The only thing missing at Tuesday’s meeting was David Byrne and the Talking Heads, as it was Psycho Killer day at the normally tame Rotary Club of Sacramento (more on this later, but best to go lock your doors before you read the rest of this recap, just to be safe).
President Todd started the meeting innocently enough, with the usual “thank you’s” for this week’s meeting crew: John Brackenbury, Peter Coyl and David Brandenburger on Greeters, Elfrena Foord on that Attendance Gun Thingy, Virginia Wade and John Swentowsky on Photography, Yours Unruly on Pulse Reporter, and Ruth Tesar shredding as Wine Sponsor.
Speaking of Wine Sponsor, Surender Singal wants you to be one. It’s easy duty — buy wine, pour wine, inebriate your fellow Rotarians, get on President Todd’s good side. See Surender for details.
Next up was the ever-thoughtful Robyn DeLong, whose Thought of the Day reminded us that good friends are like rare jewels — hard to find, and impossible to replace (she said more than that, but your author has a short attention span – see Robyn for the Director’s Cut).
Past Prez Fred Teichert was the Meeting Sponsor, donating his “$350 and 3” to Rena Harms, who is not only the Major Gifts Officer at the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, but likely the best sounding one in its history, given that she’s an opera singer herself (not sure how much Fred would have had to donate to get Rena to sing her pitch, but she talked it just fine, and let us in on the fabulous season that the Sac Phil & Opera has in store, so start marking those calendars and make Giuliano Kornberg smile).
Being the overachiever that she is, Ruth Tesar not only sponsored the wine, she officially kicked off the club’s “Sac Century Season.” We’re just a month away from the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year on September 30th, and it’s time for all hands to head on deck. There are plenty of ways to contribute, including:
  • Volunteer before, during, or after ride day.  Sign up here:  https://www.sacramentocentury.com/volunteer/.
  • Be a Challenge Champion, and tap your social media and physical universes to raise money for the cause. See Kathe Nathan for details, and see the King of the Challenge Champions, Tom   Bacon, for tips on how to excel at it.
  • Have your company become a Corporate Sponsor. See President Todd for details.
  • Make a personal donation to the event. Call or e-mail Diane Mizell and impress her with your generosity.
  • Sign up and ride (from 16 to 100 miles — your choice!).
It’s step-up time, fellow Rotarians, so step on up!
On the tithing front, several generous Rotarians came forth, and it was especially nice to see Sulaf Al Ajeeli back in the house to say hi, make a donation, and advise that she’s now working at California Advocates, Inc., and the California Judges Association.  Congratulations, and welcome back, Sulaf!
After some fellowship time, Chair of the Day, Nancy Teichert (the only Rotary Pulse Reporter with a Pulitzer) came forth to reveal her fascination with serial killers, and then introduced our Speaker of the Day, Dr. Andrew Mendonsa, who gets paid to have a fascination with serial killers in his career as a Forensic Psychologist, which includes helping law enforcement catch them.
Dr. Mendonsa lamented in jest that the halcyon days for serial killers (i.e. the 1970’s) had passed, as law enforcement is catching them faster now, with better coordination among their ranks, and tools like forensic genealogy, DNA, cell tower ping tracking, and the ubiquitous smart phone cameras.
Still, to bolster the good doctor’s spirits, he advises that there are still 25-50 active serial killers in the U.S. at a given time, and these are highly intelligent (as in high IQ) individuals with psychological characteristics that are shared by many Fortune 500 CEOs (comforting on just so many levels).
The difference between the serial killers and the CEOs, according to Dr. Mendonsa, is that the former have suffered psychological trauma in childhood in about 74% of the cases, which appears to be a relevant factor among those of their ilk.
When asked who his favorite serial killers were (talk about the worst trading card idea ever!), Dr. Mendonsa mentioned Jeffrey Dahmer and the Zodiac Killer, for their fascinating psychological characteristics.
A talk that could have gone far longer than the 25-minute allotment, Dr. Mendonsa was a victim of the clock on the wall, and we were out of there at 1:30, full of the heebie-jeebies.
Click here to see the Dr. Mendonsa’s PowerPoint Presentation.
No meeting next week, but show up on September 12, and do something for the Sac Century effort between now and then!
John Wood
(Will trade you two Jack the Rippers for a Ted Bundy)
Photos Courtesy of John Swentowsky, Swentowsky Photography