December 14, 2021 Meeting Report

Read the latest meeting highlights, including our introduction to MIT graduate Alan Chow, information about the Holiday Club Social in January, and much more!
 

 

December is Disease Prevention and Treatment Month

Announcements

Our guest today is a friend of Dr. Bob: Alan Chow, a fellow MIT graduate and currently the Chief Customer Officer and senior vice president of Cloud Platform Services at Teradata.
 

Today's Program

Alan outlined the long and winding road that has led him to our door.  The overarching theme of his presentation is a profound gratitude to this county and its people for the opportunities given and the freedom to express his talents.  Born and raised in Hong Kong, Alan shared a number of stories or vignettes that provide a picture of his life journey…a case study of the American dream.
 
Introduction to America…from Hong Kong to Cambridge, MA
This was a studious and industrious time during which Alan earned the affection and trust of locals.  He was present at and participated in the "birth" of artificial intelligence (AI) while at MIT.
 
Growth/impact of Data Analytics
Alan has applied the lessons learned throughout his career.
 
Working at Teradata
Alan currently serves in the dual roles of Chief Customer Officer and senior vice president of Cloud Platform Services.
 
In his role as the company’s Chief Customer Officer, he is responsible for using his extensive knowledge of Teradata’s technology, products, and services to enhance customer satisfaction. As a customer advocate, he partners with Teradata sales, services, engineering, and marketing to ensure that the company’s strategy reflects customer needs and helps them to achieve success, strong business results, and high return on their product investment.
 
As the head of Cloud Platform Services, Alan is responsible for delivery and operations of Data Warehouse as a Service for every member of Teradata’s Unified Data Architecture, including Teradata, Aster, and Hadoop platforms.
 
He was one of the original Teradata database engineers who pioneered the development, professional services, and customer support of what is now a multi-billion-dollar data warehouse market. His industry experience includes professional services, customer training, product marketing, product management, call center, and customer support planning. He was the head of Teradata Research and Development (R&D) for 12 years, before being promoted to run the Payments business unit for then-parent company NCR in 2004.
 
Chow rose to the role of Senior Vice President of R&D and Chief Technology Officer of NCR, before returning to Teradata in 2009 as Chief Customer Officer.
 
In each of these roles, Alan’s work has impacted our daily lives. 
 
Alan closed his presentation by, once again, expressing a deep debt of gratitude for the opportunities offered in America.

Club Operations

⏰ Volunteer opportunity. The club is seeking a volunteer to help set up our Wood Type Museum meeting room.  Each Monday (4pm or so), in advance of our Tuesday morning meeting, chairs and technology need to be placed to ensure a smooth start to our meetings.  Please let Peter C. or Steve D. know of your willingness to help with this aspect of Club service.

😱. Attendance decline! Some members voiced concern about declining attendance at club meetings. To rally members, we discussed contact calling and a survey as a strategy to turn this situation around

📆 Club Holiday Social. Save the date for January 6, 2022. This year's event will be held at the renowned Still Bend with food/drinks, potluck style. Details coming soon.
 
Foundation Report. The Central Park Project is officially named as our recipient of Annual Dinner funds and the Sepia Chapel designated as the dinner venue to be held on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Please consider the opportunity to help make this a successful (and enjoyable) event. Betty B. and team will start the formal planning process in a few weeks.
 
Club Secretary opportunity. Colleen stepping down at the end of December presents an opportunity for others to move into this important role. Detailed instructions and mentorship is available. If you are interested, please let Steve D. know.
 
President-Elect opportunity. As a reminder, the position of President-Elect is open as well. Steve does not want to be a two-term president.  Please consider the opportunity to express the Rotary ideal of service in these roles.
 

Club Events / Service Opportunities

Meals on Wheels for December 20-23, Monday to Thursday is open for sign-ups. Sign up early to reserve your spot!  This is a special and rewarding opportunity for our Club members/friends to deliver both meals and Christmas wishes to those that are homebound.  Thank you to Lori Z. and Colleen I. for coordinating the shopping!
 
Adopt-a-Family project. Recipient selection (Hope House) and details on the chosen family have been announced and communicated to Club members. We are planning on wrapping this project with a wrapping party on December 21st.
 
PJ's anyone? Our Club contributed 92 pairs of pajamas for foster kiddos as part of a Lakeshore Foster Family project.
 
Happy Bucks! Each week, club members can share their "personal quips and quotes" about experiences in exchange for a Happy Bucks contribution. Over the next two weeks, these contributions will go to the wait staff at Two Rivers Family Restaurant.
  • A number of our members donated this week in celebration of life journeys (and trips to Florida)! 🚗
     

Looking Ahead...

Next week's program chair. Chair is Brenda G. who has arranged for a Club site primer by our webmaster, Todd N. 🪑
 
Future program idea. A primer for the club's website! 💡
 
And, looking way ahead. Interest was expressed in resurrecting the idea of a Rotary Float as a highlight of the 2022 Christmas Parade.  We can check and see if the Rotary Rose Parade float is available for our local use 🎅🏻 🎄
 

Birthday and Anniversary Report

Jeff Zimmerle, December 15 🎂  
Ned Jacquart, (also!) December 15 🎂 
Ned Jacquart, 28 years 💍
Betty Bittner, 16 years 💍
Tim Wester, 7 years 💍
Jerry Juckem, 1 year 💍