Meeting Recap for June 2, 2014
Jack Ohman is a relatively liberal, nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist, but he was also the most conservatively dressed person in the room Monday at Rotary Club of Sacramento’s weekly luncheon meeting at the Red Lion.
Nattily attired in a dark charcoal-gray pinstripe suit with white shirt and solid black tie, the Sacramento Bee’s editorial page writer/drawer charmed the RCS audience with his gentle self-deprecating sense of humor and candor about what makes him “tick.”
Introduced by Chair of the Day Rita Gibson, whom he teased about her sultry “radio voice,” Ohman is syndicated by the Tribune Company to 200 newspapers and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2012. His degree from Portland State is in history and he has written ten books—five of them about fly fishing.
“People tell me I look a little like JFK,” quipped the Minnesota native after Gibson pointed out his bushy hairstyle, “but my parents both voted for Nixon.” Ohman came to Sacramento from Portland less than two years ago after close friend Rex Babin died suddenly and the Bee offered him the job.
“This is the first time I’ve had a job with an adult title,” said Ohman, who is a member of the Bee’s editorial board and both draws editorial cartoons and writes editorials. “Contrary to some beliefs, there is no conspiracy. No one tells us what to write or draw. We pick our own subjects.”
Ohman developed his cartooning skills by caricaturing his grade school teachers, a practice which sometimes cost him a grade point or two. He was already syndicated as a cartoonist while still in college.
But it was the events of the late 1960s that formed Ohman’s lifelong interest in the great events and issues of our times, and his experiences as a paperboy delivering newspapers in Minneapolis and Philadelphia with historic headlines, that came together to create his current career.
“Cartooning is not a drawing job,” said Ohman, “it’s really a writing job. You have to distill ideas down to a single phrase. Once you’ve got that phrase, drawing the cartoon is relatively easy.”
---
This being the first meeting since the Centennial Gala, RCS President Thom Gilbert thanked event chair Past President Jon Snyder for his hard work and announced that the event had been an unqualified success—with more details to come in a couple of weeks. But in the meantime, the online auction is still open and some excellent items still available to bidders—including signed books and posters. Assemblyman Roger Dickinson attended the meeting to present President Thom was a framed resolution honoring the club for 100 years of service.
---
Bob Waste and UC Davis Health System were the meeting sponsors and Waste donated their three minutes to Sacramento Tree Foundation. Former City Councilman Ray Tretheway, who is Executive Director of the Foundation, told Rotarians about the organization’s five-million-tree campaign to help keep Sacramento the city of trees.
---
President Thom invited member feedback on a variety of issues, including the coming change of meeting days and reminded Rotarians that the last President’s Breakfast of his term of office would be June 11 at the Red Lion…He also announced that the June 16 Sons’ Day program would be at Cosumnes River College instead of the Red Lion and that the Sacramento Republic soccer club would be part of the program put together by event chair Brian King…There is going to be a new blood drive competition with Point West with a special event taking place on June 24 at River’s Edge Café. It is ostensibly a Point West event (three of their club members were on hand to help make the announcement), but RCS members can participate and make sure our club gets credit by using code 6569…Randy Friedman announced that the next New Member Reception will be the evening of June 24 at The Porch restaurant in midtown…Meanwhile the quarterly Rotarians at Work Day will be Saturday, June 21, at Senior Gleaners. Contact Diane Schachterle for details…Clayton Lee invited members to consider two international service trips, one to Nepal in late September and one to Nicaragua in November.
---
Despite a tight agenda, President Thom did manage to squeeze in one round of Roast, Boast & Toast—accepting $1,200 from Bruce Hester ($100 for each country he and wife Elfrena Foord visited on a recent two-month, 30,000-mile round-the-world trip). Hester also reminded Rotarians that the Challenge 100 membership drive still has a month to go.
---
Gibson announced that the demotion dinner for President Thom would be a catered affair the evening of June 30—at President Thom’s home. More details to follow.
---
Michael Pearson and Brian Witherall were greeters, Dick Osen led the club in singing “America the Beautiful” and Paul Stone and Dick Wertz provided piano music during the pre-meeting wine reception.
---
Next week’s speaker will be West Sacramento city manager Marty Tuttle at the Red Lion - Woodlake.
###