Rotary Meeting: September 22, 2020

 

Our meeting kicked off with a special musical presentation by WILLIAM SHUBB (Judge for U.S. District Court) as a welcome to DISTRICT GOVERNOR BRENT HASTEY. WILLIAM graced us all with an amazing medley of 1920’s songs performed on his ukulele. Aloha BRENT and welcome!

 

CLICK HERE to view WILLIAM’S exceptional performance!

 

ALLISON CAGLEY (Sergeant at Arms) (Executive Director of Friends of Sacramento Arts) introduced our guests for the day including TOMMY PENO (Assistant Governor), JOE SCHEIMER (Assistant District Governor), and DISTRICT GOVERNOR BRENT’S daughter, BETH HASTEY (Chief of Staff). Welcome to our meeting and we hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we enjoyed having you!

 

PRESIDENT KEVIN SMITH-FAGAN (Executive Director of Fairytale Town) thanked TOM BACON (Senior Vice President of Bacon Commercial Real Estate) for his amazing effort in receiving donations totaling over $5,000 as a Sac Century Challenge Champion. You are a true inspiration to us all, TOM!

 

TOM BACON presented our thought for the day, a Facebook post that is relevant to our current times dealing with COVID.

 

“What I discovered and what has been revealed to me, first off, while some may contend that this is not affecting them, everyone, and I mean everyone, is impacted. Yesterday, at Safeway in Midtown a stocky red-faced mom in black smiled as she tampered her blonde preschool daughter in pink. “It’s okay,” I thought, not towards the daughter but towards the mom. I asked how it was going and how her daughter learning away from school was going. As it turns out, she starts preschool this year. I think that we are all learning. The mom and her daughter were in the process of moving to Sacramento, I wished them well and said to the little girl, who was wearing the cutest pink shoes, “Be sure to take care of your mom and help her with things.” She smiled, twirled, and said, “Bye-bye.” Well, it’s been a long time since I had a conversation like that with a stranger, but you know what? It was welcomed with a smile and rewarded with the realization that it doesn’t take that much to make a difference. Period.”

 

PRESIDENT KEVIN chimed in that it does not take much for any of us to make a difference. Food for thought, Rotarians.

 

FORMER PRESIDENT TIM PINKNEY (Luxe Aviation, LLC) led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Our meeting sponsor, RICK DAVIS, generously donated his speaking time for JOE SCHEIMER (Assistant Governor of District 5180) to inform us of Rotary’s upcoming scholarships. There are 2 amazing opportunities to apply for: Global Grant Scholarships and Rotary Peace Fellowships. Rotary District 5180 has 3 endowments that can fund up to 6 scholarships. Four of these scholarships are available for local students ready to study aboard and the other two scholarships for students that are arriving to our area from another country. These scholarships will cover tuition and living expenses and students will earn either a master’s degree or a professional certificate in peace and development studies located at one of the seven Rotary Peace Centers.

 

Global Grant Scholarships

  • Three D5180 endowments available (current account of $230K)
  • Program funds up to 2 years of an overseas advanced degree program
  • Seven Areas of Focus for study:
    • Disease Prevention & Treatment
    • Maternal & Child Health
    • Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
    • Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention
    • Basic Education & Literacy
    • Supporting the Environment
  • Application deadline October 31, 2020; more info at rotary5180.org
  • For non-Rotarians only, but requires a Rotarian sponsor.

Rotary Peace Fellowships — 2 Types

  • Master’s degree in peace & development.
    • Study 15-24-month at one of 5 Rotary Peace Centers in Australia, Japan, Sweden, Thailand, or UK
    • Includes 2-3 months field study experience
    • Fully funded up to $75K
  • Professional Development Certificate Program
    • Study 1-year, based in Thailand or Uganda
    • Program includes preliminary online course, 10-week on-site course, field studies and a 1-week on-site seminar
  • Applications for both available from February 2021; more info at rotary5180.org
  • For non-Rotarians only, but both degree and certificate require a Rotarian sponsor.

 

For Rotary Club of Sacramento members — Check rotary5180.org for details or contact Rick Davis, RCS Foundation president 2020-21 (916-996-0607, rdavis9000@aol.com).

