Rotary Meeting, July 26, 2022
WELCOME/GAVEL IN
PRESIDENT LINDA (Gilbert & Associates) gaveled in the meeting at 12:10pm, welcoming all to today’s meeting as Hotel California reminded us that “you can check out, but you can never leave...”
THANK YOUS
PRESIDENT LINDA thanked this meeting’s greeters ALLISON CAGLEY (Sacramento Friends of the Arts), TIM PINKNEY (Luxe Aviation, LLC), and STEVE BRANDENBURGER. GARY BAZLEN (Ampac USA Inc.) was cheered for sponsoring the Wine Reception followed by a collective yawn to acknowledge our esteemed Pulse Reporter JOHN MCINTYRE (Mercy Foundation). Virginia Wade provided photography for today’s meeting.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
MIKE MIKLAUS (Integrity Mortgage) provided the thought for the day – MIKE was pleased to be recognized for having a thought in the first place… COACH MIKE MIKLAUS was dressed in and sported ‘referee’ attire. MIKE encouraged all of the Rotarians to consider becoming a referee, noting how slimming the vertical stripes are. He then compared his athletic record with that of our speaker, and that of high-school-football-coaching legend MAX MILLER – COACH MIKE MIKLAUS high school team went “four for four,” clarifying that this meant one win in each of four years… In keeping with the theme of today’s football-oriented meeting, MIKE closed with a quote from Hall of Fame football coach VINCE LOMBARDI: “Football is a great deal like life in that it teaches that work, sacrifice, perseverance, competitive drive, selflessness and respect for authority is the price that each and every one of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.” MIKE- thank you for this sage advice…
IN MEMORIAM
STEVE HUFFMAN shared the sad news that long-time member CAROLYN REID passed away. STEVE shared the many ways CAROLYN lived out Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self.” CAROLYN embodied this motto through her actions and she will be deeply missed. PRESIDENT LINDA requested a moment of silence in CAROLYN’s honor.
INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS
Sgt.-at-Arms-for-the-day ROBYN DELONG rose to introduce guests:
- PHIL KHOLMETZ (International Bird Rescue) guest of NANCY SMITH-FAGAN
- CHRIS HIGDON (CA Moving Systems) guest of DAVE HIGDON (CA Moving Systems)
- TIM WHITE (Sac Metro Fire) guest of DIANE WOODRUFF (Retired)
- MARK GEARY (first spouse) guest of LINDA GEARY
- MAX MILLER (HS Football Legend) guest of STEVE HEATH
- JOE DAVIDSON (Sacramento Bee) guest of STEVE HEATH
- TOM KING (Mutual of Omaha) guest of CHRISTIE HOLDEREGGER (Volunteers of America)
- JOHN MASSEY (Luxe Aviation, LLC.) guest of TIM PINKNEY
- DALE MILTON (Coldwell Banker) guest of DAVID BRANDENBURGER (Newmark)
- Visiting Rotarian J.R. ALWARD
- Visiting Rotarian RAMANA ANNAVARAPU
- Visiting Rotarian APARNA ANNAVARAPU
MEETING SPONSOR
President Linda invited PAST PRESIDENT BOB MILLER to the now-unfamiliar podium. PAST PRESIDENT BOB opened with a photo of himself in a Sac State football uniform, full of youthful enthusiasm and bristling with potential. He shared some of the life essentials he learned from football – teamwork, commitment (to making everyone around you better), and failure (quoting his dad, “You learn more from failure than from successes, but don’t make a habit of it”). BOB then connected all of these to his work with First US Community Credit Union and encouraged Rotarians to give him the opportunity to work with them/us to make great things happen.
ROTARY SPOTLIGHT – 6 SPECIAL ROTARIANS are acknowledged for their extraordinary service:
- NORM MARSHALL
7/26 Today is his birthday!! 21 years in Rotary
Norm is the Owner and President Headwaters Building Group. Some of his signature projects have been 50 Little Caesar Pizza locations, the Girls Scouts regional headquarters building and one of my favorite restaurants, Scotts Seafood in Folsom.
He has a bocce ball courts in his backyard and every Saturday morning plays with a group that raises money for various nonprofits.Even playing bocce ball, NORM is philanthropically minded.Currently NORM is President of the Habitat for Humanity Board. He has raised 4 boys and has 7 grandchildren.
Fun Fact - NORM loves Sailboat Racing and has won several sailboat races in So. California.
- CHRISTIE HOLDEREGGER
DOB 7/27 Tomorrow is her birthday! 5 years in Rotary
CHRISTIE has been with Volunteers of America or VOA for the last 30 years. She is currently the Chief Development and Communications Officer. She loves VOA as it is an organization that offers hope even in the seemingly hopeless situations.
In 2013, She got a VOA scholarship to the University of Notre Dame to complete a Masters's in Non-Profit Administration. She thought she was too old to go back to college, but after spending one night on a squeaky bed in a barren college dorm at the University, she knew she was in the right place. This experience re-sparked her drive to be a lifelong learner and work at VOA long-term.
