The Pulse for the Week of May 15, 2026 | Rotary Club of Sacramento

It was a week to remember at the Rotary Club of Sacramento. Our club was named the recipient of District 5180’s most prestigious honor, the Bell Club Award, a moment of well-earned recognition, and also a sizable piece of hardware that requires its own zip code. More on that below.

Matthew Romsa’s Thought for the Day focused on presence. He reminded us the hours we spend together each week are not filler between obligations; they are some of the best hours we live, but only if we let ourselves be fully here, phones face down. He closed with a favorite line from cartoonist Bill Keane: “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”

Happy Birthday

President Kerry Wood recognized birthdays for these Rotarians celebrating between May 5 and May 17: Bob McLean, Jeff Stone, Christine Nguyen, Gabriel Gendron, Hayden Nabers, Todd Andrews, Jackie Kirkwood, and Dee Hartzog.

New member alert! It was a special day as we inducted Dr. Maggie Carrillo-Mejia, sponsored by PP Diane Woodruff and Matthew Romsa. She earned her doctorate from USC, served as a high school principal, and led the Sacramento City Unified School District as superintendent for six years. Her board service has included San Diego State University, and she is a graduate of the American Leadership Forum. Maggie is returning to Rotary after a previous stint, and she is the proud mother of two and grandmother of four.

Committee chair Jackie Kirkwood announced the 2026 Community Grant awards.President Kerry presented checks to the following 2026 recipients:

Teach for America, $5,000, to support a summer reading camp for students reading below grade level.
Big Brothers Big Sisters, $5,000, to expand one-on-one mentorship opportunities for youth facing adversity.
Los Rios Colleges Foundation, $5,000, to support student success and retention for students facing financial hardship and educational barriers.
Flights for Freedom, $5,000, to support safe, confidential air transportation for survivors of human trafficking and child exploitation.
Alliance for Compassion-Based Education, $5,000, to support social-emotional learning programs that help students develop empathy, emotional regulation, and conflict resolution skills.
B Street Theatre, $3,000, to expand arts education, outreach performances, and community access.

2026 Golf and Pickleball 4 Kids

Bryan Murray took the microphone on behalf of the Golf 4 Kids Committee. Our annual fundraiser, held Friday, May 8 at Rancho Murieta Country Club, marked the 104th annual club fundraiser for this cause – and the very first annual Golf and Pickleball 4 Kids. The event netted approximately $40,000 for our beneficiaries, with dollars still being counted. A formal recap is planned for the June 2 meeting.

Farewell, Lionel! PP Peter Dannenfelser introduced our Rotary Youth Exchange student, Lionel Kristoffy from Switzerland. Lionel, age 16, is finishing his junior year at Rio Americano High School, and his RYE experience wraps up in a few weeks. He thanked the club for what he called the best year of his life, sharing memories of camping trips with friends, the connections he has made, and a deeper understanding of himself and the cultures around him.

President Kerry shared a report from the District 5180 Conference, held May 1-3 in Lake Tahoe. Joining her from our club were PP Todd Koolakian, President Elect Paul Keefer, President Elect Nominee Jamie Furlong, Maggie Hopkins, Dee Hartzog, and Joe Quilici. Our club is part of the district’s Area 1, and our Assistant District Governor PP Todd represented Area 1 well throughout the conference. PEN Jamie and Maggie Hopkins were among the brave souls who jumped into icy Lake Tahoe for the Plunge for Polio.

The headline of the weekend, however, was the announcement of the Bell Club Award, given annually by the District Governor to the club that best reflects the year’s vision of educating, serving, and inspiring our communities through Rotary. District Governor Megan Ellinghouse chose our club from across the entire district, citing our international service work, our attendance and involvement in district activities, our Youth Exchange program, our Community Grants program, our fundraising events, the support we offer to other clubs in the district, and much more. The award itself is, as advertised, a bell, and a substantial one at that. PE Paul Keefer hauled it home and tolerated the cumbersome bell in his family’s living room for the past 10 days.

