Rotarians of the Month: The Rotary Club of San Francisco has been putting on Emergency Services Day (ESD) for over thirty years. This year it was bigger, better, and more inclusive than ever. The ESD Team was dedicated and creative, none more so than Jane Mermelstein (Real Estate Sales; Zephyr Real Estate) and Ann Daugherty (Financial Services, IBN Financial Services). They came up with an idea for supporting the homeless with quality socks, then parlayed that idea into centerpieces for the tables, coordinating the design and execution with Club Past President Harold Hoogasian (Florist-Retail; Hoogasian Flowers). They persisted with smiles and careful planning, and the result was recognized by everyone at the event as fun and valuable. For their tireless energy and bright spirits, and their contribution to our Club, we honor Ann and Jane as February’s Rotarians of the Month!Great Luncheon Programs:
- Heidi Kuhn (Peace Building; Roots of Peace) and Martin Lowenstein talked about China Camp, a gift of the McNear Family and a well-known park for Marinites. Its history is a story of California, the gold rush, and the discrimination that plagues our world. Heidi and Martin shared the history and the plans for updating the park and especially the museum to the Chinese who lived and worked there.
- Dr. Andrew Iwach, a key physician with the Glaucoma Foundation, discussed how the Foundation is working with patients and pushing the boundaries of application of the newest approved techniques in addressing degenerative eye disease. Dr. Iwach was both engaging and informative.
- Dr. Jonathan Granoff, president of the Global Security Institute, addressed the crowd on World Wide Rotary Day (WWRD) with an inspirational message about the importance of working for human rights and a nuclear-free world. The event was a huge success, thanks to the hard work of the WWRD team chaired by Sacha Shashi (IT Services; Nimbus Systems). About 40 members of the San Francisco Consular Corps attended as our guests with more than 80 Rotarians and friends on hand to recognize their work.
Service projects and fun events: Dinner at the ARC: Making dinner with ARC clients and sitting down to enjoy the result is both fun and supportive. The clients love the event and those that help in preparation certainly have a great time.Homeless Prenatal Project diaper bag stuffing and celebrations: Club members and friends spent an evening stuffing 74 diaper bags (and then enjoyed some food and drink at the local pub). A couple of days later, members helped to distribute the bags to new and expecting mothers at a party that was filled with enthusiasm, laughter and the joy of motherhood.
District 5150 Assembly: This was a wonderful opportunity to show support for our President-Elect Rhonda Poppen (Grant Writing; GRANTdog) and the 110th birthday of the Rotary Club of San Francisco. The 19 club members who attended put a great deal of energy – and a lot of noise from five vuvuzelas – into the celebration as Rhonda was called up to receive the Club's 2018-19 theme banner. Club members participated in multiple interesting and valuable seminars on subjects ranging from NGO Partnering, Human Trafficking and International Projects to Membership, Youth Services, and Rotary International Resources. All attendees reported that they had a great time and that they learned a lot.Support for The Rotary Foundation:These members were recognized as Paul Harris Fellows, as an appreciation for their generous donations to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International:
- PHF: Benjamin Lam (Banking Services; UBS Financial Services)
- PHF+1: Frank Yoke, III(Development; SF Bay Area Council, Boy Scouts of America)
- PHF+3: Peter Logan (Law - General Practice; Peter Logan Law Offices), Tom Briody (Elder Care; Institute on Aging)
- PHF+4: Laine Hendricks(Public Relations; County of Marin)
- PHF+7: Lilian Tsi-Stielstra (Insurance Services; Wells Fargo Advisors)