News Categories: Civic Thursday Video Recordings

President Dudley Thompson opened the 5,379th Civic Thursday meeting by summarizing the Club’s 113 plus year history. The joy of those members who could attend in person was palpable throughout the Ballroom. However, Pres. Dudley reminded everyone of the Club’s policy that masks must be worn in the Ballroom except when eating or drinking.

In her inspiring thought for the day, Liz Ortega reminded us that women still face various forms of gender discrimination, which have been aggravated during the Covid pandemic. Following her remarks, Pres. Dudley led us in reciting the Club’s Mission Statement.

Past President and Past District Governor Ed Jellen introduced two distinguished guests: Past Pres. Jon Gresley and Past Pres. Gudrun Dybdal, who are both prominent members of the Truckee Club.  We also were favored with the presence of C J Hirshfield’s guests Gary and Kathy Meyer who attended in person. Sandeepa Nayak introduced Ruth Stroup’s online guest, Edie Zusman, MD & MBA (Director of the Piedmont Neuroscience Center on Grand Avenue).

C J Hirshfield, a confessed film noir addict, introduced our keynote speaker, Eddie Muller, film director, author, and the host of Turner Classic Movies’ popular weekly “Noir Alley” TV show. This month, he is also moving his annual Film Noir Festival from San Francisco to Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater.

Here are the highlights of Eddie’s talk:

– He wrote the book on film noir titled Dark City, The Lost World of Film Noir, which led to his being asked to head film festivals at Los Angeles’ Egyptian Theatre and the Castro Theater in San Francisco. This experience introduced him to some of the original film noir producers and screen writers. He now does eight festivals around the country and constantly receives requests from other cities.

– “Film noir” refers to a U.S. film movement that spanned the 1940's and 1950's. This was America’s only organic artistic movement, that Eddie calls the “anti-myth of American life”. The films portray the hard knocks reality of life and its unexpected turns versus the “live happily ever” myth of traditional American culture. The films were written and produced by artists, and not the money driven Hollywood studios. Many of these artists were emigres from war torn Europe. The scripts are especially attuned to the American vernacular. (C J recited one: “I’ve met a lot of hard-boiled eggs in my life, but you’re a full 20 minutes!”) Having experienced the horrors of the war era, the emigres were pessimists about life in general. The films tried to warn us about racial injustice, police brutality, sexual assault, and immoral politicians running amok. A striking irony is that nowadays some people watch noir films as comfort food because they remind them of a better time.

– Eddie has lived in Oakland for 30 years. He decided to move his Bay Area Film Noir Festival to Oakland when the pandemic prevented continued filming in Atlanta. The new Oakland festival begins next Tuesday at the Grand Lake Theater, which Eddie’s neighbor, owner of the Grand Lake, offered to him. Eddie is happy he moved the festival to Oakland. He thought it was about time that a popular institution go in the reverse direction taken by the Warriors. He has found Oakland to be very welcoming, more so than San Francisco.

– If you want to learn more, attend the Festival. You can also read the new edition of Eddie’s book which has a lot of new material.

– In response to Robert Kidd’s question: The conventional characterization of film noir as a genre that depicts victimized, ruined women is inaccurate and the result of poor scholarship. In fact, more women were involved in the films than early film noir critics realized. All the films have a good woman who is the right answer to men’s problems; but the men go for the bad femme fatale; e.g., the movie Angel Face where the ambulance driver who is better off staying with his nurse girlfriend, instead falls for a demented heiress. Also, many women wrote the books on which the films were based: e.g., Patricia Highsmith and Dorothy B. Hughes. But more attention has been given male writers such as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. In addition, there were excellent female film producers such as Joan Harrison, Hitchcock’s protégé.

– In response to Bob Barth’s question: Eddie’s favorite boxing subgenre film is The Setup.

– In response to Stephanie Casenza who asked how Eddie compared the remake of Nightmare Alley with the original, Eddie answered they’re both good. The main difference is that the new version is more faithful to the novel by keeping its “bleak” ending.

– In response to Allison Bliss’s question: Yes, the German film school known as “expressionism” had a big influence on film noir. The German movement is based on the idea that what you see in a film is a reflection of the actor’s inner emotions). It occurred during the “silent film” era of the 1920's when Berlin was the center of film making. The German films often disregarded realism and had realistic but distorted and stark black and white scenes that accentuated the war-related pessimism of that era. See, e.g., the film called The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

– In response to Steve Lowe’s question: Yes, Eddie has been slipped a mickey but not at waterfront dive; It happened at a bar in Salzburg, Austria at the hands of locals who didn’t like Eddie’s loud-mouthed American companion.

Click here to watch Eddie Muller video segment.

