Posted by Brian Lan on Jan 30, 2019
More than 70 Rotarians and guests attended today's luncheon, including visiting Rotarians from Illinois and East Bay clubs, and guests from Alliance For Smiles, Catholic Charities, and The Salvation Army. President Rhonda introduced a friend of hers who was visiting today, Julia Pferdehirt from Because Justice Matters. After welcoming everyone, Rhonda went over several upcoming events including:
 
  • 1/22 - "Rotary 101" Meeting after today's luncheon
  • 1/23 - Dictionary Plating at Hoogasian Flowers 6pm
  • 1/31 - Mix & Mingle at the Automobile Museum 6pm
  • 2/6 - Rotary Night at the Warriors Game 7:30pm
  • 2/12 - Emergency Services Day
  • 2/16 - Rotary Meadow Workday 9am
  • 2/22 - Charter Party for St. Ignatius Interact Club at the Automobile Museum 6:30pm
VP of Membership Dan Joraanstad (Financial Management; Retired) announced that Marti Sullivan (Development; The Arc San Francisco) is the winner of the first segment of this year's Membership Contest, having introduced the most new members to the Club between July 1 and December 31, 2018. Marti received a one-week stay in Hawaii, donated by Harold Hoogasian (Florist - Retail; Hoogasian Flowers).

Dan then introduced five new members to the Club - Jermaine Blakeley (Hospital Administration; UCSF Health), Pam Hudson (UCSF - Benioff Children's Hospitals), Jennifer Lee (Stylist), Avi Tutman (Hospital Administration; UCSF Health), and Sofia Valverde (Consulate Management; Consulate of Honduras). See Dan's Membership Corner for more information on each of our newest members.

Tim Hornbecker (Human Services; Retired), President of the San Francisco Rotary Foundation, then presented $5,000 to Ryan Overton (Financial Management; Merrill Lynch) in support of Project Homeless Connect. Ryan accepted the check and shared how proud he was to do good work on behalf of our Club.

President Rhonda then invited Eric Schmautz (Banking Management; Wells Fargo) and John Mathers (Management Consulting; eVo Associates) to lead the annual Super Bowl Pool solicitation, benefiting The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International (TRF). Eric discussed TRF's six areas of focus, including the global eradication of polio. 30 attendees agreed to participate in the pool, including several new members and guests. These new participants, added to those who joined the pool last week, bring us very close to our $20,000 goal.

Those contributing $20 or more for other reasons included:
  • Alison Healy (Non-profit Medical Services; Alliance for Smiles), who announced that Alliance For Smiles will be celebrating its 15th Anniversary at the Night of Smiles Gala on Saturday 4/6/19.
  • Eric Schmautz, who shared that his mother is recovering from surgery on her femur and is going through rehab. He also shared that daughter Molly was recently diagnosed with Type I diabetes and appreciates the support from the Club.
  • Brian Lan (Financial Management; Merrill Lynch), who shared that last weekend his twin brother, Alan, proposed to his girlfriend of 7 years.
Today's speaker, Jeff Kositsky, the Director of the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH), spoke to the Club about homelessness in San Francisco. Jeff talked about the causes of homelessness and the current status in San Francisco, which has a homeless population of around 7,500. He then shared the strategic framework that the HSH has been working on to make a significant and sustained reduction in homelessness.

One such project is the Homelessness Response System, which will help to ensure that the most vulnerable individuals and households are prioritized for housing. Finally, Jeff discussed the progress that has been made and answered several questions from the audience.

President Rhonda thanked our speaker and presented him with a gift from the Club recognizing that 100 children were inoculated against Polio in his name. Jeff said that this was the best gift he has ever received.

Today's Door Prize winners were visiting guest Major Darren Norton of The Salvation Army and Club member Tyler Sterk (Financial Management; Merrill Lynch).

See more photos
See the PowerPoint
 
Photos by Nahla Awad (ABA Global)
Edited by Scott Plakun (Management Consulting; The Plakun Group)