As America went to the polls on Election Day, President Bobby Reed called upon the Rotary Club of Sacramento to resolve “critical issues of national security.”
And that’s how we narrowly decided, in a polarized electorate reflecting national norms, that the egg preceded the chicken.
(The club also determined the Kings’ biggest rival is the Warriors rather than the Lakers, the best local university is Sacramento State over UC Davis, and Lake Tahoe is the #1 getaway destination over Napa.)
Turning to actual accomplishments, President Bobby reported on a string of recent service endeavors by the club – the dictionary giveaway project for third graders, meal preparation and service at Loaves and Fishes, and Rotarian presence at the recent Dirty Kid Obstacle Race hosted by Sacramento Adventure Playground, a satellite site of Fairytale Town.
In the meeting sponsor slot, visiting Rotarian Carol Van Bruggen-Kuhn spoke about the Africa Hope Fund and invited Rotarians to join an upcoming excursion to Zambia next July. The trip features both helping local kids with literacy and safari sightseeing. Details at africahopefund.org.
Next up was the spreading of good news. Past President Jon Snyder gave because he and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Past President Diane Woodruff gave toward Paul Keefer’s next Eddie Mulligan because Paul helped Diane’s granddaughter with a job hunt.
In honor of upcoming Veterans Day, Dave McKie introduced our guest speaker, retired military chaplain, pastor and newspaper columnist Norris Burkes. An Air Force veteran, he served as a combat hospital chaplain in Iraq with additional deployments to Saudi Arabia and Panama.
Burkes’ syndicated spirituality column appears in 38 papers nationwide, and he recently published a collection of columns as the book “Tell it to the Chaplain.”
He encouraged the audience to engage in dialogue with military veterans and ask vets these three insightful questions: What did you do in the military? Where have you served? Why did you serve?
Jamie Furlong, Sergeant-At-Arms, reminded everyone that we are dark next week. Our next lunch meeting will be Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at CLARA Studios (25th & N), and it will be Foundation Day. Click here to register and make note of the location change.
President Bobby Reed thanked meeting greeters Ann Ryan Solomon, Sharna Braucks and Hadley Wilson. Virginia Wade was there to memorialize our meeting with her excellent photography, and Matt Page handled Pulse duties. PP Scot Sorensen furnished the Thought for the Day. Steve Huffman provided the libations with a great selection of wines.
Photos courtesy of Diane Woodruff
