Stories

On July 10, 2019, we inducted a new board and president for the Folsom Lake Rotary 2019-2020 year. Below is El Presidente's acceptance speech.

 

The full meeting was broadcast on Facebook Live here.

President Fred Sabbe and Youth Services Director Scott Nordel stand with two Folsom High School seniors who Folsom Lake Rotary sponsored to attend RYLA this past summer. For those of you who don’t know about this side of Rotary, RYLA is a week long leadership camp that focuses on teaching students how to engage with each other as well as build confidence and trust in themselves. Well done today! Thank you for sharing your experiences. We were honored to sponsor you! — with Scott Nordelland Fred Sabbe.

Ed Kaufmann came to our club today to talk about all the changes happening at the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary.  They are in the middle of a new barn project. It's sure to add another element to our already fantastic zoo.  As funding for the zoo rely on donations please visit folsomzoofriends.org to donate today!

We had another successful BOOK SWAP at Theodore Judah Elementary and Blanche Sprentz Elementary schools this year. As this was a our 2nd year at Theodore Judah and 3rd year at Blanche Sprentz, the kids came prepared with their books to trade for new books.  They were very excited to pick out the books themselves to get exactly what they wanted to read.  Thank you to Terri Haverty in our club who organizes this great event every year!

 

Marianne Oliphant of the Parkinson Association of Northern California came and spoke to our club today about the resources available to individuals and their families facing Parkinsons.  Marianne was very candid about her husband's struggles with the disease but also with all the wonderful options available now to help.

Another FANTASTIC evening with our annual BET ON ROTARY fundraising event.  Lots of good people, good food, and fun games. A big thank you to those who participated, donated and purchased some of our great packages. See you all next year!

 

A great turn-out tonight for our 5th Wednesday meeting. Every month when there is a 5th Wednesday, our club holds a happy hour social meeting at a local restaurant in Folsom. This supports our community and creates a fun social atmosphere.  If you'd like to join us for our next 5th Wednesday, please contact Megan Ham at 916-804-5643.

Folsom Police Department visited our club today to share some statistics about Folsom crime.  They also discussed programs and plans the department has in place and will implement soon to keep our crime rate low.  Thank you to all our Folsom Police for the wonderful job they do protecting the city and our citizens!

We had an eye-opening frank conversation with a foster mom, Lauren, today. She has fostered many children over the years.  Some of the stories are heart breaking and some are inspirational.  A big thanks to Lauren for not only everything she does for the kids in the foster care system but also for coming to our club and providing a little insight.

We had quite an impressive presentation today about some of the history for Folsom, CA from history buff, Mark Davidson.  Not only did he share stories about some of the residents who became immortalized in street names within the city but had an impressive display of historical artifacts.

We are very fortunate to have in our club the interim Fire Chief for Folsom, Dan Haverty.  We were able to get a tour of one of the fire houses and as luck would have it, a call came through at the end of our tour and we got to see our brave fire fighters in action!  Thanks Chief Haverty!

This year we partnered with the Folsom Rotary Club (evening club) to provide grants to over 15 teachers in the Folsom area.  Each teacher had to submit a grant request with details on where the funds would be spent.  These teachers are so inspirational going above and beyond for their students!

Check out this handsome bunch in our new Rotary shirts. Always proud to be Rotarians!

We heard from Brett Chaponot along with a local boy scouts representative on the impact the Boy Scouts are having right here in our community.  Not only are they making a difference locally but showing young boys skills and leadership to be good adults. 

  

 

    

Here's our crew hard at work putting together gifts for the less fortunate elderly at that Folsom Care Center. We were able to help individuals with no families in the area have a nice surprise on Christmas!

We were proud to sponsor Disciples Church with a donation today to support their men's store at the annual Christmas Around Towne in Folsom.  This event is brought to the community of Folsom through several churches collaboration.  This event gives hundreds of families a chance to come together for a meal, enjoy the opportunity to shop for gifts for their family members and have a great time hearing the Christmas story.  The event this year will be held at Lakeside Church on Saturday December 17th. A big shout out to our very own club member, Suzi Lewis, for taking such an active role in this event!