Missed our meeting, but interested in checking out the next one? Click below to learn more. https://www.oakland-rotary.org/calendar

#serviceaboveself #rotaryinternational #rotaryclubofoakland #rotaryopensopportunities

President Dudley Thompson called the 5,377th Civic Thursday meeting of the Rotary Club of Oakland meeting to order at 12:30 pm.

Clive Worsley presented a thought from Frank Herbert: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliterations. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. When the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I remain.

Past President and Past District Governor Ed Jellen indicated that no-one had signed in at the chat box.  Anghe Barde from the Rotary Club of Karad State Maharashtra signed in later.

Evolutionary Blues: President Dudley reported over 300 people attended this amazing event. He thanked everyone for participating, and gave special recognition to Allison Bliss for suggesting the event, and Georgia Richardson and Nancy Williams for their dedicated leadership in making it happen.

In Person Meetings: President Dudley announced that in-person meetings in the California Ballroom will restart on March 10th (along with Zoom broadcasts). Noting that it comes almost on the two-year anniversary of the pandemic shut-down, he reminded everyone that proof of vaccination will be required (no booster necessary) and N-95 or KN-95 masks are strongly encouraged.

Blood Donation: Blood donations continue to be critically needed. Sign up at the Red Cross website. Please let Jesse Bowdle know if you have donated blood.

Ukraine Assistance: Pres. Dudley reported that several initiatives are underway to provide assistance and supplies to the people of Ukraine. At this time District 5170 has set up a fund in conjunction with American Red Cross to provide much-needed supplies. Donations can be made at this website: https://www.redcross.org/donate/cm/rotarydistrict5170-pub.html/. Other partners with Rotary will be forthcoming as information becomes available.

Oakland Marathon and Running Festival: On Sunday, March 20th, the club will work at two of the water stops. Register on the Club calendar website. Note the two water station locations available and make sure to include the Password for the one you want.

Rotary District 5170’s celebration of International Women’s Day is scheduled for March 13th at the Rotary San Jose Summit Center. District Lieutenant Governor Liza Lorenz joined Pres. Dudley to announce the event. Oakland Rotary is one of five clubs invited to showcase its projects. Featured speaker is Zoom COO, Aparna Bawa. Register on the District 5170 website.

Kymberly Johnson, chair of the ORE Campaign, outlined the impact ORE makes. As an example, David Kittner, Community Service Chair, told how the committee identified three primary focus areas for this year: Social Justice, Arts and Environment. It has awarded $35,000 of its $50,000 current budget to projects supporting Social Justice and Arts organizations. Between now and the end of June, they will be awarding grants focused on the environment. A service day is scheduled in April to work at the Tile Mural location at Lake Merritt that commemorates the 60th anniversary of Fukuoka Japan’s sister city connection with Oakland.

This year, ORE plans to raise $100,000. All members are encouraged to give an amount that is personally meaningful. During the meeting, pledges from Leeann Alameda, Tom Limon, Robert Raburn and David Stein were recorded in the chatbox.

Jesse Schmidt, Business Committee Chair, announced the next Business Mixer will be Wednesday, March 23rd at Nido’s Backyard, 104 Oak Street, Oakland.  It will be an all-outdoor event.  Attendees need to register themselves and their guests in advance at https://www.oakland-rotary.org/calendar/events/2022-03-23/business-devel....

Attendees were treated to a special twist on the popular television series “Shark Tank” featuring six Rotarians who pitched why their business or organization should be chosen. David Kersten and Jesse Schmidt presented the contenders – three with for-profit businesses and three with non-profit organizations. Each was asked to describe how they can contribute to the “Success of Oakland’s Youth”.

Riza Hernandez, founder and owner of EntreFolio, Sandeep Rajbhandari, founder and CEO of Local Foodz Cali Inc., and Derreck Johnson, founder and owner of Home of Chicken and Waffles, each described their businesses and their personal passions for serving the community.

Julayne Virgil, CEO of Girls Inc., Jack McAboy, Chairman at Sylvan Learning Center, and Kimberly Miller, Executive Director of Children’s Fairyland, outlined the opportunities their businesses provide and why they are so committed to the work they do.

Joycie Mack rang the bell in honor of the Oakland Rotary “Sharks”. Clive Worsley rang the bell in honor of Isaac Kos-Read. Isaac Kos-Read rang the bell in honor of Kymberly Johnson.

Click here to watch Shark Tank video segment.

Missed our meeting, but interested in checking out the next one? Click below to learn more. https://www.oakland-rotary.org/calendar

#serviceaboveself #rotaryinternational #rotaryclubofoakland #rotaryopensopportunities

President Dudley Thompson called to order the 5,374th Civic Thursday meeting of the 3rd oldest Rotary Club in the world. He announced we will continue meeting via Zoom throughout the month of February

Mary Ray Brophy followed up last week’s speaker topic with her Thought for the Day from the new mission statement issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service: “USCIS upholds America’s promise as a nation of welcome and responsibility with fairness, integrity and respect for all we serve…The United States is and will remain a welcoming nation that embraces people from across the world…And, when we offer refuge to those in need of protection, we are living up to our nation’s highest ideals.”

