JAMIE FURLONG (Securitized Real Estate Specialist of Bangerter Financial Services) gave us a warm up by presenting impressive trivia that was just as seasonal as it was fun! Topics included: space trivia, writing letters to Santa (and getting a response!), the number spellings for Hanukkah (14) and the top selling toy in 1980: the Rubik’s Cube. Thank you for the weekly trivia, JAMIE! We look forward to it each week.
As the clock struck noon, PRESIDENT KEVIN SMITH-FAGAN (Executive Director of Fairytale Town) kicked things off with a ring of the Rotary bell. PRESIDENT KEVIN excitedly announced that this week has a little bit of everything – a glimpse into the life of a Broadway star, a tension-building reveal of our 2022-23 President-Elect, and more!
ALLISON CAGLEY (Sergeant in Arms) (Executive Director of Friends of Sacramento Arts) thanked JAMES SNYDER for being our special guest of the day! ALLISON thanked our Pulse Reporter of the week, PAUL KEEFER (Executive Director of Pacific Charter Institute)
FRED TEICHERT (Executive Director of Teichert Foundation) presented our thought for the day, a reminder to us all of the historical importance of December 8th as the first day of the United States entering WWII in 1941. December 8th also marks the 40th anniversary of John Lennon’s death, and the 81st birthday of legendary flute player, James Galway. FRED wholeheartedly reminded us of PAUL HARRIS, our Rotary founder, and his firm conviction that the foundation of the Rotary club is built on friendship. When FRED and NANCY TEICHERT told PAST PRESIDENT JON SNYDER (Broker at Snyder Commercial Real Estate) that they would be attending his son’s Broadway play: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, they were truly given the full VIP experience, courtesy of JAMES SNYDER! This just goes to show that behind all of our hard work, lies long-lasting bonds that are both intergenerational and intercontinental.
MAGGIE HOPKINS (Loan Officer / Realtor of Capital Premier Lending & Premier Realty) led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you for taking the lead, MAGGIE!
PAST PRESIDENT JIM LEET (Attorney of Boutin Jones Inc.) and PAST PRESIDENT DIANE MIZELL doubled up as our meeting sponsors for the week. JIM took the floor first by putting up a brief video on behalf of the Rotary Red Kettle and Salvation Army, titled “3 Easy Ways to Support The Salvation Army this Christmas.” After the video, JIM stated that currently the Salvation Army’s Toys for Tots is 2,200 toys short of their goal. Rotarians and friends together have already contributed $12,000 and we ask that you all continue to contribute to ensure that no family is deprived of Christmas cheer this season. The pandemic is taking an extra toll on families this year; in Sacramento, 1 in 15 families are currently being served by the Salvation Army (compared to 1 in 48 last year). Contact BRUCE HESTER (Senior Vice President/ Real Estate Investor of Colliers International) or JIM LEET if you are interested or have any questions. Rotary member’s donations can be billed as part of the Rotary Christmas Red Kettle initiative.
CLICK HERE to see JIM LEET’S video from The Salvation Army.
PRESIDENT KEVIN thanked JIM, BRUCE, and DIANE for going above and beyond in all their efforts this Christmas season. He then went over our Rotary Club leadership for the upcoming term with a PowerPoint presentation. One thing is guaranteed - it is going to be a dynamite term with such a high-quality board of esteemed members!
CLICK HERE to see PRESIDENT KEVIN’S presentation that revealed the upcoming Rotary Club Board of Directors.
PAST PRESIDENT DIANE MIZELL was pleased and honored to announce LINDA GEERY (Shareholder/V.P. of Gilbert CPA’s) as our president-elect nominee for the 2022-2023 year. Thank you to DIANE and her team as the President Elect Nomination committee to put forth such an exceptional member. LINDA is native to Sacramento and is both a four-time member of the Eddie Mulligan and Paul Harris Fellowship Club. She has raised significant funds for our Sacramento Century event. LINDA joined Rotary in 2010 and currently is the Vice President and Partner of Gilbert CPA’s. She is married with 2 sons, Nick and Ryan, and recently adopted a 16-month-old golden retriever named Aspen. Perhaps she can have either her golden retriever Aspen or her cat Ruby be present at one of our Zoom luncheons! Congratulations LINDA!
