Posted by Alisha Marfatia on Feb 16, 2022
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 Rotarian and Special Guest
Today's visiting Rotarian was Ozan Yasavur from Ankara Bahcelievler Rotary Club. Our guests were Aida Jones and Todd St. Vrain.
 
Semi-Annual Club Assembly
We gathered at today's Semi-Annual Club Assembly to hear from Board members on what our Club has accomplished so far this Rotary year and what is being planned for the near future.
 
Board Presentations
Bob HermannCOMMUNITY SERVICE: Bob Hermann (Information Technology: Administration | Retired UCSF) explained how our Club's community service activities are about fun, fellowship, and changing lives. In the past two years, we have had to pivot activities to make them COVID-19 safe. Bob was pleased to announce that no one has caught COVID from any of our Club's community service activities.

Our usual projects have been donating socks to the police department, helping at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, assembling essential items for Catholic Charities, delivering meals for The Arc, and bell ringing with the Salvation Army for the first time in two years this past December. We have also brought back our big events such as the annual Bike Build and Emergency Services Day (scheduled for March 8, 2022).

New projects have included working with Huckleberry Youth Programs to combat human trafficking and handing out personal alarms to prevent violence against Asian American seniors.

Our Foundation awarded $88,000 to fund community service projects this past year. RCAT is working on a grant for Sutro Stewards/Rotary Meadow. 
 
Ed ShenkanINTERNATIONAL SERVICE: Eric Schmautz (Banking: Management | Wells Fargo) presented on behalf of Ed Shenkan (Healthcare Consulting | Shenkan Advisors), Vice President of International Service. Ed is working with the Centennial Circle of Rotary clubs to figure out what partnership opportunities there are. If anyone is interested in helping, please reach out to Ed.
 
Four grants were funded in the past year: two for Alliance for Smiles; one for clean drinking water in India, sanitation, and sanitation education; and one for the Conference to accelerate international projects around Rotary’s Focus Areas. Eric went on to explain an upcoming presentation by Ryan Rowe and to be moderated by Eric himself on how Rotary developed the Haiti National Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Initiative (HANWASH), an inspiring and audacious multi-stakeholder effort to deliver safely-managed and sustainable water and sanitation for every household in Haiti. Rotary played a leadership role in developing this multibillion dollar initiative. The Accelerator Working Group is hosting several speakers to better understand how Rotary projects of scale have grown. 
 
Lisa ChristianYOUTH SERVICES: Lisa Christian (Development), Vice President of Youth Services, talked about the three Interact clubs that our Club sponsors. Interact projects to date have included virtual scarf making for the homeless, individual community service projects, and participation in World Polio Day. Cecile Chiquette (Accounting | Fiduciary Administration) is working on a scholarship for Interactors.
 
The two Rotaract clubs that our Club sponsors now have over 60 members. Activities to date have included Rotaract participation in our Club's community service projects and World Polio Day. Going forward, Rotaractors will participate in an Action Leadership Program with Students (ALPS) project. Speaking of ALPS, there were 12 unique projects last year, but halfway through this year, there have already been 12 projects. Don't forget the ALPS Gala scheduled for April 1, 2022.
 
200 students participated virtually last year in Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp. This year, the camp will be five days and in person. Lisa is looking for help with coaching at the live camp. If interested, please contact Lisa. Everyone is invited to the campfire celebration. 
 
Nancy GraydonMEMBERSHIP: Nancy Graydon (Development | Glaucoma Research Foundation), Vice President of Membership, produced the following statistics:  14 new members since July 1, 2021, 3 new members to be inducted in March 2022, and 49 candidates in the pipeline. She thanked everyone for the referrals.

Miranti OjongDEVELOPMENT: Dan Joraanstad (Financial Services: Advising | Retired), President of the San Francisco Rotary Foundation, presented on behalf of Miranti Ojong (Financial Services: Advising | Team Armada), Vice President of Development. $7,500 was raised during the Super Bowl Pool that will go toward the 50/50 Campaign. To date, $65,000 for the 50/50 Campaign has been collected, and another $71,500 has been pledged. Our Club has donated over $2 million to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.
 
Grants Season: It is time to apply for grants again. For more information, go here. There are $189,000 from the San Francisco Rotary Foundation and $30,000 in District Designated Funds available for funding.

Sunny SinghVOCATIONAL SERVICE: Sunny Singh (Financial Services: Advising | PK Wealth Management), Vice President of Vocational Service, talked about the five events held so far this Rotary year, including the networking social at the Hotel Nikko with representatives from SCORE and the event at President Mary's office where professional headshots were offered and taken. Sunny thanked his Committee for its support. Coming up will be another social event in either March or April 2022, an opportunity to work with students from the San Francisco Unified School District on April 13, 2022 to help them learn about investing, and the grading of Pathways presentations on April 14, 2022 where nine volunteers are still needed. Contact Sunny if you are interested, and check back on Grindings or on the Club calendar for details on any of these upcoming events.
 
Brian LanPUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS: Brian Lan (Information Technology: Financial Services | DocuSign), Vice President of PR and Communications, has been bringing back all of the forms of communication that our Club had used previously, including social media. He thanked Dan Davies (Information Technology: Consulting | North American Lighting) and J. Padilla for their help.
 
Michael PetriccaCLUB SERVICE: Michael Petricca (Education Management | Academy of Art), Vice President of Club Service, gave a shout-out to the Academy of Art for its generous support of our Club and Rotary. Not only did the Academy of Art provide the space for our recent Super Bowl Party, but Greg Grundstrom from the Academy of Art was also on site to help with the set-up and take-down. The Academy of Art has generously provided technical support for our Club's luncheons. David Dye (Management Consulting | Retired) and the Interactors are currently working on an event to be held at The Academy of Art's building in the Cannery. Rhonda Poppen (Grant Writing | GRANTdog) and Rotary District 5150 are holding the 2022 District Conference at The Academy of Art location in Union Square.
 
Gary DalesTREASURER'S REPORT:  Gary Dales (Accounting | Fly Leasing), Club Treasurer, discussed how the COVID-19 lockdown reduced our expenses. Our income continued to grow, because members continued to pay dues. In the past year, our Club had to find a new lunch venue since the former location remains shuttered. The lunch expenses have gone up 50%, and ironically, the low in-person attendance at Club luncheons has helped us financially. Gary projects that our Club will have a deficit between $10K and $12K. Currently, there remains $100K in cash.
 
Stacey PooleSECRETARY'S REPORT: Stacey Poole (Law: Family | Lerner Poole & Stewart, LLP), Club Secretary, has been working on Club forms and preparing Board minutes. She also leads the social activities for our Club. Coming soon will be an opportunity to hear Peter Logan's (Law: Insurance | Peter Logan Law Offices) band play, to visit the Escape Room that had been postponed, and to tour the Walt Disney Museum at the Presidio.
 
Club Survey
The balance of the meeting was spent on discussing the results of the recent Club Survey.
 
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.
 
 
 
 
Editor's Note: Thank you to Alisha Marfatia (Information Technology: E-Commerce | EvolveWare) for serving as scribe at this meeting; to Dan Davies for serving as photographer; to Alex Omoko (Human Services | Bay Area Community Service) for managing the microphone; to Margaret Miley (Hospitality: Hotels | Retired) for collecting lunch tickets; to Jessie Austin of the Academy of Art University for managing the audio-visual equipment during our in-person meeting; to Scott Plakun (Management Consulting | The Plakun Group) for managing those who were attending via Zoom; to John Mathers (Management Consulting | eVo Associates) for doing check-in at the Hotel Nikko; and to Gary Dales for serving as cashier.