CROW’S CALL – July 18, 2019
“Lady Grizzly” (a.k.a. Colette Lay) called us to order. In the time-honored tradition of new Rotary presidents she had moved the podium. Most members adjusted their line-of-sight to the front of the room, except for a few older Rotarians who resolutely stared at the space John Milich had occupied and therefore spent the rest of the meeting watching golfers slice off the tee.
President Lay reminded us that R.I. President this year is Mark Daniel Maloney of Decatur, Alabama, and his Theme is “Rotary Connects the World.” She introduced our Greeter, Dennis Harvey, whose Thought for the Day was “Change where you sit and be a friend.” Dennis led the Flag Salute and Don Jones dragged us through the Patriotic Song. Dennis shared that he and Sharon had been in the Valley since 1974. He sells real estate and he has grandkids who are either very smart or very big for their age. Our guests included Harvalee Grimm, late of Cal High.
Announcements:
Michele Lee of the Dougherty Valley Club announced the September Fest which features a bike marathon to raise money for Sentinels of Freedom, plus a follow-on party, September 21.
Michele introduced Jasmine Ammari whom we sponsored to attend Girls State. Jasmine is a student at Cal High and studies Mixed Martial Arts, which she demonstrated by drop-kicking Chris Gallagher. She thanked us for our support and shared how important the experience had been for her. (Her first flight, first public speaking, chance to meet kids from all over the state.) The 550 girls set up mock governments and wrestled with some of the problems that confront our society. Two girls from local schools won the contest to become governors.
Julie McKinney announced the she was heading up the Veteran’s Day Lunch on November 7 at Gary Sloan’s private dining room at the San Ramon Medical Center. Julie asked us to invite veterans and active service members.
Kathy Richardson is in the hospital and we signed a card.
Gary Sloan is hosting the Inauguration and Baptismal Party for Colette on July 20. Hopefully the police will not have to be called this time.
Jay Tonz will be honored at our next meeting for his long-time service. His family will be in attendance.
Program:
President Lay introduced our speaker Brian Dunkel of Pleasanton Rotary. Brian is a Business Coach with 20 years of experience in sales. He gave us some insights into how to grow our business or organization. Brian laid out a compact overview of why we do what we do. “Everything man-made is about control.” Generally we avoid change when we are comfortable and seek it when we are uncomfortable.
Brian offered a several interesting observations about the process of persuading people:
- Those who talk less and listen more, asking good questions, are those with the most influence.
- It is the heart that writes the check; it is the brain that does the research, but usually after the decision has been made. Go for the emotions first.
- We usually go through a long process which leads us to an insight, but that insight is useless unless we take some action. Many people do not take that final step.
- Determine who we are marketing to. Use our branding to establish an emotional message. Then entice, engage and invite the customer to join.
Colette thanked Mr. Dunkel for his spirited presentation and told him we were making a donation to the Discovery Center in his name.
Karen McNamara shared a translation of the thank-you letter we received from the Guatemalan student we are sponsoring. He is in middle school and enjoys his education. He sends a wish: “May God shed blessings on your lives.”
The Raffle was won by Tom Port, and Cathie Oplia drew blue to the disappointment of all but made $10.
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