No one else may be counting, but upon convening the club luncheon, President Bobby Reed reminded all of us on Tuesday that it was his last meeting before his demotion. Maybe he’s eager to pass the torch!
Meeting sponsor Dee Hartzog donated her speaking time to Laura Heintz, CEO of the Stanford Sierra Youth and Families program. The 125-year-old program works with older foster children to find them nurturing homes, serving about 2,800 children per year. The program is searching for more foster parents with its “Seeds to Bloom” program for children from 12 to 14 years of age.
Two new members were inducted into the club. First up was Kiersten DeLong, CEO of Runyon Saltzman Inc., who was sponsored by PP Diane Woodruff and Maggie Hopkins. Steve Faryabi, owner of International Protection and Investigation, was inducted immediately thereafter – bumping DeLong as newest Rotarian! Steve was sponsored by David Brandenburger and Steve Shiflett.
Nancy Smith-Fagan announced the 14 college-bound students who won scholarships from our club. The scholarships and winners are:
- the Derek Ian Arnold (Vianey Estrada, Delta HS)
- the Oleta Lambert (John Barnes, Rio Americano HS)
- the Harold and Lilla Strauch (Ella Jones and Silvia Sawires of Rio Americano HS)
- the Rotary Foundation (Ziqi Lin and Mariana Sousa of West Campus HS, Aaron Thompson of Bella Vista HS, Yenedith Matinez of Delta HS, Manuel Nonones and Kennedy O’Gilvie Joplin of McClatchy HS)
- the Robinson Crowell (Maryam Raspoli and Evan Yu, West Campus HS)
- the Jim & Mary Jo Streng (Edgar Tellez-Peres and Julia Clauson, Bella Vista HS).
The scholarship committee was co-chaired by Nancy Smith-Fagan and PP Diane Woodruff and included Jaydeep Balakrishnan, Craig Alpha, Joe Quilici, Peter Coyl, Mike Polis, Brad Schmidt and Ann Solomon.
Maybe to prevent incoming President-Elect Kerry Wood from greeting us at her first meeting with news of a dues increase, President Bobby said it would be $50 more a year.
Bobby announced the community grants awarded during his term. Recipients are:
- CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) at $5,000
- Saint John’s Program for Real Change ($2,500)
- Stanford Sierra Youth & Families ($2,500)
- UCP Sacramento ($5,000)
- Olivia Chan Foundation ($5,000)
- ACCIS (Arab Community Center for Integration Services) $5,000
- Sierra Nevada Journeys ($3,000)
- Josh’s Heart ($5,000)
- Friends of the 1883 Clarksburg Schoolhouse ($5,000).
The selection committee was chaired by Mary DeLeo and included Shirlee Tully, Christie Holderegger, Ann Solomon, Tom Bacon, Kelly Huffman, Megan Wygant, Bill Wygant, Mike Polis, Lee McBay, Nancy Smith-Fagan, Jackie Kirkwood, Dee Johnson and PP Peter Dannenfelser.
“Put Me in Coach” participants included Tim Comstock, who wanted to honor Reed for his term as president and the fact that his children are headed back to school. PP Linda Geery gave toward PP Kevin Smith-Fagan’s Eddie Mulligan in honor of her recent trip to Fairytale Town. President Bobby contributed for a fun night going to the A’s game in a boat and on the group’s way home, Bobby water skied in his cargo shorts.
President-Elect nominee Paul Keefer announced that he is searching for an apprentice to learn how to run the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and take over when his presidential term begins.
Guest speaker Deirdre Fitzpatrick, an anchor and reporter for KCRA, opened her remarks with a thank you – it was the first time she arrived for an appearance and found a parking spot reserved for her!
Fitzpatrick and producer Dave Manoucheri spent five years researching and filming a documentary on two children, now adults, telling the horrors of Auschwitz as seen through their young eyes. The film is titled “Always Remember Your Name,” because their mother who was also in the camp wanted to know they were not just the numbers tattooed on their arms.
Andra and Tatiana Bucci were four and six years old when they were taken in Italy by the Nazis. Many children were quickly executed at the camp but the sisters believe they were saved because Dr. Josef Mengele thought they were twins whom he could use for medical experiments. With the aid of a camp guard who befriended the cute girls, they survived and ended up in an orphanage run by Sigmund Freud’s daughter. After two years, they were reunited with their parents who had also survived the camp.
Fitzpatrick and Manoucheri became very close with the families and traveled with them to visit Auschwitz with school children. Andra Bucci, who lives in Sacramento, has made more than 40 trips to recount her childhood memories of the concentration camp with middle-school aged children touring the camps. She also has spoken to schools in Sacramento and across California. Since the fall, the documentary is being used in Sacramento schools with a curriculum KCRA helped develop.
Manoucher said the documentary picks up where The Diary of Anne Frank ends to explain how these children endured. He emphasized that survivors are aging and how important it is for us to tell their stories. As the world says, “Never again.”
Here is a link to see the 70-minute documentary.
Greeters included PP Ken Noack, Jim Olsen and Dick Noonan. Jim Henderson took photos and the Rotary Club hosted the wine. Nancy Teichert served as Pulse reporter. Megan Wygant offered the Thought of the Day.
No meeting next week! Our next gathering will be the Bobby Reed demotion party. It’s a 5pm gathering at the McKinley Village Clubhouse on June 24. Click here to RSVP.
But you can get your Rotary fix this Saturday morning 9-noon when the Rotary Roadies perform at the Killdeer Farms farmers market in West Sacramento. You can marvel at the pollinator garden planted by our club, do some Father’s Day shopping, and sway to the sublime sounds of Kerry, Shirlee, Rachel, Kevin, Jeff, Mark, K Dub and Tom.
Photos courtesy of Jim Henderson
Friday, June 13th, 2025