June 2023

Floored.

That’s how Ron Switzer of Vacaville felt following the inaugural Tyler Switzer Memorial Golf Tournament, an event that raised close to $50,000 in the name of his late son.

Tyler, a 25-year-old Marine and former police cadet in both Vacaville and Fairfield, was killed last year in a motorcycle crash, leaving his family devastated.

The event, held in partnership with Solano Family First Responders, benefits E5 Therapy, which provides treatment and mental healthy services to military veterans and first responders.

The therapy group helped Tyler following his deployment to the Middle East, as well as his dad, a fellow Marine, other family members and so many more.

The fundraiser held earlier this month at the Chardonnay Golf Club brought in $48,900. After expenses, $31,900 went to E-5.

Last year, E-5 provided an estimated $22,000 in pro bono care to those in need.

“To see everybody show up for Tyler… In the end, that’s who it was for. It definitely was an honor,” said Ron. “And everyone had fun.”

He expressed excitement over how many more patients in need would now be able to receive care.

“We’re just appreciative of everybody,” he continued. “It’s all for Tyler, keeping Tyler’s memory alive.”

Ron gave a special shout out to Dan Marshall, Cade Beckwith and Solano Family First Responders for making his idea a reality.

Solano Family First Responders help celebrate the success of the first-annual Tyler Switzer Memorial Golf Tournament. (Photo by Kimberly K. Fu, The Reporter) By KIMBERLY K. FU | kfu@thereporter.com | Vacaville Reporter PUBLISHED: May 27, 2023 at 8:41 p.m. | UPDATED: May 27, 2023 at 8:43 p.m.

Music Director and Conductor, Bill Doherty

 Music Director and Conductor Bill Doherty has been participating in community bands ever since his days as a student at Encinal High School, where the Alameda Community Band rehearsed under the direction of Bill’s high school director, Jim Hewitt. He earned his music degree at the University of California, Berkeley, where he played under the direction of Bob Briggs and Michael Senturia and studied with Andrew Imbrie and Philip Shoptaugh. He has been a trumpet student of John Coppola and David Goedecke. While working as the Director of Bands at De La Salle High School and then at Orestimba High School, Bill conducted the Berkeley Symphonic Band. He performed extensively with the Diablo Valley College Night Band with Art Dougherty, the CSU Stanislaus Wind Ensemble with Ed Harris, the CSU Stanislaus Jazz Ensemble with David Goedecke, and various freelance ensembles. He was the Music Director at Vanden High School and Green Valley Middle School before adding Mathematics to his teaching credential. Since that time, he taught math at Dover Middle School in Fairfield and at Campolindo High School in Moraga, California. Bill retired from public school teaching in 2021 after a 39-year career.

In 1995, as Bob Briggs was entering his retirement from the University of California, Bill worked with Bob to help establish Solano Winds. Bill was the founding President and has served continuously on the Board of Directors since the group began. He was the principal trumpet, playing under Bob’s direction, for thirteen years. Upon the passing of Bob Briggs in 2008, Bill was named Music Director and Conductor of Solano Winds. Under his direction, the band has continued to grow and flourish, becoming a Resident Artist at the Downtown Theatre, performing annually at the Carmichael Park Community Band Festival, and accepting an invitation to perform in 2013 at the Association of Concert Bands’ National Convention. Since assuming the duties of Solano Winds Music Director, Bill has continued to perform on the trumpet as well. He was a member of the North Bay Wind Ensemble and the Napa Valley College Orchestra for three years, and continues to perform in various Solano Winds small ensembles and for occasional freelance engagements.

Bill is joined by each of his family members in the joy of the performing arts. His wife, Jennifer, is a percussionist with Solano Winds and teaches music at Crystal Middle School. Daughter Melissa helps to produce arts events for Denver Public Schools. Son Kevin lives with his family in the Bay Area and has several national acting credits under his belt. Daughter Emily, a Solano Winds alumnus on oboe and English horn, is a Teaching Artist and coordinates the Theatre for Young Audiences program at the Denver Center for Performing Arts.  

Welcome to Our

New Sports Section

Cole Elvis was poised to start a pro career, but instead has helped KU baseball thrive!

LAWRENCE — Two.

That’s the level of confidence Kansas baseball coach Dan Fitzgerald had, on a scale of 1-to-10.

Two.

