Posted by Brian Lan on Apr 24, 2019
President Rhonda Poppen opened the meeting by reviewing the Rotary “Four-Way Test”. 
 
President Rhonda then provided updates on several events held last month, including:
  • The Homeless Prenatal Program (“HPP”) Diaper Bag Assembly on March 12, and the HPP Baby Showers on March 14. Rhonda thanked Susan Dean (Health Care Management; Retired) for crocheting over thirty baby blankets which were distributed by HPP to expectant mothers.
  • The “Welcome to the Club” Party on March 13, hosted by Dan Joraanstad (Financial Management; Retired).
  • The District Assembly on March 16, where President-Elect Casey Blair (Foreign Equity Trading; Feis Options) was introduced as San Francisco Rotary Club’s incoming president.
  • The tour of the Haas-Lilienthal House on March 26.
  • The Needle Walk Service Project on March 30.
    Rhonda announced several upcoming April events:
    • People of Action-Impact Series on April 4.
    • ARC of San Francisco “Friends Like Me” Dinner: April 15.
    • Deadline of April 15 for submission of 2020 Service Project Grant Applications to the International Service and Community Service committees for review.
    • The “Bike Build” on Saturday, April 20.
    • “Bocce, Beverages & Bites” social event on April 30.
    Member Moment: Christopher Wiseman, one of the Club’s newest members, shared a little about himself in today’s Member Moment. Chris related that he is from Syracuse, New York, where he learned to square dance and ski. He attended the University of San Francisco, where he studied politics, performing arts, and social justice. He also studied abroad in Budapest and Madrid. Chris has lived in San Francisco for sixteen years, and enjoys trying new things. Among other things, Chris has provided event planning services for a number of non-profits and other organizations. He shared with those in attendance his advice for how to be the “perfect guest” at a large event. Among his tips: RSVP promptly; alert the host well in advance as to any special food or menu requests—these can almost always be accommodated with sufficient notice; and don’t wait until you arrive at the event to raise a menu or seating request.
     
    Rotarian of the Month: President Rhonda announced that April’s “Rotarian of the Month” is Lilian Tsi-Stielstra (Insurance Services; Retired). Lilian works extensively with Youth Services and has been an adviser to the George Washington High School Interact Club. She has also participated in Project Homeless Connect, Rotary Meadow maintenance, and many other social events and service projects. Rhonda thanked Lilian for being an inspiration to all, and presented Lilian with a scarf and other gifts.
     
    Those members donating for “Twenty for Twenty” included:
    • David Dye (Management Consulting; Retired), who shared that he recently re-connected with his friend and fellow Rotarian Lawrence Chu, of Chef Chu’s Restaurant in Los Altos. Lawrence’s brother, Jon, recently directed the popular movie Crazy Rich Asians.
    • John Mathers (Management Consulting; eVo Consulting) shared his humorous experience at Molly Schmautz’s recent birthday party at the Corte Madera fire station. Molly is the daughter of members Stephanie Schmautz (Retirement Living; The Carlisle) and Eric Schmautz (Banking Management; Wells Fargo).
    • Richard Harrell (Veterans Services; Heroes’ Voices) shared some updates on the Heroes' Voices National Veterans Poetry Contest, and graciously provided copies of last year’s book of selected poems to President Rhonda and Immediate Past President John Mathers.
    • Dan Joraanstad (Financial Management; Retired) praised fellow member Sunny Singh for his work organizing the Bike Build project. Dan encouraged new members to start a project they feel passionate about.
    • Bill Poppen (Banking Management; MUFG Bank) is seeking mentors for several new members. He also congratulated Tyler Sterk (Merrill Lynch), Irena Matijas (Real Estate; Compass), and Jane Ferguson Flout (Non-profit Administration; Catholic Charities) for completing their Red Badge requirements in near-record time.
    • Lynn Luckow (Development; LikeMinded.org) thanked John Mathers for his help with the Youth Leadership silent auction, and announced Emily Borland (Architecture; Emily Borland Specifications) as the winner. Lynn also provided an update on the RYLA Camp later this month, and announced that he is still seeking counselors to help with the program. He thanked John Dean (Attorney; Dean Dispute Resolution), Susan Dean and Christian Kuhn (Roots of Peace) for volunteering to serve as counselors.
    President Rhonda also announced that today would be Mark Enis’s (Asset Management; Open Key Group) last meeting, as he and his family are moving from San Francisco. Rhonda thanked Mark for his contributions to the Club, and wished him well.
     
    The presentation today was the 2019 Club Assembly, presented by President-Elect Casey Blair. Casey reviewed the results of the recent member survey, which was generally very positive. Casey then highlighted some of the challenges that the Board discussed in their recent retreat. He reiterated the Board’s commitment to the Club’s mission statement: to support healthy communities through strong friendships and active engagement. Casey wants to keep the positive momentum and energy going, and urged members to get involved with the various committees and service projects.
     
    The incoming Board members then rotated from table to table, “speed dating”-style, spending a few minutes at each table introducing themselves, describing their areas of responsibility and seeking input from the members.
     
     
    Photos by Kevin Leong (Development - Colleges and Universities; University of San Francisco) and Casey Blair
    Edited by John Dean