How many parking tickets did Maggie Hopkins once rack up in a two-week period?
Which District Governor has a secret identity as a sound engineer?
What Fairytale Town building proposal included a picture of the builder’s CEO at her childhood birthday party?
Astute Rotarians found the answers to these questions and more this week – so read on, and find out!
The first “normal” meeting of President Kerry Wood’s term got off to an inauspicious start when the setup team discovered that neither of the mics were working. But this is a place where the Rotary Network truly stepped up – District Governor-Elect Dave Veden, owner of NorCal Pro AV Support, rushed over and replaced a transponder on the fly, restoring one mic to mostly-functional status. Big props to him, President Kerry, Sergeant-at-Arms Sarah Hodge, and others for rolling with the punches, getting one mic circulated among the entire assembly, and identifying the magic spots where the mic could consistently catch the signal! True pros.
This week’s featured speaker, Alllison Otto, is a business leader with deep roots in her community, as evidenced by the number of Rotarians who gave her an enthusiastic welcome. David Brandenburger’s Chair of the Day intro included memories of a long family friendship – and an apology for once breaking her arm. PP Kevin Smith-Fagan noted that Otto Construction’s (winning) proposal to build the Fairytale Town Story Center was the only one he’s ever seen which included a photo of the CEO’s childhood birthday party.
Otto is the President and CEO of Otto Construction, a third-generation family-owned construction business whose work has created some of Sacramento’s most iconic buildings. Otto was recently recognized (2024) as the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Businesswoman of the Year. She has a BA from USC and an MBA from UC Davis, and she originally joined the family business to launch their marketing department. She formally took over as president and CEO in 2021, making Otto the largest woman-owned construction company in Central and Northern California.
Her grandfather founded the company in 1947, providing construction services built on honesty, integrity and compassion. Otto was involved in some of the most iconic Sacramento buildings of that era, including the entrance to the Sacramento Zoo.
Allison joined the firm in 2003 and considers herself lucky to have gotten to spend her first seven years working with her dad – and for five of those years, her grandfather still came to work from time to time. Today, the firm employs 175 people and is working on large-scale civic projects in the hundreds of millions of dollars, stretching as far south as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and north to replace a Paradise elementary school destroyed during the Camp Fire.
The biggest challenge to Otto’s work under her tenure, Allison noted, has been the skyrocketing costs of construction – in 2002, a parking project for Sacramento International Airport cost $67M to build. Today, Otto is completing a nearly identical project for the airport – and the cost? Nearly 4x higher, at $232M.
When asked if she has a vision for expanding the company to a national scale, she responded that she likes knowing the name of every Otto employee, and if they mushroomed, she wouldn’t be able to do that. “There are plenty of exciting projects in the Sacramento region.”
The meeting was also packed with regular club business:
Club announcements
- Meeting Sponsorship – Josh Pelz reminded us that a $350 meeting sponsorship supports club operations AND gives you the opportunity to speak for three minutes on your business or cede time to the nonprofit of your choice. He challenged us to fill up Kerry’s calendar – interested? Drop him a line.
- Loaves and Fishes – John Swentowsky is looking for morning shift (7:30am-10am) volunteers for service at Loaves and Fishes on July 31.
- Fireside gatherings – PP Todd Koolakian is seeking hosts for this year’s schedule.
- ISC trip – Clayton Lee shared there are two spots left on the August trip to Guatemala.
- Media partner – Bob Rosenberg reminded us Capital Public Radio is the media sponsor for the Sac Century. Registration is trending ahead of last year, but there’s still a long way to go. This year’s goal is to cross a total donation threshold of $1M for the Sacramento Children’s Home.
Getting to Know…
This new initiative, where Rotarians are invited to share a humorous story, this week focused on Maggie Hopkins and Dave McKie.
Robyn DeLong recounted Maggie’s story – a tale of three parking tickets over two weeks (two of them within minutes of each other), all forgiven through a combination of her unique charm and willingness to self-advocate. Maggie swears she drives the speed limit, these days.
Maggie then narrated Dave McKie’s story from his very first command assignment out of Annapolis after two years of intensive training for command. His senior division chief introduced him to his crew while teasing him for his baby face. He says that the experience, while embarrassing at the time, gave his team space to laugh – and that laughter created a bond that made it easier to build true connection. Dave says his baby face continues to come in handy – now 79, he still gets carded from time to time.
If you have a story to share, please reach out to Robyn DeLong.
They Say It’s Your Birthday
President Kerry saluted club members celebrating birthdays in the first half of July.
And Thanks To…
This week’s greeters were Bill Shubb, Matt Green, and Joe Quilici; Joe also served as this week’s photographer. Jim Henderson sponsored the wine reception, and Rachel Dee Minyard provided the Thought for the Day. Megan Wygant was your Pulse reporter.
Sergeant-at-Arms Sarah Hodge announced her intention to close each meeting with a “Smile for the Day.” Her first: Q: What did the fish say when he swam into a wall? A: Damn.
