Meeting Highlights - November 10 and 17, 2020

This issue of Meeting Highlights covers the meetings of November 10th and November 17th. Be sure to click on the links in each story below to access all the information from the meetings inlcuding the videos of the speakers as well as the slides and handouts.
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
Julia T. Brown, National Board of Directors
Julia T. Brown serves on the Association of American University Women (AAUW) National Board of Directors.  AAUW was founded in 1881 to advocateing for women and girls ever since, which is 24 years longer than Rotary.  Learn more about AAUW here.
 
Julia has extensive experience in executive management, financial management, nonprofit formation and governance, as well as compliance enforcement. She has served in the U.S. Army (President Gary knows Julia from her work in the JAG Corps) and  currently is the City Manager of Sunland Park, New Mexico.
 
While AAUW started in America with university professors and administrators, it now includes members around the world and in many different professions and includes males.  AAUW has been extensively involved in research from an 1885 study disproving the belief that a college education negatively impacted the fertility of women to a recent study on the economic impact of workplace sexual harassment.  Click here to learn more about AAUW's research eforts through the years. AAUW helped raise money to purchase a gram of radium for Nobel Laureate Marie Curie's research.
 
AAUW has strongly advocated for legislation that benefits women, but also helps others.  Examples include the Equal Pay Act, Title IX, Paycheck Fairness Act, and workplace harassment laws.  Julia focused on the $3-4M in Fellowships and Grants that AAUW awards annually, which include Career Development, International Fellowships, and Community Action.  Read about all seven areas here.
 
Julia concluded her presentation by paraphasing Robert Frost, "We've come a long way, but there are miles to go."
AAUW Chapters in the East Bay
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley was honored to co-sponsor the presentation by Julia T. Brown in conjunction with AAUW of Hayward/Castro Valley with President Linda Slater introducing Julia.  The Club also welcomed the many members of AAUW Hayward/Catro Valley who attended the presentation.  Like Rotary AAUW Hayward/Castro Valley is involved in numerous community activities such as the Alameda County Food Bank and assisting young women at Chabot College and CSU-East Bay.
 
In the Bay are there are five other AAUW chapters:  Alameda, Berkeley, Fremont, Livermore/Pleasanton/Dublin, and Oakland/Piedmont.  Please take a moment to check out their websites for more details.
Club Assembly
The meeting on November 17th focused on the future of the Club in three areas: 
  • A Strategic Plan - Rotary Club of Castro Valley 2025;
  • Requirements for Earning a Blue Badge; and,
  • Criteria for Returning to In Person Meetings. 
Please click on the following links to read about each topic and prepare for another discussion on December 8th:
Your input on these important issues is appreciated and needed. 
The Pandemic vs Tourism & Conventions
Teipo Brown, Jr. is the Director of Sales for the San Mateo County/Silicon Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Teipo's short presentation provided a great deal of information regarding the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on tourism and converntion.  Key points in the presentation included
  • why people are avoiding travel;
  • the drop in occupancy rates and airline passengers inlcuding the percentage of hotel rooms closed by hotel chains;
  • barriers to air travel;
  • the current status of the industry including the San Francisco Metropolitan Statistical Area;
  • forecaasts of what's ahead (e.g., new technology, "air bridges" at airports; and
  • many detailed slides illustrating the impact of COVID-19 on travel, tourism, and conventions
  • Click here to see the very informative slides.  (Please note: The slides in the video of the presentation have some formatting errors due to problems in the conversion of the slides.  Use the above link for the original slides.)
The Pandemic vs. Chambers of Commerce
Steve Van Dorn, Presidenet/CEO -
Pleanston Chamber of Commerce
As part of the Club's effiort to highlight what is happening in surrounding communities, Steve Van Dorn (read his bio here) spoke to the Club about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic  has had on Chambers of Commerce and, in particular, the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2021.  Key points in Steve's talk included
  • Chambers like small businesses are struggling with some folding and others merging while others continue to support their members.
  • Membership is down (e.g., in 2019, the renewal rate was 85%m but in 2020, it is 35%.  Since the Chamber is a 501(c)6, it does not qualify for funding under the CARES Act.
  • The Chamber has had canceled many events and switched others to online including Mixers and a new event, Speed Networking; however, members are experiencing Zoom fatigue so participation is down. 
  • The Chamber has worked to provide its members with information on how to deal with the impact of the pandemic.
  • Currently, Steve and his staff are planning for three different scenarios foer 2021, while promoting a Shop Locally campaign.
  • Members are requested to register for lunch meeting on ClubRunner under Upcoming Events.
  • The Zoom link to access the the lunch meeting is always: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/240179056 
 
November 26 - Happy Thanksgiving
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
December 1 - Lunch Meeting
Speaker:  Captain Martin Neideffer, Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO)
Topic:  ACSO Dig Deep Farms & Kitchen Programs
 
December 8 - Lunch Meeting/Club Assembly
Speakers:  All Castro Valley Rotarians
Topic:  The Future of the Rotary Club of Castro Valley