Oakland Rotary News

President Dudley Thompson called to order the 5,382nd Civic Thursday meeting of the third oldest Rotary Club in the world. We are a diverse group of some 270 business, professional and community leaders dedicated to Service Above Self.

Gary Flaxman recalled that at Camp Enterprise Past President Eddie Snow would tell students to “step out of your comfort zone.” Gary’s thought for us as we exit the pandemic is to step out, explore the world with family and friends and be prepared to come out of your comfort zone.

Past President & Past District Governor Ed Jellen introduced Dr. Dilip Sarkar of the Rotary Club of Chesapeake, Virginia and Richard Schwart, president of San Francisco/Chinatown Rotary Club. Also signing in via Zoom was President Dudley’s wife, Concha Delgado Gaitan.

Ruth Stroup, also known as “The Insurance Lady”, revealed that owning an insurance business for the last 16 years started by accident (maybe an intended pun). Her goal was always to be a business owner, just like her dad, but it took two previous career ventures before she arrived at insurance as her focus. She believes in serving the community by hiring local people, paying local taxes and giving at least 5% back to the community. She announced a Community Shred Day at her office on Saturday, April 16 from 10 am to 2 pm.  All types of documents are welcome and the shred is free. 

Past President Ken Richardson introduced our newest member, Peter Pervere. Peter retired from a career in accounting and finance. He has served on various local boards, including Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Oakland Museum. When he is not golfing, Peter finds time to chauffeur his grandchildren to and from school. He also joins two other members of his family as Oakland Rotarians, his sister Maude Pervere and brother-in-law Sam Miller. Welcome Peter!

Debo Sarkar introduced our speaker, and his brother, Dr. Dilip Sarkar.  Dr. Sarkar is a retired vascular surgeon who holds certificates as a Yoga Therapist and Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist. He is recognized as an expert in the integration of western medicine with Ayurveda and yoga therapy.

Dr. Sarkar began by describing yoga as the union of body, mind and spirit.  His analogy is to think of the body as hardware, mind as software and spirit as the programmer.  He dispelled the myth that yoga is “sitting down and putting one’s body in the shape of a pretzel.”

Yoga is a philosophy – mind over body. Breathing is the most important component. Time of day is not an issue, but yoga is often done in the morning and should be scheduled daily.

It is the most important activity we can do as it contributes to adjusting our heart rate, reducing stress, and allowing our minds to experience stillness, resulting in happiness among other things.

Dr. Sarkar walked us through a daily routine to keep our bodies functioning with good posture, and how, over time, we can improve our body functions. (Editor’s note: of the 30+ viewers on Zoom, most had their screens closed—perhaps they were practicing the exercises as Dr. Sarker demonstrated.)

Introspection is important – “find a time for yoga, and yoga will find a time for you.” 

Dr. Sarkar is the author of Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda, and Western Medicine. He can also be viewed on his YouTube Channel.

KinderPrep – Four Dates: KinderPrep Chair John Holmgren announced four service projects taking place in the next two months.

April 22 – 9am – 12 noon, Set-up for Book Packing Day, 5 volunteers needed

April 23 – Book Bag Packing Day at Johnstone Supply, 9 am – 12 noon, 10 volunteers needed

April 26 –10 am – 1 pm, Field Trip to Oakland Zoo – 10 volunteers needed to welcome students and set up lunches

May 6 – 10 am – 1 pm, Field Trip to Children’s Fairyland for 4 classes – 5 volunteers needed to escort children and help with lunches

Sign up on the Club Website Calendar. 

Email John Holmgren at holmgren.johnk@gmail.com if you have questions.

Enterprise Institute Leadership Academy – April 23: Gary Flaxman saluted the 40th anniversary of Enterprise Institute (formerly called Camp Enterprise) which began in 1982. This year it is a one-day event on April 23, 8 am – 4 pm, at the Police Athletic League site. Come and watch the students go through the learning modules. For information, contact Gary Flaxman, Harold Lowe or Dudley Thompson.