Past President and Past District Governor Ed Jellen introduced Assistant District Governor Dianne Dorn, a member of the San Leandro Rotary Club, Cynthia Dorsey of the Newark Rotary Club and guest of Carolyn Watson, Ken Richardson’s guest, Paul Pervere, a retired accounting professional and brother of member Maude Pervere and Mary Geong’s guest, Vivian Chen. In addition, there were many guests of our speakers.

Saroni-Lena Summer Internships:

Janice Brickley gave a brief report on the great success of last year’s first-ever summer internship program for Saroni-Lena scholars. She invited members with active businesses or nonprofit organizations to consider participating in the 2022 Summer Internship Program. A commitment includes providing the student with at least six weeks of meaningful learning for a minimum of 20 hours per week at a $15/hour pay rate minimum. Contact Janice at janicembrickley@gmail.com for further details.

Gala Sponsors Needed:

Jennie Hunsberger provided an overview of the various April 28th Gala sponsorships and related benefits, including a new sponsorship level of $10,000 that is still available. Among the many benefits at this level is a promise by President Dudley to immediately shave his beard! In addition to other monetary sponsorship levels, the Gala Committee is also seeking in-kind gifts for the auction such as time at vacation homes, tickets to events, wine and more. Email your offer or send questions to http://rotarygala2022.com

Carbon Footprint Survey:

Environment Committee member Stewart Epstein thanked members who have completed the carbon footprint survey and announced there was still time to get it done. Rotarians who complete the survey will be entered into two separate drawings to win a “Winery Tasting for Four People” at his Brooklyn West Winery in Oakland.  (Don’t worry, your individual scores are your own!) Take the survey here: http://Coolclimate.berkeley.edu . Then provide your individual results to Jesse Bowdle at execadmin@oakland-rotary.org or Joel Parrott at jjparrott83@gmail.com .

This meeting during Black History Month was a very special one as Rotarians were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the “color of ballet.” The presentation featured an esteemed panel of experts introduced by Georgia Richardson and moderated by self-proclaimed “dance mom” Carolyn Watson. Collectively the panel’s experience spans at least a half-dozen esteemed dance companies from coast to coast. Each panelist shared their experience firsthand as a person of color committed to a dance career.

Karlya Shelton-Benjamin, a former first-generation principal ballerina with the Dance Theater of Harlem (DTH), talked about her early professional ballet career in Colorado where she was the only black person in an all-white company. Her dance career grew at DTH, taking her all over the world to dance for large audiences as well as for kings, queens and U.S. Presidents. Eventually, she would become a resident of Oakland. Here Karlya would cross paths and generations to mentor young Oakland resident Angela Watson.

Angela first began studying dance under the tutelage of another of the day’s panelist, Reginald Ray-Savage, Artistic Director at the Oakland School for the Arts. Reginald’s remarks at the meeting focused on his early career experience as well as his current teaching method. He insists that each student adhere to a very strict standard of training like that required by some of the best choreographers and ballet masters. It’s the same method he was expected to master as a professional dancer with the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and other troupes in Chicago before moving to the Bay Area in the 1990s.

In her young career Angela Watson has danced the principal role of Clara in San Francisco Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” and was the only African American student accepted to the Ballet School’s Advanced Preprofessional Level. Already Angela has received a national Young Arts Foundation Award for her accomplishments in ballet. Yet she began her ballet training only in her pre-teen years, unlike others who begin as children. Angela is currently in the San Francisco Ballet Student Training Program. She stressed the importance of motivation, setting and keeping focused on goals, not getting distracted and working very hard. While she has sometimes been the first person of color in a group, thus making it difficult to share her experience and bond with others like her, it is getting a little better. She believes it is important to share her values for success with those who come behind her. Overall, all panelists agreed that the future for dancers of color appeared brighter than in any prior decades, but still has a way to go in achieving equity.

Studying ballet can be expensive because it involves not only training, but travel and attending performances of other companies even it if means buying a ticket for a top row balcony seat. To help fund these needs, contributions to Pathways can be made by texting the word YOUTH to 707070 or by visiting their website https://www.pledge.to/YOUTH.

President Dudley began to adjourn the meeting until he was advised of three bellringers online. Ces Butner, Lois Corrin and Georgia Richardson rang the bell for Angela Watson.

Click here to watch Angela Watson video segment.

