I've done a lot of thinking about our club's many traditions as I've been preparing to become club president. Some traditions have changed over time, others have faded away, and new ones have arisen. It's important to review old and new traditions to try to make sure we retain our identity as an institution at the same time we change things to meet the challenges of the future.
Grindings, the club's weekly newsletter, was published weekly for over 100 years before it faded away. Grindings is a tradition that I want to bring back. It's important to have a summary of our club's activities so people who miss weekly meetings don't fall out of the loop, to share our successes with others, get to know fellow club members through Member Profiles, and to record and celebrate our history.
Welcome to the first new issue of Grindings to be published in many months. Publication will be irregular and erratic for a while as we build a team to figure out what it makes sense to report on and what the format should be. I hope you find it interesting and informative.
I look forward to hearing your feedback about this and future issues: Which parts do you like? Which parts don't you like? What kinds of articles would you like to see in future issues? Please send photos you'd like to see included. And let me know if you'd like to be part of the editorial team or write an article.
The piano is back! Dan Joraanstadt (Retail Brokerage, Wells Fargo Advisors) got the meeting off to a patriotic start by leading us in a rousing rendition of America the Beautiful.
More than 30 Rotarians, along with spouses and friends, had a great time at the July 4 Fireworks Party held at the home of Otis Paul (Surgery - Opthalmology, Pacific Children's Eye Care). Despite the foggy conditions, we had a wonderful time at the first of many socials for the year.
Many members jumped into action when President Stephanie reminded us that the big fundraiser for this year is the Backpack Dash, contributing over $11,000. While numbers are still being confirmed, it seems that we are now at a total of about $19,000 towards our goal of $25,000.
Special birthday memories and expectations were shared by some of our July babies: John Mount (Statistical Consulting, Win-Vector LLC ) recalled his mother's themed birthday parties including at least one pirate episode, and John Dracup (Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California at Berkeley) recalled when his sister stuck her fist in his birthday cake. Wendy Ross (Banking -- Business and Private, Bank of San Francisco) told us she suspects that her birthday celebration this year will be a memorable one ... but no details were provided!
Members were encouraged to attend PRLS Basic on July 18th. The club will reimburse those that attend for the fee.
President Stephanie announced that Immediate Past President Laine Hendricks (Non Profit - Public Relations, The Salvation Army) is not just sitting on her Rotary laurels: she is now Assistant Governor in our District. Go Laine!
Rick Harrell (Veterans Outreach, Heroes' Voices) told us about the work his organization is doing to bring the gift of music to Veterans, especially Veterans with PTSD, something that resonates loudly with this year's Rotary International theme: Be a gift to the world.
Happy Dollars: Tara Kramlich (Financial Services, Atalanta Capital) announced her plans to be married in Glacier National Park on August 1. Past President Jim Patrick (Stationery, Patrick & Co) told of the many challenges his son encountered on his recent swim challenge. Rhonda Poppen (Grant Writer, GRANTdog) celebrated her one year anniversary with our club. Stacey Poole (Law Practice - Family Law, Lerner-Poole LLP) recognized a member for a referral. Thank you all for your $100 donations to Rotary Service!
Stephanie Schmautz became the president of the Rotary Club of San Francisco on July 1. Her goals for the 2015/16 year are “to get everyone engaged and involved, that we have a lot of fun, and that we feel we’ve done meaningful community and international service projects.”
Stephanie’s initial focus is on August 16’s Rotary Run, aka “the Backpack Dash,” which she calls “our first fundraiser,” One hundred percent of the proceeds of the event will go to Community Service, including 100 backpacks containing school supplies for local students, a partnership with the Salvation Army.
“I am excited about where our Club is and where we’re going,” she says, calling the Club “vibrant and forward-thinking.” She cites the decision to cancel the weekly lunch on the last Tuesday of the month in favor of a service project or social event, something more and more clubs are doing.
Stephanie Ann Herrin was born in Torrance, CA, moved to the Bay Area at the age of 5 and grew up in Orinda. She majored in Spanish at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and spent time living in Spain in high school and college. Her career began as a sales rep in the paper industry, then the pharmaceutical industry before she joined a dot-com. Then in 2002 she made a major change and began working with seniors and found she “loved it.” She’s been director of sales and marketing for The Carlisle since 2008, and serves as the real estate agent for the residents.
While working at The Carlisle, Stephanie met Past President John Uth, who invited her to attend Rotary. After he “bugged” her for several weeks, she finally attended and John and Past President Anita Stangl “took me under their wings.” She says she “originally came for the business networking but ultimately stayed for the service and friendships.” Three weeks after she joined, Stephanie went on her first international service project, an Alliance for Smiles mission to China, which “solidified” her commitment to Rotary. To date, she has been on four international service projects including projects in Vietnam, Zambia and Guatemala.
But Stephanie says the best thing that’s happened to her in Rotary is meeting her husband, Past President and Past District Governor Eric Schmautz. Their daughter, Molly Jean, was born March 22 and occasionally attends meetings wearing her “junior Rotarian” badge. She’s even a Paul Harris Fellow, thanks to Past President John Hoch. The whole family attended the 2015 Rotary International Convention in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Stephanie’s fifth international convention.
“I’d love to get a contingent to go to Korea,” she says, already looking ahead to the 2016 RI Convention in Seoul.
The piano is back! Dan Joraanstadt (Retail Brokerage, Wells Fargo Advisors) got the meeting off to a patriotic start by leading us in a rousing rendition of America the Beautiful.
More than 30 Rotarians, along with spouses and friends, had a great time at the July 4 Fireworks Party held at the home of Otis Paul (Surgery - Opthalmology, Pacific Children's Eye Care). Despite the foggy conditions, we had a wonderful time at the first of many socials for the year.
Special birthday memories and expectations were shared by some of our July babies: John Mount (Statistical Consulting, Win-Vector LLC ) recalled his mother's themed birthday parties including at least one pirate episode, and John Dracup (Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California at Berkeley) recalled when his sister stuck her fist in his birthday cake. Wendy Ross (Banking -- Business and Private, Bank of San Francisco) told us she suspects that her birthday celebration this year will be a memorable one ... but no details were provided!
Stephanie Schmautz became the president of the Rotary Club of San Francisco on July 1. Her goals for the 2015/16 year are “to get everyone engaged and involved, that we have a lot of fun, and that we feel we’ve done meaningful community and international service projects.”