 

CLICK HERE to learn more about these incredible scholarships or contact RICK DAVIS

 

KATHY HERRFELDT (Owner of Home Care Assistance) presented the Jean Runyon Community Service Award, an award for truly outstanding individuals in the same light as Jean Runyon, who was the first woman to join the Rotary Club of Sacramento. Do you know someone who: serves the community, blazes trails, creates opportunities, gives generously, and champions women in business? You may know the perfect candidate to receive the award! Rotarians have until December 1st to submit a candidate for this award. The committee will review the applications and will announce their decision on January 4th, 2021. The award will be presented on March 2nd, 2021. Please submit all applications to latoya@rotarysacramento.com

 

CLICK HERE to view the guidelines for the Jean Runyon Community Service Award

CLICK HERE to download the application

 

SARAH HODGE announced Brown Bag is one week from the 22nd! We have 5 amazing hosts for you, ALLISON CAGLEY, PRESIDENT KEVIN, PAUL KEEFER (Executive Director of Pacific Charter Institute), JOHN GORALKA and MEGAN WYGANT (Claire Raley Studios for the Performing Arts). We will discuss many topics ranging from the arts to education during this time and much more you definitely will not want to miss.

 

CLICK HERE to sign up and receive e-mails regarding Brown Bag

 

The Annual Rotary Laguna Sunrise Clothing Drive needs our help! They need light jackets, new socks, and underwear (of all sizes), mechanical pencils, screen wipes and earbuds. The Clothing Drive began on September 7th and is ongoing until October 9th, so grab your donation gear and let’s help all we can.

 

CLICK HERE to view the flyer including the drop-off locations

 

FORMER PRESIDENT SUSAN SHERIDAN reminded us that we are in the home stretch for the Sac Century Challenge. Packages including your Sac Century swag went out on Monday, September 21st and everyone should be receiving them soon. You have 10 days to make up your mind on what activity you will do for the 100-mile challenge. Fellow Rotarians have elected to hike and bike, but you are welcome to swim, skip, jump, etcetera in order to complete your miles. Let’s be healthy and help raise money for the Sacramento Children’s Home Crisis Nursery! Consequently, if you would like to sit out this challenge, please donate or sponsor one of our Challenge Champions!

 

CLICK HERE to register for the Sac Century Challenge

CLICK HERE to view a slideshow of some of our current participants including our official Sac Century mascot, Norman the dog!

 

FRED TEICHERT (Executive Director of Teichert Foundation) spoke about a fond memory of visiting other Rotarian meetings and in particular one at BRENT HASTEY’S headquarters. The meeting guest speaker was absent and so a member stepped up to say a few words and gave an amazing speech. If you google BRENT HASTEY you will start to get an idea of all his amazing accomplishments but above all, FRED says BRENT is a wonderful Rotarian and a good friend.

 

TOMMY PENO (Area Governor of Rotary) introduced our guest speaker DISTRICT GOVERNOR BRENT HASTEY. BRENT was born and raised in the Plumas Lake area and is the 5th generation of his family to live in the Yuba County area. BRENT was first elected in 1987 to a seat on Reclamation District 784 as the Secretary Treasurer and then moved up to Vice President in 1989 and again to President in 1990-1991. He then served as President again during 2010-2011 and Assistant Governor in 2013-2017. BRENT and his lovely wife, Alisan, have been married for 35 years and raised 4 outstanding children, two of whom are also Rotarians.

 

BRENT HASTEY began his speech by thanking FRED TEICHERT for all he does for Rotary. You are a model Rotarian, FRED! Rotary is FFF’n amazing! What do all these F’s stand for? Family, friendship, and foundation. BRENT believes we embody that as Rotarians especially with our efforts to continue to raise money and our fantastic job of reaching out to the community during COVID.

 

BRENT joined Rotary in 1986 when he was introduced to the club by the father of a girl he was dating in high school. 3 months into joining, BRENT was offered the job of Secretary Treasurer when the current individual left the position. 3 years later he was told the only way out of that position is to become Vice President which is exactly what BRENT did.

 

On January 2nd, 1997, the levy broke in south Yuba County. The very next morning, BRENT and his family of four children were all homeless due to flooding. The friends he had made in Rotary not only showed up to help clean, but also donated sheetrock via the Rotary Foundation. Each morning he would wake up and see what the Rotary Foundation did. He believes millions of people around the world have had their eyes opened and been given incredible opportunities because of what the Rotary Foundation has accomplished and donated. BRENT sincerely thanks the Rotary Foundation for all their efforts.

 

When BRENT joined Rotary, he was a single bachelor, but he now has his wonderful wife and four children. Jared, the eldest, is currently the President of BRENT’S Rotary Club. One of BRENT’S daughter’s, Erin, currently resides in Wisconsin and is also the President of her Rotary Club. BRENT’S other son, Cameron, is not currently a Rotarian but is an amazing musician that performed every morning for BRENT’S Rotary Club during his junior and senior year of high school. BRENT’S last child, Beth, is the Chief of Staff for BRENT. BRENT believes Rotary can change people around us and open opportunities as it seems it has accomplished just that for his family.

