I feel likeyou know, when you see that
opportunity, like, as you know,the PTA, the opportunity was,
you know, I actually went tomission for a year.
Both my brothers went tomission, my cousins went to
(34:27):
mission.
So mission was part of my DNA.
So it's kind of like it was anatural I'm going to get
involved because I can bridgethat gap between parents who are
going through it and who wentthrough it.
And so I think, if you want totalk about what makes Fremont
happy, I think there's thatuniqueness in Fremont that there
(34:49):
is more of that than we seewhen we go to events, whether
it's Street Eats or the festival, or I even went to an
engineering day thing you knowFremont brings together that
community.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
They do yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
And you know, the more we can say that it's
inviting it's, the more happierwe are.
Speaker 4 (35:14):
Yeah, that's right, I think the invitingness.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
That's right, that's even a word.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:19):
That's exactly right.
You know, something you justsaid caused me to have a little
bit of an epiphany.
I was just thinking about this.
I think that when we thinkabout happiness and when we
think about a good community, wethink about it.
I think we think about it in alimited way.
I think we think about it in animmediate, somewhat almost a
(35:41):
temporary way.
In other words, we're so usedto everything being accessible
so easily and so quickly thesedays.
The thing that made me thinkabout it is you said you know,
your dad invested, started thesebusiness.
You're a business owner, you'rea homeowner, and I'm thinking
about that.
I'm thinking that's and I'm notsaying that you didn't do
anything, and I'm saying that itwasn't your work and your
(36:03):
investment but part of thereason why you could do that is
because you have amulti-generational legacy and
foundation in which you canstand, and so there's a sense in
which I think there's two waysto look at this.
As you were talking this iswhat was coming to my mind is
that you're realizing thatperhaps your role in our
(36:25):
community is to be responsiblefor what was built on the
foundation that the previousgenerations left you and the way
that you're going to makeFremont continue to last is by
taking the responsibilityseriously to make the best use
of what was created for you,created by them, that you've now
(36:50):
taken over, and make the bestof it, make it last, make it,
make it make a difference in thecommunity.
And I do think that that's oneof the things in looking to the
future.
For people who are here I wouldsay, like myself, it's like do
I need to think about what I'mdoing now in this community to
be something that I'm onlylooking for temporary results or
immediate results, or am Ilooking to help create something
(37:14):
for the next generation?
And I think that that'ssomething.
I think, having that holistic,you know, being a caretaker of
not even a caretaker, being aninheritor, I guess, a recipient
of a beneficiary of the pastgeneration and what they've
given to us, looking at what wehave now and then looking at how
(37:38):
what we're doing is going tolast long after we're gone, I
think that's, I think it's amindset that we have to take and
I honestly think that might bepart of the secret to you know,
the happiness that exists withinour community.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
I agree because you know you talked a lot about my
dad and kind of he's in thefront.
But my mom was this sort ofundercover ninja, if you will,
who you know coming.
You know got married, came tothe California from Canada,
moved you know, immigrated fromIndia first and you know was new
(38:13):
here.
She dove, had in and you knowfelt so comfortable here in
Fremont, signed us up for allthe classes, soccer, everything.
You know that everybody's doingstill and you know didn't feel
like an outsider, made friendshere in watching my mom, you
know, completely in a new place,be this strong and having both
(38:39):
my dad and my mom and then mygrandparents they lived around
the corner from us.
You're right, themulti-generational part of it
really instills that piece of itand I think, if you know, for
those of you don't have thathere in fremont, think about
everybody else who came.
Why do you think the districtsand all of that history it's
(39:00):
really important because it'sbuilt on those families that's
right and they weremulti-generational.
If you're new here, you'regetting to benefit from their
legacies if that makes sense,that that was hard work
multi-generationally.
And I look at you know what mygrandparents did, what my mom
did, what my dad did, and nowwhat we're we're doing.
(39:22):
It's just kind of.
That's why Fremont can be theway it is, because there's
legacy and there's growth.
