Sheriff John D’Agostini is a fourth-generation resident of El Dorado County. Before law enforcement, John was a general contractor building homes primarily in El Dorado County. Upon graduating from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Academy, John served as deputy for Amador County, where he worked a number of assignments including patrol, Chief Deputy Coroner, Detective, SWAT, Crime Specific Officer, Narcotics Investigator, Rangemaster and Firearms Instructor. In 2001, John was promoted to Sergeant, and assigned to supervise the narcotics unit.
In 2003, John went to work for the District Attorney's Office in Amador County where he investigated complex criminal cases and successfully managed homicide investigations from beginning to end. He went on to develop new programs and policies to streamline law enforcement bureaucracy and improve public safety. As a leader in law enforcement, John was appointed second in command for the newly formed Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Unit (ACCNET), a unit he managed and oversaw daily unit operations until elected Sheriff for El Dorado County in 2010. This is his third and final term as our Sheriff.
Dave and Carol Sargent described their third safari trip to Africa. They provided a feeling for the experience that is Africa, as a whole, and, in particular, observing game in its own habitat. This photo was taken at Tortillis camp in Kenya's Amboselli National Park, on the Amboselli plains in front of a passing family of elephants with Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background.
Although their first trip to Africa in 2011 was Dave's idea, Carol definitely fell in love with the people, the country, the animals and the incredible experiences. Carol began her talk with a description and photos of their two good friends from these trips, Joyce, who runs a gift shop , and Jackson, who has been their guide on three trips. Jackson is an amazing photographer and spotter of hidden game. Some of the traditions on these trips include "Sundowners" which include riding somewhere to watch the sunset, usually including a view of animals while having a special drink. Also they experienced fabulous breakfasts set up on the plains or in the bush, with the food being prepared in that remote location.
Dave showed pictures of their beautiful accommodations at several camps they visited. Dave and Carol especially relished the animal behaviors they saw, that you can't see in a zoo. They saw two lionesses hunt and kill a small hippo; and afterwards, 14 female lions took their fill and ate the hippo down to the bone. Mother Nature in action. They had great video of a regal looking male lion being unceremoniously scooted from an area by a large rhinoceros. We saw video of an Elephant and a giraffe scratching various body parts on the trunks of trees. The list of animal species they saw was very impressive, but too large to list here. Dave and Carol provided a fun and educational rendition of their trip to Kenya, allowing some of us to live vicariously through them.
Steve Long: 1) We hit a milestone by removing the last bicycles from the late Art Cort's property -- an important storage facility for us during the pandemic when the Prison was often unavailable for refurbishing bikes;
2) we also went to the dump to pick up bikes; and
3) we delivered 30 bikes for the Union Gospel Mission, and 15 biked for the Sutter's Mill Bike Rodeo.
Cathy Dugan: Reported on the Ukraine relief project. Cathy, Jim Buckley and Joe Ryan have met with the Lau Foundation, which has a lot of experience in relocating refugees. Needs that we could potentially help with include, providing a rent subsidy, vocational training and with providing bicycles for transportation. Since our club has extensive experience and resources for the latter two items, that is likely what we will help with.
Past President Dave Crofut introduced two guests, Jonathan and Shadron, who described their lives and the work of Missionaries of the Drug Addicts, a program of the Sacramento Restoration Church.
PE Don Fuller announced that July 30th will be a social meeting in the late afternoon at Ulla Petersen's home to honor two of our past presidents: Mike Dugan and Dave Crofut.
Guests:
Carol Abbanat (Camino/Pollock Pines Rotary)
Jonathan and Shadron, guests of Dave Crofut.
Happy (or Not) Bucks
Athenia: $10 happy about Dave and Carol's presentation (she is our server at the Country Club).
Laurie Edwards: $10 happy that she adopted a beagle and named him AJ Bayley.
Birthdays in May
Bob Dorr
Mike Dugan
Janelle Horne
Steve Long
Cathy Dugan
Anniversaries in May
Gary and Sheilah Gall
Suzy and Jim O’Neal
Verne and Chris Sanders
Janet and Lloyd Yarbrough
