Ces Butner, President of Rotary Club of Oakland
Call to Order – Ces Butner
President Ces Butner called the 5,326th Civic Thursday club meeting of the Rotary Club of Oakland to order smiling his charming welcome to members and guests.
Joe Goraka
Thought for the Day – Joe Goralka
Joe Goralka gave us two thoughts for the day from Henry Thoreau, “In a world of peace and love, music would be the universal language.” and that “cats and music are two distractions of life”.
President Ces reminded us to ‘Join a Committee! That’s where Rotary happens.”
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Past President Ed Jellen introduced Dianne Dorn from San Leandro Rotary, guest of Jesse Bowdle, Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan; Matt Tews, guest of Marcus Clark; Lois Corrin, guest of C J Hirshfield; and Erika Gimbel, guest of David Kersten.
President Ces reminded us that we have 27 new members this year but are short of our goal.
Ed Silva
New Member Induction – Ed Silva
Our newest member is Ed Silva, sponsored by Jack McAboy. Ed is in the Oakland office of Emergency Services. He is soccer player and biathlete. He was raised in Peru, and his first introduction to Rotary was through his father, who is a member of the Rotary Club of Lima, a past club president and past district governor. Welcome Ed!
Harold Lowe
Skyline Interact Club Presentation
Enterprise Institute Committee Chair Harold Lowe gave an update on plans for the Enterprise Institute and described what it does. Each spring since 1982 the Enterprise Institute has taken place in a dormitory style camp in Aptos, just south of Santa Cruz. During the three-day retreat, high school juniors learn the benefits and challenges of American business, as they team up to create and operate a company. Participants work on marketing concepts, business strategies, communication skills, and networking.
The 2021 spring weekend at Camp Toyon has been postponed once again due to the COVID pandemic. However, the committee is working on big plans for April 20-22, 2022 which will mark the program’s the 40th Anniversary. Harold showed an historic photo of the group of students and mentors the year he attended as a student. A jovial contest broke out between Harold and Danny Mai, who also attended Camp Enterprise, as it was known then, to see who was the first to attend.
Danny Mai
Business Development News
Danny Mai, chair of Business Development, announced the next event in the Shop Rotary series will be Wednesday, February 10 from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. when Wil Hobbs and Tommy Edwards will talk about the PPP loan program for small businesses.
Celebrate Black History Month
Pres. Ces shared with us that the NAACP was founded on February 12, 1909, the centennial anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
Maestro Michael Morgan
Speaker for the Day – Maestro Michael Morgan
Steve Nicholls introduced Maestro Michael Morgan, our speaker for the day.
Michael Morgan told us about Oakland Salutes Madam V.P., a video webcast available to watch on YouTube. Created to welcome and honor our new U. S. Vice President Kamala Harris, it is a compilation of music and dance performances skillfully edited by Bruce Crisp, videographer and first trombonist in the Oakland Symphony Orchestra.
Arts groups are suffering through the pandemic and need our support to stay alive until they can resume live performances and solvency. Michael encouraged us to donate to any one of them.
The Oakland Symphony is involved in many community programs. They start in the schools, even during this time of school closures, using zoom instruction. The work to ensure a diversity of players in an orchestra starts with preparing children for the rigors of a career in music that includes the audition process. “Behind Screen” auditions, like those at the New York Met help insure unbiased selection of new players. Oakland and its symphony are ahead of the curve presenting women and composers of color, among them Florence Price, who is buried in an unmarked grave in Chicago.
Our Symphony has the first Chinese Instrument Youth Orchestra in the country. They will be presenting the Great Wall Fundraising Concert on February 26, 2021. You can register for tickets on Eventbrite.
Frederica von Stade is organizing a chorus for the unhoused. Tentatively named Oakland People’s Chorus, this effort is just beginning.
More good news is that Oakland Symphony has a concert ready to go as soon as COVID restrictions on gathering are lifted.
Click here to watch Michael Morgan's video segment.
Bellringers
Executive Administrator Jesse Bowdle announced the following bellringers:
C J Hirschfield, Georgia Richardson, Lois Corrin (2) and Dudley Thompson rang the bell for Michael Morgan.
Adjournment
President Ces Butner closed the meeting with the gavel hitting our bell and his closing adage “and that’s the way it went” plus the reminder that Rotary Opens Opportunity for Service Above Self.
Birthday Greetings
Happy Birthday! Celebrating between February 1 and 10 are:
Jill Loh Kearns – February 2
Karen Friedman – February 9
Membership Anniversaries in February
Thank you for your years of service to the Rotary Club of Oakland and the community!
L. Morris Johnson – 45 years
Ken Richardson – 38 years
Joel Parrott – 35 years
Shannon Hackley – 33 years
Sean Marx – 28 years
Rick Baskin – 16 years
John Weaver – 13 years
Bob Breecker – 9 years
Abel Guillen – 8 years
Brad Gill – 6 year
Jason Wizelman – 6 years
Renia Webb – 5 years
Bryan Morgan – 4 year
Emily Morgan – 4 years
Isaac Kos-Read – 3 years
Jim Ippolito – 3 years
Nicholas Williams – 3 years
Susan Schroeder – 2 years
Sam Miller – 1 year
Cory Nott – 1 year
Pauline Fox – 1 year
Rod James – 1 year
Terrence Brewer, Jazz Artist
Next Meeting, February 11 – Terrence Brewer, Jazz Artist
Allison Bliss announced our speaker will be Terrence Brewer. In addition to being a first-call and in-demand bandleader, record producer, concert performer and studio musician, Brewer has established himself as one of the San Francisco Bay area’s foremost music educators. For 20+ years Brewer has been a private lesson instructor, master class instructor, clinician, lecturer, music workshop facilitator, and presenter to students of all ages, skill levels, and musical styles
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