The Pulse for the Week of June 2, 2026 | Rotary Club of Sacramento

Did you know there’s a single place in Sacramento where you can access FREE park and museum passes, post-hole diggers, cake pans, meals for kids, academic research tools…and of course, books? It’s our local public library, and it’s led by one of our own: Peter Coyl.

Peter took the mic this week for a fascinating talk on the work of our public library system, and why key investments in city facilities will continue to expand their ability to serve.

First, though, President Kerry Wood rang in the meeting, pointing out that she was looking forward to ringing that bell every chance she could, for the very short time (three meetings) she has left.

Thought for the Day

Joanne Hall’s Thought for the Day was inspired by a recent game of golf: “While others play alongside, the most important competition is always between your current abilities, and your own aspirations.”

A New Sacramento Rotary Fellow!

PP Kevin Smith-Fagan announced the presentation of a new Sacramento Rotary Fellow – the highest honor bestowed by our club. It is generally a surprise to everyone who is present, including the honoree. But, as Kevin explained, rather than parsing out biographical details in a slow reveal, he was going to cut right to the chase – “because there are not a lot of ballerinas from the deep South in this club.” In fact, there’s only one: the incomparable Shirlee Tully.

Shirlee Tully

Shirlee graduated high school early in Birmingham, Alabama to attend the School of American Ballet in New York City, and she spent six years dancing professionally in New York and Chicago before earning a degree in French Literature from Georgetown University. She later completed her MBA at Sacramento State and built a distinguished career in corporate communications with organizations like Comcast, AT&T, the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, and CapRadio. Today, she runs the consulting firm Tully Success Strategies.

Her commitment to service has included board roles at Sacramento Ballet, CLARA and much more. She joined the Rotary Club of Sacramento in 2013, and has since served on the foundation board of trustees, club board of directors, led the club’s legacy giving efforts, and earned three Eddie Mulligan and three Paul Harris pins.

She is the rock-star mom of two extraordinary children, a champion for the arts, a fabulous cook and gardener, and a terrific singer and percussionist for the Rotary Roadies. And based on the reaction of the club when we figured out who was being honored, she is deeply respected and admired. Congratulations, Shirlee!

Meeting Sponsor – Roberts Family Development Center

The Roberts Family Development Center: Tina Roberts and Lisa Howard spoke briefly about the work of the Roberts Family Development Center, which provides a whole-family approach to provide childhood academic and emotional support. The Center is currently celebrating its 25th year – information about their upcoming 25th gala was available at all tables. You can also watch the video about the RFDC’s work here.

Making Beautiful Music!

Members donated to their Eddies and Paul Harris’ to celebrate additional efforts with Golf 4 Kids, children and grandchildren’s graduations, and visiting parents. Our newest Rotary fellow, Shirlee Tully, made a gift to honor her “friend, daughter, and compadre, Rebecca,” who had traveled in secret to surprise her mother at the presentation.

Club Announcements and Reports

Golf 4 Kids. Bryan Murray provided a final report on this year’s Golf (and Pickleball!) 4 Kids: The event, held at Rancho Murieta Country Club raised $45,938 to support impactful programs for young people with disabilities including the Hiram Johnson Transition Class; The Ralph Richardson Center; and Luther Burbank High School. From financial support to literally pushing dead golf carts up the hill, this was a club-wide effort, and Bryan expressed the planning committee’s deep gratitude to everyone involved.
Pops in the Park. PPs Todd Koolakian and Bobby Reed seek folks to staff the Rotary tent at Pops in the Park concerts this summer.
Roadies show. If you are reading this before Friday night, catch The Rotary Roadies (our very own band) at Friday’s “The Zoo After Hours” event. Tickets can be purchased here.
A Dick Osen memorial service will be Friday, June 26 at 1:30pm at Northridge Country Club.

Featured Speaker

The Sacramento Public Library: More Than Books

Our fellow Rotarian Peter Coyl, CEO of Sacramento Public Library, presented a great overview of the array of services SPL brings to our communities. SPL is the fourth-largest library system in California with 28 branches to serve 1.5 million residents – processing more than 10,000 items every day. Leading this remarkable institution is a full-circle moment for Peter Coyl, an Arden-Arcade native who proudly displays his childhood Sacramento Public Library card.

So much more than books, SPL’s programs include:

Summer lunch service to bridge the gap for kids who would otherwise get free meals at school
Maker-space meetings & clubs
Book club kits
Passes to local parks and museums
Specialty items for loan ranging from musical instruments to post-hole diggers
Your local polling place – often more than 25% of Sacramento County ballots are dropped off at a public library.

With the loss of so many school librarians, SPL has stepped up with literacy education and curation services to boost literacy rates in our children – an uphill battle.

The sparkling new North Sacramento Hagginwood Library is a great expression of the Sacramento Public Library’s mission: to be the place where the community comes to learn, connect, and grow.

Peter Coyl, CEO of Sacramento Public Library

Dan also shared long-term expansion plans, citing that at the current 14.6 acres, the zoo requires more space to keep current and to bring back exhibits such as the large cats. Ultimately and with the help of the City of Sacramento, the zoo hopes to grow to 20.3 acres. Katie Hallsten gave a most interesting firsthand account of how she and a team of several other primate keepers nursed along a newborn orangutan in 2023 when his birth mom didn’t take to nurturing him. The team immersed themselves in the baby’s care, staying at the zoo in around-the-clock shifts. Ultimately baby Nangka was transferred to the Atlanta zoo and the care of an experienced foster-mom orangutan there. After Dan and Katie’s presentations, zoo personnel invited Rotary members to take short tours of the zoo.

President Kerry made sure to salute our greeters Len McCandliss, Clayton Lee, and Joanne Hall. Joe Quilici was our meeting photographer, and Megan Wygant served as Pulse reporter. The wine reception was sponsored by The Roadies.

Please join us next week when Chris Fusco, Editor in Chief of the Sacramento Bee, expands the conversation on free speech. And we’ll celebrate PP Bob Cole’s 75th anniversary as a Rotarian. That’s not a typo. PP Bob joined this club during the Truman administration.