President Dudley Thompson convened his first “regular meeting” as our recently inaugurated leader and welcomed those in the California Ballroom, as well as those joining online, to the 5,347th Civic Thursday meeting of the Rotary Club of Oakland.
Renia Webb, exhibiting incredible service above self, provided the thought for the day and mission statement via zoom while parked in her car! After leading us jointly in our mission statement, Renia shared a thought from Hall of Fame Coach, Vince Lombardi, in honor of the work of our committees as well as the upcoming Olympic Games. “I don’t necessarily have to like my players and associates but as their leader, I must love them. Love is loyalty, love is teamwork, love respects the dignity of the individual. This is the strength of any organization.”
President Dudley announced the recent death of two long-time members: William Scherer and Dave Anderson. Members observed a moment of silence in their honor.
The First Five Collaborative, a working group of the oldest Rotary Clubs (Oakland, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle) began working together during the pandemic to leverage the clubs’ combined knowledge, expertise, and human capital. They recently held a photoshoot with three Rotarians from each club. President Dudley Thompson, President-Elect Mary Geong, and Audio Visual Co-Chair Sandeepa Nayak represented Oakland.
The photo was posted on Facebook with a “caption contest” asking Rotarians to post their ideas on appropriate captions. President Dudley shared some sample captions with all receiving varying amounts of laughter and applause. The winning caption, selected by President Dudley, “Ain’t no party like a Rotary party” was submitted by Isaac Kos-Read, Public Image & Communications Co-Chair—seems appropriate!
In lieu of the traditional speaker of the day, President Dudley introduced six of our esteemed Committee Chairpersons to speak about each of their committees. Prior to sharing their committee information, Dudley asked each committee chairperson to respond to two questions; why did you join Rotary, and why have you stayed? The answers to the questions, while different for each person, shared common themes. Many joined Rotary to learn more about Oakland, establish business connections, and become involved in the community. Most have stayed for their original reasons PLUS they stressed the opportunity to develop long-term relationships and make an impact locally and internationally.
Missed our meeting but interested in checking out the next one?
Click here to learn more: https://www.oakland-rotary.org/calendar
#serviceaboveself #rotaryinternational #rotaryclubofoakland #rotaryopensopportunities
Add new comment