President Mary Liu (Real Estate: Sales | JM Real Estate Group) called the meeting to order at 12:15 PM and welcomed everyone attending either online or in person inside the Anzu Restaurant.
Visiting Rotarians and Special Guests
Today's visiting Rotarians were District Governor Nominee Designate Nancy Anderson from the Rotary Club of Seabrook in Texas and her guest, Robert Anderson; Joel Valdez from the Rotary Club of Manila; and Paul Vazquez from the Rotary Club of San Francisco Evening. Our guests were Todd St Vrain, Jean Rosenblum, and Colant Scholar Isabella Godillo. ALPS Program Manager Harmony Ma joined the meeting via Zoom.
Upcoming Events
Please check the Club Calendar for upcoming events and registration. President Mary also encouraged everyone to participate in the District Conference on May 14, 2022.
Please check the Club Calendar for upcoming events and registration. President Mary also encouraged everyone to participate in the District Conference on May 14, 2022.
Weekly Recap
12th Root of Two: The audience enjoyed a video of Peter Logan (Law: Insurance | Peter Logan Law Offices) on the drums with his band, 12th Root of Two, at the recent Club social on April 6, 2022. If you missed the performance, you missed a great show.
Rotary Day of Service: Todd St Vrain delivered a recap on San Francisco County's Rotary Day of Service at Heron’s Head Park in the Bayview on April 9, 2022. Stephanie Schmautz (Elder Care and Senior Services | The Carlisle) and her Committee had organized a morning of Bay cleanup followed by an afternoon with an Eco Car Show and an Environmental Exhibitor Fair. Eric Schmautz (Banking: Management | Wells Fargo) and his team put together a delicious lunch for all participants. The event included the presentation of a Paul Harris pin to San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton of District 10 for his many efforts to better the lives of the residents of his District.
Completion of Red Badge
Wendy Shew (Nonprofit Administration | Building Education) completed her Red Badge requirements in record time. She had just joined our Club on March 1, 2022. David Dye (Management Consulting | Retired), Wendy's mentor, relieved Wendy of her red ribbon. Wendy’s immediate involvement in Club projects is impressive.
Wendy Shew (Nonprofit Administration | Building Education) completed her Red Badge requirements in record time. She had just joined our Club on March 1, 2022. David Dye (Management Consulting | Retired), Wendy's mentor, relieved Wendy of her red ribbon. Wendy’s immediate involvement in Club projects is impressive.
Celebrating Our Beneficiaries
Dan Joraanstad (Financial Services: Advising | Retired), current president of the San Francisco Rotary Foundation (SFRF) and today's Master of Ceremonies, explained how our Club and SFRF are two separate legal entities working in concert. He showcased what the successful partnership of SFRF and our Club had produced in the past year. SFRF’s 4% annual distribution of endowed funds this past year amounted to $191,000 supporting 19 projects.
Dan Joraanstad (Financial Services: Advising | Retired), current president of the San Francisco Rotary Foundation (SFRF) and today's Master of Ceremonies, explained how our Club and SFRF are two separate legal entities working in concert. He showcased what the successful partnership of SFRF and our Club had produced in the past year. SFRF’s 4% annual distribution of endowed funds this past year amounted to $191,000 supporting 19 projects.
The 50/50 Campaign for the past two years has sent funds to SFRF and to The Rotary Foundation (TRF), our international foundation. Miranti Ojong (Financial Services: Advising | Team Armada), Vice President of Development, reported that the current 2021/2022 campaign to date has reached $115,078 directing $52,628 to SFRF and $62,450 to TRF. Some pledges are yet to be received and counted; so, look for yet higher numbers.
Next, the following beneficiaries shared what was made possible by our Club's partnership with SFRF:
Lynn Luckow (Development | LikeMinded.org), RYLA Executive Director, announced the week-long rather than weekend RYLA camp that will serve 220 students in August 2022. This camp was started 37 years ago by Jim Patrick (Retail: Office Supplies | Patrick & Co.). Volunteers for this year's RYLA Camp are needed.
