NEXT MEETING: April 3, 2015

Putting Richmond Students First

Enjoy a special presentation by violin students from Benito Juarez Elementary School led by Don Benham, followed by a conversation with Jorge Lopez, Chief Executive for Amethod Public Schools (AMPS).

AMPS believes that all students can succeed in rigorous college-prep environments when provided with high expectations, capable educators and leaders, a disciplined commitment to academics, extended time for learning, and access to a range of enriching learning experiences. An excellent college education is necessary for expanded opportunities in an increasingly competitive and global 21st century job market, and together as a school community AMPS strives to meet that challenge, and to prepare students to be driven individuals who take smart and calculated path for the good of their personal progress. AMPS seeks to strengthen the character and academic foundations needed for underserved students to excel in school in order to assume positions of responsibility and distinction in society. Central to the network’s mission is the belief that it doesn’t matter where you start in life, but what you do with what you have in life is what counts.

MEETING OF March 28, 2015

Welcome

Whoa Nellie! As the check-in line whittled down to a mere three and the buffet line got down to only five, President Stoney Stonework welcomed the 60+/- guests and Rotarians to today’s meeting and called to order the Richmond Rotary Club. Erle Brown was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Stoney led us in the invocation, a silent prayer for Freedom, Peace & Justice on Earth. Sidney was on his way to David Calfee’s Celebration of Life (more later). Filling in for Sid and busier than a one armed Boatwright was Stacey Street.

Visiting Rotarians

Mack Lingo from Berkeley Rotary. Hello Mack!

Rotarians with Guests

Felix Hunziker introduced again local boy and Chevron engineer Oscar Garcia. Jan Brown introduced her husband Byron Brown. Prez Stoney introduced his wife Maryanna Stonework. Mark Howe introduced his guests, City Manager Bill Lindsey and new City Director of Finance Belinda Warner. Nick Despota introduced his wife Nel Benninghof. Don Lau introduced Randy Enos, School Board Trustee. In the Rotarians as Guest Dept, it was nice to see Paul Allen who said he would not be such a stranger in the future.

Other Guests included:

County Supervisor John Gioia, Capt. Anthony Williams RPD, Susan Segovia, Sean Pyles, Jim & Marilynn Mellander, Kevin Keane, Joan Barrett, Ben Therriant, Susan Wehrl, Kazue Nakahara, Leah Casey, Patty Caressa, Vann Ferber, Martin McNair, Mike Pacer.

Sunshine Report

Bill Koziol reported talking with both Ralph Hill and Charlie Wong and they are both doing well and would appreciate a phone call.

Announcements

• Alan Baer announced the club’s 95^th Birthday Celebration at his house April 4^th starting at 2 PM. Also District 5160 will be holding the annual District Assembly Saturday April 25^th at Solano Community College in Vallejo, starting at 8:30 AM (free coffee & donuts, Free lunch if you register at http://www.rotary5160.org/calendar/events-calendar
• Sid Chauvin, DDS (Dr. of Drains and Sewers) asked that the local plumbers union 100^th year celebration be announced again, April 4^th at the Rosie the Riveter Museum and the Craneway Pavilion. The event starts at 5:30 PM and includes dinner and dancing.$125/ticket, available from Sid. Rumors about a ‘hosted bar’ were premature. Sid’s still wondering if they were the product of wishful thinking or inexperienced caterers.
• Prez Stoney reminded the club that Dave Calfee’s Celebration of Life will be Saturday the 28^th from 1 – 4 PM at the Calfee home in Meadow Vista CA. Directions are available at the podium.
• Stacey Street reminded the assembly that next week 33 student violin performers from Benito Juarez Elementary School will play at the meeting next Friday. The violin performance will be followed by a conversation with Jorge Lopez, Chief Executive for Amethod Public Schools (AMPS).  AMPS believes that all students can succeed in rigorous college-prep environments when provided with high expectations, capable educators and leaders, a disciplined commitment to academics, extended time for learning, and access to a range of enriching learning experiences.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Understanding Public Employee Pensions

Jim Young introduced today’s speaker, Investigative Reporter Daniel Borenstein from the Bay Area News Group – “Contra Costa Times”. Dan has worked for the Times and its affiliated newspapers since 1980, including previous assignments as political editor, Sacramento bureau editor, projects editor and assistant metro editor. Dan is a Bay Area native and Contra Costa County resident. He holds undergraduate degrees in journalism and political science and master’s degrees in public policy and journalism, all from the University of California, Berkeley (Go Bears!). Dan Borenstein’s weekly column often focuses on public finance issues, including columns during the past six years on government employee pensions. Today’s presentation has been ‘personalized’ to the public employee pension issues of the City of Richmond.

