President Rhonda Poppen welcomed visiting Rotarians from Germany, Guatemala, India and Japan. We also had several family members in attendance, including the parents of Bill Poppen (Banking Management; MUFG Union Bank) as well as guests from the Salvation Army.
Rhonda announced several upcoming events including:
- Rotary 101 for new and prospective members after the luncheon
- Interact D5150 Training on 10/28 from 10am - 2:30pm at the Bay Model Visitor Center
- Golden Gate Tap Room Mingle (Costumes Optional) on 10/30 from 6-8pm
- Thanksgiving at The Arc on 11/20
- Lilian Tsi-Stielstra (Insurance Services; Wells Fargo Advisors) will host a holiday party with ugly sweaters, potluck, and gifts on 11/28
- Salvation Army Bell Ringing on 12/7 at Union Square
- Holiday Party and 110th Anniversary Celebration on 12/18
Rhonda noted that World Polio Day is on 10/24, which commemorates Jonas Salk and the team that developed the vaccine to cure the disease. She noted that our Club’s 2018-2019 giving goal to The Rotary Foundation is $40,000.
Rhonda also reiterated the Club’s recent $25,000 grant to the Youth Leadership program from our own San Francisco Rotary Foundation to help students with leadership training. The program has also received a grant from District 5150.
Rhonda also reiterated the Club’s recent $25,000 grant to the Youth Leadership program from our own San Francisco Rotary Foundation to help students with leadership training. The program has also received a grant from District 5150.
For today’s member spotlight, Rhonda invited one of our newest members, Mark Ennis (Asset Management; The OpenKey Group), to speak. Mark shared briefly about his family life and personal background. He made an emotional appeal to help those suffering from mental illness, noting that he himself had been previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Mark is excited by the support he has received from Rotary and looks forward to the meetings.Those giving $20 or more included:
- Anita Stangl (Non-profit Medical Services; Alliance for Smiles) and Allison Healy (Non-profit Medical Services; Alliance for Smiles), who were excited about their recent trip to Shanghai and Beijing, where they met with partners to establish medical missions for next year.
- John Mathers (Management Consulting; eVo Associates), who congratulated Robin Azevedo (Mattress Manufacturing; McRoskey Mattress Company) on the sale of her mattress manufacturing company, which has been a family business in San Francisco since 1899. He also provided an update on the Gold Miners Ball and is seeking corporate contacts at Levi Strauss and Ghirardelli (companies that were in existence during the Gold Rush).
Today’s speaker is a Rotary favorite, John Rothmann, KGO 810 radio talk show host and political commentator. John shared his thoughts on the 2018 Midterm Elections as well as other current events. John made several election observations and predicted the possible political impacts. Given his Middle East specialty, he also discussed current Saudi Arabia-US relations in the aftermath of the Jamal Khashoggi scandal. Finally, John answered several questions from Club members regarding political topics.Today’s door prize winner, Esther Lerner (Law - Family; Lerner-Poole), received Kona Coffee grown by Harold Hoogasian (Florist - Retail; Hoogasian Flowers).
Photos and editing by Scott Plakun (IT Consulting; The Plakun Group)