Lake Merritt Gardens Service Day – April 16: C J Hirshfield announced on April 16 from 9 am to 1 pm, volunteers will clean up Lake Merritt Gardens. Volunteers are asked to bring masks, water and work gloves. Also bring shears and work or rain boots if available. Additional information available on website. Sign up on the Club Website Calendar in advance and fill out the Covid Waiver.

In The Mood for Gratitude Gala – April 28: Co-chair Kerry Hamill announced tickets are for sale on the Website Calendar for the Gala, which will take place at Sequoyah Country Club on April 28 from 6 pm – 10 pm. There will be a Live Auction as well as a Silent Auction.  One hundred Raffle Tickets are also being sold. Holder of the winning ticket will have first choice pick among the Live Auction items.

Club Meeting Schedule Adjustments for April: Pres. Dudley announced some changes in the April meeting schedule.

April 14th meeting will take place in the Ballroom and on Zoom.

April 21st meeting will be Zoom only.

There may be a noon Zoom meeting on April 28th, to be determined.

Golf Tournament – April 29: Golfers can enjoy a tournament on Friday, April 29 at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore. Tee times start at 10:40 am. Deadline for signing up is April 22. Contact Jesse Bowdle at execadmin@oakland-rotary.org to sign up.

Aid to Ukraine: Pres. Dudley updated members on the matching fund for Aid to Ukraine. An anonymous donor made a $10,000 challenge which has been met to-date with $6,200 in gifts from club members.  The donor will add an additional $5,000 in matching funds if donations continue.  Contact Jesse Bowdle on how to make a donation for this match. Funds will be managed and disbursed by Rotary International through their Disaster Response Fund.

Lois Corrin, Ruth Stroup, Keith Uriarte, Ces Butner, Robert Kidd, Joycie Mack and Merlin Edwards rang the bell for newly-confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Click here to watch Dr. Dilip Sarkar's video segment.

Missed our meeting, but interested in checking out the next one? Click below to learn more. https://www.oakland-rotary.org/calendar

#serviceaboveself #rotaryinternational #rotaryclubofoakland #rotaryopensopportunities

President Dudley Thompson called to order the 5,381st Civic Thursday meeting of the third oldest Rotary Club in the world. We are a diverse group of some 270 business, professional and community leaders dedicated to Service Above Self. 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.”

Past President Ces Butner thanked Leeann Alameda for her work on this year’s Oakland Rotary Endowment (ORE) Campaign. He noted that we have distributed over $1.6 million in the past 6 years locally and internationally and have sponsored many projects and contributed to the Saroni-Lena scholarship fund. Gary Flaxman presented a short film about Enterprise Institute, a camp where high school juniors learn to write a business plan, learn about entrepreneurship and career choices they may have and just one of the many projects our Club supports. Ces noted we are about $20,000 shy of our goal of $100,000. Hands began to fly, and the following Rotarians rose to the challenge and made pledges as follows: Shannon Hackley, Fred Morse, Joycie Mack, Joe Goralka, Pauline Fox, and John Malick. Their generosity brought us very close to our goal.

Ces announced there is still time to make a gift. Now is the time to donate so committees can fully resume their activities post-pandemic. To pay online go to www.oakland-rotary.org/donate . Choose Oakland Rotary Endowment for your donation. Or mail a check to the Rotary office; an envelope was sent to every Rotarian earlier in the month.

Past President and Past District Governor Ed Jellen introduced District 5170 Governor Richard Flanders who is making the annual visit to the club. District Governor Flanders has been a member of Pleasanton North since 1995, served as his club president in his third year of membership, and has also served as Assistant District Governor. He has been the recipient of many Rotary awards for his many years of service including, the Lead the Way Award, the Richard King Award and the Karl Stucki Award.

Governor Flanders noted that today will mark visits to 58 clubs, with just four more club visits on his list. He acknowledged that dealing with the COVID pandemic for the past two years has been challenging for Rotary nationwide.

