President Christopher Wiseman (Nonprofit Management | Glaucoma Research Foundation) called the meeting to order and welcomed those online and those attending in person inside the Anzu Restaurant at the Hotel Nikko.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Today's visiting Rotarians were our speaker PDG Mark Flegel from the Rotary Club of Menlo Park and his wife Shirley, Mary Kay Kennedy also from the Rotary Club of Menlo Park, and Joel Valdez from the Rotary Club of Manila. Mary Kay is the wife of Jim Kennedy (Interior Design | James Kennedy Design). Joel and President Christopher exchanged Rotary flags. Our guests were Diane Stark from the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, Caylee Burditt, Charlie Miles, and Nikki Moore.
A SongRick Harrell (Arts Therapy | Heroes' Voices) played the guitar and sang a song. He also promoted his concert on March 26, 2023 at the Calvary Presbyterian Church.
Recent DDF Expenditures
President Christopher announced recent DDF awards totaling $23,293:
- $8,000 for the Ethiopia project of Alliance for Smiles,
- $10,000 for the Honduras project of Alliance for Smiles,
- and $5,293 for We Will Survive (support for earthquake victims).
President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS)
President-Elect Sunny Singh (Financial Services: Advising | PK Wealth Management) shared his experience at PETS from March 3-5, 2023. Joining him at PETS were Assistant Governor David Dye (Management Consulting | Retired) and District Governor-Elect Laine Hendricks (Public Relations and Marketing | County of Marin). President-Elect Sunny also reminded the audience about the Grant deadlines.
President-Elect Sunny Singh (Financial Services: Advising | PK Wealth Management) shared his experience at PETS from March 3-5, 2023. Joining him at PETS were Assistant Governor David Dye (Management Consulting | Retired) and District Governor-Elect Laine Hendricks (Public Relations and Marketing | County of Marin). President-Elect Sunny also reminded the audience about the Grant deadlines.
San Francisco-Marin Food Bank Robin Azevedo (Retail: Mattresses | Retired, McRoskey Mattress Company) introduced Diane Stark from the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Diane thanked our Club for the volunteers and donations. In 2022, members from our Club bagged 5,357 pounds of food (the equivalent of 4,464 meals) in just one day. Donations to food pantries rose from 44 million pounds to 77 million pounds during the COVID era, and demand remains high.
In Terms of Numbers
Vice President of Community Service Emily Borland (Engineering, Architecture, and Construction | Emily Borland Specifications) presented RCAT statistics on behalf of Andrés Vera (Entertainment | Self-employed). The lunch on March 7, 2023 was vegetarian and only a fraction of the carbon footprint of a meal with red meat. Humans make up 36% of the mammal biomass on Earth. Livestock raised for food make up 60% of this biomass, while all other animals and wildlife make up only 4%.
The Rotary Foundation Chair Jim Patrick (Retail: Office Supplies | Patrick & Co.) shared some good news on the fight against polio. In 2019, there were 176 cases of polio worldwide (down from 500,000). In 2021, there were only 6 cases, but in 2022, the number of cases jumped up to 30. So far in 2023, there have been no cases.
Thank You
President Christopher thanked Bob Hermann (Information Technology: Administration | Retired UCSF), Matthew Madsen (Nonprofit Management | The Salvation Army), and a number of volunteers for a successful Emergency Services Day. See full story here.
He thanked those who participated in the diaper bag assembly on February 28, 2023.
Robin Azevedo, Jim Patrick, Chris Davies, and Rhonda Poppen assembled diaper bags.
He also thanked Vice President of Vocational Service Wendy Shew (Nonprofit Administration | Building Education) for the Professional Portrait and Business Networking on March 2, 2023.
Club and District Events for Rotarians
Club Events: Check the Club's calendar for upcoming meetings and service projects for March 2023.
District Assembly: President Christopher invited everyone to attend the 2023 District Assembly on March 25, 2023 to cheer for President-Elect Sunny Singh as he begins his year as our Club's President.
District Conference: If you have not already registered, there is still time to register for the 2023 District 5150 Conference to be held in Monterey, CA from April 28 through April 30, 2023.
Rotary Day of Service: Save May 13, 2023 on your calendar when we will join Rotarians from throughout San Francisco to clean the area around the Bison Paddock in Golden Gate Park.
Guest Speaker
Anita Stangl (Medical Services | Alliance for Smiles) joined via Zoom and introduced today's speaker - Past District 5150 Governor Mark Flegel. PDG Mark talked about the life of Paul Harris, who founded Rotary 118 years ago in Chicago. Paul experienced some challenges growing up and was expelled from school. His life turned around when his paternal grandparents took him in and enrolled him in a military academy where his behavior and academic performance improved. He attended the University of Vermont and Princeton University. Later, he attended law school at the University of Iowa and completed his law degree in just two years.
Anita Stangl (Medical Services | Alliance for Smiles) joined via Zoom and introduced today's speaker - Past District 5150 Governor Mark Flegel. PDG Mark talked about the life of Paul Harris, who founded Rotary 118 years ago in Chicago. Paul experienced some challenges growing up and was expelled from school. His life turned around when his paternal grandparents took him in and enrolled him in a military academy where his behavior and academic performance improved. He attended the University of Vermont and Princeton University. Later, he attended law school at the University of Iowa and completed his law degree in just two years.After law school, Paul took five gap years to see the world before entering a career in law. He traveled all over the United States and in England. Those five years instilled in Paul the values and experiences that he would one day use to create Rotary. He returned to Chicago to set up his legal practice and formed the first Rotary Club. The rest is history. You can read more about the life of Paul Harris in A Tradition of Fellowship and Service: The Rotary Club of San Francisco at 100 by Theresa Whitener.
President Christopher thanked PDG Mark Flegel and announced that 100 children would be inoculated against polio in his name.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 PM
Meeting Volunteers
President Christopher thanked today's meeting volunteers: Margaret Miley (Hospitality: Hotels | Retired) for serving as scribe; Jim Patrick for serving as photographer; Bill Poppen (Banking: Management | MUFG Union Bank) for managing the microphone; Kurt Burdick of the Academy of Art University for managing the audio-visual equipment during our in-person meeting; John Mathers (Management Consulting | eVo Associates) for serving as greeter; and Gary Dales (Accounting | Fly Leasing) for doing check-in at the Hotel Nikko.