The Pulse for the week of April 17, 2023

The late  Jean Runyon not only was one of our region’s foremost business and civic leaders but also, in September of 1987, she became the first woman to join the Rotary Club of Sacramento. In remembrance of Jean’s trail-blazing spirit and her commitment to championing women in business, we recognize one of our members annually with the coveted Jean Runyon Community Service Award. This year’s honoree will be revealed and honored at next Tuesday’s weekly meeting (noon at the Annunciation Greek Church). And our special guest speaker will be Christine Hunter, author of “WE CAN DO THIS! Sacramento’s Trailblazing Political Women and the Community They Shaped.” You won’t want to miss this very special meeting, so be sure to make your reservation as soon as you receive the invitation email.

All across the country, Rotarians came together on Saturday, April 15^th, for a day of community service and fellowship. Rotary Club of Sacramento members worked on three People of Action Day projects. Click here for details and photos of our hard-working volunteers.

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President LINDA GEERY (CFO/California Lawyers Association) opened the meeting, playing to the home crowd with a salute to the Sacramento Kings and their 2-0 playoff series lead against the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

President LINDA thanked the meeting’s greeters JOHN PHAIR (Retired), TIM MATTHEIS (Principal Architect/WMB Architects), and KEVIN SMITH-FAGAN (Executive Director/Fairytale Town), as well as Pulse Reporter JOHN MCINTYRE (Chief Philanthropy Officer/Mercy Foundation) and meeting photographer JOHN SWENTOWSKY (Swentowsky Photography).

MARY DELEO (Shareholder/Weintraub Tobin) provided a reflection, starting with a quote from author L.A. Villafane: “The simple act of listening to someone and making them feel as if they have truly been heard is a most treasured gift.” Mary noted that there is an awful lot of noise keeping us from truly hearing one another. She encouraged each of us to listen to others, more for understanding, and not necessarily agreement. In so doing, she hopes we can reduce the volume through our gift of listening to understand.

President LINDA led the club in saluting the flag and our country.

Sgt.-at-Arms KATHE NATHAN  (Retired/Merchants Bank of Commerce) rose to introduce guests:

President LINDA announced those who graced the dais today:

Meeting Sponsor JOHN WOOD gave his time slot to JAMIE FURLONG, who suggested that rental property ownership could be a tiring distraction, but that for those who are interested in passive real estate-investor opportunities, working with someone like her might be a consideration. She is a registered Securities & Exchange Commission advisor. In that role, she offers the opportunity to invest and take advantage of 1031 exchanges, self-directed IRAs and other investment options by working with Legacy Investment Real Estate. For more information, contact Jamie.

Past President DIANE WOODRUFF (Retired Chancellor/California Community Colleges) offered this week’s Spotlight. She told members that…

“JIM HENDERSON (Attorney/Messing Adam & Jasmine) has been a member of our club for two years. Jim grew up in Marin County, graduated from UC Davis, and then went on to get a law degree from Stanford. He is an attorney who focuses on employment law. Jim plans to retire soon, to the disappointment of his wife who has a good sense of humor. She defines retirement as, ‘Twice the husband, half the income.’ I learned so many fun, interesting stories about Jim. For example, Jim was a contestant on ‘Jepardy’and even made it to the final round and answered the final question correctly. Another interesting story: Jim took a class on stand-up comedy a few years ago and even did a five-minute stand-up routine at a bar in downtown Sacramento. Since he plans to retire soon, he is considering a return to stand-up comedy and intends to bill himself as “Sacramento’s Oldest Stand-Up Comedian.” However, he says he has to move on this quickly, while he is still able to do his stand-up act standing up. A fun fact about Jim is that he loves to go to estate and garage sales. Jim describes himself as an ‘impulse buyer’ (he knows it when he sees it) and his house reflects the fact that he gives into his impulses more than he should. Jim told his wife, ‘Honey, I am looking for that item that will get us on Antiques Roadshow.’ His wife responded, ‘Jim, we have a better chance at being on American Hoarders.’

“JAMIE FURLONG” has been in our club for five years but, oh what a difference she has made in those five years. I give Jamie credit for her outstanding leadership in starting the Young Professionals organization. We are the envy of all the other clubs in the district because of our outstanding Young Professionals group, which Jamie was instrumental in starting. Jamie currently works as the Owner and Managing Partner of Legacy Investment Real Estate. Jamie has advised hundreds of investors on 1031 real estate exchanges totaling over $60 million dollars. This year she was recognized as the #1 top-producing female at her broker-dealer and has maintained a position in the top 15 since her start. Jamie has received numerous awards for her work, including the Distinguished Service award last year from CalCPA, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. She is also the Chair of the CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Members) group. Jamie has an artistic, creative side as well. She is a co-founder of the Sacramento Valley Flower Collective. Prior to moving to Sacramento, she was a professional florist in New York, and her floral designs have been featured in Architectural Digest, the New York Times, Martha Stewart magazine, and Vogue. There are so many fun stories about Jamie that I had a hard time choosing which one to share. A fun fact about Jamie is that she was a complete surprise to her parents. After Jamie’s sister was born, her dad was about to leave the delivery room, but then the doctor said, ‘Wait! Come back. I think there is another baby in there.’ Seven minutes later, Jamie was born. Her parents did not know they were having twins. Jamie’s twin sister insists that Jamie always acknowledges her as her ‘older’ sister.

“BUDDY HUBBERT (President/Mother Lode Capital) has been a Rotarian for 22 years. He was born and raised in Sacramento, graduated from La Sierra High School, and then attended UC Berkeley—and guess who was there with him? Brian Van Camp’s daughter, Meg. What a small world! Currently, Buddy has a fascinating job working with aspiring entrepreneurs. He has been the President of the Entrepreneurship Academy and active in the organization for many years. When I asked him why he liked working with aspiring entrepreneurs, he told me that he had been an entrepreneur himself, having started his own very successful healthcare company, which he sold a few years ago. He said he learned many valuable lessons starting his own company, so he knows what it takes to have an idea and turn it into a reality. He said it is very rewarding to be able to work with people who have a dream and help them turn those dreams into reality. So, see Buddy if you are a budding entrepreneur. Buddy and his wife love sailing and just got back from a catamaran cruise around the British Virgin Islands to celebrate their 35^th anniversary. They have also sailed around Antigua and Belize, and plan to sail to around Greece next year. A fun fact about Buddy: After college, he raced for the Squaw Valley ski team. His coach held the world record for speed skiing more than 120 miles per hour. Buddy said he admired his coach’s record, but he never got over 65 miles per hour himself. I can’t even imagine skiing that fast.”