Here are the zingers:

• Total unfunded public pension liabilities of the City of Richmond = $446,000,000.
• Debt per Richmond resident, men, women & children = $4,500 per person +/-.
• Unfunded Pension expense is a gigantic intergenerational debt transfer of the operating expenses of the past to the operating budgets of the future, our children and grand children.
• Because ‘mistakes were made’ in past CALPERS funding, expectations and management, the City’s future CALPERS contributions are going up dramatically. The increase is expected to push annual city payroll expense from 42% to 59% of the annual operating budget.

Important Fundamentals of pension vocabulary & definitions:

• CALPERS = California Public Employees Retirement System (also CalPERS), established by amendment of the California State Constitution in 1931; One of the largest pension funds on Earth with total assets under management >$300B & representing 1.6M + public employees..
• OPEB = Other Post Employee Benefits a fund or class of obligations due public employees after retirement like health benefits and not part of penison benefits.
• CALPERS and OPEB are the two largest funds, ‘defined benefits plans’, used by the City of Richmond. By contrast, in 2015, most private sector pension plans are ‘defined contribution plans’. The City has four pension funds all totaled.
• In a ‘defined pension plan’, the annual retirement payment received by the retiree is ‘defined’ as a fixed amount of annual retirement income. Usually, never stated in this definition, are the contribution(s) needed to create the defined benefit. These contributions are ‘variable’ until the fixed benefit is paid. It is the responsibility of the pension plan and its sponsor, CALPERS & the City of Richmond, to adjust the variable contributions in order to guarantee payment of the defined pension benefits/payments.
• In ‘defined contribution plans’, typically 401k savings accounts, the contribution from the employer and employee are defined, but the benefit is not. The benefit, if it exists at all when an employee retires, is the consequence of long term contributions, investment decisions, prudent planning and a lot of delayed gratification by the retiring employee-owner.

In a defined benefit plan like CALPERS and OPEB the City has the responsibility, liability actually, to manage the contribution variables and risks in order to guarantee the retirees ‘defined benefits’. In the defined contribution plan (401k plan) the employee/retiree manages the variables and risks including the ultimate retirement rate of payment.

Borenstein said that he thinks ‘defined benefits plans’ are a good thing because they allow retirees to actually plan their income and pool (share) the economic risk of investing, BUT they must be based on the fundamentals of affordable (sustainable) contributions AND realistic investment expectations and accounting, especially time-value*.

Herein lays the problem for the City of Richmond and most, if not all, of the other public employee pension funds in California. The funds are based on unrealistic and unsustainable assumptions. Some of the plans have been subject to inappropriate accounting. Taken together and rolled into public employee contracts under the authority of California Contract Law, they have produced the current unfunded public pension deficit.

How does this happen? Here is the formula used for calculating public employee pension benefit:

• (Top Annual Salary in Dollars) x (# of Years of Service) x (“the Multiplier”) = Annual Pension Benefit in Dollars.
• Example:   ($100,000 annual income, last year of service) x (30 year of employee service) x (.03 [3%, the Multiplier for Richmond Police & Fire Fighters]) = $90,000 Annual Pension Payment/retiree income.

The ‘Multiplier’ is something of a magic number that is hotly debated in public employee contract negotiations. The larger the Multiplier, the larger the benefit.

There is another number that is very important to the total amount of pension benefit liability but it is not a direct part of the individual formula. That number is the minimum age or years of service at which employees can retire and receive 100% of the Multiplier benefit. This number is very important because it sets the minimum number of years the pension fund has to earn income before payments must be paid to retirees. It also is an indirect, but not absolute, determinant of how long the pension fund must pay benefits to retirees. The duration of retiree benefits is determined by life expectancy Starting earlier usually means a longer time retirement benefits are paid.