He thanked our Club for our generous contributions to The Rotary Foundation that exceeded $175,000. We have also given $30,000 to Polio Plus and $6,000 to provide wheelchairs to those in need. He also thanked the club for our Feed The Hungry campaign and for funding scholarships. He invited us all to attend the upcoming District Conference at Blackhawk Museum in Danville on April 22 through April 24. As part of the musical entertainment, we can hear our own Oakland Rotarians, Jason Wizelman and Linda Hamilton perform. There will also be interesting speakers and a House of Friendship on the 5th floor of the Marriott Hotel where we can mix and mingle with Rotarians from the District.

President Dudley Thompson introduced our speaker, Professor David Montejano, who graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and from Yale University with a M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology. The professor has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of New Mexico. He is the former chair of the Center for Latino Policy Research at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of numerous scholarly tracts as well as three books: Angelos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, Sanchos Journal: Exploring the Political Edge with the Brown Berets, and Mexican Merchants and Teamsters on the Texas Cotton Road 1862 to 1865.

Professor Montejano focused on the theme of how markets supersede war and gave examples of how commerce continued during the civil war. Southern cotton was sent to New England mills during the war to make Union uniforms. This was made possible by Mexico being neutral and the somewhat dubious machinations of a businessman named Charles Stillman who sold guns to Confederates and cotton to the Union by not labeling the goods, writing very little correspondence and taking advantage of British and French ships claiming neutrality by docking ships in the Rio Grande. Some of the goods were shipped to Havana, then transferred to another ship, then on to Liverpool and from there to New York. Stillman seemed to understand the concept of realpolitik before the term was invented. Professor Montejano’s books will continue the story.

Click here to watch David Montejano video segment.

Missed our meeting, but interested in checking out the next one? Click below to learn more. https://www.oakland-rotary.org/calendar

#serviceaboveself #rotaryinternational #rotaryclubofoakland #rotaryopensopportunities

President Dudley Thompson opened the 5,380th Civic Thursday in-person and zoom meeting at 12:30 pm. 

President Dudley gave an impromptu Thought for the Day from his notebook of ready-to-use inspirations. He quoted Winston Churchill: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.” 

Past President and Past District Governor Ed Jellen announced there were no visiting Rotarians. Online, his guest was his wife, Julie Jellen. In the Ballroom, Leeann Alameda, Bruce Nye and Stew Epstein introduced their guests.

Gary Flaxman introduced our newest member, Kevin Jenkins. Kevin was elected as a trustee to the Peralta Community College District in November 2020. He helps students, faculty and staff in many ways such as furthering educational opportunities and addressing school safety and COVID concerns. Kevin is also the proud father of his son Elijah. Welcome, Kevin!

Past Pres. Linda Chew gave an update on the Oakland Rotary Endowment Campaign underway this month. In just the past six years, ORE has given $1.16 million to local and international communities including 65 grants to local nonprofits. ORE funds KinderPrep, Enterprise Institute, Karl Stucki World Community Service, and Saroni-Lena Scholarships to name a few. 

A gift of $150 can purchase 2+ wellness backpacks for veterans. For $250, supplemental classroom materials can be provided to a KinderPrep teacher. $1,000 can purchase a computer to give homeless people electronic access to the services they need, and $2,500 can provide a scholarship to a Saroni-Lena student for one year’s tuition.

Linda returned to the podium to announce about $60,000 has been donated toward the $100,000 goal. The campaign is in the final stretch. For postponers, aka procrastinators, now is the time to donate. To pay online go to www.oakland-rotary.org/donate . Choose Oakland Rotary Endowment for your donation.

Thanks to Past President Carla Betts who decorated the Ballroom tables on St. Patrick’s Day and provided additional décor to President Dudley in the form of a flashing green light on his bowtie for the day.

Thanks to the volunteers who worked at the Oakland Marathon’s Rotary water station for six hours. For the first two hours, runners received extra-strong Gatorade and presumably extra strength. At that point, Rotarians learned they should be diluting the drinks with water.