Club Announcements

Sacramento Century Bike Ride, October 3, 2026. Registration is open at the club website. The committee is looking for sign-ups in fundraising, sponsorships, and marketing. Posters and cards are available in the back of the room to share with bike shops or anywhere cyclists gather. This will not be the last announcement on this topic, by design.
club meeting next week at Sacramento Zoo, Tuesday, May 19. Wear your golf shirts and cargo shorts and join us at the zoo. Sign up quickly as space is limited.
PP Peter Dannenfelser will give a presentation on the history of the Elks Building at 11th and J on Thursday, May 28 at 6:30 PM at the Elks Lodge on Riverside Boulevard, hosted by the Sacramento Historical Society.
Bob Cole Celebration! Save the date for June 9, when the club will recognize Bob Cole for an extraordinary 75 years of membership in our club. That’s not a typo. He joined in 1951.

Foundation Contributions

Making Beautiful Music! Members opened their wallets generously this week. Matt Page contributed $250 toward his Eddie Mulligan in celebration of his son earning his learner’s permit, two weeks in with a perfect driving record. PP Walter Dahl gave $100 to President Kerry’s Eddie Mulligan in recognition of her leadership this year, a sentiment echoed by Kathy Herrfeldt, who added $50 to Kerry’s EM in honor of our Bell Club Award. Steve Shiflett contributed $50 to Dee Hartzog’s Eddie Mulligan in recognition of her May birthday and her gracious hosting of the intra-Rotary book club, and added another $50 on behalf of Rick Davis. PP Peter Dannenfelser rounded out the giving with $100 toward his Eddie Mulligan.

Featured Speaker Ryan Lillis.

Chair of the Day PP Kevin Smith-Fagan introduced our featured speaker, Ryan Lillis, Associate General Manager of News at PBS KVIE and lead of its digital news service, Abridged. Ryan brought more than 25 years of journalism experience to the role, including 18 years at the Sacramento Bee where his reporting covered city politics, large wildfires, and the years-long saga to build the downtown arena. He also served as the Bee’s Assistant Managing Editor.

Ryan was struck by how closely the values and mission of our club align with those of KVIE and Abridged: to inspire, to educate, and to serve. After joining PBS KVIE, Ryan and his team spent more than a year listening to the community before launching Abridged on September 16, 2025 (a nod to the area code, marketing opportunity not wasted). In just eight months, Abridged has built an audience of 50,000 morning newsletter subscribers, with a goal of reaching 100,000. All content is free, reflecting their belief that important civic information should not be available only to those who can afford it.

Ryan walked us through Abridged’s coverage areas, including a new education reporter who effectively doubled the number of journalists covering education in the region, a weekly arts and culture newsletter, a community events calendar, and a Tuesday food and dining newsletter called City of Treats. (As Ryan put it: come for the restaurant news, stay for the school board coverage.) Abridged has also broken significant accountability journalism, including the revelation that Highway 50 reconstruction was delayed in part because faulty concrete had to be replaced, a fact not previously disclosed to the public.
During Q&A, Ryan fielded questions on sports coverage, developing an Abridged app, exploring coverage of older adults aging in place, arts reviews, and the philanthropic and membership-based revenue model that supports nonprofit local journalism. He shared that he will know Abridged has truly arrived the first time he sees a stranger carrying an Abridged tote bag through Raley’s.

President Kerry offered special thank-you to our greeters, Jackie Kirkwood, Liz McClatchy, and President Elect Paul Keefer. Virginia Wade served as our meeting photographer. We also enjoyed a special wine reception, with surplus wine generously donated by the Golf 4 Kids Committee from last week’s tournament. Jim Henderson poured with a steady hand.

Sergeant-at-Arms Sarah Hodge closed the meeting on a light note, reminding everyone why you should never play cards in the jungle: it is full of cheetahs. She encouraged everyone to sign up immediately for next week’s meeting at the Sacramento Zoo.

See you May 19 at the zoo. Bring your phones, but keep them face down. Be where your feet are.