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Call To Order - President Dudley Thompson
President Dudley Thompson called to order the 5,367th meeting of the Rotary Club of Oakland to order at 12:30 p.m. President Dudley provided the usual instructions to those attending in-person and by Zoom. He also recognized Wayne Goodroe who announced that long-time member Bob Peltz, who was attending his first in-person meeting since 2020, celebrated his 90th birthday on December 7th.
Due to last week's tech glitches, President Dudley re-recognized all of last week's bellringers on Zoom.
Linda and Jim Boessenecker, Alex Poulsen, Linda Chew, and Jason Wizelman, rang the bell for John Weaver.
Alex Poulsen rang the bell for Clif Dochterman.
Jack McAboy, Catherine Coleman, Teresa Weyand, Debo Sarkar and Pat Williams rang the bell for Gary Flaxman.
Isaac Kos-Read rang the bell for Tom Limon.
Kim Cohn rang the bell for meeting speaker Scott Stephens and her father, Don Cohn, a 40-year professional in fire management who was attending via Zoom, for their critical work.
Thought For The Day - Kerry Hamill
Kerry Hamill shared two food and hunger thoughts: hunger is not a charity issue, it is a justice issue (U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization) and "Food is national security, Food is economy. Food is history. Food is everything." (Jose Andres, World Central Kitchen founder)
Speaker for the Day - Chris and Jana Pastena
C J Hirschfield introduced Chris and Jana Pastena. Chris Pastena has been in the restaurant business for 35 years and is the owner/operator of Oakland restaurants Calavera and Chop Bar. His previous restaurants included Tribune Tavern and Lungomare. He is a James Beard award winner. Jana Pastena is a graduate of Mills College and Golden Gate Law School. She serves on the Children's Fairyland board of directors.
Jana's connection to food and social justice goes back to her childhood when she helped deliver food baskets during the holidays. During the pandemic shutdown, Chris and Jana paid their staff and continued health insurance coverage until their savings and resources were exhausted.
Prior to the pandemic, Chris had no experience in preparing hundreds of meals to go. He and his staff worked with World Central Kitchen, founded by chef Jose Andres, and learned how to produce a large volume of meals, helping them to retain staff and keep the restaurant doors open.
Chris and Jana are now involved in the local Community Kitchens which is a collective of restaurants whose mission is to feed the community. The organization serves 10,000 meals each month with a goal of serving 10,000 meals per day. Partner restaurants add a 1% surcharge to guest checks and these funds help provide meals for the local community. If the group receives sufficient funding from Alameda County, it can solve the food insecurity crisis in the county.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Allison Bliss introduced her guest, Kacie Stratton, Executive Director of Harbor House.
New Member Induction – Mary Ray Brophy
Jason Wizelman, substituting for sponsor Wendy Howard, introduced Mary Ray Brophy. Mary Ray is an immigration attorney. Wendy's two interesting facts: she speaks Spanish and has seven grandchildren. Welcome Mary Ray!
Announcements
President Dudley announced eight upcoming club events:
1. Niles Canyon Holiday Train - Oakland members joined a train full of other local Rotarians (and Santa) for a beautiful holiday train ride last Thursday.
2. December 16 - Annual Meeting to elect directors and the president-elect-nominee
3. December 23 & 30 - no lunch meetings
4. January 6 - first meeting of 2022 with Mayor Libby Schaaf and District Governor Richard Flanders
5. January 7 – Stand Up Broadway Comedy Night at the Sound Room, Oakland
6. January 15 - High Adventure visit to the Pacific Pinball Museum, Alameda
7. February 3 - Lunar New Year dinner at Peony Seafood Restaurant, Oakland
8. February 27 - Dinner with RI president-elect Jennifer Jones at Blackhawk Museum, Danville
Feed the Hungry
C J Hirschfield kicked off the 2021 Feed the Hungry campaign by reporting that food insecurity continues due to increasing demand and surging food costs. The Alameda County Community Food Bank serves 70,000 people each day. One in four Alameda County residents faces food insecurity. President Dudley then firmly grasped the gavel in anticipation of the forthcoming bellringers. The bell rang for about 15 minutes with countless donations.
$15,000 – Ces Butner, matching the first $15,000 in donations
$5,000 – David Douglas
$2,500 – David Kittner, Steve Nicholls, Fred Morse, Robert Kidd, Joe Goralka, Peter Sherris and Lorna Padia Markus
$1,000 – Dudley Thompson, Connie Berkey Kittner and Ruth Stroup
$500 – Jason Wizelman, Linda and Jim Boessenecker, Mary Geong, Karen Friedman, Bruce Nye, Catherine Coleman, Peter Turner, Deep Rajbhandari, John Holmgren, Steve Blair, Elida Scola in honor of her clients and the Pastenas, East Bay Restaurant Supply for Chris and Jana Pastena, and Jack McAboy (5) for the AV Team (Peter Sherris, Gabe Bruck, Jack Iles, Alex Poulsen and Rob Sklar)
$250 – Sean Callum, Trisha Connors, Mary Rudser, Alex Kaffka, Bob Peltz, Bob Barth, Ralph Sklar, Scott Bowhay, Rick Draper, Alex Poulsen, Tom Limon, Mike Mowery, Linda Chewand Ken Benson
$200 – Jesse Schmidt
$150 – Keri Butkevich
$100 – Leeann Alameda, Keith Uriarte, Jesse Bowdle., Marti Burchell, Pat Williams, Debra Barnes, David Stein, Kerry Hamill, Lois Corrin, Stephanie Casenza, Phil Holt, Nancy Williams, Mary Ray Brophy, Michael Bruck, Gary Flaxman, Ana-Marie Jones, C J Hirschfield, Mona Hall, Stew Epstein, Ed Jellen, Mark Miller and Sandeepa Nayak.
Many thanks to all of the donors.
Bellringers
Wayne Goodroe rang the bell twice (2) in honor of Bob Peltz celebrating his 90th birthday.
Lorna Padia Markus rang the bell on behalf of all the wonderful Rotarians in the room, on line and their generosity.
Adjournment
President Dudley adjourned the penultimate meeting of 2021 at 1:30 p.m.
Next Meeting, December 16 – David Moschler and Mieko Hatano – The Future of Classical Orchestral Music
Robert Kidd announced our speakers will be David Moschler and Mieko Hatano. We bring together in conversation two of the East Bay's new generation of musical thinkers: Mieko Hatano (executive director of the Oakland Symphony), and David Moschler (founder/director of the innovative "Awesome Orchestra"). Eavesdrop on Mieko and David as they ponder the future of the music "business" in general, and of their orchestral "business" in particular.
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