PAST PRESIDENT JON SNYDER was incredibly excited to have the chance to introduce a guest speaker close to his heart, someone that he has known since they came into the world – and we mean that quite literally!
JAMES SNYDER apologized for being late – he was busy casting a few spells on a few evil wizards in his neighborhood! After thanking his father, JON SNYDER, for the introduction, JAMES greeted the Rotary from Palm Springs and briefly shared his first few memories of the Sacramento Rotary Club (from Son’s Day as a kid). He stated that one of the only differences now is everyone’s attire has suffered a slight decline (we blame you, COVID-19) and chuckled that he better see some suits and ties next time he makes a guest appearance.
We were so very fortunate to have actor JAMES SNYDERtake the time out of his jampacked life to provide us all with his insights, songs, laughs, and many anecdotes of his career. JAMES provided the cornerstones to his acting from locally based Christian Brothers High School, to USC, and finally onto Hollywood and Broadway. While he was in school, he primarily dabbled in television gigs in Los Angeles. He had a humble start on the road to stardom – what his first taste of Hollywood fame was like, you may wonder? Sitting in his trailer for 12 hours before he was even asked to go on set!
JAMES detailed how his post-university work experience is what got the ball rolling in the realm of theater, which is what ultimately led him to the fortuitous timing of landing his first Broadway show: Cry-Baby. Once he realized the amount of hard work and training that he was going to have to put forth to succeed moving forward, he never underestimated the theater industry from there on out. He boldly described his experiences as “trial by fire” whilst trying to make it big in Broadway as an LA actor.
JAMES pushed his way through the economic downturn that was 2008, where he and many others were affected by the double whammy of less money and less work opportunities. The toll of these “dark days” caused him to do lots of digging into the core of who he was and what he wanted, out of his life and himself. It took some time, but eventually he realized that his heart belongs to Broadway. Fast forward to his more recent years in his career, he has had the chance to compete in the big leagues; he joined the cast of If/Then, a musical featuring the well-known Idina Menzel that made its Broadway debut in 2014. The momentum in his career was noticeably advancing, and it was just in 2018 that JAMES received the title role as Harry Potter in the Broadway play production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
CLICK HERE to view a scene of co-stars James Snyder and Idina Menzel from If/Then
Yet even with his long list of accomplishments, he would still say he was a ‘blue collar’ actor taking the 1111 Penn Station train home at the end of the day. His resume includes Gilmore Girls and more from Hollywood and yet he struck gold with the lead role as Harry Potter in the New York production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. We were thrilled to hear his stories and his path for both JAMES and his family. JAMES certainly would make a fantastic Rotarian as he puts the grit and effort forth by focusing on making everyone successful around him.
CLICK HERE to view JAMES SNYDER offer a magical glimpse into the backstage life at Broadway play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
PRESIDENT KEVIN thanked JAMES for his time and the abundance of entertainment he provided all of us just by sharing his life experiences. In honor of JAMES, our Rotary Club is donating 100 Polio vaccinations to children living in vulnerable populations around the world. Thank you for being such a special guest JAMES, we hope to see you again – maybe next time on a theater stage!
ELFRENA FOORD (Partner/Certified Financial Planner of Foord, Van Bruggen, & Pajak) encouraged everyone to invite their daughters, granddaughters, daughters in law, stepdaughters, etc. to the Daughter’s Day meeting next week. There will be awards including the farthest away participant. Entertainment will include Santa Claus visiting from the North Pole via Zoom, live music by the Rockers, a joke-a-thon, a surprise gift (no spoilers – you just have to be there to find out what it is), plus some piano and violin performances by our talented daughters. Please contact DIANE WOODRUFF and provide her with your RSVP, including the names and a brief description of your guests, so she can properly honor their presence.
STEVE HUFFMAN spoke on behalf of the Compassion Committee asking all Rotarians to please keep GERRY DABI (Compliance & Risk Manager of Golden Pacific Bank) in your thoughts and if possible, send him an email or U.S. mail. His email address and physical address will be shared below:
Email: Gerry.dabi@gmail.com
Address: 9231 Rushing Creek Way
Elk Grove, CA 95624
Tune in at the same time, same place next week for the unique Daughter’s day event!