Missed our meeting, but interested in checking out the next one? Click below to learn more. https://www.oakland-rotary.org/calendar

#serviceaboveself #rotaryinternational #rotaryclubofoakland #rotaryopensopportunities

President Dudley Thompson called to order the 5,372nd Civic Thursday meeting of the 3rd oldest Rotary Club in the world. We are a diverse group of some 270 business, professional and community leaders dedicated to Service Above Self. President Dudley announced that pursuant to a decision made by the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors we will continue meeting via Zoom throughout the month of February. Together we recited our vision statement, “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change, across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves.”

Riza Hernandez shared this timely reminder that small acts now have great results in the future from Warren Buffett, “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

Past President and Past District Governor Ed Jellen introduced Past President and Assistant Governor of District 4A, Dianne Dorn from the San Leandro Club and Frank Yoke, member of San Francisco Rotary Club #2 and guest of David Stein. We also welcomed Richard Swart, President of the Rotary Club of San Francisco Chinatown.

Meeting Sponsor – Jesse Schmidt, TNT STRENGTH (TRUTH NOT TRENDS): Jesse Schmidt is the co-owner of TNT, a strength-building company located at 5255 College Avenue. Strength and fitness are achieved in 30-minute workout sessions once or twice a week (either in person or virtually) and TNT’s philosophy is that strength training can be started at any age and will promote better health and longevity. Past President Peter Sherris gave a testimonial and noted that when he started working with Jesse, he had two caveats – 1) he wanted to ski and, 2) he didn’t want to be hurt. After working with Jesse, he found his strength had improved and skiing was easier. Jesse also thanked Rotarians Danny Mai, David Kersten (see his video about TNT at https://vimeo.com/670326596), Nancy Williams, Diane Schaffer, Peter Sherris and Astrid Lacitis, Shannon Hackley, Riza Hernandez, Sandeep Rajbhandari and Gary Flaxman (for finding the building).

President Dudley reminded us that even though the pandemic continues, we are continuing to engage in outdoor activities. On February 15, there will be a Golf Tournament and on February 24, we have rented the Grand Lake Theatre for a screening of Evolutionary Blues, a full-length documentary, featuring interviews with more than 30 artists who regularly played in clubs and music venues that lined the blocks of 7th Street before a charge for “urban renewal” decimated the thriving, self-sustaining Oakland Black community. It’s a story about the Great Migration, told through the lens and culture of blues musicians, many of whom never made it to national fame but were respected and acclaimed within the true blues scene. They carried the soul of their Southern roots — Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas — to Oakland. Doors will open at 6 pm with the screening beginning at 7 pm. After the screening, there will be a Q&A with the film's Director Cheryl Fabio. Get tickets here: https://bit.ly/3Km9GjE . Proof of full vaccination is required. Masks must be worn except when eating and drinking.

We will have a celebration of International Women’s Day on March 13. Get ready to be in the Mood for Gratitude Gala on Thursday, April 28 at the Sequoyah Country Club from 6-10 p.m. where both indoor and outdoor options will be available. REMINDER: Please resubmit proof of vaccination and booster to Jesse Bowdle.

President Dudley invited us to join Breakout Rooms and discuss how we can increase membership because let’s not keep Rotary a secret.

Ahmad Anderson introduced his friend and our speaker today, sports director, Larry Beil from ABC KGO-TV in San Francisco. Beil graduated from the University of Hawaii and worked at ESPN and KTVU in Oakland and KGMB in Honolulu. Giving a nod to his Hawaiian upbring, Beil coined the catch phrase, “Aloha means goodbye” after showing a home run.

Larry began by discussing the topic on everyone's mind. He thinks the 49ers will go to the Super Bowl if they win against the Rams this Saturday. He discussed his upbringing in Hawaii and his years as a journalism student. He wanted to play sports but when he realized that might not be his path forward, he started writing for television about sports. He recalled that when he was looking for a home in the Bay Area in 1989 he was in the Caldecott Tunnel when the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred. The tunnel did not move. In his career, he has covered multiple Super Bowls and NBA Finals.

Beil offered a few predictions for upcoming games. He thinks the Bengals have a lot to overcome in their upcoming game against the Chiefs. He doesn't think the A's are going to move to Las Vegas as there is no money for a new stadium. He thinks we can cultivate sports in the community by emphasizing education in the classroom and then sports and see to it that all athletes have the equipment they need in order to play.

Karen Friedman rang the bell for David Kittner and Feed The Hungry food drive. Joycie Mack rang the bell for Larry Beil. Bob Peltz rang the bell for President Dudley Thompson.

Click here to watch Larry Beil video segment.

Missed our meeting, but interested in checking out the next one?

Click below to learn more. https://www.oakland-rotary.org/calendar

#serviceaboveself #rotaryinternational #rotaryclubofoakland #rotaryopensopportunities