Woodland Rotary - Photos - Annual

NOTE: TO SHOW THE MOST RECENT STORIES ON TOP OF THIS PAGE, STORIES ARE LISTED HERE IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER (MOST RECENT ON TOP, EARLIER DATES BELOW).

January 27th Meeting

President Aniek Pflager kicked off our last meeting of the month with the new Woodland Rotary Centennial Celebration flyer which has a QR code that provides a direct link to tickets to the April 25th event at the Woodlland Community and Senior Center as well as Sponsorship Opportunities. President Aniek also acknowledged our own Ryan Burger for receiving the 'Realtor of the Year' Award from the Yolo County Board of Realtors earlier this week. A proud grandfather, George Burger, 'rang the bell' and father, Jeff Burger, joined in congratulating Ryan.

President-elect Nick Roncoroni reported on recent efforts to raise funds for and pledges received for the Centennial Celebration. He emphasized the need for all members to find interested businesses and individuals who would like to help Woodland with a sponsorship.

Rob Beggs who became a member three years ago, was in today's Century Spotlight. We were reminded in Rotary Fun Facts that Taipea, Taiwan was the site of the Rotary International Convention in 2021 that had to be cancelled and changed to an online format at the last minute due to the pandemic. Taipea is the site of the 2026 Rotary International Convention.

Immediate Past President Bob Nakken had Recognition duty today, and challenged Dick Hoppin to name each of his ten great grandchildren. Dick made a good try, but had to get bailed out in the end. Shawn Seyk was happy the Woodland City Council finally approved a lease agreement with Shawn's Woodland Soccer Club to develop two soccer fields at the Woodland Sports Park. Shawn says work on the new fields will begin in February. Nick Roncoroni was happy his daughter Elizabeth, a freshman at Woodland High School, has joined the Community Interact Club and will be serving as its Treasurer this year. Nick also shared that he, wife Ellen, and their two children are traveling together to both Japan and to the Rotary International Convention in Taiwan later this year. Dave Molinaro was welcomed back after a few weeks away. With the raffle pot at $245 and 22 cards to choose from, Brian Dwyer drew himself a free lunch.

Local football legend Craig Penrose was our guest speaker today, giving us a program called 'Football Then & Football Now', that looked at what pro football was like when he played in the 1970s and what it is today. Thanks to Kevin Haarberg for introducing our speaker today.

January 20th Meeting

President Aniek Pflager welcomed members that we are about 3 months away from our Centennial Celebration on April 25th. Work is underway to make this a once in a lifetime occasion. So he wouldn't be lonely, Jim McGibbon joined Dan Stroski on leading the Rotary Grace today. Chuck Maltese warned we may be at an end for the Rotary Mystery Golf trip because its difficult to find a golf course willing to take us and transportation costs are going up. But Chuck says he and Woodland Sunrise's Chuck Santoni are still trying to put something together.

Joe Cadelago was in today's Century Spotlight. In Rotary Fun Facts we learned the Woodland Opera House was reopened in 1989 after a complete renovation.

With today's 50/50 raffle pot at $226 and 23 cards remaining, Bob Nakken found himself a free lunch. Byron McConnell of the Woodland Sunrise Club visited us again today. While he couldn't quite arrive in time to do it himself, Christian Sherrill's guest today, Craig Perrin, was introduced by President Aniek.

Brian Dwyer took the Recognition helm today with questions about Martin Luther King and the holiday commemorating him. Roger Kohlmeier was sad about the SF 49ers loss last Saturday, and Mark Ullrich was not even here. Ernie Hodges was happy for Indiana University winning the NCAA football championship game last night since he has several friends from Indiana. Don Huff was especially happy at the news the California Parole Board denied parole for the man convicted of his son Brandon Huff's 1982 kidnapping for a 19th time following a hearing last Friday. (For more information about this story read the Daily Democrat's recent article.)

Chip Maxson, President and Chief Operating Officer, Sacramento River Cats, was our guest speaker today giving us a closer look at the 2025 baseball season at Sutter Health Field in West Sacramento where both the River Cats (AAA franchise of the SF Giants), and the Sacramento A's (formerly known as the Oakland A's; temporarily playing at Sutter Health Field for three years before their move to Las Vegas.) played what Chip said was 'A Season Unlike Any Other'. Thanks to Joe Cadelago for arranging for and introducing our speaker today.

January 13th Meeting

Club Foundation Chair Tom Schwarzgruber presented Paul Harris Fellowship pins from the Rotary Foundation to Chuck Moore (+8) and Ann Taylor (her first!) in recognition of their significant financial support of the Foundation.

President-elect Nick Roncoroni updated the Club on the efforts underway and yet to come to make Rotary's Centennial Project a reality. He urged members to sign-up for one of the projects committees and to answer the call when asked to help. View the Project committee structure. President-elect Nick also presented the final version of the member pledge package showing how members can provide financial support for the project at various levels. View the Pledge Form. If you have questions about either of these items please contact President-elect Nick directly.

