It's August in Sacramento! This month means a busy plant at work, soccer training, getting in shape, kids out of school, the city and state battling over spending, and things happening all the time at our house. Oh yes, and I'm running for city council. Below are a few links to groups I follow and hold dear.

Lilliput Children’s Services has done tremendous work with foster adoption and family services.  This organization is the leading adoption agency in northern California for foster children.  I joined their board of directors during the summer.  We have offices from Sacramento to Redding and from El Dorado Hills to Napa.  I was first drawn by their new Kinship Support Services effort to help kids that aren’t living with their parents.  You can check out my biography page for a little background on why this organization has such a personal appeal to me.

Leadership Sacramento was the organization that got me connected with Lilliput.  The year-long leadership class through the MetroChamber of Commerce has been a great experience.  The chamber arranges extensive opportunities for the class to have in-depth and behind-the-scenes views of our area - government, business, law enforcement, history, courts, arts, and more.  We also take on a charitable project for the year and thus far we have raised more than $100,000 for Lilliput.  Our last class meeting was in December, but we are keeping our group of engaged people connected and working together.

Sacramento Child Advocates is another non-profit that serves the interests of children. I have begun to work with this organization and have been invited to join their board this summer, along with fellow classmates from Leadership Sacramento. The group represents the interests of children in the family court system in Sacramento County. It is a brutal effort. Please look over their site for more information and how you might help.

Delta Web Printing is my company and I own it with two business partners.  The economic changes have hit everybody. We are certainly concerned about business growth in our region in the immediate and long term future. I've mortgaged our home and we are completely and utterly a part of the world of small business.  As luck would have it, buying a printing company turned out to be a timely investment move as the stock market tumbled around us. I have invested in the Sacramento area because I believe in its economic possibilities.

Soccer Coaching in Sacramento is really the most rewarding thing I do with my time.  I've been a soccer coach for close to twenty years. The Pirate Monkeys is a great group of kids and parents and we are nearing the end of an exciting league season. We are moving up to play Select soccer next season and extend our program. For any parent that wants to see their youngsters involved in a great game for kids, check out SYSL for clubs in all areas of Sacramento.

 
Liverpool and Redskins!  In the English Premier League, I loved watching the Liverpool Football Club battle at the top of the league and run deep into the Champions League. However, they came up short against their arch rival - Manchester United. Liverpool had a massive push at the end of the season, but ManU did not falter and could not be overtaken for the league title. As a football fan I was disappointed to see the Washington Redskins stumble in the second half of the season under their new coach, Jim Zorn.  They started strong but collapsed into mediocrity and finished 8-8.