As was reported at our recent meeting, we had a great turnout for our weekend project at Camp Erdman.  I mentioned many of our members in last week’s Tradewind message who came and helped us out.  You should definitely check out the pictures that Lee will post.  And then, Miki Hardisty spoke to us about how Artificial Intelligence affects all of our lives, even when we don’t realize it.  As always, I was pleased to see many Club members join us.  I did specifically tell Jim Simonds that I was going to mention him in today’s message, not to call him out, but rather to express how glad I was to chat with him before the meeting.  I was also happy to have shared a table with Bridget Townsend and Wes Yamamoto during the presentation.  And although I did not share a table with them, I was glad to see that Liz Howard, Craig Robinson and Rick Tabor were all able to join us on Zoom (along with our frequent friend from the UK, Kevin Parle).  And as a final bit of Rotary fellowship, I met Jason Ebe at the airport, as we discovered we were both on the same flight to Phoenix.  (I am typing this message from Flagstaff, where I am helping my son pack up his dorm room to come home for the summer.)

As we approach the end of my Presidential year, there are still a number of items on my to-do list for the Club.  Many of these will be topics for discussion and possibly debate in our upcoming Club Assembly meeting on June 2.  I recognize that for some members of our Club, if we don’t have an A-Tier speaker, it seems not worth making the time to come out for a regular meeting.  However, I want to actively encourage everyone in the Club to join the Assembly – preferably in person at The Pacific Club.  We will still have the same amazing food and plenty of time for discussion and fellowship.  In addition, we (the leaders of your Club and the foundation) need your input on how we are managing your investment in the Club both now and as we move into our next Rotary year.  So, I truly do hope to see at least fifty of you there.

As a reminder, next week is Restaurant Week, so we have opportunities for small groups to gather for lunch on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday for some local food and vibrant discussion.  There are a few of us already signed up for each so far, but we definitely have room for a few more, especially on Wednesday at Nico’s Pier 38.  If you haven’t already signed up for one of the available slots, please consider doing so today.  The following week, on May 19, we will be back at the Oahu Country Club for our final time this Rotary year.  Our speaker will be Yann Cloatre, a cyber security consultant who will be engaging us in a “Not-So-Technical Discussion on Your Privacy in the Era of AI”. It should be a fascinating and useful follow-up to our presenter last week.  I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Mahalo nui loa