Thanks to Tom Limon for organizing the Weekend Ski Trip.

Thanks to Jesse Schmidt and the Business Development Committee for putting on a successful Margarita Mixer attending by some 60 members and guests.

C J Hirshfield, introduced today’s speaker Gary Meyer. Gary’s knowledge of film is unmatched and is the founder of Landmark Film chain, former co-director of the Telluride Film Festival and inductee into the San Francisco Film Hall of Fame. 

Gary first showed a slide of the new Academy Museum in Los Angeles which recently opened. The museum has a theatre, gala space under a transparent dome, and other museum exhibits. Some exhibits include features on The Wizard of Oz, North By Northwest, ET, and other famous movies. The museum also dives into the history of makeup artistry, animation and silent films. There is a collection of Oscars in a semi-round room displaying various Oscars from past winners.  

This year the Academy Awards are changing some formatting and being hosted by a trio of women including Amy Schumer.    

For Best Documentary, most of the nominees can be streamed online. Summer of Soul and Flee are two that are fabulous, he says. Two short documentaries made by San Francisco filmmakers are nominated.  

In a peculiar twist this year, the Best Actress nominees are not in any of the films nominated for Best Picture.  Best Director is an interesting category, but Gary thinks Jane Campion from Power of the Dog will be the likely winner. Best Picture is a toss-up between Coda and Power of the Dog. Coda would be a surprise winner, but many think it could win as a dark horse.  

President Dudley talked about many suggestions that have come in for making donations to benefit the needs of Ukraine people. The Karl Stucki World Community Service Committee vetted these suggestions and has recommended two places. One is World Central Kitchen which is providing meals within Ukraine. The other is The Rotary Foundation Ukraine Relief Fund. It will administer emergency grants of $50,000 each to Ukrainian Rotary Districts or Districts in bordering countries to provide shelter, medicine, clothing and other needs. 

Also, Barbara Beery has a friend who is giving $10,000 towards Rotary Ukrainian efforts and will match the gifts of others. At the meeting, the following Rotarians pledged gifts toward the match: Barbara Beery, Alex Poulsen, Peter Sherris, Ralph Sklar, Robert Kidd, Deep Rajbhandari, Lois Corrin, Jim Boessenecker and Joe Goralka.
Keith Uriarte rang the bell for Kevin Jenkins. Lorna Padia Markus, Mary Rudser, David Douglas, Linda Boessenecker, Robert Kidd, Michael Bruck, Dudley Thompson, Peter Sherris, Jack McAboy, Linda Chew and Joe Goralka rang the bell for Ed Jellen. Elida Scola rang the bell for David Stein. Keith Uriarte rang the bell for Renia Webb.

Click here to watch Gary Meyer video segment.

Missed our meeting, but interested in checking out the next one? Click below to learn more. https://www.oakland-rotary.org/calendar

#serviceaboveself #rotaryinternational #rotaryclubofoakland #rotaryopensopportunities

President Dudley Thompson opened the 5,379th Civic Thursday meeting by summarizing the Club’s 113 plus year history. The joy of those members who could attend in person was palpable throughout the Ballroom. However, Pres. Dudley reminded everyone of the Club’s policy that masks must be worn in the Ballroom except when eating or drinking.

In her inspiring thought for the day, Liz Ortega reminded us that women still face various forms of gender discrimination, which have been aggravated during the Covid pandemic. Following her remarks, Pres. Dudley led us in reciting the Club’s Mission Statement.

Past President and Past District Governor Ed Jellen introduced two distinguished guests: Past Pres. Jon Gresley and Past Pres. Gudrun Dybdal, who are both prominent members of the Truckee Club.  We also were favored with the presence of C J Hirshfield’s guests Gary and Kathy Meyer who attended in person. Sandeepa Nayak introduced Ruth Stroup’s online guest, Edie Zusman, MD & MBA (Director of the Piedmont Neuroscience Center on Grand Avenue).

