Greeter: Jeff Gutierrez and Jacob Frost

Invocation: Ashley Vorhees

Song: Mike Willis with ‘God Bless America’, a cappella-style 

Roving Mic: Jordan Kaufman

Guests:

• Vic D (Juan Bustamante)
• Jason Goklaney, used to be with Sentinel Peak, but is apparently going to CRC (Juan Bustamante)
• Chris Clements with Loyd’s Aviation (Ryan Crowl)
• John Deal with CSUB (Aaron Hegde)

Good News & Announcements:

• Bill Lever was happy to have our Rotary club off-site today at The Nile Theater because about 15 years ago, Bill personally constructed the marquee. Great work, Bill!
• Kurt Wingate announced to the group that his daughter gave birth to his first grandchild, baby boy Elliott, who lives in Illinois. Congrats, Kurt! 

Program:

Editor Ashley's Note: I don’t know about the club, but I’m beginning to get a bit worried about Jeff’s infatuation with an ultra-realistic avatar, otherwise known to all of us as ‘Lillean’. Apparently, this week, ‘Lillean’ is claiming that she’s in a hostile work environment, so Jeff will be having Jim Damian work up another AI-generated person to be Jeff’s labor law lawyer in the fictitious world he’s living in. To be continued, I assume…

Moreover, Rotarian extraordinaire, Andrea Hanson—who just pulled off an incredible fundraiser at The Fox Theater, ‘Move’—took the stage to introduce our speaker, Matt Spindler, Executive Director of The Fox Theater Foundation. As a board member and passionate advocate for what the Fox brings to our community, Andrea set the perfect stage for Matt to share the rich history of both the Fox and Nile theaters.

Matt began his presentation by taking us back to Christmas Day, 1930, when the Fox Theater first opened. Originally part of the Fox West Coast Theatres chain, the Fox went through several ownership changes after Fox West Coast filed for bankruptcy. Over the years, the theater’s interior was transformed from Spanish Colonial Revival to the sleek Art Moderne style, championed by Charles Skouras. Matt highlighted the iconic marquee out front, which he proudly declared “the best-looking marquee ever.”

By the early 1980s, the Fox had shifted hands multiple times. In 1983, William Pierce entered into a lease-to-purchase agreement with the Martinez family, operating the venue as the Fox Performing Arts Theater. The doors closed in 1984, leaving the theater dark for a decade. Then, on June 28, 1994, The Fox Theater Foundation officially saved it from demolition. Thanks to contributions from more than 380 “Save the Fox” donors, restoration work began just days later, on July 1, 1994.

Matt also shared the story of the Nile Theater, which became part of The Fox Theater Foundation in 2023 thanks to a generous gift from the Cynthia Lake Charitable Trust. Originally opened in 1906 as the Bakersfield Opera House, the Nile was completely rebuilt by Fox West Coast Theatres in 1938, with much of that historic exterior still visible today. Over the decades, the Nile has served many purposes: a two-screen movie theater (1976–1994), a nightclub reopened by Klarke Garl in 2004, and later a church until 2016.

Matt applauded the Downtown Business Association, Cathy Butler, Cynthia Lake, and the many individuals and donors who helped preserve these landmarks for our community. And of course, our Rotary club extends a big thank you to Matt Spindler for guiding us through this fascinating history—and for continuing to bring incredible talent and events to the Fox and Nile, where we can all create lasting memories with our loved ones.

Lastly, thank you to Cindy, who helped make this off-site meeting flawless for all of us Rotarians. Meeting adjourned!