This was last year, after Fitzgerald had earned a commitment from California transfer Cole Elvis. Despite how excited Fitzgerald may have been to receive that commitment, as he built what would be his first roster leading the Jayhawks, he was confident Elvis would soon be selected in the 2022 MLB draft. And Fitzgerald was even more confident an organization would sign Elvis as a free agent if the draft came and went without Elvis’ name being called.

But neither possibility occurred. Elvis’ professional career would get put off for another year, as he instead returned to the college ranks for a fifth season. And a couple months into the 2023 season, Elvis has been everything Fitzgerald and company could have hoped for on a team that’s won nine of its past 10 games.

“I’ve always been a believer that everything happens for a reason,” Elvis said Wednesday after an 11-7 win against Texas Southern. “I’d hoped that I was going to get drafted. But, if I didn’t, I knew that … Kansas was where I was supposed to be. And I’m here now. And I love it.”

The connection between Elvis and Kansas stems from a series Elvis played in, for California in 2021, against California Baptist. That year, there was an assistant coach on California Baptist’s staff named Tyler Hancock. In 2022, after Elvis elected to transfer from California, Hancock was in the early parts of his tenure as an assistant coach on Fitzgerald’s first coaching staff at Kansas.

As Fitzgerald tells it, the Jayhawks staff was constantly watching the transfer portal as they attempted to put a team together. Because of that series between California and California Baptist, it didn’t take long for Fitzgerald and Hancock to go for Elvis. They needed a catcher.

As Elvis tells it, when Hancock first brought up the series between California and California Baptist on that first phone call they had he could remember it vividly. California Baptist’s offensive capability, in a series California nearly lost, was still on his mind. Elvis was interested in playing for someone who helped make that happen, and thought Fitzgerald could help him advance as a hitter as well.

Fast forward to postgame Wednesday, and Elvis is the only player to have started each of Kansas’ first 32 games — with his appearances coming at either catcher or first base. He’s one of the Jayhawks’ leading hitters. He’s a leader among his teammates, so much so that Fitzgerald has referred to him as the best leader Fitzgerald has ever coached, and through it all hasn’t let not getting drafted last year cause any issues.

“My whole career, I’ve talked to players about the balance between massive confidence and humility and what that looks like,” Fitzgerald said. “And I think when you meet someone that’s genuinely like that, it’s — they’re just incredibly engaging and likable. And Cole, from day one, he just had a very magnetic confidence and humility.”

With the run Kansas is on now, the Jayhawks have pulled out of an early-season hole. They’re 17-15 overall and 5-4 against the Big 12 Conference. This weekend, Friday through Sunday at home, they have a three-game series against Kansas State that they’ll try to turn into their third-straight series win in Big 12 play.

It’s a rivalry, so anything can happen. Although Kansas State has struggled in recent weeks this season, last season the Wildcats won their series against the Jayhawks. Regardless of what transpires, though, what Elvis has experienced holistically at Kansas has already exceeded his expectations. 

“I was more so focused on the help that I’d receive from the coaching staff and being developed and all that kinds of stuff, but I really had no expectations for the city of Lawrence, for the state of Kansas, for the university, anything like that, the fan base, the resources and all that stuff,” Elvis said. “And so, like, my mind was blown when I got here.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

A note from Cole: " I would like to get drafted or take a free agent offer this draft 2023 season."

Community Uplift

Meet Adam Pendergast



Lead Equipment Mechanic with the Public Works Department

 Adam began his career with the City of Vacaville more than 16 years ago in the Police Department.

Adam shifted his career focus after recognizing his true interest was in the mechanical field. He has been the Lead Equipment Mechanic for more than three years. He works to maintain the City’s vast vehicle and equipment fleet, performing maintenance on everything from City buses to emergency vehicles to maintenance equipment. 

