WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - After receiving interest from across the country, the Sacramento River Cats, proud Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, are thrilled to announce Zack Bayrouty as the new voice of the franchise.

Bayrouty replaces longtime River Cats announcer Johnny Doskow, who accepted a position with the Oakland Athletics in January. The Worcester, Massachusetts native Bayrouty becomes the fourth voice of the River Cats, following Jeff Walker (2000), Doskow (2001-2022), and Spanish-broadcaster Jose Reynoso (2000-2008).

“We received an overwhelming amount of interest in the position and Zack quickly separated himself from the pack with his mixture of on-air talent and multimedia experience,” said Chip Maxson, President and COO of the River Cats. “Johnny Doskow was synonymous with Sacramento sports for over two decades and we feel Zack is the perfect heir to usher the franchise and fans into a new era.”

Although from the east coast, Bayrouty is familiar with Northern California, calling games for the Oakland-affiliated Single-A Stockton Ports for 14 seasons, as well as serving as the play-by-play of University of the Pacific (Stockton) men’s basketball since 2010 (13 seasons). He has spent the last three seasons broadcasting for the PCL-rival Reno Aces (Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks), which included a 2022 PCL Championship.

“I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to join the River Cats family and be part of an amazing team,” said Bayrouty. “To have the microphone passed to me from Johnny Doskow is one of the great honors of my life. I know what his voice meant to the fans and what his presence meant to the community, and it’s my privilege to continue to build on that legacy in Sacramento.” 

Bayrouty made his Major League debut in Oakland on Sept. 3, 2019, calling the game between the A’s and Los Angeles Angels.

Listen to Bayrouty’s River Cats debut on Opening Day, March 31, at the Salt Lake Bees. Catch his home debut on rivercats.com as the River Cats host the El Paso Chihuahuas for Opening Night on April 5 at 6:45 p.m. (PT).

 

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Kids Helping Kids presents their 9th Annual Signature Gala, to aid families battling pediatric cancer in Northern California by “Rocking Out Pediatric Cancer”. Headlining the gala is legendary rock band, Switchfoot, who received a grammy for ‘Best Rock Gospel Album’. Switchfoot has sold almost 10 million copies worldwide of their twelve studio albums and performed sold-out tours with over 5 million concert tickets sold in over 40 countries around the world. Through their unique blend of emotionally intelligent and uplifting brand of alternative rock, this Gala will be a night of both soulful music and changing children’s lives.

Kids Helping Kids is an entirely student-run, non-profit organization made up of juniors and seniors from Del Campo High School. They put on their Signature Gala, along with several other events, to raise money for the populations they serve. They support children battling pediatric cancer and their families by providing financial resources during their medical treatment. Kids Helping Kids aids families in paying for expenses that are directly caused by the massive cost of treatment for their child. Each year, they raise $50,000 to help 100 families battling pediatric cancer, and this year they hope to generate even more so they can reach even more children.

This incredible event will take place on April 29, 2023, in Folsom at the Harris Center. With the heart of giving back, both Kids Helping Kids and Switchfoot have joined together to come alongside families to ‘rock out’ pediatric cancer. Along with the benefit concert, the Gala will include a premium silent auction of a variety of baskets with items as popular as once-in-a-lifetime vacation experiences, concert tickets, sporting events, and so much more. All proceeds raised during the Gala will go directly toward the lives of children battling pediatric cancer.

For more information on Kids Helping Kids, go to kidshelpingkids.org 

 

GOLD RIVER, CA (MPG) - Sharon Ruffner received the DAR Community Service Award at the Gold Trail Chapter meeting of the Daughters of the American Revolution on Saturday, February 18, 2023. The DAR honors community members who have contributed to the community in an outstanding manner through cultural, educational, humanitarian, patriotic, historical, citizenship, or environmental conservation endeavors or by organizing or participating in community activities.

Sharon is an example of all of these activities. She not only serves her own community of Carmichael but her volunteer efforts include activities on Donner Summit and even in Honduras where she and her husband Bob built schools for children in extreme poverty. 

Sharon has served as co-president of the Carmichael Kiwanis Club. She has chaired dozens of events such as the river cleanup, planting trees, sandwich making for the homeless, toy drives, See’s Candy sales, collection plastic for benches and more. 

