After serving as President of his Rotary Club and District Governor of his District, both in the Seattle area, Terry Pickering could have rested on his laurels. Instead, when he joined the Rotary Club of San Francisco in July 2019, he immediately got involved and will serve on the Board as Membership Vice President in 2020-2022.
“I was a terribly shy person,” he says, “and Rotary has given me the ability, both personally and professionally, in large and small groups, to help others.”
Terry was born in Los Angeles and moved at the age of seven to Vashon Island in the greater Seattle area. After graduating from Central Washington State University with a focus on finance and music, he began his career in banking with Wells Fargo on the San Francisco Peninsula. Over his 42-year banking career, he also worked for First Interstate Bank, Manufacturer’s Bank and Barclays Bank. He recently retired as senior vice president and commercial banking manager with Banner Bank in Bellevue, WA.
Ten years into his banking career, Terry went back to school at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Adult Extension Program in oboe performance. He also just retired after a 25-year career as a professional oboe and English horn player for two regional orchestras in the Seattle area, the Bellevue Philharmonic and the Tacoma Symphony.
He and his partner of 29 years, Steve, moved to the Bay Area in February 2018 and live in Walnut Creek with their two rescue cats, Barkley and Mr. Biggs. Terry quips that they are “cat-owned.” They love to travel internationally and are looking forward to a rebooked trip to New Zealand and Australia that was canceled because of the pandemic. Terry notes that trip will “cross off all the continents.”
“The most amazing place I ever visited was Antarctica,” he says. “It’s out-of-this-world beautiful, absolutely breathtaking. On the ship going around Cape Horn: no waves, no wind, clear blue skies – unbelievably beautiful. Also, the seal life – magical, just magical, just incredible.”
Terry joined the Seattle International District Club in 2001, serving as Vocational Service Chair, then as Club President in 2005-6. He was a district trainer and served as an Assistant District Governor for four years, then as District Governor for District 5030 in 2015-16, which he calls “a wonderful opportunity.”
Since joining the Rotary Club of San Francisco almost a year ago, Terry has jumped right in. He’s helped host the Club’s Zoom cocktail parties at 5PM on Sundays. And he has developed a “concise and thorough” strategic plan for his two-year term on the Board that focuses on strengthening the Club by attracting new members, engaging all members, providing learning and development, developing leaders, and providing support and relevant feedback to Club leadership. Today, functioning under COVID-19 impact can be and has been challenging. The membership committee will focus on innovation and flexibility to help move the Rotary Club of San Francisco forward.