If you swing by the garage, you’ll likely see Adam working on a Fire truck or ambulance. What he enjoys most about Vacaville is the hometown feel. Thank you for following your passion and dedicating your time to support the City. We appreciate your commitment. #COVVCA #COVVPW #NPWW

Medic Ambulance

Today is a very special day for Medic Ambulance! 44 years ago, Rudy Manfredi and his parents Giannina and Harry Manfredi, started our service on Nebraska Street in Vallejo, California! We started with four employees and two ambulances after purchasing the service from Jimmy Berton and Berton-Aid Ambulance Service. Today we are still family owned and operated as Helen, and the next generation of Kristi, Cindy, Sandy and Jimmy, are going strong! Medic employs over 440 employees, operates a fleet of over 130 vehicles, and provides service in Solano, Sacramento, Sonoma, Yolo, Napa, El Dorado and Placer Counties. We respond to over 88,000 requests for service and provide over 75,000 transports. We have made it where we are today with dedicated family members, but MOST importantly dedicated and amazing employees! Through our 44 years of service, our employees have saved countless lives and dedicated thousands of hours to our community impacting many lives. We have striven to be a model business. In 2018, Rudy Manfredi retired and Helen Pierson stepped in as CEO. Rudy’s dedication and leadership to Medic will always be revered and remembered, and we thank him for his 45 years of Service to EMS. We also want to thank Marisa Luchini (Rudy and Helen’s sister) who was an owner from 1980 to 2014. Marisa was a great leader and made lasting impacts to Medic that are still with us today! A family business is who we are and while it can be challenging, we have been truly blessed and so are thankful for countless impacts our family has had within our organization.

Medic Ambulance is one of only 31 companies in the world to maintain accreditations by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS)and Accredited Center of Excellence by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch - IAED, both of which re-accredited this past year! Our team stepped up and made 2022 another year of amazing accomplishments. One year ago, we started our operations with Sonoma County Fire District assisting them in their mission to provide quality emergency care to Sonoma County. This last month our partnership was recommended to be awarded the Sonoma County EOA-1 ambulance contract. We are humbled and ready to work with our partners in creating a stronger EMS future in Sonoma County.

Thank you to all our past and present employees and all the businesses who have helped us through the years. We could not have done any of this without you! We are privileged to be serving our citizens and visitors and will always be there for our community! We ❤️ you all! ❤️🚑🎂🍾

Love,

The Medic Family

Way to Go, Fairfield PD!

When Ms. Peggy (80-years-young, we’ll have you know) flagged down Officers Gassen and Gutierrez for assistance changing a flat tire, they didn’t hesitate to pitch in and get her safely back on the road.

Happy to help (and chat), Ms. Peggy! #TogetherWeareFairfield

Congratulations to Holt Klineberg and Ana Santana,



Empower Yolo’s nominees for the Yolo Youth Service Award. Thank you to the Yolo Community Foundation for recognizing all these exceptional youths. Congratulations to all the awardees for their outstanding community service! 🌟

Congratulations Mackenzie!

Daughter of Vacaville Fire Chief, Kris Concepcion

Mackenzie did it - a JD from Berkeley Law! And Peggy and I couldn’t be more proud! Seems like yesterday, Z told me she was thinking about a career change from TV news to being an attorney. Next thing I know, she gets accepted into one of the top ranked law schools and gets a partial scholarship to attend. Three years later, goal attained!

Next up is the bar exam and then Z’s off to work at one of the top ranked law firms in the country, practicing intellectual property transactions law. You’ll have to ask her what that’s all about; I can barely spell it.

It was a special bonus to get the family together for this special day - complete with my mom and dad. Many thanks to my sister, Nelma for escorting them up here so they could witness their granddaughter graduating from law school.

Upcoming Events

2nd Annual Fairfield Juneteenth Celebration! Happening in downtown Fairfield! Union Avenue will be blocked off for this even taking place June 17th from 1-6 PM!

We Need Your Support!

Please don’t forget to pay your annual dues to continue your membership in the 100 Club of Solano and Yolo Counties!

Many members have let their membership lapse, so now is a good time to renew!

The 100 Club has ongoing costs for supporting family members of fallen officers, as well as the need to support our scholarship fund, and other activities.

The pandemic has restricted our fund-raising activities and we really need your support! We’ve made it easy for you to renew. Just go to the Membership page of our website and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Please use the family and friends' option when donating - no charges!!

100 Club Membership

Thank you for your continued support of the 100 Club of Solano and Yolo Counties!

Use the Code Below to Give to the 100 Club - Non-Specific Giving

Commitment to Community

Medic Ambulance has a rich history of providing quality advanced life support ambulance services in the North San Francisco Bay area. We are the exclusive 911 ambulance provider for all of Solano County with the exception of Vacaville.

Medic offers an array of services ranging from EMT/BLS level of care, to Paramedic/ALS care, as well as emergency or non-emergency transportation. Medic has been proudly offering these services as company staples for over 40 years.

