Posted by Carrie Condran LaBriola on Jun 08, 2020
After a lifetime of community service in various venues, including volunteering on many projects with the Rotary Club of San Francisco with his husband, Membership Vice President Dan Joraanstad, Bob Hermann decided to join the Club in December 2017 in anticipation of his retirement in January 2018. Now he’s set to join the Board as Vice President of Community Service on July 1.
Bob was born and raised in New Jersey, where he graduated from St. Peter’s University. Equipped with a degree in business management and computer science, he took a job as a computer programmer and systems analyst with the Lipton Tea Company, owned by Unilever.
 
He and Dan met in New Jersey in 1988 and moved to San Francisco in 1991, “ready to leave the wilds of New Jersey,” Bob quips. Initially, Bob worked in information technology at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, Delta Dental, and Kaiser Permanente, ending his health care career back at UCSF.
 
“I’ve always done community service,” he says, citing a church-based kitchen he founded to prepare and deliver meals to homebound HIV/AIDS patients in New York City in the late 1980s. His volunteer work tends to be medical-related, including a medical mission to Egypt with Alliance for Smiles. “For me, my heart is making a difference on the frontlines,” he says. He also volunteers with the Homeless Prenatal Program and Project Homeless Connect and stuffs backpacks for homeless children with Catholic Charities. He serves on the Board of RotaCare, a nonprofit organization founded by Rotarians that provides free medical care to uninsured families.
 
When asked about his hobbies, Bob says, “I love to travel, garden, and music.” He and Dan both sang with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus for many years, and they host musical events at their home in the Westwood Park neighborhood of San Francisco. They also enjoy outdoor activities like hiking and walking their rescue dog, Skippy. Bob loves to cook and entertain alongside Dan and is proud of their newly remodeled kitchen.
 
Of his decision to join Rotary, he says, “I like the people, the projects we do, our speakers, and the community service. Of course, friendships and the diversity are always welcome by us as a couple, where we are accepted and welcomed. That’s the way we go through life—welcoming others.”
 
Since his election to the Board at the annual meeting in December, Bob has been actively working with all the community service project leaders, documenting all the programs as a communication tool and basis for future program planning. He’s also interested in developing ways for people with physical limitations to participate in our Rotary projects by doing phone outreach, providing project documentation, and anything else a project may need to ensure its success.
 
“My role is to work with people who need information to help them do their role,” he says. To that end, he plans to have quarterly Community Service meetings and to provide information for Grindings and public outreach.
 
“I’m very happy to be a Rotarian,” Bob says. “Dan and I are very invested in being Rotarians, not only with our time and talents, but as donors as well to sustain the Rotary mission.” 
 
Just another chapter in a lifetime of service.