The Greeks famously said, “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” This week, as we gathered at Discovery Park, we got to appreciate the truth of those words.

Mile One of Discovery Park is the Rotary Club of Sacramento’s official adopted mile and the focus of our monthly clean-up efforts. But, as President Bobby told us, it was also the site of a RCOS tree-planting program in 1985. More than 450 native shade trees were planted in Discovery Park that year through our club’s efforts – and those “Rotary Grove” trees, now fully mature, provided current Rotarians with much appreciated shade.

We were joined by Ryan Drury, board secretary for the American River Parkway Foundation. The foundation is an independent nonprofit organization that supports the ARPF above and beyond the county’s efforts. Ryan is also the grandson of past club legend Oleta Lambert – whose mention provoked audible expressions of surprise and delight.

Ryan shared information about the programs that underpin the Foundation’s mission “to lead and inspire the community to conserve and nurture the American River Parkway as a unique, accessible resource for everyone to enjoy.” A staff of six support more than 5,600 annual volunteers (including Rotarians in service to Mile One) in efforts to stem invasive plant species, maintain trails, and keep the parkway clean. That last one is particularly important: in addition to our clean-up efforts, the foundation tracks the garbage removed from the river and parkway on community cleanup days – each biannual day of service removes about 44,000 lbs of garbage. Rest assured, everyone present was sure to properly dispose of their lunch trash.

The American River Parkway Foundation also provides wildlife habitat remediation services and education programs for underserved schools through a partnership with Sacramento County Office of Education.

Drury’s talk was short, sweet and informative. Learn more about the American River Parkway Foundation here.

Club Announcements

  • In a full-circle moment, President Bobby “two meetings to go” Reed shared that his demotion is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24 at 5pm, and will take place at the McKinley Village Clubhouse – the same place his presidency began.
  • Sergeant-at-Arms Jamie Furlong shared that next Monday (June 9) is the District 5180 Awards Night, taking place at Safetyville from 6-8pm. RCOS is up for a number of awards, including “best chili” (rooting for you, Tom “it tastes better with” Bacon)
  • Now we can say “we knew them when:” the Rotary Roadies are now officially pros! Join them at the Killdeer Farms farmer’s market on June 14 from 9-noon to witness the Roadies’ first paid gig. Like their predecessors the Rotary Rooters, the band will donate the earnings to the club foundation.

It takes a village to make these meetings happen, especially for a special offsite like this one. PP Kevin Smith-Fagan provided the sound system and AV support (much appreciated by this reporter). Michael Mui and Bryan Murray served as the official greeters, with many unofficial greeters joining in. Dee Hartzog hosted the wine reception. Steve Shiflett was on the spot as your photographer. And Megan Wygant served as the day’s Pulse reporter.

We will be back at our normal location next week for a conversation with longtime KCRA reporter Deirdre Fitzpatrick on her recent documentary “Always Remember Your Name,” about two of Auschwitz’s youngest survivors.

We normally say “get out there and be good Rotarians,” but in this week’s Thought for the Day, Maggie Hopkins made a particular proposal: Sacramento has 265 sunny days of the year, and is surrounded by natural beauty. She challenged us to make more time to “step outside, and let Nature do what it does best – reset us.” So do that!

Photography Courtesy of Steve Shiftlett

Friday, June 6th, 2025