Welcome: President John Lemmon (Knox, Lemmon & Anapolsky, LLP) called the meeting into order at 12:15pm, welcoming all to the 10th meeting of the 104th year of the Rotary Club of Sacramento. He thanked David Brandenburger (Newmark Cornish & Carey) for the Wine Reception and acknowledged Jack Anderson (Dick James & Associates) for working the ivories. President John also recognized today’s greeters, Shadi Fox (Dick James & Associates), Cheryl Marcell (CA State Railroad Museum Foundation), and Michelle Amaral (Dick James & Associates).
Thought for the Day: Jay Lowden (YMCA of Superior California) offered wry observations related to Citizen Kane, in honor of our guest speaker whose memoir is titled Citizen Cohn.
Introduction of Guests: Sergeant-At-Arms Callee Setzer (Setzer Forest Products) introduced:
Guests:
- Jamie Furlong, guest of Mead Kibbey
- Laurie Wright, guest of Heidi Hershenhouse (Land IQ, LLC)
- Malcolm Hotchkiss, guest of Virginia Varela (Golden Pacific Bank)
Prospective Members:
- Joe McClure (Golden Pacific Bank), guest of John McIntyre (Mercy Foundation)
- Ali Coleman (Merrill Lynch), guest of Bob Miller (First US Community Credit Union)
- Malonn Barnes (Merrill Lynch), guest of Bob Miller
- Megan Wygant (E. Claire Raley Studios for the Performing Arts), guest of Allison Cagley (California Musical Theatre)
Visiting Rotarians: None this week (very much their loss…)
Meeting Sponsor: Margo Fowkes (On Target Consulting, Inc.) shared an image of her son Jimmy, whose loss to brain cancer sent Margo on a search for a supportive community of those who are grieving loss as she was. From this need came a nonprofit, Salt Water, which she founded in Jimmy’s memory, creating a “safe harbor” for those who are grieving the loss of “someone they can’t live without,” so they can find comfort, support, and tools for overcoming their loss. More information can be found at: https://findyourharbor.com/
Recognitions: Jeanne Reaves (Jeanne Reaves Consulting) and President John acknowledged Bob Gaines for his 6th Eddie Mulligan and Mead Kibbey for his second Paul Harris.
Announcements:
- April Javist (Sacramento Community Library Foundation) encouraged members and provided all they need to know in order to participate in the Walk for Literacy on October 21st.
- Jeff Stone (John O. Bronson Co./HUB International) encouraged members to become Meeting Sponsors.
- Kathe Nathan (Merchants National Bank) and Callee Setzer asked members to take on volunteer roles in support of the Sac Century Ride – our biggest fundraising event of the year.
- Joe Grant (Vantage Points LLC) announced the year’s first brown bag, looking for hosts!
- John McIntyre (Mercy Foundation) announced this year’s “Rotary Day at the Kings” – a 12:30pm game December 10th against the Toronto Raptors. Last year’s success meant we were able to get a better deal on tickets this year! Watch for an email with a link for tickets.
- Susan Sheridan announced that she and Todd Andrews (Andrews Construction, Inc.) would be at Farm to Fork events, supporting and encouraging participation in the Sac Century.
- Lastly, President John shared that next week our speaker will be District Governor Sandi Sava who will respond to questions/concerns of Rotarians, rather than providing “the typical blah, blah, blah…” President John suggested some potential questions, including one relating to macaroni and another relating to synchronized swimming. Questions should be sent in advance to LaToya Wong at the Rotary office (latoya@rotarysacramento.com). If the questions posed to the DG are in the same spirit, it should be a meeting not to miss…
Let’s Build Something Together:
- Judy Kjelstrom (UC Davis) – recognized at Women Who Mean Business event – took the opportunity to note her pride in the support of the City of Sacramento for the Powerhouse Science Center, and thus gave $200 -- $100 for Eddie Mulligan, $100 for Paul Harris.
- Rita Gibson (Rita Gibson Insurance & Investment Svcs.) – also recognized at Women Who Mean Business event honored Jon Snyder for his pivotal role in catalyzing the Powerhouse Science Center. She gave $100 to mark the occasion.
- Jon Snyder (Snyder Commercial Real Estate), not to be outdone, matched Rita’s $100 honoring the Powerhouse Science Center toward his Eddie Mulligan.
- Lincoln Snyder committed his own $100 to honor his dad’s birthday that allows him to collect Social Security…
- Diane Woodruff shared some history of the four-way test and John Lemmon’s three-generation relationship with RCOS. In honor of those three generations and the leadership they demonstrate(d) on behalf of the club, Diane committed $1,000.
Chair of the Day: Elena Naderi introduced our guest speaker, long-serving former City Councilman Steve Cohn.
Speaker: Steve Cohn mentioned with pleasure that, since his retirement, this was a rare occasion for him to wear long pants. We were all glad he did. Mr. Cohn shared that the inspiration for the penning of his memoir, Citizen Cohn, resulted from his suffering a brain tumor. Prior he’d had a fall from a tree (which he discouraged members of the club from reenacting) that he thought left him with issues with his right side. As a result of chasing this down, the doctor found a fist-sized tumor in his brain. He became concerned about retaining his memory and started writing – he’d already begun doing some genealogy and, after (successful) brain surgery and during his lengthy convalescence continued to write, finishing with genealogy and beginning the memoir. He touched on several points of interest from his story, including how he came to represent Sacramento’s 3rd District and some of the more contentious issues he addressed. He spoke about the Synagogue firebombing in 1999, efforts to remake the R Street Corridor, how Jimmie Yee became mayor after Joe Serna’s passing, Kevin Johnson’s mayoral role in rallying Sacramento (and the NBA) to keep the Kings in Sacramento and in making Golden 1 Center a reality (and Mr. Cohn’s relevant backstories from the trenches), and more – all of which suggest Mr. Cohn’s book should be an entertaining read.
President John thanked Mr. Cohn and, in honor of his presentation, provided him a certificate acknowledging that a gift of vision exam and glasses would be given to a vision-impaired child in Costa Rica through the Peace Corps Eye Clinic Program.
Next Meeting/Final Words: Callee Setzer reminded all that we will meet next week at this same location to hear from District Governor Sandi Sava, who will arrive in full cycling regalia in honor of the Sac Century. Remember to submit your questions in advance to latoya@rotarysacramento.com.