For the second meeting in a row, President-Elect Doug Person kicked off another memorable meeting. Suzanne Juptner led the pledge. One of our newest members, Ana Pulido (CEO of the Peninsula Health Care District), shared inspiration regarding the importance of self-care, mental health awareness and staying engaged in our community. Makes sense. Meanwhile, President Phil was last seen in a rouge Waymo camouflaged as a camel somewhere far, far away.
Bob Doerr gave the Sunshine Report. He advised us that longtime crowd fav, Jim Shypertt, is recovering from an unfortunate fall. We love you Jim and hope to see you back on your daily neighborhood walks very soon mi amici!!!!
Late breaking news—Yowza…we had another Scott and Sean Williams sighting. Great to see you lads!
Club Announcements:
Hillsborough (city staff) hero, William Li, reported some well-deserved awards given to our local kids. Burlingame High School's Interact Program and Burlingame Parks and Recreation have worked in collaboration to bring a new program dedicating to allowing middle school aged youth to explore passions outside of traditional academic settings through project-based learning!
Past President Fritz Brauner then gave yet another sassy little salute to club member birthdays and anniversaries…as only Fritz can do.
Lastly, everyone was abuzz about the Club’s sold out 100th Anniversary/extravaganza next Thursday, January 30th at the fabulous Kohl Mansion. Breakout your bedazzled dresses and blue suede dancin’ shoes. Get ready to dance with your besties! Remember we’re DARK on Wednesday due to this event.
The SF Bay Area Remains an International Beacon Business and Investment:
Three-time Burlingame mayor and former United States Foreign Service rock star Michael Brownrigg introduced our esteemed Program Speaker, Mark Chandler. Mr. Chandler has served as the Director of San Francisco Office of the Mayor’s International Trade and Commerce for the past 37 years. He’s a UC Davis undergrad/UC Berkeley MBA who’s served nine SF Mayors while demonstrating ninja-like career survival skills…which is saying something in the brawling Barbary Coast politics in SF City Hall.
Mark referred to the greater bay area region as an international powerhouse and he skillfully identifies international potential business and investment partners that have led to our areas $800-900 billion (yes, billion w/a “b”!) GDP. If ranked independently, our regional economy would rank 19th in world when compared to the world’s 200+ independent countries. Take THAT Zimbabwe!
During his quest, Mark has led about 60 international diplomatic trips to foster strong alliances and long-standing relationships. Several examples of Mark’s program efforts include bringing Virgin, Vietnam and Turkish Airlines to SFO. Hey, remember when Virgin Airlines was a thing? I do. Then they got sold.
Some of this important work is done through San Franciso’s network of 19 sister cities. Compared to most countries and other world-class cities who have larger trade office staffs, Mark is a solo act and his modestly funded program receives zero federal funding. Nada. Zilch.
Shahzad will share his journey from Pakistan to the United States, highlighting the impact of the Taliban on his family. He will recount the mistreatment his father endured and the actions he took in response to seek justice.
