I am proud to say that Paul Nyberg was my friend.
Paul passed away at the age of 89 earlier this month.
Paul lived a life of servant leadership, wanting to make a difference in the community. He was the publisher of the Los Altos Town Crier and a community leader. He was active in Rotary, and through the Town Crier, launched Losalton of the Year, and the Town Crier Holiday Fund, which annually raises tens of thousands of dollars for local charities.
In 1995, he started an annual event called The Los Altos Community Prayer Breakfast with five other couples, which eventually became known as Connect Silicon Valley.
The Los Altos Community Prayer Breakfast was a popular event that took place on Good Friday. The goal was to highlight the power of prayer by hearing speakers — usually a man and a woman — talk about the centrality of prayer in their lives. Speakers included Adobe co-founder Chuck Geschke, and his wife, Nan, who spoke about how prayer got them through a kidnapping incident. Other speakers included State Senator Tom Campbell, Cepheid co-founder Tom Gutshall, SJ Sharks president Greg Jamieson, and venture capitalist Kevin Compton.
In 2005, Paul asked me to take over The Los Altos Community Prayer Breakfast. I asked my men’s group to join me. We regionalized the event, calling it the “Silicon Valley Prayer Breakfast.” We added events and activities, and today it is called “Connect Silicon Valley,” with a mission to encourage people to connect with God and each other and to engage in conversations about faith.
From the Los Altos Community Prayer Breakfast to Connect Silicon Valley, thousands and thousands of people have been affected by what Paul Nyberg started.
To read more about Paul, see his story in the Town Crier.
