Ces Butner, President of Rotary Club of Oakland
Call to Order – Ces Butner
President Ces Butner called our virtual Oakland Rotary Civic Thursday meeting to order at 12:30 pm, noting this is 5,314th meeting in our 111-year old history.
Sam Miller
Thought for the Day – Sam Miller
Sam Miller shared a thought for the day about cherishing democracy. Sam then encouraged us to heed those words and go vote.
President’s Challenge
President Ces led the members in reciting the club vision and then encouraged everyone to participate in each Rotary campaign, The Rotary Foundation and Oakland Rotary Endowment. Pres. Ces will donate $50,000 to each if there is 100% participation!
David Gerber – Novus Global
Meeting Sponsor – David Gerber – Novus Global
David Gerber sponsored this week’s meeting. He is a personal coach with Novus Global. David outlined how people underestimate their own capacity and there is some tension for most to stay “inside the fence” of their comfort zone. He shared a personal story about his marriage coach and how he learned about different communication styles. This led David to a happier marriage and hopes that others will seek a coach to help them become better versions of themselves.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Past President Ed Jellen announced no visiting Rotarians. Marie Saverimuthu brought four guests.
Jack Iles
Self Introduction and Blue Badge – Jack Iles
Jack Iles gave his three-minute self-introduction. He is the club’s co-chair of the AV Committee. Jack grew up in the central valley and moved to the Bay Area graduating from St. Mary’s College. Go Gaels! After college, he started working for Otis McAllister and sells grocery goods to boutique grocery stores. Jack is ecstatic he joined Rotary and is looking forward to in-person meetings soon where he can wear his new permanent blue badge.
Past President Robert Kidd
Rotary Hike in Leona Canyon on November 7
Past President Robert Kidd of The High Adventure Committee announced that on November 7th from 8:45 -11 am there is a Rotary hike in Leona Canyon. This three-mile, post-election hike will also welcome dogs so bring your (well-behaved) dogs! Attendance is limited. Go to the club website for details and register at https://portal.clubrunner.ca/3190/Event/high-adventure-hike---leona-canyon.
Robert Kidd with handcrafted pumpkin
Halloween Mask Contest – October 29
Robert Kidd also announced the Halloween mask contest on October 29th. Robert encouraged everyone to wear a mask at the virtual Zoom meeting. The winner will get a handcrafted pumpkin.
Nominating Committee Election Next Week
Past President and Chair of the Nominating Committee Sean Marx announced the club members will vote next week to elect the Nominating Committee.
Zoom Business Expo
Business Development Expo – November 5
Sean Marx announced the Business Development Committee will have a Zoom Business Expo on November 5th from 3:00-5:00 pm. Mayor Libby Schaaf will be the keynote speaker. You must register to attend at: http://bit.ly/shoprotary2020
Lee Gelernt
Speaker of the Day – Lee Gelernt
Gary Flaxman introduced our speaker Lee Gelernt. Lee is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading public interest lawyers. He has argued cases around the separation of immigrant children at the border and has argued against President Trump’s asylum bans.
Lee focused on the case around separating immigrant children at the border. In the fall of 2017, news was reported that immigrant children were being separated from their parents. In early 2018 those reports were verified and Lee talked to the future lead plaintiff. This individual asked for asylum at the border and at some point, her six-year-old child was separated from her and sent to Chicago. Lee and the American Civil Liberties Union brought a lawsuit on her behalf. The court gave the administration time to reunify the families, but the Federal government had terrible data and made it extremely difficult for the ACLU to help find them. In total, 1,556 children were separated and of those 200 were under the age of five. To date, at least 500 families have not been found.
In the Question and Answer period, Club members pointed out that Rotary is an international organization with 35,000 clubs in over 200 countries. The ACLU might get in touch with local Rotary leaders in certain communities throughout Mexico and Central America to see if some of the families they are looking for can be located.
To watch his video recording please click here.
Get Out The Vote Training on Zoom
Roberta Abel announced that she is available to train members to help get out the vote via Zooom. Contact Roberta at roberta@rtobertaabel.com for more details.
Bellringers
Executive Director Pat Williams announced the following bellringers:
- Sandeepa Nayak and Dudley Thompson rang the bell for Jack Iles.
- Keith Uriarte rang the bell for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
- Gary Flaxman and Joycie Mack rang the bell for Lee Gelernt.
- Marie Saverimuthu rang the bell for the importance in voting.
Proposed for Membership
The following individual has submitted an application. If no objection is received within five days, the application will be submitted to the Board of Directors for action.
Sheng Thao
PUBLIC POLICY
City of Oakland, 3727 35th Avenue Oakland, CA 94619
Sponsor: Keith Uriarte
Adjournment
President Ces Butner adjourned another busy meeting at 1:30 pm with his signature comment “that’s the way it went” and the reminder that Rotary Opens Opportunity for Service Above Self.
Jim Lebrecht, Crip Camp Documentary
Next Meeting, October 29 – Jim Lebrecht, Crip Camp Documentary
CJ Hirschfield announced next week’s speaker will be Jim Lebrecht, disability rights activist and co-director of the documentary, Crip Camp. Crip Camp is a film about the disability rights movement. The East Bay became a hub of the movement beginning in the 60’s. The film recently won the Audience Award at the Sundance Institute Film Festival. See this film on Netflix.
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