ALPS Program Manager Harmony Ma talked about the continued growth of ALPS and the development of leadership skills in both coaches and youth. Dan Davies (Information Technology: Consulting | North American Lighting) shared his experience as a Leadership Coach with ALPS. It was an intimidating task, but the training he had received served him and his leaders well.
David Dye, a USF Rotaract Advisor, shared how Rotaract transformed youth from shyness to self-confidence.
Lisa Christian (Development), Vice President of Youth Services, talked about how Interact helped high school students to discover leadership skills that they didn’t know they had!
The future is in our young people, and all of the above efforts help to develop the future.
Sunny Singh (Financial Services: Advising | PK Wealth Management), Vice President of Vocational Service, reported on a series of networking efforts that not only promoted Rotary Means Business but enhanced networking skills.
Jeff Lerner (Retail: Home Improvement | Floorcraft), Vice President of Club Service, talked about his class for SFUSD students to teach them how start-ups raise capital.
Jessica Hansen (Nonprofit Management | Alliance for Smiles), Executive Director of Alliance for Smiles (AfS), reported on their February 2022 trip to Guatemala where 40 children received life changing surgery. AfS delivers a virtual educational program directed to local medical teams.
Bob Hermann (Information Technology: Administration | Retired UCSF), Vice President of Community Service, discussed 11 community service projects in the 2021-2022 Rotary year. He shared a list of thirteen words that come to Rotarians’ minds when working on projects, such as TRUST, FELLOWSHIP, and HAVING FUN!
Andrés Vera (Entertainment | Self-employed) spoke on the importance of the Rotary Climate Action Team and its efforts.
Maureen O’Shea (Governmental Relations | Retired) reported on the good work of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and the number of people it serves. The next volunteer day will be in July 2022.
Darlene Wilson (Nonprofit Administration | Catholic Charities SF) thanked the Club and SFRF for the help in filling 200 backpacks with toiletry items.
Chris Davies (Real Estate: Property Management | Self-employed) reported on the Club’s signature Bike Build project delighting 130 San Francisco children.
Matt Madsen (Nonprofit Management | The Salvation Army) described the Rotary logo as a gear that provides momentum for doing good. Matt was on the team of Rotarians that put this year’s Emergency Services Day into high gear, elevating this signature Club project.
Colant Scholar
Isabella Godillo is one of three current beneficiaries of the Colant Fund which the SFSR oversees. She is working on her Master of Public Administration degree at USF. Isabella spoke on how the Colant Scholarship has helped her to achieve her goals and thanked us for the support.
Isabella Godillo is one of three current beneficiaries of the Colant Fund which the SFSR oversees. She is working on her Master of Public Administration degree at USF. Isabella spoke on how the Colant Scholarship has helped her to achieve her goals and thanked us for the support.
Closing Remarks and a Toast
SFRF President Dan Joraanstad talked briefly about TRF and the trust factor in giving to such a reputable and long established organization. He also described how District Designated Funds (DDF) channel half of the Club’s gifts to TRF back to the Club. Dan signed off by saying that the more we do, the more we get back in the way of DDF funds which we can then invest in more projects. It will take another meeting to fully explain how to “capture” DDF funds. Stay tuned.
The meeting concluded with a champagne toast to the news that funding from the San Francisco Rotary Foundation plus DDF funds will be in the range of $220,000 up by $30,000 from the prior year. Now, that along with the far reaching impact of Club projects is something to toast!
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.
Editor's Note: Thank you to Robin Azevedo (Retail: Mattresses | McRoskey Mattress Company) for serving as scribe at this meeting; to Peter Logan for serving as photographer; to Michael Petricca (Education Management | Academy of Art) for managing the microphone; to Jessie Austin of the Academy of Art University for managing the audio-visual equipment during our in-person meeting; to Maureen O'Shea for serving as greeter; to Christopher Wiseman (Event Planning | Glaucoma Research Foundation) for managing those who were attending via Zoom; and to Jeff Lerner for doing check-in at the Hotel Nikko.