President Aniek Pflager gave us the sad news that Reggie Powell has resigned from the Club for personal reasons effective immediately. She said he hopes to rejoin the Club sometime soon, and said he would be welcomed back when he does. President Aniek reported the Club's Board of Directors have appointed Jim Nolan to serve out the balance of Reggie's current term on the Board.

Jayne Williams was in charge of today's Recognition. During happy time Jayne was happy to announce she has personally pledged $1,000 toward the Woodland Rotary's Centennial Project. But Jayne also had chocolate on her mind, because she learned that the Davis Odd Fellow's Lodge is holding their annual Chocolate Festival on February 1. She went on to ask a variety of questions about chocolate today. Also under happy time, Linda Walsh had a wonderful holiday season spent with her kids and grand children. Mark Ullrich was happy about the SF 49ers win over the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend.

Our own Joe Cadelago, Public Services Manager with Waste Management, was our program speaker today, providing us with a look at Waste Management's work nationally, as well as here in Woodland and Yolo County. More about Waste Management can be found on their website: https://www.wm.com/us/en/location/ca/sacramento/commercial-trash-service-sacramento-ca

Rotary Helps Veteran's Cemetery

President Aniek Pflager and Lori McGrath joined many other volunteers in the cold early morning hours of Saturday, January 10 to help remove the holiday wreaths from gravesites at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery outside of Dixon. President Aniek found the experience very fulfilling and encouraged others to participate in this service in the future.

January 6th Meeting

After a three week holiday break President Aniek Pflager welcomed members to the 100th anniversary year of the Rotary Club of Woodland -our Centennial Year.

With the pot at $183 and 25 cards to choose from, Roger Kohlmeier found himself another free lunch. Woodland Sunrise Rotarians Don Sharp, John Roncoroni and Byron MacConnell visited us today. John Roncoroni told us a meeting about local non-profit organizations regaining access to the Yolo County Fair was set for 5:30pm February 17 at the Yolo Fair Museum.

President-elect Nick Roncoroni explained efforts made to find and develop a Centennial Project for the community's benefit during our 100th anniversary. The Club's Grants and Services Committee has selected a Woodland Opera House proposal to develop a Rotary Stage for the Intermission Garden adjacent to both the Opera House and Heritage Plaza as the Club's Centennial Project. The anticipated cost of the project is $100,000-$150,000, with final costs determined through detailed design & engineering. (View the Opera House proposal). The proposal has been reviewed with the representatives of Woodland Sunrise Rotary and Woodland Luna Vista Rotary who have agreed to partner with our Club on this effort. City of Woodland officials have also agreed to work with us on the proposal. The Club's Board of Directors and the Woodland Rotary Endowment Board of Directors have also approved the project proposal. President-elect Nick spoke about the Club's Fund Raising Committee, which he is leading, to find the sponsors and member pledges necessary to fund this project, and outlined draft member pledges being proposed. Club members are encouraged to get involved with the Committee's efforts. (The next Fund Raising Committee meeting is set for 4pm Monday, Jan 12 at the Woodland Soccer Club office). The Woodland Rotary Centennial Celebration has been set for Saturday, April 25, 2026 at the Woodland Community & Senior Center. Celebration details will be announced.

There were several birthdays and an anniversary since we last met. Peter Holmes celebrated his 66th birthday (Fresno) today! We serenaded him with Happy Birthday! President-nominee Gena Bravo couldn't really celebrate her birthday on Dec 10 (Anaheim) because she was at home with the flu. Christian Sherrill celebrated his birthday Dec 13 (San Leandro), by attending the Woodland Holiday Parade. David Pinto celebrated his 63rd birthday on Jan 5 (Old Delhi, India). David and his wife Rebecca celebrated their wedding anniversary on Jan 4 by recently traveling to the U.S. Virgin Islands and visiting the Virgin Islands National Park on the island of St. John. Kris Kristensen (no photo) 'rang the bell' in celebration of his 75th birthday on Dec 21 (Ross CA).

Yvette Roy led today's Recognition with a story about her 9 hour drive up to Tahoe due to weather and heavy traffic. Dick Hoppin announced the news of the birth of his 10th great grandchild. President Aniek shared how happy she was for making it to 2026 and for her gratitude towards her fellow Rotarians. Dan Stroski said he just returned from a vacation to San Pedro, Belize with his daughter and wants to go back some day. Jeff Burger was happy his youngest son Matthew has graduated from Sacramento State with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Ernie Hodges was sad for the recent passing of his wife Kay's sister, as well the news of the passing of area Congressman Doug LaMalfa.

Hollie Mallamud, Development Manager for the Pence Gallery of Davis, was our guest speaker today, providing an update on the extensive efforts of the Pence Gallery, a non-profit organization, supporting the local arts. More about the Pence Gallery can be found on its website: https://pencegallery.org/