July 27, 2021 Board Highlights
A quorum of the board members met for their first board meeting of the 2021-22 Rotary Board year. Dan Joraanstad was also present to represent the San Francisco Rotary Foundation.
The Board spent considerable time discussing additional proposed changes to the By-Laws, which will be voted on at the December annual meeting.
Treasurer Gary Dales spoke about the 2021-22 budget. While it has a slight deficit, Gary believes the Club is still in good financial standing given the surplus the year prior. He noted that invoices had gone out to the membership both via U.S. Mail and e-mail.
The Board also discussed the everchanging mask and vaccination requirements. President Mary Liu will be able to make changes to these rules as the CDC, City of San Francisco and the hotel change their requirements. In addition, the Board agreed to extend Zoom meetings at no charge through 2021.
Three new members were approved: Caryn Crump, Nat Crawford, and Esther Landau. The Board also approved making The ARC of San Francisco a corporate member. Esther Landau will be a corporate member through The ARC. Discussion ensued on when and how many free lunches prospective members may be given. The board decided that a prospective member should pay for his/her first lunch and be provided a card for a free lunch at their second visit.
The Board discussed several potential Rotarians of the Month. Because there had not been a Rotarian of the Month for a while, the Board agreed to select four members: Maureen O’Shea, Margaret Miley, Scott Plakun and Steve Lindstrom.
The Rotary Service meeting was held thereafter. Two administrative tasks were voted on and the Board adjourned for the day at 1:51 p.m.
August 31, 2021 Board Meeting Highlights
The Board members met via Zoom for the August Board meeting. A quorum was present, with two guests: Caryn Crump and Nat Crawford who were in attendance in an effort to complete their Red Badge Requirements.
Treasurer Gary Dales discussed the collection of invoices. It is unclear whether sending them out both via U.S. Mail and email has increased the collections.
Nancy Graydon, VP of Membership proposed five new members: Larry Booth, Marc Johnson, Darlene Wilson (corporate member of Catholic Charities), Lance Scott and Clifford Phillip. Both Lance and Clifford are corporate members of The ARC of San Francisco. Nancy also discussed ways she is trying to engage the current membership. She has 28 prospective members in the pipeline.
Michael Petricca agreed to remain as VP of Club Service through June 30, 2022.
In New Business, the hotel now requires proof of vaccination, which members will need to provide at the registration desk.
President-Elect Christopher Wiseman discussed the Fleet Week Club Social which is the Blue Angels Viewing Party. The Club will provide sponsorship of the Academy of Arts who is providing the space and catering. Funds from the ticket sales will reimburse Rotary Service, Inc. for its sponsorship.
The Board approved the renewal of the Shanghai Sister agreement with the Rotary Club of Shanghai. President Mary Liu discussed the benefits of these sister agreements as they promote goodwill, collaboration and allow for our members to take advantage of local connections.
The Board reviewed revisions to the Grant Application as the former form was difficult to read and did not highlight important information needed for grant requests. In addition, there was a new form created to allow for extensions of Grants as some projects are not able to be completed on time. It was agreed that the proposed form was necessary but needed some additional wordsmithing which new member Nat Crawford agreed to take on.
Discussion was had on a proposed Rotarian of the Month. Susan Dean was selected.
Gary Dales discussed the financial statements and indicated that the club remains in good financial shape. He raised the issue of returning San Francisco Rotary Foundation funds if a project does not use all of its grant, which the board approved related to a Something Labs grant. It was also discussed how to handle when a project was over budget and the administration costs associated with administering the grants, and which entity should be responsible for these overages and expenses.
The board also approved reimbursing or paying for a Club President’s expenses throughout the year, including dues, Club events, District events and Rotary International Events.
There was a short meeting of the Rotary Service board, which approved a $500 sponsorship of the Rotary Race to End Polio event. This meeting was adjourned at 1:54 p.m.
EDITOR'S NOTES: These highlights are from July 27, 2021 and were approved in September 2021 and from August 31, 2021 and were approved on September 28, 2021.