President Frank Yoke III (Development | Serra Residential Center, Inc.) welcomed everyone on Zoom or in person at the Salvation Army headquarters in San Francisco. He thanked the staff of the Salvation Army for letting our Club use their conference room for our luncheon today.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Today's Visiting Rotarians were District 5150 Governor Mitone Griffiths from the Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay; Jeanne Gnuse from the Rotary Club of New Canaan, CT; Mike Hebel from the Rotary Club of San Francisco Greater Mission; James Horsman from the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill in Washington, DC; Jay Miller from the Rotary Club of Burlingame and Hillsborough; and Douglas Person from the Rotary Club of Burlingame and Hillsborough. Our guests were Katherine Au, Karen Banks, Michele Martinez Reese, Katherine Thompson, and Vanessa Wellmann. Today's speaker was Steve Adami. Welcome to all!
District 5150 Rotarian of the Month
President Frank introduced DG Mitone Griffiths who honored Robin Azevedo (Retail: Mattresses | Retired, McRoskey Mattress Company) as the January 2026 District Rotarian of the Month. See full story here.
President Frank introduced DG Mitone Griffiths who honored Robin Azevedo (Retail: Mattresses | Retired, McRoskey Mattress Company) as the January 2026 District Rotarian of the Month. See full story here.
DG Mitone Griffiths and Robin Azevedo
2026-2027 Grant Process
President-Elect Ozan Yasavur (Engineering: Mechanical | Frank M. Booth, Inc.) introduced the 2026-2027 Grant Process to be launched soon:
Project Presentation: Salvation Army Literacy Project
Katherine Au of the Salvation Army thanked the San Francisco Rotary Foundation for the $7,500 grant and spoke about the partnership between the Rotary Club of San Francisco and the Kroc Center in San Francisco to deliver the literacy program and lending library to the following schools:
If you would to help with this project, please contact Katherine Au.
Katherine Au
Project Presentation: Family House
CEO Katherine Thompson, Chief Community Engagement Officer Karen Banks, and Chief Development Officer Michele Martinez Reese from Family House, a grant partner for the Rotary Club of San Francisco, joined us to thank the San Francisco Rotary Foundation for the $6,000 grant and to talk about their services and how Rotarians can support them. If you would like to participate, please contact San Francisco Rotary Foundation President Christopher Wiseman (Nonprofit Management).
Katherine Thompson
Recent and Upcoming Club Activities
President Frank shared the following activities:
- Business Networking: Thank you to Vice President of Vocational Service Hana Xu Wang (Financial Services: Advising | Wang Wealth Advisors, LLC) and to Thomas Estruth (Ad Sales | KRON4) for leading the business networking gathering on January 10, 2026. See story here.
- Día de los Reyes (Three Kings' Day) and Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas): Thank you to Robin Azevedo, Carlo De la Sancha Verduzco (Healthcare: Physician | University of California San Francisco), and Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Tim Hornbecker (Nonprofit Management | Retired, The Arc CA) for leading this DEI special celebration on January 11, 2026. See story here.
- Super Bowl Pool and Party: Jim Patrick (Retail: Office Supplies | Patrick & Co.) invited us all to the Super Bowl Party on February 8, 2026 and to play the Super Bowl Pool. See here for details.
- District Assembly: It's early in the year, but registration for the District Assembly to be held on March 21, 2026 is now open. This annual assembly provides a great deal of training and planning for the Rotary Year that begins on July 1, 2026. All Club members are invited, and all Club leaders are strongly encouraged to attend. Our Club will pay for the registration of Club members. See here for more information about the assembly and the District T-Shirt.
- Check the Club's calendar for upcoming meetings and events.
Guest Speaker
President Frank introduced today's speaker — Steve Adami, the Executive Director of the San Francisco's Salvation Army's The Way Out, a recovery-focused homeless initiative. Steve shared his long journey back from a troubled life. Joining Steve was Vanessa Wellmann. President Frank thanked Steve Adami and announced that 100 children would be inoculated against polio in Steve's name.
Steve Adami
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; Margaret Miley (Hospitality: Hotels | Retired) for managing the microphone; Jesse Austin for managing the audio-visual equipment during our in-person meeting; Carrie Schucker (Counseling | Retired) and Ruth Wenzel (Registered Nurse | Retired) for serving as greeters; and Ann Daugherty (Financial Services: Private Trading | IBN Financial Services) and Gary Dales (Accounting | Fly Leasing) for doing check-in at the Salvation Army.