Speaker 4 (39:29):
Yeah, that's right, that's great, and I think that
that's something that we need toremember as a city is that we
are the beneficiary we are all,not just you, we are all
beneficiaries of the generationsbefore us.
So that's one of the reasons whywe can appreciate Niles, or we
can appreciate Centerville, orwe can appreciate Irvington or
Mission, san Jose or any of thedistricts, because they were all
(39:53):
individual communities withgenerational establishment in
those places, and so we all, asa newcomer, we're beneficiaries
of, of of what's happenedgeneration after generation, and
I think that we need to bethinking about not, yes, we need
to be thinking about what'shappening now, who we are now,
(40:13):
because I do think that that'sso important.
I think sometimes we lose, youknow.
We think about what we've been,we imagine what we can be, we,
we and we don't take, I guess,in some sense, pride or joy in
in who we are, um, and I thinkwe need to do that as well, but
I think we also need to not beso short sighted that we just
think about am I happy right now, but am I in a place that I'm
(40:33):
investing in, the happiness youknow longterm that that exists
here?
Speaker 2 (40:38):
And is that place investing in my happiness?
Speaker 4 (40:40):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
You invest in the places investing for you because
I I see so much of why I chooseto raise my son here and, you
know, go anywhere.
It didn't have to come back,like I said, but being back here
, my family's here, the places Igrew up are here.
(41:01):
I can share those experienceswith them.
My brother can share hisexperience with my son and I
could share it with his kids.
It is very unique and inCalifornia, of all places, you
think that you get this in smalltowns, but F you know
California, fremont is thebiggest small town, that's right
(41:23):
.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
That's right.
Well, I don't know exactly whatall you've been doing and how
invest what it all looks like.
You've been investing but youinvent, invested in, I guess
what I could say a campaignregarding fentanyl use or opioid
use.
Can you tell me a little bitabout that?
What is it that brought thatabout?
And tell me a little bit aboutwhat you're doing with that?
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Yeah.
So you know one thing it mightbe unique for people to think
about a pharmacy doing thesecampaigns or pharmacists.
And so, you know, a couple ofyears ago, especially after you
know a couple years ago,especially after you know, we
started doing vaccines, westarted to realize the role of
pharmacy and pharmacists in thecommunity and about getting
(42:10):
messages out, and we were tryingto hone those messages in.
Well, unfortunately, my brotherpassed away last year from
mental illness, but he did itthrough a purposeful fentanyl
overdose.
He went to San Francisco, knewexactly what he was doing, knew
exactly what was going to happen, as much as he was aware he was
(42:32):
, I don't know, hoping or wasn'tquite sure what it could do to
him, but knew completely aboutsomething called Narcan.
And for those of you who don'tknow, narcan is the nasal spray
that has become widely availableover the counter anywhere to
help with opioid overdoses.
(42:55):
And my recommendationseverybody should have one in
their car, their house,everywhere, because opioid abuse
isn't just fentanyl, it couldbe, you know, prescription drugs
that are taken accidentally.
You know a senior says, oh, Itook my pain meds and then takes
two more because they forgot.
And so you know, one of thethings is, you know, like I said
(43:17):
, I like to do things.
Speaker 5 (43:19):
I can't just sit there.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
One of the things is, like I said, I like to do
things, I can't just sit there,and while mental health was
ultimately what took my brother,this was a low-hanging fruit, I
would say.
So we partnered with anonprofit and you can go to the
Howler's website.
Speaker 4 (43:32):
I'll plug the Howler's website a little bit
and we'll put it in the shownotes for sure.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
That you can get your free kits at that pharmacy.
We've handed out over 1,000kits in Fremont.
You can find us at Street Eats.
You'll find us at the Prideevents.
You'll pretty much find useverywhere.
Because my personal belief isnobody should have to, even
accidentally or purposely, haveto go through that and it is an
(43:57):
epidemic.
We've been through a pandemicand anything that us as a
community can do, you can'tignore it.