- KERRY WOOD
Tomorrow is KERRY’s birthday 7/27 - 4 years in Rotary
Kerry currently serves as the Chief Philanthropy Officer for the Sacramento Region Community Foundation for the last 5 years. She has been a leader in the nonprofit sector for 25 years, facilitating more than $100 million in charitable contributions for the region and the state.
But we Rotary Rocker fans know her best as one of the 2 backup singers with the band.She gives credit for her singing debut to Kevin Smith Fagan who encouraged her to expand her “singing in the shower” mentality to singing in public…a huge leap as far as KERRY’s concerned but she loves it.
Fun Fact -She plays 6 different musical instruments – 2 kinds of flutes and 2 kinds of saxophones, piccolo and tambourine!
ERIC SOLIS
DOB 7/7
19 years in Rotary - 19 Years and heads up our Youth Incentive Program.
ERIC has been a Financial Planner for 27 years and created the Solis Financial Strategies Group at Wells Fargo Advisors. His wife of 22 years, Araceli, is his partner in the business. He was Named on Forbes Best-in-California Wealth Advisors for last 3 years.
ERIC and his family Love to Vacation in Mascota, Mexico, a Small town of 7k people in Jalisco Mexico. His wife ARACELI was born there, still has family there and the town reminds ERIC of his hometown in El Salvador.
Fun Facts –He is a master of spacing. He has 3 kids – 1 in college, 1 in high school, and 1 in middle school.
- LAURIE WRIGHT
DOB 7/21 - 5 years in Rotary
LAURIE is with Tri Counties Bank and has over 25 years of banking experience. In her first year as the branch manager for the Sacramento Downtown Office, she was ranked in the top 5 for the bank.
But the bottom line is - She isn’t just a banker as she works with her clients to achieve whatever their goals are.
LAURIE loves being active outdoors by hiking, paddleboarding, and kayaking.
She also loves traveling and just returned from the Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal and even dreams of retiring there!
A fun fact she's pretty good with shooting free throws from the line.
TOM BACON
DOB 7/31 - 12 years in Rotary
TOM has been working in Commercial Real Estate for over 30 years. But his career highlight is starting Bacon Commercial Real Estate and focusing on midtown and downtown Sacramento.
We know him as a guitarist with the Rotary Rockers. He started in 5th grade but didn’t take it seriously until about 15 years ago.He plays in one other band but enjoys playing with friends and his son, WILLY the most.
2 fun facts: TOM has a passion for Chili as in the food dish and he’s engaged to KIM - no wedding date yet.
CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS
- ROY ALEXANDER (Retired) encouraged members to mark their calendars for the upcoming International Services Day meeting on August 9th, noting that HEIDI HERSHENHOUSE-CORBETT had gone to extraordinary lengths to make the meeting special.
- RUTH TESAR (Optimal Tracers) provided an update on the Sac Century ride, for which we already have nearly 300 riders, and asked members to volunteer out on the cycling roads/trails to hand out cards/flyers about the ride, which will occur on October 1. Volunteers can get a swanky T-shirt so they will have an official cover when they encourage (but not harass…) riders.
- PRESIDENT LINDA made members aware that the Club had not been consistent in charging the $10 fee for attending a meeting without eating lunch. She wanted to make everyone aware that the Club was going to attend to this more closely effective August 1st.
OUR NEWEST MEMBER- Welcoming JARRETT OSBORNE-REVIS
DAVID BRANDENBURGER provided an introduction of JARRETT OSBORNE-REVIS, the club’s newest member. JARRETT is a senior counsel with Buchalter where he heads up their litigation group. He and his wife have twin 5-yr-olds and a 2-yr-old. His father was a Rotarian in Oakridge, Tennessee and he has been recognized as one of California’s Super Lawyers for the past three years. PRESIDENT LINDA read JARRETT in and he was welcomed with a standing ovation.
YOU’RE A GEM – an opportunity for PRESIDENT LINDA to separate you from your hard-earned cash….
- BRIAN VAN CAMP (Retired) put $100 toward his EDDIE MULLIGAN in honor of TROY TAYLOR and other Cal Bears quarterbacks.
- PAUL KEEFER (Pacific Charter Institute), celebrated his chairmanship of the County office of Education with $100 toward his PAUL HARRIS.
- BOB MILLER contributed $100 toward his EDDIE MULLIGAN in honor of TROY TAYLOR
- JAYDEEP BALAKRISHNAN (Sacramento State University) invested $100 toward his EDDIE MULLIGAN in honor of fellow colleague TROY TAYLOR.
- ROBYN LONG (Coldwell Banker) contributed $100 toward her next EDDIE MULLIGAN in thanks to BEVERLY and HAL for their annual BBQ.