Medic Ambulance is a family business with strong ties to the community. We support our community in a variety of ways, including offering ambulance stand-by services for special events.

Visit us at https://www.medicambulance.net/

Locations

506 Couch Street

Vallejo, CA 94590

3300 Business Drive

Sacramento, CA 95820

Tel: 707-644-1761

Fax: 707-644-1784

Dispatch: 707-644-8989

Meet Sandra Butler, Realtor, Century 21 Fairfield

SHOP, BUY, AND SELL LOCAL WITH YOUR LOCAL REALTOR!!

My enthusiasm for real estate comes from being a long time resident of Solano County. My family moved to Green Valley in 1975. My dad was a local Realtor for many, many years and my mom is a retired FSUSD teacher. I am a graduate of Armijo High School and the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. My two sons, Blake and Spencer, are also Armijo High School graduates!

I have been part of many of my own real estate transactions, i.e., built 2 custom homes, remodeled my first owned townhome, all in Solano County. I also purchase investment properties and land both within and outside of Solano County.

I have always had a passion for real estate! In fact, I worked in the mortgage business from 1983-1997. I have had my CA real estate license since 1992. My career as a mortgage loan underwriter, loan officer, and loan processor in the wholesale and secondary market led me to a very successful contract underwriting business. I specialized in pre-undewriting home loan packages prior to submitting the loan for underwiting approval with a lender. The payoff benefited all parties with quick loan approval and very satisfied customers.

I currently hold my license under C entury EPIC in Fairfield, CA. I have received numerous awards such as 2015, 2017, 2020 C21 Master Ruby Producer; 2016 C21 Diamond Producer; 2017 C21 Quality Service Producer; 2018,2019, 2020 C21 Quality Service Pinnacle Producer and 2021 Masters Emerald producer and Quality Service Producer. As a Quality Service Producer, I received customer surveys from my clients each year with an average survey score of at least 95 percent or better. It is quite an honor and a wonderful feeling to know that my dedication to my clients shows paid off!

I am active in my community. Over the course of the years I was involved with Suisun Valley School fundraisers, PTA, and annual SV Auction (9 years). Other involvement was in the Suisun Valley 4-H (6 years); Armijo Sober Grad Nite (8 years & counting); a member of the Sons & Daughters of Italy; and a donor to several local causes, to name a few.

I believe in the "American Dream" of buying a home, and buying local real estate strengthens our community. I would love to have the privilege of doing all I can do to make your real estate "dreams" come true. Whether as a buyer, seller, or investor, you can count on my services and expertise. I am equipped and ready to assist you, your family, and friends. So please, call me at 707-592-6267. I look forward to serving you.

Citizens Financial

Citizens Financial has partnered with the 100 Club of Solano and Yolo Counties to become a valued member of our organization. Citizens Financial supports public safety and the goals of our organization: supporting families of fallen first responders, supporting the education of their minor children, and encouraging interested youth in careers as first responders.

Greg Ritchie, owner of Citizens Financial, is a Vacaville City Councilmember and is very active in the Vacaville community.

For more information about Citizens Financial’s commitment to supporting public safety, click here.

Interested in a home loan from Citizens Financial? Click here.

Enterprise Holdings is proud to announce it has received a 2023 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award (GEWA) – an accolade that spotlights the most engaged workplace cultures in the world. According to Gallup, GEWA winners are recognized for their ability to challenge the status quo and “transform workplaces by putting people at the heart of their business strategies.”

This year, Gallup selected just 57 companies worldwide to receive the prestigious award. This year’s meta-analysis included over 2.7 million employees across 54 industries and utilizes criteria from Gallup's Q12 survey, which ranks employee engagement, specific business metrics and commitment to the organization. 

"We are incredibly honored to be recognized among the top organizations in the world for providing an exceptional workplace for our more than 80,000 Enterprise Holdings employees across the globe," Enterprise Holdings Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources Shelley Roither said. "Jack Taylor founded this organization on the lasting idea to ‘take care of your customers and your employees first, and everything else will follow,’ so this award is fitting recognition for our continued focus on creating an exceptional place to work and grow your career.”

#village360 #solanofamiliesfirstresponders #fairfieldpoa #vacavillepoa #solanocountysheriff #winterspoa #woodlandpoa #yolocountyretiredpeaceofficers #ycrpoa #tolenaswinery