Club members enjoyed an evening of conversation, awards, laughter and praise for successfully completing a Rotary year of virtual meetings during the Change Over Dinner on Friday, June 25.

The club returned in person to Fisherman’s Wharf ––  at Swiss Louis Italian Seafood Restaurant on Pier 39 –– where Co-Presidents Suzanne Varacalli and Roger Kaufman passed the gavel to  Aline Estournes and Erk Scheller, now serving as Co-Presidents for the 2021-2022 year. Pictured l-r: Roger, Erik, Suzanne and Aline.

Suzanne and Roger reported that despite the Covid pandemic, our club gained three new members, Yvonne Curley, Bettie Grinnell and Randall Scott, and created a successful online fundraiser.

Janelle Estournes, the Americorps Disaster Services Coordinator for Sonoma and Napa Counties, presented a Red Cross program on “How to Prepare for an Emergency or Disaster” for our April 15 online meeting. She is a niece of club member and Co-President Elect Aline Estournes.

Noting that every county in California last year was struck by wildfires and other disastrous fires, Janelle focused on what should be included in an emergency kit and how individuals and families should plan and practice escape from a building or residence.

Members attending our March 18 via Zoom got a primer on the Magnolia Collection at the San Francisco Botanical Garden, a 55-acre living museum within Golden Gate Park that showcases more than 8,000 different kinds of plants from around the world. Our knowledgeable speakers were  Steve Gensler, the Garden’s Geographic Information System (GIS) Manager, and Victoria Stewart, Plant Records Manager.

We learned that there are 7,300 species of magnolias, one-third of which are located in China, and more than 300 species are considered threatened. Eric Walther, SF Botanical Garden director from 1937 to 1957, introduced magnolias, and trees located throughout the Garden are now the premier collection in the world outside of China. The blooming season is January-March.

The Garden’s oldest magnolia tree, at 99 years, is this Magnolia Campbelli.

Our February 11 speaker was John McNulty, a founding principal and architect of MBH Architects.  He and two other self-described “ambitious” architects founded the firm in 1989, and it continues to be headquartered today in Alameda with offices in NYC, Denver, Mumbai and Bengaluru. 

John is a member of the advisory council for SPUR and serves on the board for the Good Tidings Foundation.  As a former board member of the SF Chapter of AIA, he is a frequent guest lecturer at UC Berkeley, where he received his degree in Environmental Design.

Club member Aline Estournes said John is a dear friend of 32 years. They first met soon after she began her property management career with the Northpoint complex and he was involved with work there following the 1989 earthquake.

John said that “Reimagine” is a core mission of MBH Architects. He showed slides and described the evolution of various projects around San Francisco, including the recently completed building at Grant and Sutter, Harbor Lofts, North Beach Malt House, Northpoint Apartments, Wax Museum, Epic and Waterbar. 

More information and project photos can be found on the firm’s website, www.mbharch.com

Guest speaker for our Nov. 12th meeting was Lt Jonathan Baxter, Homeland Security Operations and Public Image Officer for the San Francisco Fire Department. He passed on fascinating facts about the department as well as helpful advice on how we should prepare our homes and work places for disasters like earthquakes and fires.

Thanks to Lt. Baxter, we now know that the SF Fire Department has 47 fire engines, 22 ladder trucks, 55 ambulances, 3 fireboats, 1,780 firefighters and 47 fire stations, including 3 at the San Francisco Airport.

He urged members to become involved with their local NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Response Team), which will be essential in saving lives during a major disaster. Included in his virtual presentation were these “be prepared” and “make a plan” tips.

Speaker for our Aug. 13 meeting was Keith Axtell, Past President of the Rotary Club of Marin Evening who has been a leader in organizing international humanitarian projects through Rotary. He described the COVID-19 Project in Guayaquil, Ecuador, which our club supports. The project will provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to doctors and nurses in 15-17 hospitals, including 20,000 face masks and 800 uniforms, all produced in Ecuador.

Keith also updated us on other Rotary projects in Ecuador, including a water well for the Henry Davis Orphanage in Quito, and a micro-credit lending program for new businesses and training center in the Esmeralda Province.

On June 18, Steve Carlson of the Rotary Club of San Carlos updated club members on the Morocco High Atlas Irrigation Aqueduct project, which he initiated and our club has supported with DDF funds since its beginning. Steve showed slides and photos via Zoom to inform and inspire us.

When complete later this year, the 2200-meter cement structure will carry water from a mountain river, fed by snow melt, to 30 villages in the Berber community. Gates along the aqueduct will divert water to irrigate farm fields. Washing stations, for clothes and dishes, will built along the route to the delight of village women.

Carlson said the project has been funded by $131,000 from the Rotary Club of San Carlos and a $175,000 Global Grant. The final section will be completed by the Rotary Club of Redwood City.

Some of the nonprofit programs she is working with currently are Reimagining End of Life, Generation Citizen, a volunteer program which provides civics education to middle school students, The Grand, and Upwardly Global, which serves to assist professionals new to this country find employment. Tresa’s volunteer activities are truly inspirational and reaffirming of the idea of service above self.

Rebeca Kaplan, Director Institutional Advancement Aquarium of the Bay, and Neha Prakash, Manager Tourism Services and Hazim Elbgal, Citi Bank, attended the meeting as guests at our last meeting. During Happy Dollars, Neha shared that her parents are lifelong Rotarians and she was happy to be attending her very first Rotary meeting at our club. 

Our very own Riki Intner was our speaker this week. Riki spoke of her lifelong friendship with co-author Roberta Cole and their respective journeys in providing care for their mothers, Sara and Ruth, and the lessons learned. Riki read excerpts from their book,  Caregiving from the Heart, tales of inspiration. Riki captured the essence in her quote of Rosalyn Carter, who said:

There are only four kinds of people in this world:

Those who have been care givers

Those who are currently care givers 

Those who will be care givers, and    

 Those who will need care giver.

Speaking at our Jan. 9th meeting on the topic, “Stuff Happens” was NBC Bay Area investigative reporter, Jaxon Van Derbeken. His talk addressed several recent and significant events ranging from the construction of the Millennium Tower, the Transbay Terminal, and the Bay Bridge. He shared insights gained from his intensive investigations which spoke to decisions made for the various projects and unintended effects of those decisions. Jaxon’s talk was well received and enjoyed.

We welcomed visiting Rotarian Silvina Munilla, Rotary Club of Catedral al Sur in Buenos Aires. Silivna is an attorney and a driving force behind a project that brought 34 clubs across six countries together to help children with cancer. 

Rotary District 5150 Foundation Chair, Gary Chou attended our meeting and recognize Kay Aucielo, Past President 2018-2019, and current Program Chair, for her charitable donations to Rotary.  Kay received her 7^th Paul Harris pin.