The Rotary Club was convened by Past President Kevin Smith-Fagan, filling in for President Bobby Reed, who was on a Rotary Service Trip to India.
Dee Johnson’s Thought for the Day featured quotes exalting wine — which has been around since at least 7,000 BCE. Historically it was a status symbol of kings and rulers, leading to the aphorism, “In victory you deserve wine, in defeat you need it.” Dee shared other pithy remarks about wine, including Galileo’s very scientific observation that “Wine is sunlight, held together by water.”
Meeting sponsor Mike Polis yielded his podium time to John Riehl of the nonprofit Breakthrough T1D (T1D = type 1 diabetes). John outlined the remarkable gains in treatment achieved by the group and talked about the importance of supporting its work.
New member Joe Quilici was inducted into the club upon an introduction by Dave Brandenburger. Joe, the owner of Quilici Engineers, was an active member of the Rotary Club of San Jose before moving to Sacramento. Sarah Hodge and President Bobby Reed were his sponsors into our club.
After Joe received his very warm welcome, the club waited with anticipation as the President Elect Nominee (PEN) for 2026-27 was announced. Like the last drops of the wine being poured out of the bottle, PP Walter Dahl shared hints of the background of the prospective leader: an Eagle Scout, a Masters in Education, and a marathoner. At last the answer to the riddle was announced: Paul Keefer! Paul shared brief comments displaying his humble enthusiasm to take on the role.
Rotarians shared good news and donated to their Eddie Mulligan or Paul Harris funds. These included big grant winner Rhonda Poppen, John Swentowsky (who shared the good news of his first grandchild), Megan Wygant (who shared good news about a grant CLARA received), and others I did not get to write down…….
Club Announcements
Club leadership for 2025-26. PP Kevin shared the results of the election for club leadership. Newly elected board members are Jaydeep Balakrishnan, Peter Coyl, Christie Holderegger, Nancy Teichert and John Wood. They join incumbents Mary deLeo, Megan Laurie, Mik Miklaus, Bryan Murray and John Swentowsky. Sarah Hodge will serve as sergeant-at-arms, Jim Henderson will be club treasurer, and of course PE Kerry Wood will succeed President Bobby Reed as the next club president with the new term commencing July 1.
Bell Ringing. Rotarians were reminded by John Swentowsky about the opportunity to serve as a bell ringer for Salvation Army.
Holiday Toy Drive. The holiday toy drive invites you to bring a new unwrapped toy (or just money!) to next week’s meeting, said PP Jim Leet.
Daughters Day will take place in 2 weeks and Rotarians were encouraged to bring their daughters and RSVP, noted PEN Paul Keefer.
Chair of the Day Bob Rosenberg introduced Mike Dunne, a wine expert and former wine reporter at The Sacramento Bee. Mike shared wisdom from this long career, much of it packaged in his book “The signature wines of Superior California: 50 wines that define the Sierra Foothills, the Delta, Yolo and Lodi”.[Available for Checkout at the Sacramento Public Library].
Mr. Dunne shared about the multifaceted nature of the wine business which includes not only the day-to-day business of growing and cultivating, but also the cultural aspects of wine making. Frequently a wine judge at competitions, Mr. Dunne shared a tip that often silver medal winners are equal or superior to gold medal winners – and sell as relative bargains.
Sacramento region wines are outstanding but suffer in prestige, he said, because of the long shadow cast by Napa and Sonoma, areas which enjoy tourism advantages like spas, galleries, and elite restaurants. Sierra Foothills wineries have relied heavily on Zinfandel, he noted, which limits the region’s variety of wines.
PP Kevin thanked meeting greeters Todd Aquilina, Tom Bacon, John Brackenbury and Bill Wygant. Photography duties were handled by John Swentowsky, and Pulse reporting was done by Peter Coyl. The wine reception was generously provided (and generously poured) by Nancy and PDG Fred Teichert.
Join us for our club meeting next week on Tuesday, December 10th.
Photos Courtesy of John Swentowsky