So, when public employees work hard for a long time and get paid a decent living wage (to do the often tedious and sometimes dangerous work of public life in the community), and, are promised the benefit of a ‘high’ Multiplier, they can plan to retire with a pension that is a significant percentage of their working life salary.

Well, not quite, one other thing needs to happen. That defined pension fund needs to have enough money put into it every year the public employee works, so that the ‘wise and prudent’ pension fund managers (CALPERS, etc.) can invest the money in order to insure that every retiring public employee can receive their ‘defined benefit’ if they retire at the earliest age allowed by the pension plan. This is how the unfunded pension liability of $446,000,000 came into being:

• The City has not been putting enough money into CALPERS, etc. each year to fund expected pension liability.
• CALPERS has not been so ‘wise and prudent’ with yield expectations and risk management.
• Fund accounting, at all levels, has been somewhere between overly optimistic to downright deceptive, depending on who, what and where.

Dan Borenstein’s presentation was a tour de force of specific facts and figures that I am sure will be accurately shared with the public again in the near future. If you hunger for those facts and figures, you should have been there. This scribe does not want to misrepresent Dan’s detailed efforts so they are not included here.

Thank you Dan Borenstein for an illuminating discussion of a complicated subject.

*Time-Value, arguably the most important and difficult concept in finance. Ask your CPA for clarification or maybe we can have a whole program about it. Colloquially it is exemplified by the old saw, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”

NEXT MEETING: March 27, 2015

Understanding Public Employee Pensions

Dan Borenstein is an award-winning columnist and editorial writer for the Bay Area News Group, which includes the Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune and San Jose Mercury News.  He has worked for the Times and its affiliated newspapers since 1980, including previous assignments as political editor, Sacramento bureau editor, projects editor and assistant metro editor.  A Bay Area native and Contra Costa County resident, he holds undergraduate degrees in journalism and political science and master’s degrees in public policy and journalism, all from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dan Borenstein’s weekly column often focuses on public finance issues, including columns during the past six years on government employee pensions. Those columns have helped shape public policy at the local and state levels.  He is regarded by many as one of the most knowledgeable journalists in California when it comes to public pensions. His pension columns have won the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism Award for commentary and Freedom of Information Award for column writing, and the California Newspaper Publishers Association awards for column writing and public service.

MEETING OF March 20, 2015

Welcome

President Stoney Stonework called to order the Richmond Rotary Club. Josh Surowitz was asked to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Stoney led us in the invocation, a silent prayer for Freedom, Peace & Justice on Earth. Sidney’s Thought for the Day: “Eventually you’ll reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.”

Rotarians with Guests

Felix Hunziker introduced local boy and Chevron engineer, Oscar Garcia. Felix…Oscar…that’s ‘odd’, I mean a coincidence.  Welcome Oscar!

Announcements

• Henry Moe on behalf of Alan Baer announced the club’s 95^th Birthday Celebration at Alan’s house April 4^th starting at 2 PM.
• Henry also said the Salesian Interactors are hoping to send 10 participants to the Interact Boat Cruise May 23^rd and are hopeful that Rotary could fund $550 of the total cost.
• Felix ‘The Tree Guy’  Hunzinker announced that Richmond Trees is having another street tree planting event on Sunday, March 29^th, meeting at Burg Park at 9 AM. BYO shovel and gloves.
• Sid Chauvin, DDS (Dr. of Drains and Sewers) announced that the local plumbers union will be celebrating its 100^th Anniversary April 4^th at the Rosie the Riveter Museum and the Craneway Pavilion. The event starts at 5:30 PM and includes dinner and dancing for the easy to afford price of $125/ticket (if you’re a plumber!).
• Jim Young announced that this coming Friday, the 27^th, is the Dan Borenstein program about public employee pensions. A light turnout is unacceptable so everyone should come and invite a friend. Anyone who pays property taxes should hear what Borenstein has to say because unfunded public pensions are the single largest financial threat to local government. PLUS, he will explain ‘pension spiking’, the technique used to give many public employees $250K+ annual retirement incomes for life.
• Prez Stoney announced that word has come across the Atlantic that Pam Jones is a new Grandmother and that daughter, granddaughter and grandmother are all doing fine. Stoney also reminded the club that Dave Calfee’s Celebration of Life will be Saturday the 28^th  at the Calfee home in Meadow Vista, CA, and if you are going, to let Hank Covell know so he can tell the family.
• Sid Chauvin also reminded those who didn’t already know that the baby pictures at the sign-in table were of his new granddaughter, Gabriella Diane Johnson.
• Extra note from the Scribe. If you missed Menbere Aklilu’s “Who Am I?” last week and want more information about the GRIP-Salute Thanksgiving Celebration, click on this link. At the bottom of that web page, you will also be able to watch a short KTVU video news story about the 2012 Thanksgiving Celebration at Salute.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

