President Rhonda welcomed our prospective members, visiting Rotarians (including one from Germany), and guests.
Rhonda announced that two valued members of the Club had recently passed away: Past President Jim Emerson (Clergy – Presbyterian; Retired) and Past President Grant Hundley (Hardware – Retail; EM Hundley Hardware). She held a moment of silence in their memory.
Rhonda then shared upcoming events from the Club calendar including:
- Rotary Twilight Golf on Thursdays 9/27 and 10/11.
- Rotary Tailgate for the UC Berkeley vs. Oregon Football Game on Saturday 9/29.
- Italian Heritage Parade on Sunday 10/7 (Volunteers needed for bringing supplies and decorating the cable car).
- Dinner Club at The Arc on Monday 10/15.
- Project Homeless Connect on Wednesday 10/24 (Volunteers needed for Morning and Afternoon Shifts).
- Halloween Social Event on Tuesday 10/30.
President Rhonda reiterated the Club’s vision of supporting healthy communities through strong friendships and active engagement. She shared stories and pictures of past events where Club members participated recently, including the Homeless Prenatal Program, Rotary Meadow Workday at Mt. Sutro, and Dinner Club at The Arc.
President of the San Francisco Rotary Foundation, Tim Hornbecker (Human Resources - Employment and Housing; The Arc of Alameda County), presented checks to RotaCare Bay Area, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) and Interact.- Bob Hermann (Retired) and Alvin Vong, a clinician at RotaCare, accepted on behalf of RotaCare, sharing the organization’s mission of offering free medical clinics to support healthy communities.
- Lynn Luckow (Development; LikeMinded.org), our Club’s Vice President of Youth Services, accepted on behalf of RYLA and Interact. Lynn noted that RYLA was started in our Club by Past President Jim Patrick (Office Supplies; Patrick & Co.) as Camp Enterprise, and that 140 students have joined this year at Lowell High School.
Those contributing $20 or more included:
- Anita Stangl (Non-profit Medical Services; Alliance for Smiles) recently attended a district meeting where she met a fellow Rotarian from Uganda who needs some places to stay for the next 12 weeks while receiving health treatments. Contact Anita if you can provide some space for a week or more.
- Stephanie Schmautz (Retirement Living; The Carlisle) announced that another Rotary 101 session would be held after the luncheon for new and prospective members to learn more about the Club. She and Cecile Chiquette (Accounting Services; Retired) will each donate $5 to the Club for every person who attends.
- Lynn Luckow shared his involvement with Sunflower Wellness and The Bread Project. He is looking for volunteers to help with both organizations. He also announced that The Bread Project will be hosting a fundraiser on Monday 10/8.
Dora Dye (Education; City College) and Greg Gutting (Human Services; The Salvation Army, Golden State Division) modeled commemorative T-shirts designed in honor of our Club’s 110th anniversary. These shirts are available for $25 each on the Club’s website. Questions about them should be addressed to Dora.Dan Joraanstad (Financial Management; Retired) interviewed today’s guest speaker, Randy Arnold, “Barefoot Guy” and winery ambassador of Barefoot Winery. They discussed recent trends in and information about the California wine industry. Randy shared his background and family history in the wine business, and he talked about Barefoot Winery’s philanthropic efforts in supporting the community and various non-profit events. Randy revealed his in-depth knowledge and helped answer many questions from Club members regarding the wine industry.
Randy provided everyone with gift bags from Barefoot Winery, as well as today’s door prizes: copies of The Barefoot Spirit, a book written by Barefoot founders Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey. David Dye (Management Consulting; Retired), Flora Burke (Financial Management; Merrill Lynch), and guest Dan Riley all won books.
Photos by Makiko Goto-Widerman (Accounting Services; California Perfect Tax) and Bill Poppen (Banking Management; MUFG Union Bank)
Edited by Scott Plakun (IT Consulting; The Plakun Group)