You can't say that well, mykids don't do drugs, I don't do
drugs, but you never know.
You never know.
And this is so simple, so free.
You know I was talking tosomebody, you know, with pain
(44:21):
medication, abuse and everythingthat's happened in the.
Why this is free is, if youguys understand, is there was
all those settlements right?
Speaker 4 (44:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
So the people who created this problem are now
helping to fix this problem andwe are the vessel to help fix
this problem.
Speaker 4 (44:37):
Yeah, wow, yeah.
So if anybody is interested inthis, you said that people can
pick up kits and stuff like that, but what are some other ways
that people can become moreinformed about this?
What are some things that theycan do to become more aware and
maybe be involved in in helpingwith this problem in the
community?
Speaker 2 (44:56):
So you know there's a couple of ways.
One is inside the kits or inaddition to the kits you can get
fentanyl test strips.
There's a lot of fake drugs outthere.
Um, I am so worried about youknow and mom dad don't listen
you know we experimentation andthings.
(45:16):
You know there's it's not safeout there yeah, right and so we
offer fentanyl test strips tomake sure whatever you're
getting isn't, uh, fake or lacedwith fentanyl, and that, I
think, is really, reallyimportant, especially if you're
going off the grid yeah, yeahsecond of all, get rid of the
drugs in your medicine cabinet.
(45:37):
You are not a pharmacist, youare not a doctor If you are
prescribed something for thatparticular issue and that issue
is gone get rid of it.
We have drug take-back programs.
In the pharmacy there's a bin.
You might say oh well, maybe Ineed that pill one day.
You don't know who's going tobe in your house and take those
(45:59):
pills.
So that's another one.
And um, just train yourself onnarcan.
Any human can do it.
It doesn't take a lot.
There's a good samaritan law incalifornia.
You're not going to get introuble.
You can't hurt anybody and thegood samaritan law protects you
that if you're trying to helpsomebody who's in need, you're
(46:21):
protected.
So don't worry, I'm going tostand back and watch this person
overdose.
If you have the capability tohelp them.
And that's that's why we wantto get the information out there
, because I think so many peopleare scared or taboo about any
of these topics and you knowI'll put a plug in for my
pharmacist that's I've beentrying to bring this kind of
(46:42):
awareness to all of mypharmacies and my staff to say,
look, somebody comes in, they'recoming and they need help,
don't judge them.
We did it, even a needleexchange program about a year
and a half ago, and first mypharmacist like I don't want
these drug addicts in mypharmacy and I said don't judge.
Speaker 5 (47:02):
You don't know what somebody's going through.
Speaker 2 (47:04):
And it was very successful because they were
opening a conversation.
So keep that conversation withyour healthcare professional.
Speaker 4 (47:11):
That's great.
That's great.
Well, thank you for doing thatand thank you for raising the
awareness.
For me and for the community.
That's great.
Jasmine, thank you so much forbeing on the podcast and thank
you for your support, yourencouragement, I do think of.
I think oftentimes when I'mfeeling weary and exhausted from
(47:33):
and I'm kind of overreacting, Iguess, a little bit, but in the
moments where I'm gettingfrustrated about like what is it
that I need to cut and what isit worth it, and there are
things that you've said over thelast couple of years that have
just encouraged me and kind ofkept me going.
So I appreciate your supportand your encouragement regarding
the podcast and now, it's beena great joy to have you as a
(47:54):
guest on the podcast.
So thank you for being herewith me today.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (47:59):
This episode was hosted and produced by Ricky B.
I'm Gary Williams, andrew Kvetis the editor.
Scheduling and pre-interviewsby Sarah S.
Be sure to subscribe whereverit is that you listen so you
don't miss an episode.
You can find everything we make, the podcast and all of our
social media links atthefremontpodcastcom.
(48:20):
Join us next week on theFremont Podcast.
Speaker 5 (48:25):
This is a Muggins Media Podcast.
You.
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