Call To Order - President Dudley Thompson
President Dudley Thompson called to order the 5,372nd Civic Thursday meeting of the 3rd oldest Rotary Club in the world. We are a diverse group of some 270 business, professional and community leaders dedicated to Service Above Self.
President Dudley announced that pursuant to a decision made by the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors we will continue meeting via Zoom throughout the month of February. Together we recited our vision statement, “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change, across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves.”
Thought for the Day – Riza Hernandez
Riza Hernandez shared this timely reminder that small acts now have great results in the future from Warren Buffett, “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Past President and Past District Governor Ed Jellen introduced Past President and Assistant Governor of District 4A, Dianne Dorn from the San Leandro Club and Frank Yoke, member of San Francisco Rotary Club #2 and guest of David Stein. We also welcomed Richard Swart, President of the Rotary Club of San Francisco Chinatown.
Meeting Sponsor – Jesse Schmidt, TNT Strength (Truth Not Trends)
Jesse Schmidt is the co-owner of TNT, a strength building company located at 5255 College Avenue. Strength and fitness are achieved in 30-minute workout sessions once or twice a week (either in person or virtually) and TNT’s philosophy is that strength training can be started at any age and will promote better health and longevity. Past President Peter Sherris gave a testimonial and noted that when he started working with Jesse, that he had two caveats – 1) he wanted to ski and, 2) he didn’t want to be hurt. After working with Jesse, he found his strength had improved and skiing was easier. Jesse also thanked Rotarians Danny Mai, David Kersten (see his video about TNT at https://vimeo.com/670326596), Nancy Williams, Diane Schaffer, Peter Sherris and Astrid Lacitis, Shannon Hackley, Riza Hernandez, Sandeep Rajbhandari and Gary Flaxman (for finding the building).
Feed The Hungry Results
David Kittner, chair of the Community Service Committee, thanked Rotarians for their generosity in giving to the Feed the Hungry Drive in December which raises fund for people in our community experiencing food insecurity. We raised $52,000 which is triple our past giving which was $16,000. The money is distributed locally to the following organizations: Alameda County Food Bank, Bay Area Meals on Wheels, Harbor House, Oakland Catholic Worker Food Program, Operation Dignity, St. Mary’s Center and St. Vincent DePaul. David Kittner also acknowledged the following Rotarians for their special generosity: Past Presidents Ces Butner, Robert Kidd, Peter Sherris, David Douglas and Lorna Padia Markus as well as Fred Morse, Steve Nicholls, and Joe Goralka. Well done, Rotarians!!!
Committee & Event Information
Red Cross Blood Drive
Isaac Kos-Read encouraged us all to donated blood through the Rotary District 5170 Red Cross Blood Drive. The nation is experiencing a need for donors due to shortages at blood banks. Giving is easy – you can download the Red Cross Blood Donor App and join the “Rotary District 5170” Team. If you are not app-happy, you can also call the Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767 and make an appointment.
Lunar New Year Celebration – February 3
President-Elect Mary Geong wished us Gung Hay Fat Choy! Due to COVID-19, we are unable to come together to celebrate the Lunar New Year (Year of the Tiger) with our annual dinner. However, we would like to offer you an alternative solution - a Japanese take-out Bento Box from Sakura Bistro Restaurant in Oakland. The cost of each dinner is $ 30, and you can select beef, chicken or salmon teriyaki. Dinner comes with rice and two other side dishes.
Your dinner can be picked up at the curb in front of the California Ballroom from 4:30 to 5:30 pm on Thursday, February 3rd. We also offer a delivery option with President Dudley and other Rotarians serving at Rotary-Dashers. The link for ordering is in the Club’s Website Calendar or you may call Jesse Bowdle to order and get more details. Orders must be in by noon on February 1.