Another successful "5th Wednesday" at Prohibition Wine Lounge in Folsom.  We are bringing Rotary to the community!  

 

A big thanks to Mike at Prohibition Wine Lounge for a great space to enjoy the evening, good food and good drinks.

 

If you are interested in participating in one of our 5th Wednesdays, please contact one of our members!

Dr. Rachel Rosenthal, President of the Folsom Lake College spoke to our club today.  Not only did Rachel give us updates on all the new and exciting classes offered at Folsom Lake College, she talked about the expansion in Rancho Cordova.  For more information on the new campus, go to www.flc.losrios.edu.

A beautifully crisp day to honor our Veteran's!  We had a wonderful turn-out with all three of the Rotary clubs in Folsom for our Veteran's Day Parade float.  A big thank you to Micah Hayhurst for organizing our participation in the parade and driving the float again this year!

Raise money for the Rotary Foundation you say?  Who better than our very own Jack Olson! Jack provided goodies and gizmos to the highest bidder but not without a demonstration first! Hilarity for all with this lively meeting and Jack raised a great deal of money for the Rotary Foundation. Great job Jack!

John McGinness is well known in our area.  Not only for his 31 years of service in the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department where he retired in December 2010.  John is also an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice, Communications, Leadership and Professional Studies with the California State University.  And you can hear John on the radio every afternoon at 3PM on New Talk Radio AM 1530. John spoke to our group today about the upcoming election.  The focus was on our community and many of the initiatives on the ballot.  Best recommendation - read thoroughly on the ballot measures to understand the exact impact before voting.  An informed vote is key!

Politics, politics, politics.  Everyone is discussing not just the upcoming Presidential election but also many of the local and state initiatives on the ballot.  Stephanie McGann Jantzen helped shed some light on a few of these areas for us today!

Oscar O'con Sr is a Rotarian through and through.  He is currently a member of the Laguna Sunrise Rotary Club but is also a past President of the Elk Grove Rotary Club and involved in many other local boards and clubs to benefit not only our community but internationally.  He serves as the Chief of Operations for the El Salvador civilian Intelligence.  Oscar spoke to our club today regarding projects they have been able to implement with Rotary in El Savador for better housing.  There are still many more opportunities to help.  If you are interested, please contact our club.

We welcomed Monika Reyes and Chris Schuba to our meeting today.  Chris had a lively discussion on financial planning, the market and tips for successful strategies. There were a lot of "ah ha" moments in the room regarding the market and it's fluctuations!

Today was a real treat to have Brigadier General Clay L. Garrison speak to our group. Brigadier General Garrison serves as Assistant Adjutant General - Air, California National Guard.  He is responsible for the mission readiness and operational effectiveness across a broad spectrum of programs and activities involving five wings and over 4500 military and civilian personnel serving at the ten locations within California.  

We had a great meeting today with Kris Calvin who is the author of One Murder More.  Kris is also a past local elected official who knows politics from the inside out.  She discussed Sacramento politics and how to get your voice heard in that arena.  Kris's book, One Murder More, is her debut Sacramento-based murder mystery.

A big thanks to Brian Rober at FIS Managed IT for talking to our club today on Cyber Security.  A good reminder that if we are not careful our business and personal information is always at risk!

Ray Ward spoke to our club today about membership.  We reviewed why people join Rotary and what each age group needs to be successful in Rotary.  Did you know the #1 reason people join Rotary is Friendship? Rotary is full of so many good people who come together to make a difference in their community and in the world.  If you are interested in joining our club, please contact our Membership Chair, Lisa Parks Ferro, at lisa@thebluewatersgroup.com.  Come meet our wonderful members and see how you too can be a part of this great organization!

Our meeting today was all about Folsom!  We were pleased to have Joe Gagliardi from the Folsom Chamber of Commerce and Mary Ann McAlea.  Both talked about everything the city is doing to attract new businesses, new families and tourism.  Check out www.visitfolsom.com today for more information!

