Posted by Stacey Poole and Dora Dye on Dec 17, 2021
The Rotary Club of San Francisco’s Holiday Party and Annual Meeting were held on December 14, 2021 at the Hotel Nikko. Members and guests were welcomed starting at 11:00 AM to fellowship, a photo booth, and a chance to spin the Rotary wheel to win a prize before the meeting moved to the main dining room.
 
President Mary Liu (Real Estate: Sales | JM Real Estate Group) welcomed and reminded everyone of her eight goals for the year:  
  • hold a successful weekly hybrid meeting. (This has been accomplished.)
  • increase membership by 25 new members. (We have inducted 15 new members so far.)
  • encourage new service projects for grant funding.
  • raise $100,000 for the 50/50 Campaign. (We have raised $108,112 so far.)
  • earn District 5150's Best Club award. (We are only at 44% toward this goal.)
  • continue our work with diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • collaborate with other Rotary clubs and organizations.
  • have fun.
In attendance were several Past District Governors including PDG Ron Gin, PDG Eric Schmautz (Banking: Management | Wells Fargo), PDG Bill Koefoed, and PDG Peter Lagarias (Law: Franchise | Lagarias, Napell & Dillon). Also present were our current Assistant Governor Liz Mark and District Governor Nominee Laine Hendricks (Public Relations and Marketing | County of Marin). Past presidents of our Club attending in the room or online were also formally recognized. Special guests were Zeke Ramsell of SF Travel, Diane Laster from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Elisa Stephens of the Academy of Art University. 

Throughout the meeting, President Mary awarded a variety of raffle prizes which included gift cards, Rotary prize packs, and a lunch with the fire department. Winners included: Karen Schmautz, Paul Robertson (Real Estate: Sales | Keller Williams San Francisco), John Mathers (Management Consulting | eVo Associates), Alex Omoko (Human Services | Bay Area Community Service), Gary Dales (Accounting | Fly Leasing), Jane Flout (Nonprofit Management | Catholic Charities), Kathleen Ramsey, Csongor Czezar (Information Technology: Computer Science), Fred Marschner (Financial Services | Northwestern Mutual) who won two times, JT Forbus (Accounting | Bogdan & Frasco), Christian Kuhn (Peace Building | Roots of Peace) and Kevin Waldeck (Financial Services: Private Trading | Morgan Stanley Investment Management).

Next, President Mary introduced members of the San Francisco Firefighters Union #798. The firefighters spoke about the volunteer work that they do to provide toys for children during the holiday season. They serve approximately 31,000 families, providing four toys per child, resulting in more than 200,000 toys being gifted each year. Our Club was thanked for our donations. Allan Herzog (Financial Services: Advising | Wells Fargo Advisors) then challenged everyone present to match his $1,000 donation to the SF Firefighters Union #798. An additional $2,740 was pledged for a total of $3,740 to purchase additional toys.  
 
Annual Meeting
President Mary called the Annual Meeting to order at 12:25 p.m. Stacey Poole, Club Secretary (Law: Family | Lerner Poole & Stewart, LLP) reported that a quorum was present. President Mary celebrated the current members of the Board and thanked each for their service. 
 
2021-2022 Board:  President Mary Liu, Gary Dales, Brian Lan, Christopher Wiseman, Sunny Singh, Nancy Graydon, Michael Petricca, Stacey Poole, Lisa Christian, and Bob Hermann
 
Next, the audience was introduced to the candidates to fill upcoming officer vacancies for the term beginning on July 1, 2022. President Mary called for voting members to approve by acclamation the following candidates selected by the Nominating Committee. The vote to approve was unanimous, and the following were elected:
 
2022-23 President: Christopher Wiseman
2022-23 President-Elect: Sunny Singh
2022-24 Vice President of Community Service: Emily Borland
2022-24 Vice President of Development: Maureen O'Shea
2022-24 Vice President of International Service: Frank Yoke
2022-24 Vice President of Membership: Margaret Miley.
 
The final matter on the agenda was the approval of the proposed changes to our Club's Bylaws. The changes were approved, and the updated bylaws can now be found here

There being no further business, the 2021 Annual Meeting was adjourned at 12:40 p.m., and it was back to the Holiday Party.
 
The 2021 Holiday Party drew a large crowd.
 
Thank you
The Holiday Party would not have happened without the help of the following:
 
Our Sponsors:
  • Alliance for Smiles
  • The Carlisle
  • IBN Financial Services, Inc.
  • Roots of Peace
  • Sally Swanson Architects, Inc.
Our Donors:
 
 
Some of our Past Presidents:
 
 
The 2021 Holiday Party Committee:
Today's Volunteers
  • Cashier - Gary Dales
  • Registration - Bob Hermann and Larry Booth
  • Scribe – Stacey Poole
  • Photos – Peter Logan and President Mary Liu
  • Greeters - Cecile Chiquette, Rachel Donavan, Christian Kuhn, Jeff Lerner, Lynn Luckow, John Mathers, Jeff Yih
Lynn Luckow (Development | LikeMinded.org) introduced the musical quartet from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Then, President Mary wished everyone a safe and happy holiday season and encouraged everyone to convene at the dessert and coffee bar for additional fellowship and musical entertainment. A great time was had by all!

See more photos here taken by Peter Logan (Law: Insurance | Peter Logan Law Offices) and President Mary