WriterCoach Connection Richmond Update 2015

Prez Stoney introduced Beverly Roberts Charles, JD, the Richmond program Manager for WriterCoach Connection (WCC). Ms. Charles graduated with a degree in journalism from Northwester and has held many positions in advertising, medical administration and non-profits, including Chair of the Berkeley Art Center. She went back to school at San Francisco Law School, securing her JD in 2010, and has been WriterCoach’s Richmond Program Manager since 2014. Ms. Charles introduced her colleagues, June Pangelinan the WCC Richmond Volunteer Coordinator and Karen Larson, the WCC Site Coordinator for Richmond HS.

WirterCoach is no stranger to Richmond Rotary as some of our most altruistic members and their spouse/partners have supported the program for years. Ms. Charles provided a quick reminder of the one-on-one tutoring that each volunteer coach provides participating students. The basic concept is to provide the students with the attention to writing detail and critical thinking development they do not automatically get as part of their classroom education.

The program has an East Bay focus, having started in Berkeley and expanded into both Oakland and Richmond. It has grown from its first year of 150 students and 73 coaches to 289 students and 148 coaches, and is always looking for volunteers who can spend one or two hours with students once or twice a month. Expansion in Richmond has allowed the program to move beyond its initial start at Richmond HS to now include Kennedy HS. Members interested in finding out more about WCC and volunteering opportunities are invited to check out the WriterCoach web site and note especially the “Volunteer” tab.

Like most non-profits, WriterCoach is also looking for financial and corporate support and would greatly appreciate introductions to individuals and companies that are willing to support literacy education in our local high schools.

Cross those ‘I’s and dot those ‘T’s. Thank you, Ms. Charles and WriterCoach Connection in Richmond!

With a lick of the wrist, Prez Stoney adjourned our motley crew until next week and Journalist Dan Borenstein’s program about Public Pension Policy. Higher taxes? Did anybody say anything about higher taxes?

NEXT MEETING: March 20, 2015

WriterCoach Connection Richmond Update 2015

Since 2001, WriterCoach Connection has sent teams of trained community volunteers into secondary school English classrooms to work one on one with students on their writing assignments. The program has been in Richmond for 3 years and the presentation will provide an update on the program in the Richmond schools WriterCoach Connection serve, including key successes and challenges. Results from WriterCoach Connection’s pre-coaching and post-coaching student assessment will be discussed, as well as survey results from stakeholders; students, teachers and volunteer coaches.

MEETING OF March 13, 2015

Welcome

Prez. Stoney welcomed all who were lucky to be present on this Friday 13th.  Liliane Kozial led us in the Pledge. Stoney offered a Moment of Silence for Freedom, Peace and Justice. Sid Chauvin offered, ”The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement!”

Announcements

• Alan Baer passed out information on the upcoming District 5160 Assembly. It will be April 25 at Solano Community College in Vallejo from 8:30am-2pm. Great opportunity for new Rotarians and Club officers to know a bit more about Rotary. Sign up at: www.rotary5160.org/calemdar/events-calendar
• Come Celebrate Richmond Rotary’s 95^th Anniversary at Alan Baer’s home on April 4th (our Anniversary is April 1st…no fooling!) Let Alan know if you will be attending so he can make sure there are ribs for you! Bring a special dessert and make it a real party.
• Bill Kozial’s Sunshine Report included greeting from Charley Wong who misses all of us.