 

 

BRENT is impressed with the Rotary Reading Group and Rotary is so open regarding diversity inclusion. He thanked everyone for their efforts as we continue down this road to make Rotary both more inclusive and more diverse, Rotary is stronger and better with these changes. HOLGER KNAACK (Rotary International President), from Northern Germany, a great leader who has stepped up with the youth programs and also chose navy blue for the jacket color, a practical choice everyone enjoyed. HOLGER’S theme is Rotary Opens Opportunities, represented by three colored doors. The blue door represents Rotary International, the yellow door Rotary Foundation and lastly, the red door Rotaract. Every time you invite a guest to Rotary or you are out in the community, you are opening opportunities not only for people around you, but also for yourself.

 

Rotary in the time of COVID was a definite struggle in the beginning. HOLGER KNAACK says, “This crisis offers new possibilities to deepen friends. Now the person who lives across the ocean can be just as much a part of your team as someone who lives down the street.” This past April, BRENT received notice that all governor meetings would be held on Zoom platform. He thought that there would be no way that would happen since we were doing so well in California with COVID, but time proved that belief wrong. BRENT believes that we will all look back on PRESIDENT KEVIN’S time as President and recognize the many great ideas PRESIDENT KEVIN devised in order to keep Rotarians going through COVID. Leaders in Rotary can now take risks that they could not previously take. BRENT believes this is a fantastic time to be a leader, accomplishing things, and helping fellow Rotarians and our community at large.

 

The Annual Foundation Dinner that was to be held in November has unfortunately been cancelled and will hopefully return in 2021. With a usual attendance of 300 people, BRENT indicates Rotary could not find a way to make it work during COVID. The Foundation Committee is currently still working on a way to present the awards still. Please donate to the Foundation. Save the day for November 7th, former Annual Foundation Dinner date, as it is now the Rotary Reboot – A Journey to a Vibrant Club. This will be held virtually and will go on from 9 AM to noon so mark your calendars!

CLICK HERE to donate to the Rotary Foundation

 

Rotary is planning on having the District Conference in person, scheduled for May 21 to 23 in Granlibakken Tahoe. PRESIDENT KEVIN will be receiving a Pinewood Derby car and Rotarians will get an opportunity to build it up in order to enter it in a race at the District Conference. BRENT is confident that with all the brilliant minds in our Rotary Club we can definitely come out with an amazing finish product making this a race to not miss.

 

CLICK HERE to watch DISTRICT GOVERNOR BRENT HASTEY’S entire speech

 

BRENT thanked everyone for the opportunity to attend the meeting and be the guest speaker. He reminds us to keep doing the amazing work we’re doing and don’t forget that Rotary is FFF’N amazing! PRESIDENT KEVIN thanked BRENT HASTEY for joining us. Hope to have you back again, BRENT! In BRENT’S honor 100 children in vulnerable communities will receive the Polio vaccine. Don’t forget that October is fundraising month!

 

  • Polio Plus Success – As reported earlier, Africa is now free of endemic polio. Only Afghanistan and Pakistan remain (with just 102 new cases as of August 2020). One key concern is COVID-19 has caused some 50 million kids to miss their polio vaccinations; so, work remains. (For more information:  https://www.endpolio.org/african-region-declared-free-of-wild-poliovirus
  • October 24th – World Polio Day. RI will be live streaming an Online Global Update all day on Facebook.
  • October fundraising – During the month, D5180 will match all Polio Plus contributions 1:1. Gates Foundation will further match that sum at 2:1. (Thus, $100 becomes $600 toward eradicating polio.)  Last year, D5180 contributed $31K.
  • Polio Plus Society – Rotarians join with a $100 donation to Polio Plus. Membership comes with a pin and certificate. If you commit before October 24th, then D5180 will match the same amount to your Paul Harris. For more, contact Bob Mutchler (rpmutchler@aol.com) or see Rotary Direct (https://myrotary.org/en/rotary-direct).

 

FRED TEICHERT donated $250 in honor of his daughter, MARGARET, who was selected to be the president of the Cancer Society. Congratulations to your daughter and we wish her luck at her new position. FRED then donated another $250 in honor of BRENT HASTEY being our speaker for the day. Thank you, FRED!

 

Next week Rotary’s first virtual Brown Bag event so don’t forget to sign up as you will not want to miss this historic event. A huge thank you to SARAH HODGE for putting together our first virtual Brown Bag!

 

CLICK HERE to view the four choices including an update on Musical Theater in Sacramento, a discussion on what the arts mean to you, a conversation with PRESIDENT KEVIN about the history of our club and the future of it, or learning about how CLARA (Claire Raley Studios for the Performing Arts) provides schoolchildren with valuable social-emotional connections during distance learning.