Ces Butner, President of Rotary Club of Oakland
Call to Order – Ces Butner
President Ces Butner called our 5,324th "Civic Thursday" meeting of the Rotary Club of Oakland to order at 12:30 p.m. and welcomed all of our Zoom guests.
Georgia Richardson
Thought for the Day – Georgia Richardson
Georgia Richardson gave us the thought of the day. After attending a California Realtors Association meeting on diversity and inclusion, Georgia shared how we must get comfortable with being uncomfortable if we are going to fix inequities.
Oakland Rotary Vision
President Ces led us in the Rotary vision and recapped last week’s meeting before mentioning how elated he was to see the inauguration of US Vice President Kamala Harris.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Past President Ed Jellen introduced visiting Rotarian Dianne Dorn of San Leandro Rotary.
Dudley Thompson
Strategic Plan
President-Elect Dudley Thompson reported on the strategic plan. Rotary clubs always face issues of continuity with changes in leadership each year. In 2015, the club undertook a strategic plan through 2019. Past-President Peter Sherris started a revision but COVID-19 put a lot of uncertainty into the plan. The next phase will include 30 personal interviews of club members followed by a survey of all members. The new strategic plan should finalize by April 2021.
David Kittner
Community Service Update
David Kittner, chair of the Community Service Committee, detailed how the club makes grants to local nonprofits in the community. It’s a passive system that waits for organizations to make a grant request that is then approved or not. Instead, this year they will attempt to find and recommend grants to the board. They have prioritized the topics of homelessness and social justice.
Members are encouraged to reach out to Georgia Richardson at georgia.w.richardson@bhhsdrysdale.com on the issue of homelessness and Sam Miller at samuel.r.miller48@gmail.com on social justice.
Isaac Kos-Read
Public Image/ Communications Report
Isaac Kos-Read, co-chair of the Public Image/Communications Committee, explained how social media has been a source of disinformation, but can also be a force for good and the goal is for Oakland Rotary to be a positive force on those platforms. Isaac mentioned there have been 30,000 active engagements on Facebook. He thanked Stephanie Casenza for her help. In preparation for the breakout sessions that followed, Isaac asked members to share how we can connect on social media and grow the visibility of the club.
Italina Kirknis
Speaker for the Day – Italina Kirknis
David Kersten introduced our speaker Italina Kirknis who gives talks all over the country on effective social media. Italina is an Oakland native who played varsity tennis at Bishop O’Dowd. She is a JD with a legal background, but practices her passion in online marketing and branding.
Italina gave us an overview of her own Facebook business page that shows immediately her value and demonstrates what she does. Leverage all the space in your social media profiles to brand and tell visitors what you do. Always include a call to action and hashtags so people can find your content. People will often scroll through your profile, see your picture and engage in various ways so make sure to be on brand and consistent in your message. Additionally, do not forget to personalize and humanize your content. Another piece of your brand is to use your audience’s interest to pull them into your brand and social media platforms. Italina suggested to “maximize the free” by using hashtags and other techniques before considering paying for boosting ads on Facebook and Instagram.
Cocktails with the President
Cocktails with the President – January 21st
Jim Boessenecker announced Cocktails with the President is tonight at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom. Everyone is invited to join President Ces for a post-inauguration presidential trivia quiz.
Bellringers
Executive Administrator Jesse Bowdle announced that Joycie Mack rang the bell in honor of the new Biden administration
Adjournment
President Ces Butner adjourned another busy meeting a few minutes before 1:30 p.m. with his signature comment “that’s the way it went” and the reminder that Rotary Opens Opportunity for Service Above Self, as he rang the bell.
Proposed For Membership
The following individuals have submitted applications. If no objection is received within five days, the application will be submitted to the Board of Directors for action:
Ed Silva
VOLUNTEER
Oakland, CA 94611
Sponsor: Jack McAboy & Rick Draper
-----------------------------------------------------
Zeydi Gutierrez
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Public Affairs Strategic Director
AB&I Foundry
7875 San Leandro St.
Oakland, CA 94621
Sponsor: Isaac Kos-Read
Selvi Stanislaus
Next Meeting, January 29 – Selvi Stanislaus, CA Franchise Tax Board
Past President Lorna Padia Markus announced next week’s speaker is Selvi Stanislaus. Selvi is the first woman Executive Officer of the CA Franchise Tax Board. See how you can lower your taxes!
Add new comment