Hank Covell reminded us all of Dave Calfee’s Celebration of Life on March 28. Please let Hank know if you will be attending so they can plan for the crowd.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Bay Area Climate Action

Nick Despota gave a quick overview of the shifting public opinion around climate change. He suggested that we can look at the issue through 2 different lenses: on the one hand, its technical and economic aspects; and on the other, the moral obligation to act. According to a recent poll, that obligation is felt by a majority of Americans.

Nick then introduced our speaker Judy Pope, with 350 Bay Area. 350 Bay Area is a grassroots activist group whose mission is to achieve deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the 9 Bay Area counties and beyond.

Judy kicked off with good news about climate change: we know what we can do and how to do it. More good news: California became a leader in the effort to limit climate change with the passage of AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, in 2006. AB32 established a state-wide cap-and-trade program, set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, set transportation and building energy standards, and established a goal of achieving a statewide renewable energy mix of 33% by 2020.

Judy said that a clear path to limiting the impacts of climate change—already evident in extreme weather events—is through a rapid transition to using only electricity generated by wind, sun and water. At the same time, we must sharply curb the use of coal, oil and natural gas. Citing an internationally agreed-upon goal of limiting global warming to 2° Celsius, she said that 80% of the known petroleum reserves must remain in the ground. Judy also stated that the risky practices of fracking and the transportation of highly explosive grades of crude oil by rail must be stopped.

While the details of the climate change issue are complex, the pathway to a cleaner future is not: we must quickly curb the use of fossil fuels, replacing that energy source with electricity from renewable sources wherever possible. The technology to do that is already available.

NEXT MEETING: March 13, 2015

Bay Area Climate Action

The climate crisis presents California and the Bay Area with unprecedented opportunities for climate leadership. Judy Pope, with the climate change group 350 Bay Area, will discuss the path forward to clean green energy and the social and economic benefits for California and the Bay Area of taking that path as quickly as possible. She will discuss major obstacles to switching to clean energy, including but not limited to the fossil fuel industry. Her talk will also cover the crucial role of Bay Area regulatory agencies, elected leaders and citizen activists. This information will be set in the context of the rapidly growing threats posed by a warming planet. Judy’s organization, 350 Bay Area, is a grassroots activist group whose mission to bring about deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the Bay Area and beyond.

MEETING OF March 6, 2015

Welcome

President Stoney Stonework called the meeting to order at Contra Costa College’s Three Seasons Restaurant and Tom Waller led the pledge of allegiance. Stoney asked for a moment of silence for freedom, peace, and justice on earth. Stoney also provided this thought for the day: don’t forget to “spring forward” and set clocks ahead one hour before going to bed Saturday night, March 7.

Announcements

• The next “Later in the Day” (LITD) meeting of Richmond Rotary will take place on Tuesday, March 10, 2015, at La Strada Restaurant in San Pablo beginning at 5:30pm. Come one, come all, and bring along prospective Club members. As per Josh Surowitz, meet in the bar.
• Henry Moe announced that the Rotary Interact Club at Salesian High School is looking forward to the annual Rotary District-involved boat cruise on San Francisco bay this coming May 23. Last year, there were about 180 Interact students on the cruise from around the District. It’s a great opportunity for the Interact students to socialize and learn about Rotary activities going on throughout the District. Since the boat cruise cost is $55 per student, Henry will be asking Rotary members to contribute a total of $550 to cover the cost of 10 Salesian students already signed up to go.
• Several Richmond Rotary Club members were able to attend the memorial service for Lynn Martin last Tuesday in Vallejo. The church was crowded and the many statements from friends and family attested to a life lived well, full of adventure, commitment, and accomplishment. Still, at age 54, it seems she was taken from us too soon.
• David Brown reported that Judy Kafka is back at home recuperating after surgery for a broken leg.
• Thanks to those able to make the latest tree-planting activity at Booker T. Anderson Park in Richmond on Saturday morning, March 7. Kudos to Feliz Hunziker for setting this up for Richmond Rotary to participate.
• Stoney publicly thanked Nader Sharkes, Head Chef and Department Chair of the award-winning Culinary Arts program at Contra Costa College, for providing a tasty lunch for Richmond Rotary.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Away-meeting at Contra Costa College

Stoney introduced Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, the Interim President of Contra Costa College. Outgoing President, Denise Noldon, has taken a job with the State Community College system in Sacramento.

