Thank you to the People in Blue!!

Posted by Callee Setzer on Dec 01, 2016
 
 
 
After a brief hiatus away from our weekly Tuesday luncheons, President Dan welcomed us all back from our Thanksgiving break.  He noted a series of thanks for several events in his own life, including a photo of himself with his grandson over the holiday.  After moving to the Dante Club our meetings were in dire need of a piano.  Heeding the call for help several Rotary members were able to locate, secure and move a piano into the meeting room for our weekly pre-meeting gatherings.  Musical notes were joyfully played by Dick Wertz for our listening pleasure.  Today’s greeters were Callee Setzer (Setzer Forest Products) and Dennis Smith (Tsakopoulos Management Company).  Steve Ruland (Ruland’s Office Furniture) also helped welcome us into the meeting, providing candy canes to serve as a reminder to bring unwrapped toys to next Tuesdays meeting.  JD Dannenfelser (JD Enterprises) was our AV Director.
 
Michael Bullington (Pacific Advisors) provided our thought for the day, referring to the Rotarian magazine.  Every issue includes a side bar dedicated to Rotary’s core Service Above Self.  Seamlessly Michael tied the object of Rotary to today’s speaker John McGinness.  Tom Bacon (Kidder Mathews) followed by welcoming our guests and prospective members of the day.
 
David Ballard (Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento) generously was today’s Meeting Sponsor.  During the holiday season he asked us to spread our generosity throughout the community.  The success of non-profits are reliant on our donations to grow programs and continue to make a difference in the community.
 
We observed a Moment of Silence honoring JoAnn Setzer, wife of past member Cal Setzer, mother of Jeff Setzer (Setzer Forest Products) and grandmother of Callee Setzer who quietly passed away on October 29th.
 
It’s that time of year again to fill out ballots for the 2017-2018/19 election of Officers and Directors.  Please return your completed ballot to the Rotary office by Friday, December 9th.
 
Our one and only club announcement, made by PP Susan Sheridan and PP Dave Murphy, was for Daughters Day on December 20th.  Be sure to RSVP for this special event as the preview of entertainment looks very festive, including a visit from Santa Clause.
 
Roast/Boast/Toast:
 
PP John Snyder (Snyder Commercial Real Estate) $100, Becki Roberts (Central Valley Community Bank) $200, PP Ken Noack Jr. (Newmark Cornish & Carey) $300, Tanya Kravchuk (Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento) $100, Nian Roberts (NSR Inc.) $200, PP Walter Dahl (Dahl Law) $100, John McIntyre (Mercy Foundation) $50.
 
Kelley Moran (Moran & Associates) introduced our speaker of the day, John McGinness.  He noted John as a “self-described optimist who always looks for the good”.  With that, former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness took the microphone stating the praise received for the men and women in uniform far outweigh the complaints.  Several events over the last couple of years have turned a blind eye towards the effectiveness of the men and women protecting the communities we live in.  Most notably, John spoke about the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri.  The communication break-down in the initial reporting led a majority to believe Michael Brown was an unarmed black man was shot and killed by a police officer.  Without all of the facts, riots and fires broke out throughout the town of Ferguson ultimately leading to the Black Lives Matter movement throughout the country.  From this point, the police became public enemy number one, John believes that is largely due to the breach in leadership and communication between the public and its servants.  This results in the officer’s reluctance to write citations or inquire into suspicious activities leading to an uptick in fatalities and loss of trust from the public.
 
When the state voted on Props 47, 57, 62 and 66, John touched on the voter’s choice and consequences of these propositions.  Voters need to read deeper into the issues they are voting for or against and get a true understanding of the impact of each side.  Often the choices are not addressing the root of the problems and therefore never changing the behavior of the criminals.  John stated a candid dialog between both sides needs to happen in order for effective communication to the public and leadership within the public servant community.
 
In closing, John again reiterated the expression of gratitude towards officers goes a long way.