“Get ready to hit the road” by Christie Holderegger
President Bobby Reed kicked off the travel-themed meeting by welcoming the club to public television station PBS KVIE, the meeting host, and thanking Nancy Teichert for facilitating today’s meeting.
In Elfrena Foord’s Thought of the Day on the enriching value of travel, she quoted the Dalai Lama, “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.”
Meeting sponsor Latif Yusufi introduced his colleague Sunni DiBenedetto, division president of Golden Pacific Bank, a division of SoFi Bank. Sunni highlighted the 3 branches in the Sacramento market and their focus on both business and individual banking.
President Bobby introduced his “Put Me In, Coach” giving levels to many of our newer guests. A bevy of generous Rotarians celebrated good news such as the births of grandchildren, new positions, exciting travel plans with family members, and past trips abroad, including: Nancy Smith-Fagan, PP Tom Gilbert, Nancy Teichert, PEN Paul Keefer, PP Jim Leet, Lev Kaganovich, PP Ken Noack, and Rick Davis.
Jim Relles was the raffle winner for a travel basket. The raffle proceeds benefited PBS KVIE, which hosted this lunch meeting.
President Bobby invited Rotarians to share funny and inspiring stories of personal travel abroad, and a flood of great stories followed. We were all inspired by the adventurous spirit, grateful hearts, and sincere appreciation of cultural differences and perspectives that you can only experience outside your comfort zone and bubble. There are so many lessons to learn that can only come from travel.
Club Announcements Included:
- Wildfire relief – President Bobby proudly shared that our Club raised $3,500 to support two Rotary districts in Southern California that are assisting with fire relief. Our club board has matched the support sending $7,000 to support those impacted. Additional donations are still welcome.
- Camp RYLA – organizer PP Linda Geery encouraged Rotarians to volunteer at Camp RYLA for a week in June. For more information please contact Linda for this opportunity to impact the lives of youth in our community.
- Jean Runyon Award – committee chair Maggie Brinkoetter Hopkins encouraged Rotarians to nominate individuals for the Jean Runyon Award. This award recognizes a Rotarian who embodies the spirit and legacy of Jean, who was a trailblazer in Sacramento. Jean was remembered for her generosity, resilience, leadership, and mentorship of female leaders. Nominations can be submitted on the Rotary website through February 21.
Guest speaker Rick Steves was introduced by Bruce Hester. An internationally known travel expert, Rick was born in California and has only ever had two jobs: piano teacher and a travel teacher. Fortunately, for us, he followed his passion for travel. His company is a travel industry leader, and he spends a third of his time in Europe. Through his 60 books, broadcast shows on public radio and public TV, and numerous articles he has inspired the world, especially Americans, to explore the gift of travel.
Rick says his passion is measured by the number of people who travel – not by his bottom line. About 30,000 people travel to Europe each year with Steve personally or accompanied by his travel company. Travel can be seen as a political act by celebrating other people and their cultures. The prophet Muhammad said, “Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have traveled.” Steve shared many insights into the importance of traveling abroad and its power to overcome fear. He believes it is just as safe to travel abroad as it ever has been and that the more we travel, the stronger we can become as a nation. Travel grants us the opportunity to learn, understand, and respect the differences of other cultures.
President Bobby thanked our greeters: Larry Gilzean and PP Linda Geery; wine sponsor Chris Ann Bachtel; Pulse reporter Christie Holderegger; and club photographer John Swentowsky.
Next week’s meeting will focus on Rotary International’s commitment to end polio. The meeting will highlight the Flight to End Polio program with presentations by program pilots Peter Teahen and John Ockenfels. You can register to attend now by clicking here.
Photos Courtesy of John Swentowsky