C J Hirshfield, a confessed film noir addict, introduced our keynote speaker, Eddie Muller, film director, author, and the host of Turner Classic Movies’ popular weekly “Noir Alley” TV show. This month, he is also moving his annual Film Noir Festival from San Francisco to Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater.

Here are the highlights of Eddie’s talk:

– He wrote the book on film noir titled Dark City, The Lost World of Film Noir, which led to his being asked to head film festivals at Los Angeles’ Egyptian Theatre and the Castro Theater in San Francisco. This experience introduced him to some of the original film noir producers and screen writers. He now does eight festivals around the country and constantly receives requests from other cities.

– “Film noir” refers to a U.S. film movement that spanned the 1940's and 1950's. This was America’s only organic artistic movement, that Eddie calls the “anti-myth of American life”. The films portray the hard knocks reality of life and its unexpected turns versus the “live happily ever” myth of traditional American culture. The films were written and produced by artists, and not the money driven Hollywood studios. Many of these artists were emigres from war torn Europe. The scripts are especially attuned to the American vernacular. (C J recited one: “I’ve met a lot of hard-boiled eggs in my life, but you’re a full 20 minutes!”) Having experienced the horrors of the war era, the emigres were pessimists about life in general. The films tried to warn us about racial injustice, police brutality, sexual assault, and immoral politicians running amok. A striking irony is that nowadays some people watch noir films as comfort food because they remind them of a better time.

– Eddie has lived in Oakland for 30 years. He decided to move his Bay Area Film Noir Festival to Oakland when the pandemic prevented continued filming in Atlanta. The new Oakland festival begins next Tuesday at the Grand Lake Theater, which Eddie’s neighbor, owner of the Grand Lake, offered to him. Eddie is happy he moved the festival to Oakland. He thought it was about time that a popular institution go in the reverse direction taken by the Warriors. He has found Oakland to be very welcoming, more so than San Francisco.

– If you want to learn more, attend the Festival. You can also read the new edition of Eddie’s book which has a lot of new material.

– In response to Robert Kidd’s question: The conventional characterization of film noir as a genre that depicts victimized, ruined women is inaccurate and the result of poor scholarship. In fact, more women were involved in the films than early film noir critics realized. All the films have a good woman who is the right answer to men’s problems; but the men go for the bad femme fatale; e.g., the movie Angel Face where the ambulance driver who is better off staying with his nurse girlfriend, instead falls for a demented heiress. Also, many women wrote the books on which the films were based: e.g., Patricia Highsmith and Dorothy B. Hughes. But more attention has been given male writers such as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. In addition, there were excellent female film producers such as Joan Harrison, Hitchcock’s protégé.

– In response to Bob Barth’s question: Eddie’s favorite boxing subgenre film is The Setup.

– In response to Stephanie Casenza who asked how Eddie compared the remake of Nightmare Alley with the original, Eddie answered they’re both good. The main difference is that the new version is more faithful to the novel by keeping its “bleak” ending.

– In response to Allison Bliss’s question: Yes, the German film school known as “expressionism” had a big influence on film noir. The German movement is based on the idea that what you see in a film is a reflection of the actor’s inner emotions). It occurred during the “silent film” era of the 1920's when Berlin was the center of film making. The German films often disregarded realism and had realistic but distorted and stark black and white scenes that accentuated the war-related pessimism of that era. See, e.g., the film called The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

– In response to Steve Lowe’s question: Yes, Eddie has been slipped a mickey but not at waterfront dive; It happened at a bar in Salzburg, Austria at the hands of locals who didn’t like Eddie’s loud-mouthed American companion.

Click here to watch Eddie Muller video segment.

Missed our meeting, but interested in checking out the next one? Click below to learn more. https://www.oakland-rotary.org/calendar

#serviceaboveself #rotaryinternational #rotaryclubofoakland #rotaryopensopportunities