The Pulse for the Week of March 3rd, 2026 | Rotary Club of Sacramento

Who’s ready for Sacramento’s pro soccer team, Sacramento Republic FC, to play in a new stadium built in the downtown railyards – an ancestral gathering site for the Plains Miwok and Nisenan people to fish and trade?

Quite a historical twist since the Wilton Rancheria, a Miwok tribe, now owns a majority of the team.

Bright red Republic team scarves greeted our members at the door, as gifts from guest speakers Jesus Tarango Jr., chairman of the Wilton Rancheria, and Chris Franklin, chief operating officer.

In his Thought for the Day, Michael Mui encouraged us to think positively in our daily lives. Don’t let a rude driver on the road or other distractions lead to negative thoughts. “Patience over pride,” Mui said.

PP Bob Miller filled in for President Kerry Wood, and he offered birthday greetings to Jaydeep Balakrishnan, Chris Ann Bachtel, PP Frank Poelman, and PP Beverly Brautigam.

Meeting Sponsor Aaron Provencal explained the achievements of his business OsteoStrong, which builds bone strength for many of us who suffer from osteoporosis or low bone density. The Rancho Cordova practice offers 15 minutes a week of exercise on equipment to build bone density.

Getting to Know Our Members

Jim Henderson stood with Bob McLean to tell us about “the train guy.” A club member for 50 years, McLean as a boy built a model railroad in his family’s basement, foreshadowing the purchase of his own actual train car in 1992. The renovated Pullman featured seven sleeping suites, a galley, and a dining room. For more than 30 years, McLean and his family traveled North America extensively by hooking up with Amtrak trains.
Hayden Nabers got profiled by Elfrena Foord. His real estate business sponsored challenging hikes which Nabers excitedly – and naively – joined. Hiking Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, he had to ascend 9,000 feet on an 11 1/2 mile vertical hike with no trail, just boulders, 80 mile winds, inadequate hiking boots and not enough food. “I have the courage to fail but the humility to keep going until I succeed,” he concluded.

Members of Rotary Sacramento — Jim Henderson and Bob McLean

Making Great Music

PP Jon Snyder donated in acknowledgement of Miller’s suffering as a substitute president. Tina Roberts donated in honor of her husband Darrell’s birthday and 28 years of marriage. PP Fred Teichert contributed in honor of all Darrell and Tina have done for our community and in honor of McLean’s train passion; Fred was on a Rotarian tour in Norway where McLean barely missed being run over by a train in the fjords. Lev Kaganovich pledged in honor of his 54th wedding anniversary with Galina, who signed them up for a 50-day cruise around Africa. William Hodges took his daughter to a deafening rock concert on a school night, also teaching him that eating Taco Bell at 11:45 pm isn’t at all bad. Rhonda Poppen donated in honor of a recent MOSAC fundraiser where she won a trip to Bali. Aaron Provencal contributed in honor of his wife who is sitting with a hospitalized nephew.

Announcements

Golf for Kids. PP Jon Snyder encouraged members to join the May 8 golf tournament at Rancho Murieta. It is said to be the oldest continuous fundraiser in Rotary worldwide, established in 1928 to help what were then called “crippled children.” Pickleball tournaments will also be played.
District conference. President Elect Nominee Jamie Furlong reminded members to sign up for the District 5180 conference May 1-3 in South Lake Tahoe.
Sac Century. Sarah Hodge plugged getting involved in the Sac Century committee work.
Brown Bag lunch on March 31. Tom Bacon reminded us of the upcoming Brown Bag meeting, which is looking for host sites.
American Parkway clean up. Jim Henderson appealed for volunteers for the April 18 occasion.

Chair of the Day Justino Santana introduced our speakers. The Wilton Rancheria is our county’s only federally recognized tribe with more than 1,000 citizens, mostly of Miwok and Nisenan descent. Known as California’s Capital Tribe, it operates the Sky River Casino, controls a majority ownership of the Sacramento Republic FC, and is invested in property developments adjacent to the new soccer stadium site.

Jesus Tarango Jr. is chairman of the Wilton Rancheria, now federally recognized as one of the 574 tribes in the U.S. (Twenty percent or 109 of those tribes are in California.) He recounted the terrors committed against native Americans at the encouragement of a government offering $25 a head for an Indian. Children were sent to boarding schools in the late 1800s and early 1900s where teachers “beat the Indian out of you” and then sent you home where you no longer fit into your community. Such abuses led to drug and alcohol consumption, the highest rate of suicide, and other intergenerational problems. Rancherias like Wilton were put on land no one else wanted with no schools, health treatment or other usual government services.

When tribes later turned to gambling because they were sovereign nations setting their own laws, they were shamed by people who called them “a casino Indian.” Many people still don’t realize what good community partners tribes can be to all our communities. “We share the same issues and same opportunities,” Tarango said.

Chris Franklin, Tarango’s cousin and COO of the Rancheria, promised big announcements coming on plans for their land around the railyards including a 300-room hotel. “We are injecting capital into our capital city,” he said. The soccer stadium will seat 12,000 with a projected opening date in 2027.

Just like our Rotary Club, Franklin said the Rancheria has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to nonprofits like the Children’s Receiving Home, the slow food movement, and many nonprofit causes in the Elk Grove and Sacramento areas.

PP Bob made sure to thank greeters PP Thom Gilbert, Jim Henderson and Mike Gilligan. Steve Shiflett was the photographer, Nancy Teichert served as Pulse reporter, and Chris Ann Bachtel shined as our wine sponsor.

Our next lunch meeting will be March 10 at our regular meeting location, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. Albert Garcia, president of Sacramento City College, will speak.

Click here to check out or club calendar and RSVP.