Meeting Recap for October 7, 2014

President Susan Sheridan launched the meeting by thanking wine reception sponsor Chris Ann Bachtel and with a nod to Paul Stone for his lovely piano entertainment.  Chris Ann’s opening thought highlighted the startling similarities between FBI agents and Rotarians. Käthe Nathan introduced new club member Michelle Single. Heidi Hershenhouse and John Shelby honored Eddie Mulligan or Paul Harris contributors Todd Andrews, Ken Cross, John Wood, Robyn DeLong, John Buck, Len Simpson, Chris Ann Bachtel, Bob Gaines, Bruce Hester and Don Turner. Meeting sponsor John Shelby chronicled American history and Union Bank’s pivotal position sustaining the republic. Tim Mattheis presented the street layout for the Oktoberfest bash on Capitol Mall as part of the club’s epic Sacramento Century cycling fundraiser on October 25; and the costumed “frolicking fun fräuleins of Frankfurt,” Elfrena Foord and Diane Woodruff, encouraged $25 ticket sales to the event. Bob McLean announced his Sacramento Century “duster ride” appealing to light bikers for whom a 20-block circuit will be sufficient. President Susan announced her President’s breakfast gathering on Thursday morning at 7:30am by the hotel’s lake, and John Swentowsky saluted the Rotarians who just served at Loaves and Fishes and announced the next service date of December 30.

Chair of the Day David Cohen introduced the meeting’s guest speaker Monica Miller. Monica reigns as Special Agent in Charge at the FBI branch in Sacramento, one of 56 FBI field offices nationwide. She outlined the FBI’s renewed focus on local crime issues after more than a decade focused primarily on terrorism threats. She described today’s FBI as intelligence driven, focused on national security and on law enforcement. Cooperation among various agencies (FBI, CIA, NSA, DOD, CIA, DEA, etc.) is greatly improved since 9/11, she reported, though cybercrime is an area where law enforcement agencies are still “finding their lanes” in figuring out jurisdiction. Among the priorities for her Sacramento office are: transnational crime, money laundering, human trafficking, guns and drug smuggling, and gang activity. Seasoned by numerous stops in her 25-year career, Monica praised California’s local law enforcement as “the gold standard” – highly professional and with far fewer occasions of corruption than other regions.