The Pulse for the Week of June 9, 2026 | Rotary Club of Sacramento

This week, the Rotary Club of Sacramento celebrated a man who has been showing up for Rotary since the Truman administration! — and we heard urgent reminders of why showing up, for our communities and for the truth, still matters just as much today.

Many family and friends of PP Bob Cole attended this special meeting to salute Bob’s incredible run.

Thought for the Day

In her Thought for the Day, Nancy Teichert quoted New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger about tech giants strip-mining news websites to profit off the data. “I fear we are careening toward a future with fewer and fewer journalists…A future where a crucial wellspring of a healthy society and a stable democracy — the truth, understanding and accountability, provided by original journalism — continues to dry up.”

President Kerry Wood convened a moment of silence for longtime club leader Dick Osen, who passed away last month. A Celebration of Life will be held at North Ridge Country Club on Friday June 26, 2026 at 1:30 p.m.

Meeting Sponsor – Matthew Green

Meeting sponsor Matthew Green introduced Justina Vega of Recology; both are members of this year’s Leadership Sacramento class. Justina highlighted the efforts of this year’s cohort to support Fairytale Town and raise $150,000 for accessibility and an inclusive play structure. Use your cellphone camera to scan the QR code below for more information.

The District Bell Award

District Governor Megan Ellinghouse thanked club members PEN Jamie Furlong, Clayton Lee, PP Linda Geery, PE Paul Keefer, PP Todd Koolakian, and President Kerry for their involvement in District 5180’s success over the last year. She presented the district’s Bell Award to our club as an expression of her thanks: “This club deserves great praise for all you’ve done.”

Get to Know Your Fellow Rotarian

In a Meet your Fellow Rotarian segment, John Wood highlighted club member Ruth Tesar and her impressive career. She turned a failing business into a premier health imaging center in northern California. She also fought for positron emission tomography (PET) scans to be covered by Medicare, sold two successful businesses, and is the author of 25 peer reviewed papers and articles. Ruth was also a member of the Junior National Ski Team.

Celebrating 75 Years of Rotary Service

Bob Cole, Legend.

PP Bob Cole was celebrated for 75 years of Rotary service! Our centenarian turns 104 next month and has the distinction of being the oldest active Rotarian in the United States. As a young man he was taught to ocean fish by literary giant John Steinbeck, who was a friend of the family. He was a Golden Gloves boxer who lettered at both Stanford and Cal, where he attended Officer Training School and served in the Marines. He joined our club in 1951 and served as club president in 1973. He was a successful owner of Goodwin-Cole Tents & Awnings. Bob shared a few thoughts: “Rotary is very special. It makes you feel you are part of a team and that’s one of the wonderful things about Rotary.”

In honor of Bob’s longevity in both life and Rotary many club members chose to give in his honor, including PP Walter Dahl, PP Todd Koolakian, PP Jon Snyder, Liz McClatchy, PP Linda Geery, Ted Grebitus and Christie Holderegger.

Featured Speakers

As featured lunch speakers, Sacramento Bee leaders Chris Fusco (Executive Editor) and Marcos Breton (Director of Community Outreach & Opinion Journalism) talked about the storied paper. Winner of six Pulitzer prizes over the decades, at 196 years it’s the oldest business in Sacramento. The newspaper industry took a financial hit in 2008 as advertising revenue plummeted nationwide while more people looked to the internet for news. The duo discussed efforts to expand local reporting and the shift to digital media. Today they are providing more video news stories to provide content quickly, then following up with longer articles. They shared that despite 85 percent of people feeling local journalism is important, only a fraction subscribe.

President Kerry thanked our greeters Megan Laurie, Dave McKie, PP Jim Leet, and PP Diane Mizell; meeting photographer John Swentowsky; and Pulse reporter Peter Coyl. The wine sponsor was Matthew Romsa.

Next week, there’s no meeting in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. On June 23, we’ll be back at our usual lunch meeting spot, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, for an engaging and informative meeting featuring James Corless, Executive Director of SACOG. Corless will share updates on regional planning, transportation, and the collaborative work shaping the future of the Sacramento region.