Congratulations to our Rotarian of the Month for January 2020 – Roger Kaufman from the Rotary Club of San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.
Roger Kaufman has been in retail business in the San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf area since 1974. Starting his business in a trailer selling SF souvenirs, he moved into newly built store seven years later and added a Snack bar.
In 1986, he was asked to take on another gift shop and the following year took over the food service on the Red and White fleet. 1989 opened an opportunity to buy into the Ben & Jerry’s franchise.
Roger and his family now have 4 stores and a catering company plus 3 gift shops. Roger shares joining Ben & Jerry’s was an eye-opening experience as they are dedicated to giving back to the community, so his support of local associations and schools expanded, and is entrenched in many facets of San Francisco life.
Why Rotary?
In his own words Roger states: I was invited to a meeting of a small Rotary club many years ago and was impressed by what a small group of merchants along with such a large international organization could do and was immediately hooked.
Focus
Roger especially enjoys working with his local community and has become very involved with a senior and youth center in the neighborhood. He also works closely with the neighboring schools and derives a great deal of satisfaction from that.
Memories
The social aspect is equally important, working with likeminded people. Rotary as a group, has been involved in so many activities over the years from beach clean-ups to providing dictionaries to elementary schools it’s hard to say what is the best.
Proudest Memory
The time we travelled to a remote town in Mexico to celebrate the graduation of a student we sponsored all throughout high, college and law school is ingrained in my memory.
Hobbies
Roger enjoys Biking, walking