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Rotary Club of Oakland Civic Luncheon Meeting, March 25, 2021

Ces Butner, President of Rotary Club of Oakland

Call to Order – Ces Butner

President Ces Butner called our Civic Thursday Zoom meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. noting this is the 5,333rd meeting of our 111-year-old Club.

Zeydi Gutierrez

Thought for the Day – Zeydi Gutierrez

Zeydi Gutierrez gave us the thought of the day on National Women’s Month.  She described a time when women didn’t own businesses, but her mother succeeded and is an important role model. Her mother exemplified perseverance, hard work, integrity and opening the doors for those who follow.  Looking back on the beginnings of Oakland Rotary, she reminded us of the time when our club was an early and vocal proponent for including women as members.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Past President Ed Jellen welcomed Martha Goralka, Past President of the Delta/Antioch Rotary Club.

Past President Sean Marx

Member Re-introduction – John Holmgren

Past President Sean Marx reintroduced John Holmgren complete with a photo that showed an uncanny likeness between John and U.S. 48th President Bill Clinton, John was born at Kaiser Hospital Oakland and grew up in Orinda where he enjoyed playing soccer and tennis.  He aspired to work for the US State Department. A graduate of UC Berkeley with a major in political science, he earned a Master’s Degree at Johns Hopkins. He passed the Foreign Service Exam and returned to California. While waiting for an assignment, he pursued an MBA at CAL It was there he met his future wife, Elise. He passed up the State Department opportunity and instead became an expert in mortgage banking and the owner of Holmgren & Associates.  Elise and John have three children and two grandchildren.  In 1993, he joined Oakland Rotary where he served on the Club Board of Directors as well as the Oakland Rotary Endowment Board where he was President. He has served on the Community Youth and Seniors Committee and has been active in KinderPrep which he currently chairs.

Oakland Rotary Endowment Campaign Kick-off

To kick off the Annual Fundraising Campaign for Oakland Rotary Endowment, President Ces described the difference between The Rotary Foundation (TRF), which is Rotary International’s non-profit charitable arm funding projects through the Rotary World, and Oakland Rotary Endowment (ORE), which is the club’s non-profit charitable arm funding projects in the Oakland community.  Both are important organizations, each with a unique focus on the people and projects it serves.

Each year, ORE holds a donor appreciation event.  Pre-pandemic, the event was a reception that took place in the California Ballroom just prior to a Thursday Civic meeting.  This year, the roster of donors whose cumulative giving has reached $1,000 and above was shown via Zoom, and a list of those whose cumulative giving has taken them to a new level of recognition was highlighted.  Three donors were asked to tell why Oakland Rotary Endowment is important to them:

Joe Goralka noted that years ago he started giving a little bit of money annually and how over time it has added up and makes a difference.

John Holmgren observed that it is the best way to support Oakland and our community.  It provides the most impact because we can put lots of trust in how our donations are used.

Fred Morse agreed with the others, and added that we are a voluntary organization, so all of our money goes to important programs, such as Saroni-Lena Scholarships for Oakland youth.

President’s Announcements

President Ces announced that plans are being made to start broadcasting the Civic Thursday meetings from the California Ballroom in May. Hopefully, the first meeting in June will be live from the Ballroom with some Rotarians in attendance while others will participate via Zoom.

Breakout Room Fellowship

President Ces announced a few minutes of fellowship as members and guests transitioned to Breakout Rooms.  He suggested groups gather ideas on how the club can get ready for in-person meetings.

Abby Ginzberg

Speaker for the Day – Abby Ginzberg

Maude Pervere introduced today’s speaker, documentary film maker Abby Ginzberg. Ms. Ginzberg spoke about her recent film “Waging Change” which addresses wage and tip issues in the restaurant industry. California and six other states are role models for what other states should do, namely pay full minimum wage, with tips added on top.

Instead, much of the rest of the country adheres to the Federal Minimum Wage of $7.25 per hour with the minimum tip of $2.13 per hour.  The tip is not an add-on, so should the worker not make the minimum during their shift, the tip is included in the basic wage. She pointed out that while the employer is supposed to make up the difference, in fact often they don’t which is considered “wage theft”. In researching for the documentary, she found that wage theft is rampant.  She noted that pre-pandemic, the restaurant industry was the fastest growing industry with 13 million workers.  Now 6 million workers have lost their jobs.  Another aspect is sexual harassment of female workers.  She noted that for many women, working in a restaurant is their first job.  They are at a disadvantage if they report harassment, whether it is from a customer or co-worker, because they are likely to lose their job.

Click here to watch Abby Ginzberg segment.

Bellringers

Executive Administrator Jesse Bowdle announced the following bellringers:

Ringing the bell for John Holmgren were Jim and Linda Boessenecker, Jack McAboy, Zeydi Gutierrez (twice), Sean Marx, Fred Morse, Mary Rudser, Joycie Mack, John Claassen and Ces Butner.

John Holmgren rang the bell 10 times for Sean Marx.

Ringing the bell for Abby Ginzberg were Keith Uriarte, Zeydi Gutierrez, Kerry Hamill, Lou Rigali, Elida Scola, Janice Brickley and Maude Pervere.

Adjournment

President Ces closed the meeting at 1:30 p.m. by ringing the bell with 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 April 1 and 7 are:

2 – Scott Bowhay

4 – Pam Claassen

5 – Jim Boessenecker

6 – Marti Burchell

      George Konstantopouos

7 – Dana Sack

Membership Anniversaries in March

Thank you for your years of service to the Rotary Club of Oakland and the community!

  • Jack McAboy – 46 years
  • Kers Clausen  -- 38 years
  • Alex Poulsen – 32 years
  • David Stein – 32 years
  • Garrett Riegg – 27 years
  • Susan Smith –  24 years
  • David Rabb –  22 years
  • Dhruv Patel – 9 years
  • Ken Benson – 6 years
  • David Kittner – 5 years
  • Linda Bradford – 4 years
  • Leeann Alameda – 3 years
  • Tori Howard – 3 years
  • Justin Stewart – 3 years
  • Deborah Morgan – 2 years
  • Mia Bonta – 1 year
  • David Kersten – 1 year
Tim Hon

Next Meeting, April 1 – Tim Hon – Creating Joy Through Street Art

Oakland Community Rotaract President DeVante Brooks announced our next speaker will be Tim Hon. He will share his journey from graffiti vandal to building community and inspiring youth through street art. He will discuss the evolution of the genre and positive effects on Bay Area neighborhoods. 

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