And So It Begins… The Miller Administration

Newly elected PRESIDENT BOB MILLER (Business Services Manager at First US Community Credit Union) welcomed his term with the walk-up music from Tears for Fears, “Everybody Rules the World.”  Please draw your own conclusions on this shamelessly veiled power grab.

BOB handed out many thank-you’s to fellow Rotarians who volunteered at Tuesday’s meeting, including ELFRENA FOORD (Partner/Certified Financial Planner at Foord, Van Bruggen, & Pajak) on the piano, greeters RICK DAVIS and SHARNA BRAUCKS (President & CEO of YMCA of Superior California), the general meeting public as photographers in JOHN SWENTOWSKY’s (Owner of Swentowsky Photography) absence, and our wine reception sponsor, PAST PRESIDENT BOB COLE.

Guests were introduced and celebrated, including Selene Brown Rios, Scott Ford, MaryJoe Streng, Christian Dahl, and Kristen Dorfer.

PRESIDENT BOB urged us to take into our daily lives, the International Rotary President of India, SHEKHAR MEHTA’s  motto “Serve to Change Lives.” As well as reminding us of our local district Governor, Desiree Wilson’s, motto “Creating Today’s Super Heroes.” There are 1.2 million Rotarians in the world. We lose almost one million members, but also add one million members each year. Let these statistics be a friendly reminder to us all just how important our commitment is! We will continue our efforts on retention and attrition.

GABRIEL GENDRON (Realtor at Lyon Real Estate) led us in the thought for the day.  His “Mindful Minute,” focused on meditation as he walked us through relaxation, a connection to our bodies, a breathing exercise concluding with the direction to, “Open your eyes and come into this space.”

CLICK HERE to be taken through his guided meditation.

BOB will periodically highlight a committee or two, this week KEVIN WILLIAMS Wine Committee takes center stage.  KEVIN WILLIAMS (Chief Sponsorship Manager of KVIE) briefed us on the expectations and job requirements of supplying and pouring wine during the pre-meeting reception.  He is actively looking for sponsors. Please reach out if you are interested. You can contact KEVIN by CLICKING HERE.

PAUL KEEFER (Executive Director of Pacific Charter Institute) promoted the “Rise Against Hunger” event happening on July 31^st.  We will need 10-19 volunteers which will help fill supply bags and participate in a Corn Hole tournament as well as a trivia contest.

SHARNA BRAUCKS (President & CEO at YMCA of Superior California) will be heading up blood drives this year and hopes to have a mobile truck on site, so on Tuesdays, members can give before our weekly meeting.

VIRGINIA WADE needs more volunteers for Loaves and Fishes on July 29^th.  Shifts are 7:30am-10:30am and 10:45am-1:30pm.  Box lunches will be packed rather than traditional serving duties.

BOBBY REED (CEO of Capitol Tech Solutions) encouraged all to come out and protect the environment by “Cleaning Up the American River Parkway” on Saturday July 17, from 9:00am-11:00am.

PRESIDENT BOB announced the giving levels for his 2021-2022 term. This year, BOB decided to title the giving levels with a running theme!

5k distance – $25/$50

10k distance – $100

Half Marathon – $250

Marathon – $500

Ultra Marathon – $1000

We were gifted with the generosity of many Rotarians. LEV KAGANOVICH (Consultant at Energy, LEED & Commissioning Consulting) donated in honor of Rick Davis’ Rotary Foundation term.  SARAH HODGE donated in celebrations of her aspiration to become a runner in real life! She plans to accomplish a 5k this year! DAN MCVEIGH (Downey Brand LLP) donated in homage of his son turning 40-years-old. PRESIDENT BOB MILLER donated and thanked his installation committee: TIM MATTHEIS, BOB DALY, DAN FENOCCHIO, JIMMY CULLETON, MAGGIE HOPKINS, and SARAH HODGE for their secret service work.

TIM MATTHEIS (Principal Architect at WMB Architects) introduced our speaker of the U.S. Small Business Administration. CARRIE is the Deputy District Director of the US Small Business Association, which oversees 22 counties. She has previously held positions of Financial Analyst and Marketing Consultant. She had two personal friends in the audience whom she recognized, VIRGINIA WADE (CEO/President of Golden Pacific Bank) and JIM PHILLIPS (Owner of The Energy Savers). Her office alone approved 715 guaranteed loans for $535 million this past year.

In California, there are 6 offices: Sacramento, San Francisco, Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire. 1800 employee actively distributed CARES Act funds two ways: Loan Programs (including Debt Relief and PPP) and Grant Programs (EIDL – Economic Injury Disaster Loans and SVOG – Shuttered Venue Operations Grants and the Restaurant Revitalization Grant.)

11,000,000 loans were approved for $795 Billion with 5400 lenders under the most recent PPP distributions. SBA loan programs fall into 3 categories: Microloans up to $50K, 7(a) loans from $5K to $5million and 504 loans which address acquisition and construction of real estate and equipment.

CARRIE further explained SBA backed loan relief. EIDL helps cover normal expenses up to 24 months via a $500K maximum loan at 3.75% for business or 2.75% for non-profits of less than 500 employees.  These grant funds are still available until 12/13/21. Currently 3.78 million loans for $205 billion have been approved under these guidelines.

CARRIE touched on SBA programs such as Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and the Community Navigator Pilot Program.  Unfortunately, fraud is present and actively being combated.  SBA also has resources for Partner Contacts for disasters and district offices.

All of this (and more!) can be found on www.sba.gov

To watch the full presentation given by CARRIE CLICK HERE.

If you didn’t make it to the July 13^th meeting, don’t fret! We have a recording of it for you to watch HERE.

Not only that, but there’s still a chance to make it to the next one!

On July 20, 2021, from 12:10 PM – 1:30 PM, we will be meeting at The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. Next Tuesday’s guest speaker will be former Olympian, Starr Hurley, who will be speaking on the Olympics! She was an Alpine Skier who is native to, you guessed it, Sacramento, CA! She has a stream of athletic accomplishments, one of which was being a top finisher (14^th) in the downhill at the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics. Finishing 9^th in the world at the end of the Ski season, she was the fastest American woman skier in 1963 and 1964. Don’t miss her presentation!