The Pulse for the Week of November 18th, 2025

Rotarians congregated over lunch on Tuesday to celebrate Foundation Day and hear about the great work and generous giving performed by our club and the international Rotary Foundation.
Jamie Furlong’s Thought for the Day compared Foundation Day to a birthday. They are both celebrations of existence, provide moments to reflect on the past year, call for gratitude, and are a recommitment to the future.

Birthday shoutouts from President Kerry Wood included Robyn Delong, PP Thom Gilbert, Justino Santana, Megan Laurie, Forrest Junod, Ed Wright, Nancy Smith-Fagan, Ruth Tesar, Craig Taylor, and PP Walter Dahl.

Meeting sponsor Bill Wygant donated his time to Janeen Thorpe of the Ethel MacLeod Hart Senior Center, who talked about The Village model. It is a grassroots, member-driven approach where older adults band together to help one another stay connected, safe, and independent. It is supported by volunteers and neighbors. There are over 400 villages throughout the country, including over 50 in California, but none yet in the Sacramento region. Individuals ages 85+ are the fastest growing segment in the country, and by 2030 over a quarter of California’s population will be older adults. According to Dignity Health, Village members recovering from hospital stays experienced fewer readmissions and faster recovery – simply because they had a network of people checking on them. Ms. Thorpe has spent the past two years gathering support for a Village in the Sacramento region, and she looks forward to helping more people in our community.

Club announcements –

Gift cards for TSA – President Kerry acknowledged those Rotarians who provided donations to help purchase $1,000+ in gift cards that were given to TSA employees while the federal government was shut down.
Holiday toy drive – organizer PP Jim Leet announced we will be collecting toys and money during the December 2 and December 9 meetings for the Salvation Army’s Toys for Tots program. The December 2 meeting will feature a red kettle challenge, with the goal of raising $100 per Rotarian.
Fireside – PDG Fred Teichert and wife Nancy are hosting an upcoming Fireside on December 4. Space is limited, so RSVP promptly..

Getting to Know Fellow Rotarians.

Elfrena Foord spoke about Steve Shiflett, a Rotarian for 38 years. While working for the state Department of Parks and Recreation, Steve took part in a seven-week Rotary Group Study Exchange trip to Nigeria with five others. Highlights included staying at an opulent mansion deep in the jungle, where the welcome gift for each was a magnum of champagne!

Justino Santana was next up to be profiled by Elfrena. He’s been a club member for four years. Justino’s parents immigrated from Mexico, and he is the second oldest of five boys. At only 8 or 9 years old, Justino began working weekends and summers in the agricultural fields. He often turned the work into a game with his brothers, seeing who could count the most boxes or pick the most fruit/vegetables. At 15, Justino helped his dad start his own farm contracting company, and later, while still a teen, he managed a restaurant the family had purchased. Eventually Justino became the first member of his family to earn a college degree. He is now a vice president with Capitol Tech Solutions.

In the feature presentation, club foundation president Matt Page discussed the The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and its global focus, including eradicating polio and providing clean water to communities around the world. TRF has approximately $1.55 billion in assets as of 2024, and receives member contributions when donations are made to the Paul Harris Fellowship.

Matt Page, President, Rotary Club of Sacramento Foundation

Next Matt discussed our Rotary Club of Sacramento Foundation (RCSF). Of the 35,000 Rotary clubs worldwide, only about 2,500 have club foundations. With $3.5 million in assets, ours is approximately the 20th largest. RCSF raises, receives, invests, and distributes charitable funds raised by the club. RCSF is governed by a nine-member board of club members. The Foundation grows through both investment earnings and member contributions. Giving options include giving Eddie Mulligan gifts and Lee-Phair contributions (for International Service Committee work). Foundation board member Nancy Smith-Fagan spoke about our Legacy Circle of Rotarians who have included our club foundation in their estate plans. Individuals giving more than $10,000 as a Legacy Circle gift receive “Immortals” recognition. Anybody interested in a Legacy Circle gift should contact Shirlee Tully, or any foundation trustee, for more information. During the 2024/2025 Fiscal Year, the foundation distributed $297,822 to various organizations. Foundation vice president Harold Bellamy provided an update on the foundation’s financials, and he shared that we enjoyed a 17 percent return on our investments over the past year. Over the past 10 years, the Foundation has given out $2.7 million, including about $300,000 in the last fiscal year.

Matt recognized the following individuals for completing their $1,000 Eddie Mulligans to the club foundation in the past year: Bradley Schmidt (1st) – Craig Alpha, David Brandenburger, Kathy Herrfeldt, President Kerry Wood (2nd) – Ruth Tesar, Shirlee Tully (3rd), PP Jon Snyder (7th), and Ted White (15th). Additionally, the following members were recognized for completing their $1,000 Paul Harris donations to TRF in the past year: Steve Faryabi (1st) – Kim Mueller (2nd) – Craig Alpha (3rd) – PP Brian Van Camp (6th) – Barbara Arnold (7th) – PP Jon Snyder (9th).

Harold Bellamy, Vice President, Rotary Club of Sacramento Foundation

Nancy Smith-Fagan, Trustee, Rotary Club of Sacramento Foundation

The meeting’s wine sponsor was PP Peter Dannenfelser. John Swentowsky served as the meeting photographer. Chris Ann Bachtel, Gabriel De La Torre, and Christine Nguyen served as greeters. Matthew Green was your Pulse reporter.

No meeting next week due to Thanksgiving. On December 2, our next meeting, we will welcome featured speaker District Governor Megan Ellinghouse. See you then!