BANNER EXCHANGE
PRESIDENT LINDA invited forward RAMANA ANNAVARAPU from the Bangalore Oasis Rotary Club of Bangalore, India to exchange club banners. RAMANA is a past president of his club and is very interested in seeing if there may be collaborative opportunities between his club and ours.
SPEAKER INTRODUCTION
PAST-PRESIDENT JOHN FRISCH provided the welcome and introduction of TROY TAYLOR, noting he went 14-0 in his senior year at Cordova High School, then went on to start as a quarterback at Cal from 1986-89, after which he played in the NFL with the New York Jets, after which he went into coaching. He’s likely best known in the Sacramento region for his many successful years leading Folsom High School to consistent excellence and national prominence over nearly 20 years, during which the Bulldogs won 80% of their games. He has now assumed the leadership mantel at Sac State, where in his first two years he has led the Hornets to consecutive conference championships. JOHN invited a warm welcome to TROY TAYLOR.
SPEAKER
TROY appreciated the welcome and first acknowledged his former high school coach MAX MILLER, who played a pivotal role in TROY’s life and success. He noted that his family moved to the Cordova High School area so he could play there and on his first play with Cordova he threw an interception, yet COACH MILLER’s unwavering backing gave him the confidence to overcome that setback and play on to significant success – 14-0 seasons don’t happen by accident. TROY also recognized Sacramento Bee sportswriter JOE DAVIDSON, who covers sports throughout our region.
TROY spoke about what he believes has led to success for Sac State and why he felt leading the Hornets was the perfect role for him. He noted the reasons why Sac State has been so successful under his leadership:
- The high caliber of football play and players in the Sacramento region: he was confident that he could persuade more of that talent to stay in our area.
- Organization-wide commitment to building a winning culture and,
- Bringing in an outstanding coaching staff.
His success in all three of these areas speaks to why Sac State has moved its play to a new level.
He then turned to his philosophy and the four things that drive him:
- Love – love of football; he wants a team that eats, drinks, and sleeps football – he says, “Like attracts like.” He, his coaches, and his players love the game.
- Gratitude – he wants players who feel as lucky to be at Sac State as he does. No entitlements!
- Mindfulness – remaining present in the moment and never getting too high or too low over a play or a game. Can’t dwell in the past.
- Competitiveness – always compete, stay at it no matter the score and circumstances.
An additional point of pride is Sac State’s Academic Progress Rate (APR), which at 990 (on a scale to 1,000) is among the highest in the nation – meaning Sac State is graduating its athletes. He also said he wants Sac State to be Sacramento’s team and he strongly encouraged everyone there to come out and see the Hornets and to help fill their stadium this season!
NEXT MEETING
After thanking TROY TAYLOR for his presentation, PRESIDENT LINDA called on Sergeant-at-Arms stand-in ROBYN DELONG, who announced that our next meeting would be at the usual spot and usual time to hear from the California State Librarian, GREG LUCAS.
STATE LIBRARIAN BOOKED TO SPEAK
GREG LUCAS is not the kind of librarian who worries about shushing people. In fact, LUCAS, who is our guest speaker this coming Tuesday (August 2nd) has made a lot of “noise” since being appointed California State Librarian in 2014. The former journalist has been an activist for improving reading skills and getting library cards into the hands of every kid in the state. Since taking office, he has helped connect for than half of California’s 1,100 libraries to a high-speed internet network. And he is also the keeper of most of the state’s most historic documents and artifacts. Ever wonder how many books the State Library has? Ask him yourself. Watch your email for the link to make a reservation. And bring a friend!
08/02/2022 - Greg Lucas - State Librarian - Click here to connect to Greg via LinkedIn.
Click here for a recent interview with GREG. GREG has a very unique story. Be sure to read the
interview- we will see you August 2nd.
08/09/2022 - STEWART MARTIN and special guest Musician CLEMON / Imagine International
Collaboration that Saves Thousands of Lives Daily
You don’t want to miss this historic, first-of-a-kind meeting!
08/16/2022 – JENNIFER BARRERA /What is the Cal Chamber doing to save California Businesses
Jennifer Barrera
President and Chief Executive Officer
JENNIFER BARRERA is the President and Chief executive officer of the CalChamber. BARRERA took over the leadership position in October 2021, after serving as the executive vice president of policy for four years. As executive vice president, BARRERA oversaw the development and implementation of policy and strategy for four years. Prior to that, she led CalChamber advocacy on labor and employment and taxation from September 2010 through the end of 2017.
From May 2003 until joining the CalChamber staff, BARRERA worked at a statewide law firm that specializes in labor/employment defense, now Carothers, DiSante & Freudenberger, LLP. She represented employers in both state and federal court on a variety of issues, including wage and hour disputes, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, and wrongful termination.
She also advised both small and large businesses on compliance issues, presented seminars on various employment-related topics, and regularly authored articles in human resources publications.
BARRERA earned a B.A. in English from California State University, Bakersfield, and a J.D. with high honors from California Western School of Law.