Written By: Mike Bullington
The 30th meeting of the 104th term of the Rotary Club of Sacramento came to order on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, with President John Lemmon’s (Knox, Lemmon & Anapolsky, LLP) proclamation that his was the best club anywhere, a claim that was greeted with thunderous acclamation and calls for a presidency in perpetuity.
The guest speaker for this auspicious occasion was the former and longtime political columnist for The Sacramento Bee, Dan Walters, warmly introduced by fellow former Bee scribe Nancy Teichert.
Dan’s topic was the commodity foremost in the minds of Californians emerging from drought amid legislative initiatives to increase its distribution and storage: WATER.
The speaker postulated that the battles over water in California are really about land use. Secondly, the issues are not hydrological or engineering in nature, but rather political and financial.
California, according to our speaker, is a difficult state to govern because residents have local loyalties rather than statewide ones. Such regional identification renders it difficult to achieve consensus on statewide initiatives.
Dan noted that Jerry Brown’s water transfer aspirations date back to his first tenure as governor decades ago, with roots in his father Governor Pat Brown’s aqueduct efforts moving water from NorCal to SoCal. The proposed Delta Tunnel’s political uncertainty – Dan handicapped its chances at 50/50 – is due in part to reluctance from heavyweights like the Westland Water District and the San Diego Water District.
Another pressing water issue is the need to create more water storage. Two proposed sites are bogged down four years in the approval bureaucracy, without any progress.
The next great battle, according to Dan, will be over water rights, which have been established historically based on who gets there first rather than who needs it most. The sparsely-populated Imperial Valley controls 75 percent of the water from the Colorado River. We will need to reconfigure water rights to solve our water management problems.
Now – back to the meeting’s beginning.
Jim Raney of Raney Real Estate hosted the wine reception.
Mike Bullington of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network did his rendition of a jazz pianist, in tribute to New Orleans’ musical heritage.
Greeting in somewhat flowery fashion were Jim Relles of Relles Florist and the ever-dapper Dan Guth of City National Bank.
Carolyn Carr inspired us with her thought for the day.
Meeting sponsor is Dan Cole (Allegiant Development Company) donated his time to Chuck Brasfeild (Boy Scouts of America) assured us that the Boy Scouts of America are thriving in Sacramento. They are building a new camp of 80 acres in Yuba County. In another new development, girls can now join the Cub Scouts and the Eagle Scouts.
Foundation President Jeanne Reaves (Jeanne Reaves Consulting) recognized the following members for their financial generosity:
Ken Noack Jr. of Newmark Cornish and Carey for his 2nd Paul Harris, Tom Engel for his 3rd Paul Harris, Bob McLean for his 5th Paul Harris, Paul Bystrowski of Hub International for his 11th Paul Harris, and Past President Skip Lawrence for his 12th Eddie Mulligan.
President Elect Diane Woodruff was presented as the newest Rotary Fellow honoree. Elfrena Foord of Foord, Van Bruggen and Pajak announced the deserving winner and noted Diane’s many accomplishments professionally and in Rotary.
Tom Bacon (BCRE) and Kathe Nathan (The Merchants National Bank) encouraged us to support the Sac Century by becoming ambassadors to 10 to 20 Challenge Champions, who can use our mentorship and encouragement to round up sponsors.
President Lemmon extolled the generosity of 116 members of our club that donated to the Polio Plus effort, as well as past generosity to the Santa Rosa fires and the victims of Hurricane Harvey.
In a mood to “build something together” were:
Kathe Nathan, pitching in $250 to celebrate the birth of her first grandchild, Ethan Isaac. It was also announced that Kathe will once again be taking on the duties of club treasurer.
Tom Engel contributed $100 to his Eddie Mulligan.
Elfrena Food donated $100 to celebrate Denny Evans’ 80th birthday on Friday.
Diane Woodruff was so impressed by Elfrena’s introduction that she contributed $500.
Jeanne Reaves celebrated her recovery from surgery with a $250 gift.
Liz McClatchy (Safety Center Incorporated ) commemorated her retirement by giving $125 to each of the boys.
Finally, Kathy Herrfeldt gave $100 in recognition of the generosity of our members, especially to the victims of the Santa Rosa fires, which touched the lives of some that are very close to her.
Callee closed the meeting by announcing that we would be reconvening next week at the same place and time to hear Ashlie Bryant, the co-founder and president of 3 Strands Global, which works to prevent human trafficking.