Posted by Larry Booth on Oct 13, 2022
President Christopher Wiseman (Nonprofit Management | Glaucoma Research Foundation) called the meeting to order at 12:15 PM and welcomed everyone attending via Zoom or in person inside the Anzu Restaurant at the Hotel Nikko. He began the meeting with some fun facts about inflation.
 
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Today's Visiting Rotarians were Werner Sattleger from the Rotary Club of Klagenfurt in Austria attending in person and Carol Hunter from a Rotary e-club in Toronto attending via Zoom. Other guests were Gio Franco, former Club member Esther Landau, Zenna Burge, and today's speaker - Gary Schlossberg.
 
Meeting Volunteers
President Christopher thanked today's meeting volunteers (listed at the end of this story).
 
Club Calendar and Events for Rotarians
Check the Club's calendar for upcoming meetings and events for the balance of October 2022 and into November 2022.
 
Past and Upcoming Opportunities
The Blue Angels viewing party was fogged in, but the party continued in the sunny confines of the Academy of Art University building with great food and friends.
 
Past President Casey Blair and President Christopher at the Blue Angels Viewing Party
 
45 guests have already signed up for the fashion show on October 18, 2022! President Christopher reminded all to register as well for this special event!
 
President-Elect Sunny Singh (Financial Services: Advising | PK Wealth Management) talked about the Business After Hours event with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce on October 19, 2022. The first 25 members of the Rotary Club of San Francisco get in for free; contact President-Elect Sunny for the promo code.  
 
Grant Presentation
President Christopher on behalf of the San Francisco Rotary Foundation (SFRF) awarded a $10,000 grant to The Arc San Francisco. Accepting were Barbara Streett (Nonprofit Administration | The Arc San Francisco), Clifford Phillips (The Arc San Francisco), Zenna Burge, Esther Landau, and Carol Hunter. Carol was recognized for her service as a volunteer at The Arc SF and as a mentor to Clifford.
 
The $10,000 SFRF grant will help The Arc SF's mission to provide life skills, education, and employment services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Clifford delivered a heartfelt thank you for our volunteer and monetary support. Club members who volunteer regularly at The ARC SF are Larry Booth (Engineering: Mechanical | Frank M. Booth, Inc.), Christopher Davies (Real Estate: Property Management | Self-employed), Bob Hermann (Information Technology: Administration | Retired UCSF), and Eric Schmautz (Banking: Management | Wells Fargo). 
 
It's back! Mark November 22, 2022 on your calendar when our Club will hold an in-person Thanksgiving at The Arc San Francisco. After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, we are all looking forward to this Club tradition.
 
Tim Hornbecker, Clifford Phillips, and Barbara Streett
Tim Hornbecker, Clifford Phillips, and Barbara Streett
 
Member Moment
Vice President of Vocational Services Wendy Shew (Nonprofit Administration | Building Education) remarked that while her professional career is mainly abroad, she is honored to serve our Club locally. Wendy invited us to her next Gala fundraiser. Please contact Wendy Shew for more information. 
 
 
2023-2025 Board Positions Open
Nominations are being accepted for the following positions to begin on July 1, 2023 for a two-year term:
  • President-Elect who will serve as Club President in 2024-2025
  • Club Service Vice President
  • Public Relations Vice President
  • Treasurer
  • Secretary
  • Vocational Services Vice President
  • Youth Services Vice President.
If interested, please contact President-Elect Sunny.
 
Andrés VeraWiki Education's Mission
Back from his tour of Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon, Andrés Vera (Entertainment | Self-employed) spoke on the mission of Wiki Education to enlist more diverse authors and scholars from the university systems to increase the body of available knowledge for disparate communities around the world.
 
$20 for Twenty Seconds
  • Rhonda Poppen (Grant Writing | GRANTdog) donated to thank Jeff Lerner (Retail: Home Improvement | Floorcraft) for an excellent floor installation job. Tim Hornbecker (Nonprofit Management | Retired, The Arc CA) joined to thank Jeff for an excellent carpet installation. All in all, this was a great example of a Rotarian helping other Rotarians, and a win for all.
  • Mary Liu (Real Estate: Sales | JM Real Estate Group) donated to thank Rachel Donovan (Engineering: Civil | California Department of Transportation) for Rachel's generous donation to Alliance for Smiles
  • Anita Stangl (Medical Services | Alliance for Smiles) donated to share that she had lost two beloved cats, but has acquired two new cats to train.
  • Andrés Vera donated to thank everyone for attending today's meeting.
  • John Mathers (Management Consulting | eVo Associates) donated to share that actor Richard Gere or a representative of Mr. Gere will speak at the next RCAT forum.
  • Jeff Yih (Retired) donated to thank Anita Stangl for being his mentor.
  • Larry Booth donated to comment on President Christopher's observation that gas cost just $.22 in 1922. Today, the price of gas is $5.82; so, we are not so bad off after all.
Guest Speaker
Allan Herzog (Financial Services: Advising | Wells Fargo Advisors) introduced today's guest speaker - Gary Schlossberg. Gary is a global strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII), a subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and is responsible for identifying global macroeconomic and political trends, their impacts on financial markets, and their potential opportunities and risks for investment portfolios. He joined us via Zoom and spoke very clearly about inflation, interest rates, and the economy. Gary was optimistic that the core inflation rate would be dropping by next spring to a range of 2-4%. To get there, we will suffer a recession. Currently, the inflation rate is at a 40-year high, but the shocks that were caused are going away. Housing and rents are dropping due to slower household formations, and commodities and labor supply are moving back into sustainable levels.
 
President Christopher thanked Gary Schlossberg and announced that 100 children would be inoculated against polio in his name.
 
 
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.
 
 
Editor's Note: Thank you to Larry Booth for serving as scribe; to Jim Patrick (Retail: Office Supplies | Patrick & Co.) for serving as photographer; to John Mathers 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 Bill Poppen (Banking: Management | MUFG Union Bank) for serving as greeter; to Mary Liu for managing those who were attending via Zoom; and to Robin Azevedo (Retail: Mattresses | Retired, McRoskey Mattress Company) for doing check-in at the Hotel Nikko. Thank you also to David Dye (Management Consulting | Retired) for his notes and images while attending this meeting via Zoom.