We had a great meeting with our Rotary District Governor, Barbara Tracy.  We were also excited to have our Assistant District Governor, Lola Purdy.  And the ever endearing, Jim Tracy, there to support our District Governor.  We are looking forward to a great year in Rotary!

Each year our club sends two high school students to Camp RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards). This year we sent Geneva Huynh from Folsom High School.  Geneva came to our club to tell us all about this empowering experience and the lasting impact it's had for her future.  This camp prepares students for leadership roles and based on Geneva's presentation, she's well on her way!

A great night to say Thank You to our now Past President, Kristi More.  Kristi did a fantastic job for the 2015-2016 year as President of our club.  Thanks again Kristi for a wonderful year!

Kristi More handing over the Rotary Bell to Megan Ham who will now step into the President Elect position for the 2016-2017 term.

 This year our club is trying something a little different.... every month with five Wednesdays, we are having a social hour in lieu of our regular club meeting on that 5th Wednesday.  Our first 5th Wednesday meeting was held at Wine Back Bar in Folsom.  A lovely venue for our gathering.  Feel free to join us for any and all of our 5th Wednesday meetings which are held at different local restaurants in the Folsom area for evening cocktails and appetizers. More details to follow on upcoming events!

 Dan Haverty was awarded another Paul Harris pin today, his 4th Paul Harris pin.  Thanks Dan for making such a difference in the lives of others!

Christine Brainerd with the City of Folsom came in today to talk about the third annual Folsom Community Service Day event which is Folsom's largest day of volunteerism.  Community Service Day mobilizes hundreds of volunteers of all ages and interests to complete projects throughout Folsom.  This year's Community Service Day will be held on September 17th. For more information go to www.folsomcommunityservice.org.

Join us for this seasons Concerts In The Park at the Rodeo Park off E. Natoma Street in front of the Folsom Library.  We'll have pizza, drinks and candy for sale all season long.  All proceeds go to all three Rotary clubs in Folsom (Historic, Lunch and Evening clubs).  See you there!

 Paul Harris Awards were given out today to Suzi Lewis, Kristi More, Al More and Sam Vaughn.  These awards are given to individuals who contribute or have received a contribution in their name of $1,000 or more.  The award was established in 1957 to show appreciation for and encourage substantial contributions to the Rotary Foundation.  Great job Rotarians!

A big thanks to Ingrid Tung and Terri Haverty for organizing and setting up the first ever book swap at Theodore Judah Elementary School.  These ladies made for a seemless event where all the students were able to bring in books and exchange them for another book of their choice.  Kids who didn't bring books to swap still walked away with a book! A great event that was very much appreciated by the Principal and teachers alike. 

      

 

Our 2nd Annual Book Swap at Blanche Sprentz Elementary School today.  All kids were able to take home a book of their own choosing.  If they brought in books to trade, they got to take as many books they brought in PLUS one more.  A huge thanks to Terri & Dan Haverty in our club for organizing the running this event.  We had several club members on hand to help setup, walk the kids through their areas to help pick a book and tear down the event.  We'll be holding another book swap at Theodore Judah school at the end of April.  Our Folsom Lake Rotary Literacy program in action - a book for every child!

A great outing today!  We got to tour Folsom Prison which is the second oldest prison in California. An eye opening experience for many of us for sure.  We were able to go into the oldest building in the prison, tour the license plate factory which makes all the license plates issued in the State of California (40,000 to 50,000 per day!), see where Johnny Cash famously performed and check out the inmate cells and yard.  A few of us even volunteered to be closed in a cell.  A fascinating look into the history and lives of the prison.  Thanks to Kristi More, our club President, for setting up the tour!

Fantastic listening to Major General Baldwin speak today on the California National Guard.   Over 23,000 soldiers, airmen and state military reservists are standing ready to respond to emergencies in California. Major General Baldwin spoke on the different areas and reaches of the California National Guard. We were also intrigued to hear about the significant threats facing the United States today.  We appreciate our member, Lisa Parks Ferro, for arranging this presentation and a very special thank you to Major General Baldwin for his time and insight!