President Bob Hermann, Jr. (Information Technology: Administration | Retired) called the meeting to order at 12:15 PM. He shared his headshots taken in 1993 and 2014. Oh, what a difference a few decades made to his hairline!
Today's Guests
We welcomed Visiting Rotarian Ruth Wenzel from the Rotary Club of Mission San Jose. Our guests were Sam Silva, Luz Maria Soto, and Orkhontulga Tsedensodnom. Our speaker was Dr. Kai Burrus.
Robin Azevedo (Retail: Mattresses | Retired, McRoskey Mattress Company) introduced her childhood friend, Holly Huebel. Holly has visited our Club before today.
President Bob shared that former members of our Club — Carla and Erik Walter — visited him from Milledgeville, Georgia.
Thought of the Day
Larry Booth (Engineering: Mechanical | Retired, Frank M. Booth, Inc.) read today's Thought of the Day by Jane Goodall.
EREY Spin the Wheel
The February 2025 winner of the Every Rotarian Every Year Spin the Wheel contest was Matthew Madsen (Nonprofit Management | The Salvation Army). The March 2025 winner of the Every Rotarian Every Year Spin the Wheel contest was Evelyn Abad (Medical Services | Rotaplast International). Congratulations to Matt and Evelyn, who each received $25.
The February 2025 winner of the Every Rotarian Every Year Spin the Wheel contest was Matthew Madsen (Nonprofit Management | The Salvation Army). The March 2025 winner of the Every Rotarian Every Year Spin the Wheel contest was Evelyn Abad (Medical Services | Rotaplast International). Congratulations to Matt and Evelyn, who each received $25.
Paul Harris Recognition
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. Today, Margaret "Peggy" Mathers (Network Optimization | Retired) was awarded her PHF pin and certificate. Sue Robbins (Nonprofit Administration | Catholic Charities SF) also earned her PHF pin, but was not present and will receive her PHF award at a future Club meeting. Congratulations to Peggy and Sue!
President Bob Hermann and Peggy Mathers
Frank Yoke Completes PETS
President-Elect Frank Yoke III (Development | Serra Residential Center, Inc.) has been busy preparing for his upcoming year as our Club's president. He reported on his completion of the rigorous President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) this past weekend and noted that Past President JT Forbus (Accounting | Bogdan & Frasco) was at PETS as Chief of Staff to incoming District Governor Mitone Griffiths and Heidi Kühn (Peace Building | Roots of Peace) was present as a guest speaker. One of the special guests was Rotary International President-Elect Mário César Martins de Camargo from the Rotary Club of Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil.
JT Forbus and Mitone Griffiths Frank Yoke and Heidi Kühn
Today (March 11) was PE Frank's birthday. So, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Tim Hornbecker (Nonprofit Management | Retired, The Arc CA) brought out his tiny harmonica to lead us in the Happy Birthday song.
An Evening at the Warriors Game
Club Members and guests attended Rotary night at Chase Center on March 10, 2025 to watch the Golden State Warriors take on the Portland Trail Blazers. Thanks to President-Elect Frank Yoke, we were able to watch the game and enjoy other benefits from the Pepsi Center. For some, this was their first time at the Chase Center. See more photos here.
Past President Scott Plakun (Management Consulting | The Plakun Group), Emily Borland (Engineering, Architecture, and Construction | Emily Borland Specifications), PE Frank Yoke, President Bob Hermann, Dan Joraanstad (Financial Services: Advising | Retired), and Vice President of Youth Development Todd St Vrain (Education: Administration | University of Melbourne).
Upcoming Events
Check the Club's calendar for upcoming meetings and events.
The District 5150 Interact Leadership Conference will be held on March 15, 2025 at the San Francisco War Memorial Veterans building.
Scholarships Awarded
President Bob shared information that demonstrated Past President John Mathers' leadership and dedication to climate action. Next, $3,500 in scholarship money was awarded to San Francisco State University to support two John Mathers Rotary Climate Action Fellows. This year's recipients were Sam Silva and Luz Maria Soto. Both Sam and Luz Maria shared their Climate Action efforts to date.
President Bob asked us to direct today’s $25 for Twenty Five Seconds to next year’s John Mathers Climate Action fellowships. More than the $3,500 distributed today was pledged. Thank you to all who donated!
Gary Dales, President Bob Hermann, Luz Maria Soto, Kai Burrus, Peggy Mathers, and Sam Silva
Table Talk
Today's topic for table talk was impacts that climate change has on each of us.
Guest Speaker
President Bob introduced today's speaker — Dr. Kai Burrus (Education: University | San Francisco State University). In addition to being a member of our Club, Dr. Burrus helped to envision and launch the new Certificate in Climate Change and is a Co-Director of the Climate Justice Leaders Initiative at SF State. With the use of iClickers handed out to everyone, we experienced a very interactive climate action discussion. Dr. Burrus tailored her talk on climate to Rotary’s Four-Way Test.
President Bob thanked Dr. Burrus and announced that 100 children would be inoculated against polio in her name.
Dr. Kai Burrus
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 PM.
Meeting Volunteers
President Bob thanked today's meeting volunteers: Cecile Chiquette (Accounting | Retired) for serving as volunteer coordinator; Robin Azevedo for serving as scribe; Jim Patrick (Retail: Office Supplies | Patrick & Co.) for serving as photographer; La Carre Ivy (Retired) for managing the microphone; Kirt Burdick of the Academy of Art University for managing the audio-visual equipment during our in-person meeting; Tim Hornbecker and Clifford Phillips (The Arc San Francisco) for serving as greeters; Vice President of PR and Communications Dan Davies (Information Technology: Consulting | Zipline International) for social media; John Hoch (Financial Services: Advising | Retired) for serving as Zoom Host; and Gary Dales (Accounting | Fly Leasing) for doing check-in at the Hotel Nikko.