1908 is an important year in Rotary history. The Rotary Club of San Francisco was born that year. After reading the newspaper announcement of the new Rotary Club of San Francisco, businessmen from east of the bay decided to meet to discuss establishing their own club. The day after Thanksgiving in 1908, Homer Wood, founder of the Rotary Club of San Francisco, took the ferry across the bay through the pouring rain to meet for lunch with Frank Bilger of an Oakland rock quarry and paving company, and 23 other businessmen at the Hotel Metropole in downtown Oakland. From there, the Rotary Club of Oakland was born. Click here for more history on the Oakland Club.
Both Clubs agreed to meet jointly each year thereafter. Following a hiatus, President Frank resumed this tradition on May 21, 2026. The Event began with a special reception at 11:30 AM at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts. During the luncheon, President Frank sat with the officers of the Rotary Club of Oakland. About 20 Rotarians from our Club attended. The speaker was USF Professor Stephen Zunes, who spoke on the war on Iran and examined the negative fiscal, humanitarian, diplomatic, strategic, and political consequences of this war.
President Joseph Goralka of the third oldest Rotary Club in the world and President Frank Yoke of the second oldest Rotary Club in the world exchanged Rotary flags.
We look forward to more activities with the Rotary Club of Oakland. See photos here.