In the absence of President Casey Blair (Financial Services: Private Trading | KCB Trading, LLC), President-elect JT Forbus (Accounting | Bogdan & Frasco) opened the meeting to a standing ovation. We had a visiting Rotarian from Switzerland and several guests.
JT recounted several recent events involving members of our Club, including:
- the annual Glaucoma Research Foundation fundraising gala. A large number of our members attended.
- the presentation of 50 dictionaries to students at Tenderloin Elementary School.
- the pre-PETS (pre-presidents-elect training seminar) that our own JT attended. On hand as trainers and presenters were Laine Hendricks (Public Relations and Marketing | County of Marin), David Dye (Management Consulting | Retired) and Dora Dye (Education: Community College | City College of San Francisco).
JT announced that Rotary International President-elect Holger Knaack’s theme for 2020-2021 will be “Rotary Opens Opportunities”.
Upcoming Events
Action Leadership Program for Students (ALPS) Facilitator Orientation: Attend a 2.5-hour orientation on how to serve as an ALPS Facilitator on either February 22 or February 29, 2020. For more information, contact Connor Krone (Education: Management | Student Learning Lab).
Marti Sullivan (Development | The ARC San Francisco) announced that The ARC will hold its annual Friends of Friends Spring Gala on March 6, 2020 and invited all Rotarians and guests to attend. For more information, contact Marti Sullivan or see here.
Check the Club calendar for details on the following events:
February 26: Happy Hour at Zingari Ristorante.
February 29: Rotary Day at Cal Basketball to help support the Cal Rotaract Club.
March 6: the San Francisco Ballet's Midsummer Night's Dream and optional dinner.
March 11: Diaper bag stuffing and tour at the Homeless Prenatal Program.
March 14: Rotary Means Business vocational seminar at SFO.
March 19: Baby showers for Homeless Prenatal Program.
March 21: Annual Rotary District 5150 Assembly to be held at Redwood High School.
April 10: Grant applications are due.
February 29: Rotary Day at Cal Basketball to help support the Cal Rotaract Club.
March 6: the San Francisco Ballet's Midsummer Night's Dream and optional dinner.
March 11: Diaper bag stuffing and tour at the Homeless Prenatal Program.
March 14: Rotary Means Business vocational seminar at SFO.
March 19: Baby showers for Homeless Prenatal Program.
March 21: Annual Rotary District 5150 Assembly to be held at Redwood High School.
April 10: Grant applications are due.
New MemberTim Allen (Social Services Consulting | Allen/Loeb Associates) was inducted as a new member of the Club. His mentor will be Dan Joraanstad (Financial Services: Advising | Retired). Tim has lived in San Francisco for many years and works as a management consultant focused on program planning, grant writing, and training in the health and social services fields. He hopes to work with youth programs in Rotary. Welcome, Tim!
$20 for Twenty Seconds included:
- Tom Brunner (Nonprofit Management | Glaucoma Research Foundation) expressed his gratitude to JT and all of the members of the Club who attended the Glaucoma Research Foundation Gala. The event netted close to $750,000—a record.
- Mary Liu (Real Estate: Sales | Vanguard Properties/JM Real Estate Group) made a double donation: the first in admiration of Christopher Wiseman (Event Planning | Glaucoma Research Foundation) for a great job planning the Glaucoma Research Foundation Gala and the second to Dan Joraanstad and Bob Hermann (Information Technology: Administration | Retired) for inviting Mary to join their table at the event.
- John Mathers (Management Consulting | eVo Associates) announced that the Rotary Climate Action Team (RCAT) will be preparing a Club survey dealing with climate action issues, and they are developing recommendations for our Club members. The Rotary Club of Assisi, Italy is partnering with our Club and has already submitted a Rotary International Global Grant application. If you are interested in issues related to climate change, contact John and get involved with RCAT.
Jim Patrick (Retail: Office Supplies | Patrick & Co.) recently returned from a very informative vacation in Manchester, New Hampshire. With the Presidential Primary Campaign well underway when he was there, Jim attended a range of political events for both Democratic and Republican candidates. He predicted that none of the Democratic Presidential candidates would lock up their party’s nomination prior to the party convention, triggering a contested convention. He predicted Amy Klobuchar would be the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee.
Member MomentDonna-Lee Rubin (Medical Services | Rotaplast International) gave an overview of her long involvement in Rotary. She held a number of club and District positions (including District Governor) during her years in the Boston area. Following her husband’s death six years ago, she moved to San Francisco and joined our Club.
Super Bowl Pool Results
Fred Marschner (Financial Services | Northwestern Mutual) reported on the results of the Super Bowl Pool. Over half of our Club’s members participated, pledging from one to 15 squares. Further, a third of those participating pledged 5, 10, or 15 squares. Very caring generosity! A truly grand total of $23,800 was pledged to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) of Rotary International. Fred thanked Eric Schmautz (Banking: Management | Wells Fargo), Dora Dye (Education: Community College | City College of San Francisco), John Mathers, and JT Forbus for their significant contributions to the success of the 2020 Super Bowl Pool TRF fundraising and its administration. Truly a team effort!
Fred Marschner (Financial Services | Northwestern Mutual) reported on the results of the Super Bowl Pool. Over half of our Club’s members participated, pledging from one to 15 squares. Further, a third of those participating pledged 5, 10, or 15 squares. Very caring generosity! A truly grand total of $23,800 was pledged to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) of Rotary International. Fred thanked Eric Schmautz (Banking: Management | Wells Fargo), Dora Dye (Education: Community College | City College of San Francisco), John Mathers, and JT Forbus for their significant contributions to the success of the 2020 Super Bowl Pool TRF fundraising and its administration. Truly a team effort!
Guest Speaker
Today’s Guest Speaker was San Francisco Police Department Deputy Chief David Lazar, who is currently Chief of the Investigations Bureau. Born and raised in San Francisco, he joined SFPD in his early 20s and has now served at eight of the Department’s ten district stations and in virtually every division of the Department. In 2017, he was named Commander of the Community Engagement Division, dealing with community policing, homelessness, and community engagement. While there, he developed SFPD’s highly acclaimed “Healthy Streets Program” which is a multi-agency program to coordinate responses to street encampments and dirty streets. He noted that violent crime is declining in San Francisco, due in large part to residents’ willingness to get involved.
Today’s Guest Speaker was San Francisco Police Department Deputy Chief David Lazar, who is currently Chief of the Investigations Bureau. Born and raised in San Francisco, he joined SFPD in his early 20s and has now served at eight of the Department’s ten district stations and in virtually every division of the Department. In 2017, he was named Commander of the Community Engagement Division, dealing with community policing, homelessness, and community engagement. While there, he developed SFPD’s highly acclaimed “Healthy Streets Program” which is a multi-agency program to coordinate responses to street encampments and dirty streets. He noted that violent crime is declining in San Francisco, due in large part to residents’ willingness to get involved.
Unfortunately, property crimes (such as car and home break-ins) are increasing. SFPD has started a “Park Smart” program to encourage residents and visitors to avoid leaving valuables in their vehicles. He also encouraged residents to consider home alarm systems and home video cameras. He noted that burglars avoid homes with those devices, and just as important, surveillance videos help catch and convict criminals.
Door Prize
Lisa Christian (Development | Community Housing Partnership) won today's door prize which was a bottle of champagne.
Photos by Sunny Singh (Financial Services: Advising | Wedbush Securities)
Edited by Dora Dye (Education: Community College | City College of San Francisco)