Meeting Recap - July 12, 2016
Posted by Nancy Teichert on Jul 14, 2016
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All eyes - not only Irish eyes - were smiling when President Daniel J. McVeigh lead the parade of his leadership team into this week’s meeting to take the podium as the 105th president for the 2016-2017. A club member since 1999, President Dan was roasted and toasted on his Installation.
To the song, “McNamara’s Band,” President Dan was followed by President-Elect John Lemmon (Knox, Lemmon & Anapolsky), Secretary LaToya Wong, Treasurer Michele Amaral (Dick James and Associates), the club’s board of directors, Foundation President Jim Leet (Boutin Jones) and the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
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PP Jon Snyder (Snyder Commercial Real Estate) lead the singing of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.” McVeigh spent his childhood and grew up in the M and M Tavern, because his dad owned it., a prominent bar in San Francisco for newspaper reporters. He graduated University of California, Berkeley, in 1972, got his law degree from Hastings College of Law in 1977 and has worked as a civil litigator for 35 years specializing in employment litigation. He is a partner in Downey Brand and he and his wife, Rebecca Baumann, have two children Brendan and Mary, and one grandson, Allen.
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President Dan has served as president and a board member for the Stanford Home for Children, a board member for the Central YMCA and the Sacramento Library Foundation. He received the St. Thomas More Award in 2009.
Co-chairs of the meeting, PPs Jon and Walter Dahl (Dahl Law), did all they could to embarrass McVeigh including showing a 1974 photo of him with an Irish Afro, mustache and a jacket made of what looked like a sheep skin.
The pair announced some of his Dan’s Top Ten plans for his year. Instead of chicken, corned beef will be served 50 different ways; to improve our health, he will lead us in Celtic dancing; instead of wine, green beer will be served; he will bring back Big Game Day and insure a Cal win by not inviting Stanford. His number one goal will be to raise money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation to conquer childhood cancers.
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President Dan explained there is no real saint named Baldrick, but that the name comes from the shaving of heads as a challenge for fundraising events. Anyone whose cell phone goes off during a meeting, may be facing that challenge, he said.
“This is not my Rotary year. This is our Rotary year,” he said. “If we don’t do it together, we get nowhere.” Friendship is the reason he has remained in Rotary. A national Rotary survey found that 30 percent joined for the friendship, but 38 percent stayed in their clubs for that reason.
The club has had a declining membership and President Dan urged members to ask friends or business associates to join, even if they’ve been turned down before. He said their business may have improved, they have more time now or they may like you better. Or invite a guest when there is a speaker who might interest them.
Go home and write about your “Rotary Moment,” about what pushed you to join Rotary or to stay in the club and then share it with potential new members. He made an addition to the Four- Way Test with the Fifth Test - “Is it Fun? We need to focus on having more fun.”
And, finally, President Dan said that the Roster pictures will have to be updated because some are so old that our own children don’t recognize us.
Meeting greeters were Mike Bullington (Pacific Advisors) and Jim Mattesich (Greenberg Traurig). Wine was provided by Steve Johanson (Johanson & Associates). PP Walter introduced the head table including Amaral (Property Management), Leet, PP Jon, P-E Lemmon, and President Dan.
Our musicians were Paul Stone, Jeff Stone (John O Bronson Co), and Judge Bill Shubb (U.S. District Court).
Twenty members made financial donations to become a “Friend of Dan”, a Benefactor, a Champion, an Altruist or a Philanthropist.