Mojdeh has been with the Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) for 25 years, most recently as Executive Vice Chancellor of Education and Technology. She is proud of her Community College roots, having started her post-secondary education at Diablo Valley College in Concord (one of the three schools in the 4CD system).

Mojdeh shared some quick facts about Contra Costa College.

• As of the Fall Semester in 2013, the unduplicated student headcount was 7,021.
• The Full Time Equivalent Student (FTES) count was 2,594 (meaning an equivalent number of students taking at least 15 units over two semesters).
• The student body gender ratio is 57% female and 41% male.
• The average student age is 27 years, higher than the other two colleges in the District system.
• The ethnic composition of the student body includes 36% Hispanic, 24% African American, 14% Asian, and 11% White Non-Hispanic.
• Student tuition is $46 per credit (quite a bargain!).
• Extensive construction underway on campus should be done by the start of the Fall Semester 2016.

With a Strategic Plan meeting coming up on March 27 (public invited), Mojdeh is committed to have Contra Costa College serve the community in the best way possible.

NEXT MEETING: March 6, 2015
This Friday we're meeting at Contra Costa College, in the Three Seasons dining room.

Away-meeting at Contra Costa College

Don’t miss Richmond Rotary’s visit to Contra Costa College!  Members will enjoy a delicious lunch in Three Seasons restaurant, as well as a special presentation by Interim President, Mojdeh Mehdizadeh. Mojdeh has 25 years of experience in higher education, and was previously Executive Vice Chancellor of Education and Technology at the Contra Costa Community College District. Since 1998, she has served in a district-wide capacity, providing leadership and support to all colleges within the District.  Her responsibilities include support of the colleges’ educational programs, student services, workforce and economic development, information technology, research and planning, and grants.

Mojdeh holds an M.A. in Organizational Communications from Cal State University East Bay and a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from SF State University. Mojdeh holds a completed her undergraduate education at Diablo Valley College and is proud of her roots in the community college system.  Ms. Mehdizadeh’s accomplishments include restructuring the Information Technology Department to meet new and emerging demands; planning, acquiring, and implementing a new student information system; and developing a 10 year strategic plan to upgrade the technology infrastructure of all District sites.  Mojdeh has served on and held officer positions in numerous state and national organizations including the Microsoft Higher Education Advisory Group and the Contra Costa County Adult Education Consortium.

MEETING OF February 27, 2015

Welcome

President Stoney started the meeting and Josh Genser led the Pledge of Allegiance. Sid’s thought for the day was “When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think of your Algebra class.”

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Patty Kanessa was our guest, invited by Heather Kulp. Don Lau’s guest was Eddie Downer III. Jan’s guest was Rick Ambrose, and Josh Genser’s guest, for the last time (see below) was James Richardson.

Special Events

James Richardson was inducted as our newest member and we look forward to getting to know him

Announcements

• Friday March 6 -The rotary Meeting will be held at Contra Costa College and the cooking school will prepare the lunch.
• Tuesday March 3 – The Memorial Service for Lynn Martin will be held at the Church of Christ located at 1109 Lassen Street, Vallejo, CA 94591-4836
• Friday May 8 – Jan Brown announced the Teen Moms Project will once again assemble bags at our Rotary meeting. She said that there are about 44 moms in the program. The generosity of Dan Tanita, Clorox and the Linus project provide many of the infant care supplies for the teen moms. She told us that the Rotary bags, packed with the useful and personalized gifts, are cherished by the moms. She also said that the funding for the project is a little short and she kicked in a donation. That was followed up by donation from Jon Lawlis, Alan Blavins, Michael Winter and Herb Cole.
• Hank Covell and Bill Koziol announced that Ralph Hill is feeling better and would love a phone call, text or a phone call that you will be stopping by to see him.
• Bill Koziol talked to Charlie Wong and he says hi to everyone but is not able to come to a meeting

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Corporate Succession Planning at its Finest

Our Speaker Ron Clausen started off explaining that he was a Rotarian (In a different Club) before and donated $100. He owns the Clausen Law Group on Point Richmond and spoke about corporate transition that he calls the “Popeye Plan”. He explained that through his planning a business could save thousands of dollars if they follow his plan. He earned his BA and his J.D from University of California Davis.