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Ian Riseley
2017-2018 
President Rotary International
Our President
 Can-Do Sandhu
Lucky Sandhu
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Speakers
Jan 04, 2018
Jan 11, 2018
Club Mid Year Update
Jan 18, 2018
Lunch with Interact Students and Site Staff
Jan 25, 2018
El Porvenir - The Future
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Schedule of Greeters
January 4
Tucker, Brent
 
January 11
Voss, Nina
 
January 18
Richardson, Kathy
 
January 25
Walz, Norbert
 
Greeter Protocol
 
When you are assigned the duty of being our greeter, you should remember the following:

1. You should be at the meeting by 11:45 AM in order to greet everyone as they come to the meeting.

2. You should bring a "Greeter's Gift" for the raffle. The gift should be approximately $20.00 in value.

3. You will be leading the giving the inspiration of the day, leading the salute to the flag, and introducing the visiting Rotarians. It is a good idea to watch the visiting Rotarians sign in, so that you can ask them about any complicated names or classifications.

4. If you cannot attend, it is your responsibility to find a replacement.
 
 
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
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Welcome to the Rotary Club of San Ramon
Service Above Self
We meet Thursdays at 12:00 PM
Crow Canyon Country Club
711 Silver Lake Dr.
Danville, CA  94526
United States
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Meeting Notes for December 14, 2017
 
By: Hermann Welm
 
President “Can Do Sandhu” opened the meeting by reminding us that the R.I. President is Ian H.S. Riseley, of Victoria, Australia, and his theme for the year is “Rotary, Making a Difference.”  Our Greeter, PP Barry Toby, led us in the Salute to the Flag and gave us his Thought for the Day:  We can’t help everyone, but we can all help someone!”   Barry also mentioned that he will be retiring in 2018.
PP Don Jones and Mike Thelen led the singing of the Patriotic Song, “God Bless America.” 
 
 
Visiting Rotarians:  Kathereen Richardson and Gobind Anaid, both of whom are checking out the club for possible membership.
 
Other Visitors:  Pam Double, a friend of Judy Lewis.
 
 
Announcements: 
 
President Sandhu presented Moe with a Christmas gift for the excellent service he has been giving our club during its weekly luncheons.
 
Edgardo Carrillo announced that the Salvation Army, for which he volunteers, is in need of more help this Christmas season.  Anyone interested in assisting them should contact Edgardo.
 
Horace Crawford noted that it is not too late to contribute to the homeless being served by the Trinity Center, on whose Board he sits.  If you get him $20 Gift Cards to Safeway or Target  --  or $20 in cash, so he can buy them  --  they will be incorporated into the Christmas program for these folks.
 
PP John Tatum announced that this year’s Christmas Tree Lot sales sold down to the last 7 trees; a remarkable conclusion!  While the full accounting has not been completed, it appears that the profit should be roughly $40,000!  A special thanks to Chris (Gayler, that is) and Brandon for making this all work so well!
 
The Rotary Foundation Moment:  PP Ray Giles once again spoke about the opportunity afforded us by supporting the efforts of The Rotary Foundation.  The Foundation fulfills the criteria of keeping things “simple and enduring” in selecting projects to support by (1) finding a need, and (2) filling it with a sustainable “fix.”  Our members’ contributions of at least $100.00 per year helps make this happen.  Please check your December 1 Statement to see if you have made your contribution for this Rotary Year.  If you do so prior to the end of the calendar year, you’ll be able to incorporate it into your 2017 Income Tax filing.
 
 
Good News/Fine Free:  None
 
Recognitions:  Judy Lewis and Julie Fiedler were recognized for their recent birthdays, and Jerry Marrs for his wife’s (Dana).  Julie Disch’s birthday is today, and Jeff was reminded to at least buy her a card!
 
Then there was Horace Crawford!  He’ll be celebrating his 80th birthday on Friday, the 15th.  He felt compelled to share some recent dreams with us:
(1) He dreamt he was wearing one of Lucky’s really spiffy suits, but when he woke up he found that it only covered one of his legs!; (2) He had a nightmare about a large cheese wheel that Dennis Garrison brought him after a trip to the Baltic States; it hogged most of the space in their home refrigerator for months!; and (3) there was something about Horace chasing his wife around the house and not being able to catch her; she promised to run a bit slower the next time he was so motivated!
 
Program(s):
 
PP Dennis Harvey took the floor to discuss Membership issues.  He first made the observation that the club’s demographics are not representative of the County or of our area.  He is suggesting that we survey young professionals to see what changes might be required to better attract them to Rotary.  He is also concerned about the retention of current members, noting that quite a large percentage of “newbies” drop out of the club fairly quickly.  Increasing the club’s participation in social media is also necessary.  Quite a bit has been done over the past few years due to an influx of media-savvy members, however, more can and must be done.
 
As for existing obstacles to membership, they seem to revolve around two issues:  Time and Money.  The club has already shortened our meeting times so as to end by 1:15 pm, rather than the previous 1:30, to ease the burden on those who cannot be away from their work for two whole hours.  But is that enough?  Are there other adjustments that should be considered?  One he mentioned was meeting only twice a month, with a third meeting time reserved for committee assignments.
 
Another change that would return us to the intent of the founders of Rotary is to encourage the promotion of the members’ businesses.  Then there is also the possibility of advertising the Bios for new members on social media.  Ideas such as these and others need to be explored and discussed to ensure that the club stays current and relevant in the future.
 
PP Kathy Gailey next took the floor to discuss this year’s On-Line Auction for Education.  The outcome was quite encouraging in that the net from the effort will be in the $95,000 range; $45,000 from sponsors and $50,000 from the auction itself.
 
The process for the auction is as follows:
 
1.  Collect items.
2.  Complete Donation Form.
3.  Input into spreadsheet.
4.  Verify data against item(s).
5.  Download spreadsheet on to website.
6.  Add pictures.
7.  Auction goes live for 10 days.
8.  Credit cards charged at closing of auction.
9.  Distribute items to winners.
 
Here follow the suggestions discussed by Rotarians who worked on the auction this year.  None of them have been “approved” yet.
 
a.  Start earlier.
b.  Donation Form must accompany the item.
c.  All Donation Forms and Items turned in to a single person.
d.  List every component in a Gift Basket, or the like, on the Donation Form.
e.  Pictures to be taken before item is wrapped up (ie – Gift Basket).
f.  Hire someone to receive, input and verify every item.
g.  Secure geographically appropriate list of businesses for quarterly mailings.
h.  Start mailings early enough so that donors’ donation budget is more likely to still have room for us.
i.  Expedite the distribution to winners, including delivery to multi-item winners.
j.  Bring Rotary and the Auction more into the midst of the Run activity by setting up a pop-up tent in central location (rather than being located in school’s room).
k.  Involve schools in the District in Auction bidding, possibly by offering cash prizes (or a percent of that school’s bidding) to the schools’ PTA.
 
More discussion of these ideas  --  and others that are likely to come up  --  after the New Year.
 
 
Raffle:   The Greeter’s Gift of $20.00, was won by Judy Lewis, and the opportunity to draw that white marble was won by Jeff Disch.  He did not get it so he only walked off with $10.00! 
 
 
Next Program:    We will be “Dark” for two weeks; the next meeting will be on January 4, 2018.  The Program is listed as “Kathy Gailey and Dennis Garrison.”  What the two of them intend to do is left to your imagination!  Maybe sing some duets; maybe worse?!
 
HAPPY HOLIDAYS and a wonderful NEW YEAR to all!
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