Other Upcoming Activities
President Dudley reminded us that even though the pandemic continues, we are continuing to engage in outdoor activities. On February 15, there will be a Golf Tournament and on February 24, we have rented the Grand Lake Theatre for a screening of Evolutionary Blues, a full-length documentary, featuring interviews with more than 30 artists who regularly played in clubs and music venues that lined the blocks of 7th Street before a charge for “urban renewal” decimated the thriving, self-sustaining Oakland Black community. It’s a story about the Great Migration, told through the lens and culture of blues musicians, many of whom never made it to national fame but were respected and acclaimed within the true blues scene. They carried the soul of their Southern roots — Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas — to Oakland. Doors will open at 6 pm with the screening beginning at 7 pm. After the screening, there will be a Q&A with the film's Director Cheryl Fabio. Get tickets here: https://bit.ly/3Km9GjE . Proof of full vaccination is required. Masks must be worn except when eating and drinking.
We will have a celebration of International Women’s Day on March 13. Get ready to be in the Mood for Gratitude Gala on Thursday, April 28 at the Sequoyah Country Club from 6-10 p.m. where both indoor and outdoor options will be available. REMINDER: Please resubmit proof of vaccination and booster to Jesse Bowdle.
Breakout Rooms
President Dudley invited us to join Breakout Rooms and discuss how we can increase membership because let’s not keep Rotary a secret.
Discussions in the breakout rooms were fruitful and yielded these suggestions: One group discussed getting a QR code developed that sends people to the Rotary website (Jesse Schmidt); Dana Sack noted that not everyone can attend lunch so he emphasizes the great work we are doing with our youth committees. Karen Friedman announced we will be resuming our activities at Laney College next Tuesday from 1-3 pm. When talking about Rotary, President Elect-Elect Tom Limon likes to highlight the leadership and public speaking skills that can be learned by becoming a Rotarian. Past President Ces Butner encouraged us to think about our friends and invite them to attend a meeting or an event.
Speaker for the Day - Larry Beil
Ahmad Anderson introduced his friend and our speaker today, sports director, Larry Beil from ABC KGO-TV in San Francisco. Beil graduated from the University of Hawaii and worked at ESPN and KTVU in Oakland and KGMB in Honolulu. Giving a nod to his Hawaiian upbring, Beil coined the catch phrase, “Aloha means goodbye” after showing a home run.
Larry began by discussing the topic on everyone's mind. He thinks the 49ers will go to the Super Bowl if they win against the Rams this Saturday. He discussed his upbringing in Hawaii and his years as a journalism student. He wanted to play sports but when he realized that might not be his path forward, he started writing for television about sports. He recalled that when he was looking for a home in the Bay Area in 1989 he was in the Caldecott Tunnel when the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred. The tunnel did not move. In his career, he has covered multiple Super Bowls and NBA Finals.
Beil offered a few predictions for upcoming games. He thinks the Bengals have a lot to overcome in their upcoming game against the Chiefs. He doesn't think the A's are going to move to Las Vegas as there is no money for a new stadium. He discussed the effect on COVID in sports and the impact it has had on high school students who were not able to play and were not able to be seen by potential scouts. He thinks we can cultivate sports in the community by emphasizing education in the classroom and then sports and see to it that all athletes have the equipment they need in order to play. He also weighed in on the NIL opportunity for college athletes to market themselves and accept lucrative sponsorships. The concern is that college athletes who are not at athletic powerhouse schools will not have the same opportunity as students enlarge at large universities.
Bellringers
Karen Friedman rang the bell for David Kittner and Feed The Hungry food drive.
Joycie Mack rang the bell for Larry Beil.
Bob Peltz rang the bell for President Dudley Thompson.
Adjournment
President Dudley adjourned the meeting at 1:35 pm reminding us to Serve to Change Lives and Don’t Keep Rotary a Secret!
Next Meeting, February 3 – Jean Pfaelzer – The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans
President-Elect Mary Geong announced our speaker will be Professor Jean Pfaelzer from the University of Delaware who will discuss the forgotten war against Chinese Americans based on her published research, “Driven Out” (U.C. Press 2007).
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