President Frank Yoke III (Development | Serra Residential Center, Inc.) welcomed everyone on Zoom or in person at the Hotel Nikko.
Visiting Rotarian and Guests
Today's Visiting Rotarian was President-Elect Jerry Winges from the Rotary Club of Burlingame Hillsborough. Our guests were Susan Upton and Richard Wenzel. Today's speaker was Ruth Wenzel. Welcome to all!
DDF Presentation
President Frank introduced President-Elect Jerry Winges from the Rotary Club of Burlingame Hillsborough. PE Jerry talked about how his Rotary club is helping to transform the lives of tribal welfare girls in rural India through education. This project came about through Bobba Venkatadri, currently the TRF Chair of the Rotary Club of Burlingame Hillsborough. Bobba has made it "his mission to help transform the lives of children with disadvantages in his native India by equipping them with 21st-century digital learning tools." You can read the full story entitled Dream Girls in the November 2025 issue of Rotary magazine.
Bobba Venkatadri was honored at the recent Zone Institute for this project.
New Paul Harris Fellow
Paul Harris (1868-1947) founded the first Rotary Club in Chicago in 1905, hoping to bring some of what he treasured from his rural Vermont upbringing to the big city. Rotary would not exist without his vision of a group of business professionals who helped each other by helping others. For each $1,000 donated to The Rotary Foundation, a person can become a Paul Harris Fellow. Congratulations to Todd St Vrain (Education: Administration | University of Melbourne) who received his PHF + 1 pin.
2026 Emergency Services Day
David Dye (Management Consulting | Retired), Chair of the 2026 Emergency Services Day Gala, issued a call for volunteers. See separate story in this issue of Grindings.
$25 for Twenty Five Seconds
PE Jerry from the Rotary Club of Burlingame Hillsborough sought donations for the Global Grant Project described above under DDF Presentation.
Allan Herzog (Financial Services: Advising | Wells Fargo Advisors) donated $2,500 and challenged others in today's audience to match him. To help to continue Bobba's mission, the following donated:
- Robin Azevedo (Retail: Mattresses | Retired, McRoskey Mattress Company).
- Larry Booth (Engineering: Mechanical | Retired, Frank M. Booth, Inc.).
- Ann Daugherty (Financial Services: Private Trading | IBN Financial Services).
- David Dye.
- Bob Hermann, Jr. (Information Technology: Administration | Retired).
- Tim Hornbecker (Nonprofit Management | Retired, The Arc CA).
- Dan Joraanstad (Financial Services: Advising | Retired).
- Jim Patrick (Retail: Office Supplies | Patrick & Co.).
- Carrie Schucker (Counseling | Retired).
- Todd St Vrain.
- Ruth Wenzel.
- President Frank Yoke.
Thank you to all!
Past and Upcoming Events
- Dan Joraanstad shared about the recent Thanksgiving at The Arc SF. See full story in this issue of Grindings.
- Check the Club's calendar for upcoming meetings and events. President Frank pointed out future important dates at today's meeting.
- On Thursday, December 11, 2025 all are invited to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the 1945 signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco. Rotary International President Francesco Arezzo will be present in San Francisco for this Celebration. See story and registration information toward the beginning of this issue of Grindings.
- It's almost time for our Holiday Party and Annual Meeting scheduled this year on December 16, 2025. Sign up here.
Guest Speaker
President Frank and Larry Booth introduced today's speaker — Ruth Wenzel (Registered Nurse | Retired). Ruth joined our Club in April 2025 but had been a member and past president of the Mission San Jose Rotary Club in Fremont. Ruth grew up in West Virginia where she first encountered glass making and then started collecting glass pieces. For her presentation today, Ruth brought pieces from her collection to share. She also donated a set of glass as a raffle prize; the winner of the drawing was Margaret Miley (Hospitality: Hotels | Retired). President Frank thanked Ruth Wenzel and announced that 100 children would be inoculated against polio in Ruth's name.
Meeting Volunteers
President Frank thanked today's meeting volunteers: Dora Dye (Education | San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) for serving as scribe; Jim Patrick for serving as photographer; Jessica Hansen (Nonprofit Management | Alliance for Smiles) for managing the microphone; Kirt Burdick for managing the audio-visual equipment during our in-person meeting; Margaret Miley and La Carre Ivy (Retired) for serving as greeters; and Ann Daugherty and Larry Booth for doing check-in at the Hotel Nikko.