Meeting Recap for Oct. 28, 2013
With two Rotary Youth Exchange students in the audience, a slide presentation on the recent Ethiopian service project and a speaker discussing immigration patterns, there was definitely an international flavor to Rotary Club of Sacramento’s meeting Monday at the Red Lion.
Asked to speak about the region’s ethnic diversity, Stephen Magagnini told Rotarians that while he doesn’t quite believe the Time Magazine assertion that ours is the most diverse city in the country, “it is certainly the most integrated.”
Introduced by chair of the day Ron Crane, Magagnini has been the Sacramento Bee’s ethnic affairs reporter since 1994. He has been honored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Columbia School of Journalism for his coverage of race and ethnicity.
According to Magagnini, the largest Asian ethnicity in the region is Filipino Americans but the fastest growing Asian group is south Indians but it is in the Hmong community from southeast Asia that some of the most interesting social phenomena are taking place.
“That culture has begun to change dramatically here in the U.S.,” said Magagnini, whose work “Orphans of History” focused on the Hmong community and garnered him numerous awards. “This is especially true when it comes to the treatment of women.”
Hmong women—led by the daughters and granddaughters of the original immigrants—are beginning to assert themselves and demand their rights according to Magagnini. But at the same time they are proud of their heritage and want to preserve it.
Another group making its mark in the region is eastern Europeans—people primarily from the Ukraine and Romania. Magagnini describes them as religious refugees, mainly evangelical Christians, whose numbers have grown dramatically over the past two decades.
“There are now about 100,000 Russian-speaking individuals and families in our area,” said Magagnini. “They actually have the largest church in the region: Bethany Church out on Jackson Highway. Another rapidly growing refugee group is the Iraqis.
“It is also pretty interesting to watch the Chinese. There has been a lot of coverage about the way U.S. colleges and universities are trying to attract them because they can afford the high tuition. And now, as was reported in the Bee this morning, even high schools are doing it.”
What about immigration reform? “We had reform a number of years ago and found a way to make most of the people who were already here productive members of society. I have yet to find any evidence of damage from that and that’s what I think will happen again.”
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Past President Pete Dannenfelser II offered a slide presentation featuring photographs taken during the RCS’s recent international service project in Archebar, Ethiopia, hometown of Rotarian Seifu Ibssa.
Dannenfelser and his wife, Lori, Clayton Lee, Roy Alexander and his significant other Denise Vonhof, and Ibssa journeyed to the village south of Addis Ababa to inspect a water well installation as part of Rotary’s World Community Service Project.
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Attorney Susan Schoenig from the Best Best Krieger law firm was installed as the newest member of RCOS by President Thom Gilbert. She was introduced by Dick Osen, who along with President-Elect Susan Sheridan, sponsored her.
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Jeff Curcio was the meeting sponsor, yielding his three minutes to Sacramento Children’s Home CEO Roy Alexander. Alexander focused his remarks on the crisis nursery, a respite care facility where Curcio’s wife, Marianne, often volunteers.
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Father James Retelas of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church provided the invocation, President Thom presented the “Thought for the Meeting” and Steve Huffman pinch-hit for Jim Craig with the “Final Thought.”
Paul Cantelli of The Tax Office sponsored the pre-meeting wine reception with music provided by Paul Stone and Richard Kowaleski on the piano. Bill Dickinson from The Salvation Army and Dana Jones, State Parks acted as greeters.
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Next week’s guest speaker is Dale Carlsen, founder and CEO of Sleep Train.