Posted by Dora Dye on Jun 15, 2022
President Mary Liu (Real Estate: Sales | JM Real Estate Group) called the meeting to order at 12:18 PM and welcomed everyone attending either online or in person inside the Anzu Restaurant.
 
Visiting Rotarians and Special Guests
Today's Visiting Rotarians were Nick Locsin from the Rotary Club of Manila and William F. Jones from the Rotary Club of Kona Mauka in Hawaii. President-Elect Nominee Sunny Singh (Financial Services: Advising | PK Wealth Management) introduced special guests Victoria Lozano and her sister, Maria Lozano.
 
Quote of the Day
President Mary read the Quote of the Day:  "Learning never exhausts the mind." by Leonardo da Vinci. 
 
Upcoming Events
President Mary invited everyone to participate in the remaining events in June 2022. Also, see the Club Calendar for events happening in the new Rotary year beginning July 1, 2022.
 
Weekly Recap
Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) Service Project and Tour: On June 7, 2022, our Club bagged baby clothes, towels, health kits, hats, and other items for the clients of the HPP. Afterwards, Rotarians enjoyed a brief tour of the facility to better understand HPP and what it does for our community.
 
2022 Rotary International Convention: President Mary played a video showing some highlights from the Convention in Houston, Texas. Then, she invited those who attended the Convention to talk briefly about their experience. President-Elect Christopher Wiseman (Event Planning | Glaucoma Research Foundation), JT Forbus (Accounting | Bogdan & Frasco), Stephanie Schmautz (Elder Care and Senior Services | The Carlisle), John Mathers (Management Consulting | eVo Associates), and Ann Daugherty (Financial Services: Private Trading | IBN Financial Services) each took a turn to describe the experience and to encourage us to attend an RI Convention in the near future. John Mathers discussed his challenge to those who attended the Convention in Houston to pay the amount for ground transportation to RCAT. The total for ground transportation came to about $50. If each would pay that $50 to the RCAT account, RCAT can collect funds and invest in projects that make a difference in the developing world.
 
Club Picnic: President Mary shared a video and thanked everyone for the outstanding and fun picnic in her honor on June 11, 2022. President-Elect Nominee Sunny thanked all those who volunteered to help him make the picnic possible.
 
 
Rotarian of the Month
President Mary recognized John Dean (Education: Law | Dean Dispute Resolution) as the Rotarian of the Month for June 2022. John was nominated and approved by our Board for his service as Lowell High School's Interact Advisor as well as his behind-the-scene work in both Youth Services and Youth Leadership. Congratulations and thank you to John!
Next, our Club celebrated all of the Rotarians of the Month for the 2021-2022 Rotary year. A drawing involving the Rotarians of the Month for this past year was held, and the winner was Bill Poppen (Banking: Management | MUFG Union Bank) who received 1,000 Paul Harris points. Congratulations to Bill and to all of this year's Rotarians of the Month!
 
 
Rotary Flag Exchange
Wendy Shew (Nonprofit Administration | Building Education) recently returned from Nepal. While there, she had visited the Rotary Club of Kathmandu and brought back a Rotary flag to exchange with President Mary. 
 
 
New Member Inducted
President Mary and our Vice President of Membership Nancy Graydon (Development | Glaucoma Research Foundation) inducted Mary Fermi (Education | Retired) as the newest member of the Rotary Club of San Francisco. Mary is a retired Science teacher who had also worked in both the biotech and healthcare industries before she became a teacher. As a member of Rotary, she is eager to work with youth, on environmental projects to reverse the effects of climate change, and on ways to alleviate the problem of maternal mortality and morbidity in the U.S. Mary looks forward to being among a diverse group of like-minded, productive people committed to making the world a better place by positively impacting the world at the individual level. Her mentor is Dora Dye (Education: Elementary and Community College). Welcome, Mary Fermi! 
 
 
Red Badges Completed
Jenny K Campbell (Educational Services | JennyKCampbell.com) completed her Red Badge requirements and was relieved of her red ribbon on her name badge with the help of Bill Poppen. Later in the meeting, Larry Booth (Engineering: Mechanical | Frank M. Booth, Inc.) celebrated the removal of his red ribbon on his name badge with his mentor, President-Elect Nominee Sunny.
 
Rotary District 5150 Club Excellence Awards
Our Club won all nine awards this year. These were Club Administration, Community Service, International Service, Vocational Service, Youth Service, Foundation, Membership, and Public Relations and Public Image. President Mary recognized the Board members leading the efforts to achieve these awards. This year, our Club also won the prestigious Best Club award.
 
 
Certificate of Recognition
President Mary honored each member attending in person today as well as those who were attending via Zoom. Each received a certificate that read in part, ". . . In grateful recognition of your participation to serve to change lives in support of our club service projects, committees, and club activities."
 
Share Your Good News ($20 for Twenty Seconds)
The following shared in today's $20 for Twenty Seconds: 
  • Anita Stangl (Medical Services | Alliance for Smiles) donated to honor President Mary.
  • John Mathers donated to honor President Mary and also recognized President Mary for putting together a team at the Rotary International Convention in Houston. Each team member wore a vest, and about 10 people asked John where the bathrooms were.
  • Lynn Luckow (Development | LikeMinded.org) donated to announce his plan to lose one pound per week for a total of 30 lbs.
  • Jianying Chen (Healthcare: Acupuncture | American Institute of Zhizhen Therapy and New Qigong) donated to thank President Mary for earning Best Club in District 5150.
  • John Hoch (Financial Services: Advising | Retired) made two donations: one to thank President Mary and the other to celebrate President-Elect Christopher.
  • JT Forbus donated to thank President Mary for serving as travel agent to and from Houston.
  • Jenny Campbell donated to celebrate the fantastic year of her sister, President Mary.
  • Dan Joraanstad (Financial Services: Advising | Retired) donated to congratulate Luis Moran (Real Estate: Sales | Coldwell Banker) who will be President of the San Francisco Rotary Foundation beginning July 1, 2022. Dan gave his vest to Jesse Austin.
  • Lisa Christian (Development) donated to announce changes involving ALPS and to thank Harmony Ma.
  • Luis Moran made three donations: one to celebrate our Best Club award from District 5150, the next to celebrate his partnership with Blaire Jahn, and the last one to celebrate his involvement in DEI and plans to march in this year's PRIDE parade.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:29 p.m.
 
 
Editor's Note: Thank you to Dora Dye for serving as scribe at this meeting; to Bill Poppen for serving as photographer; to Jim Patrick (Retail: Office Supplies | Patrick & Co.) for managing the microphone; to Jesse Austin of the Academy of Art University for managing the audio-visual equipment during our in-person meeting; to John Mathers, Nancy Graydon, and Jenny Campbell for serving as greeters; to Scott Plakun (Management Consulting | The Plakun Group) for managing those who were attending via Zoom; and to Larry Booth and JT Forbus for doing check-in at the Hotel Nikko.