Posted by Brian Lan on Jan 24, 2019
More than 70 members and guests attended today's meeting, including visiting Rotarians from Tokyo and several local clubs.

President Rhonda welcomed everyone back for the new year. She shared photos from last week's New Member Event on January 8 and thanked Deborah Wakefield (Concierge Senior Care and Family Support) for hosting, and Anita Stangl (Non-profit Medical Services; Alliance for Smiles) and Daniel Joraanstad (Financial Management; Retired) for coordinating.
Today's Member Spotlight was on new member Angela Warren (Attorney-Real Estate Investor; Warren Law Firm). Angela shared her personal story and how she transitioned from working as a lobbyist and then in technology before landing in her current role as an immigration attorney. Angela expressed how meaningful it was to be able to help young immigrant women (such as those from El Salvador) with their issues. She decided to join Rotary because she found her true calling in being of service to others. She looks forward to meeting more members of the Club.
 
January's Rotarian of the Month is Mark Enis (Asset Management; OpenKey Group). In addition to being a very active member of the Club, Mark has helped to collect clothes and other accessories for Catholic Charities, and has also agreed to be the Club's District Liaison to help work with young professionals. Rhonda awarded Mark a signature Rotary pin and backpack.
 
President Rhonda invited John Mathers (Management Consulting; eVo Associates) to launch the annual Super Bowl Pool, benefiting The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International (TRF). John discussed TRF's six areas of focus and our Club's goal of raising $40,000 for TRF in the 2018-2019 year, including $20,000 from the Super Bowl Pool. Each winner of the Pool will receive a Paul Harris Fellowship. Over thirty members agreed to participate in the Pool, donating more than $7,000 in this first Super Bowl Pool solicitation.
 
Those donating $20 or more for other reasons included:
  • Luis Moran (Financial Management; Retired), who announced that he helped Rhonda and Bill Poppen (Banking Management; MUFG Union Bank) get their new home in Nob Hill last month, and that their old home on Jackson Street will soon be on the market.
  • Jim Patrick (Office Supplies; Patrick & Co.), who shared that his grandson-in-law was recently accepted to attend the Air Force Academy.
  • John Hoch (Financial Management; Retired), who is happy to be back after recovering from surgery on his leg, and especially glad to be able to rejoin the Rotary Twilight Golf Tournament.
  • Mark Calendar (Insurance Broker; Calender-Robinson), who shared the upcoming annual Dictionary Plating event on 1/23/19 at Hoogasian Flowers. The dictionaries will be distributed to local third graders.
  • Tom Brunner (Non-profit Research; Glaucoma Research Foundation), who announced that as of this morning he is now the proud grandparent of a baby girl. His son David and daughter-in-law Mallory are doing well.
  • Skip Brewster, who shared his work with the AARP and announced that they are offering free tax services.
President Rhonda, President-Elect Casey Blair (Foreign Equity Trading; Feis Options), and President-Elect Nominee JT Forbus (Accounting Services; Bogdan & Frasco) reviewed the State of the Club by looking back at the Club's performance against goals in 2018 as well as where the Club will go forward in 2019. Rhonda noted that the Club's 2018-2019 goals were to:
 
  1. Have fun while doing service programs.
  2. Focus equally on those served and those who are serving.
  3. Engage organically with every member multiple times monthly.
Based on our achievements from 2018, Rhonda believes we have been successful in meeting all three goals. Rhonda then introduced President-Elect Casey and President-Elect Nominee JT, who made a special Disney-inspired entrance. Casey and JT discussed the Club's current status with an in-depth look at membership, finances, and leadership. Looking ahead, JT shared several upcoming Club events for 2019:
 
  • 1/23 - Dictionary Plating
  • 1/31 - Mix and Mingle at the Academy of Art Auto Museum
  • 2/12 - Emergency Services Day
  • 2/22 - St. Ignatius Interact Club Charter Celebration
  • 3/19 - Annual Worldwide Rotary Day
  • 4/20 - Annual Bike Build.
Today's Door Prize was won by Mark Enis! He received a Fitbit watch courtesy of JT Forbus.
 
 
Photos by Alison Healy (Non-profit Medical Services; Alliance for Smiles).
Edited by Scott Plakun (Management Consulting; The Plakun Group)