With a ringing of the bell, President John Lemmon called to order the 9th meeting of his Presidency of the Sacramento Rotary Club. John thanked Steve Huffman for hosting the wine reception, Mike Bullington (Pacific Advisors) for tickling the ivories, and Christie Holderegger (Volunteers of America), Alice Sauro (Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera) and Kathe Nathan (The Merchants National Bank of Sacramento) for serving as today’s greeters.
Ron Crane (DCA Partners) provided the thought for the day by reflecting on his father’s 98th birthday and the impact that his father has had in people’s lives over the years. He wrapped up by reminding us to make a difference, share a smile and give a kid a hug.
President John took a moment to express appreciation to the members of the club that contributed last week to help buy six Shelter Boxes for hurricane relief in Texas. He then provided us a brief history of Rotary’s 4-Way test. John shared some old Sacramento Union articles about our club and the importance of the 4-Way test. He noted that a dark-haired gentleman in the 1960 Union photos was none other than his father Vince Lemmon, who was the club’s president at that time.
Never lacking in announcements, we heard from Susan Sheridan and Tom Bacon (Kidder Mathews) who were encouraging participation in the Sac Century ride through the Challenge Champions program. Their presentation included the debut of Tom Bacon’s first feature film, the Jiggling Bike Rider (you would need to see the film to understand it). Peter Dannenfelser (Architectural Arts) talked Chicken Coops, built thanks to Rotary at Fairytale Town. The final announcement was to promote the District’s Rotary Foundation Dinner on October 28 in Citrus Heights. The featured speaker is Paul Netzel, Chair of the RI Foundation Board. Our club has purchased a table and if you would like to attend please let President John know.
President John announced that it was time to build something together, and he started by recognizing one of our newest members, Laurie Rood (Benefits Done Right Insurance Agency) for the wonderful article in the Sacramento Business journal, including a couple of nice photos. Laurie then made a nice contribution to both her Eddie Mulligan and Paul Harris Funds. And before she could sit down she threw in another nice contribution in recognition of her son’s engagement. Ron Crane made a gift to both Eddie and Paul in recognition of his father’s 98th birthday. With no other building taking place, President John introduced the Chair of the Day, Bob Daly (Financial Network Wealth Advisors), who introduced our guest speaker, Dale Carlsen, founder of Sleep Train and CEO of the Tickets to Dream Foundation.I’ve always admired a speaker who can start out with the words, “I have no idea what I’m going to tell you today,” and then delivers an engaging and informative talk. Dale took us on a journey of giving back. It started with his grandmother and parents who were always involved in giving back to others and who encouraged him to do the same. Fresh out of Sac State, while working as a mattress salesman, he decided to open his own store in 1985 with the idea that he could do it better (which he did!). And from the beginning he was giving back, starting with the Mattress for Kids program and moving onto shoes, school supplies, pajamas, fees to cover sports or camp. Dale shared his passion for helping foster children. Because of his efforts, Sleep Train has collected and donated more than 3.5 million items and more than $7 million.
Sleep Train grew from one store to 314 stores in six states when he sold it. The reason for the sale? Four years earlier he gave 25 percent of the company to his employees, and by selling he put $117 million in their hands. After sharing his journey of giving back he reflected on Millennials. Yes, they are different than older generations. Dale believes the lack of transference of knowledge between the generations would be a great loss. Our challenge is to mentor the next generation.
Thank you John Swentowsky (Swentowsky Photography) for the photos!