Sharon is a founding member of the Carmichael Parks Foundation which raises funds to support thirteen Carmichael Parks.  In the last three years she has led efforts to raise funds for Bocce Ball Courts, won a Shine Grant from SMUD to modernize the veterans building and contributed thousands of dollars for recreation Youth Scholarship Fund, the B Street Theater and the DART program at American River College.

CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) - Coffee and cormorants; hawks and hash browns; bagels and bushtits. Effie Yeaw Nature Center’s Bird and Breakfast fundraiser proves that – for nature lovers – breakfast comes a close second to bird watching.

On March 18 and 26, experts will lead safaris to view birds in their most industrious season. Hot brunches follow. Because the events sell out, reservations are required. 

Participants will see at least 40 species incubating, courting, feeding and nest-building. The wildlife experience follows trails in the 99-acre preserve and continues to riverside reaches, where ducks abound and elegant waders include egrets, herons and sandpipers.

Audubon scouts work beforehand to locate spots where visitors can observe nurseries under construction. Hawks nest in branch crooks; higher still, hummingbirds camouflage walnut-sized cradles. Nest-watching is enhanced by viewing scopes.

The $55 safari on Saturday, March 18 is followed by a catered gourmet buffet. On Sunday, March 26, Carmichael Kiwanis volunteers will offer a pancake spread. The second program suits families with children aged six and up (under 11-year-olds are $5 each).

Animal ambassadors will be on hand for close encounters. These include a Swainson’s hawk; a Peregrine falcon, an American Kestrel and a great-horned owl. Silent auctions of bird-related goodies accompany breakfast.

As trail expeditions take an hour or more, neither of the programs is recommended for kids under six. Participants should wear stout shoes and bring binoculars. Both Bird and Breakfast programs begin at 8 am. All proceeds assist the Nature Center’s educational outreach.

Effie Yeaw Nature Center is in Ancil Hoffman Park, Carmichael. For more information on the Bird and Breakfast event visit: www.sacnaturecenter.net/events/bird-breakfast-weekend or call (916) 489-4918. The Centre will also offer three speaker programs on birds in March.

 

CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) - Rio Americano High School celebrated the opening of its renovated Career Technical Education (CTE) building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 7. More than 100 students, staff and community members gathered for the event. 

The renovated building houses the school’s medical sciences and manufacturing pathways. Students from each pathway showcased their work during the event, with students from the medical sciences pathways demonstrating their skills by greeting patients at their reception desk, checking vitals and prepping injections. 

“The medical pathway students now have a space that resembles a hospital, giving students the opportunity to learn essential skills in a real-world setting,” shared Cliff Kelly, principal at Rio Americano High School.

The Medical Assistant pathway is for students who are interested in fields such as medical assistants, EMT, nursing, physician assistants, physicians, x-ray tech, athletic training, physical therapist assistant, physical therapy, kinesiology, nutrition, and other medical related fields. Students will have hands-on-training, such as taking blood pressure, rooming patients, assisting with minor surgery, and/or front office duties. In their senior year, students will be placed in the medical field for on-the-job experience.

Students from the manufacturing pathway showcased a robot they constructed earlier in the year by having it greet and distribute scissors to the ribbon cutters prior to the ceremony. The manufacturing pathway now has a renovated and reconfigured space that previously housed a woodshop and metal shop. An innovation lab has also been added.

Rio Americano Manufacturing Pathway instructor Matt Cole displayed the teaching process in the manufacturing of robots at the CTE Robotics shop.

Students in the highest course of the pathway can elect to be members of the Rio Robotics team, where they get to compete in high-stakes competitions both regionally and nationally.

The renovation project was made possible by voter-approved bond funds. The construction and design team consisted of CORE Construction, Innovation Construction Services and JK Architecture Engineering.

High schools throughout San Juan Unified offer Career Technical Education (CTE) programs to students. These courses provide hands-on, unpaid training that is designed to prepare them for life after graduation with entry-level, marketable skills.

There are former CTE students in our community who are teachers, nurses, dental assistants, lawyers, doctors, accountants, bakers, chefs, entrepreneurs, engineers, computer techs, mechanics, law enforcement officers, vet techs, etc.

Every year, the graduates are surveyed so that CTE is updated on their employment and educational status. To date, nearly all persons responding to a telephone survey have indicated they felt their training in the various CTE programs was good to excellent. Almost nine out of ten people also stated that their CTE training served as an influencing factor in their present work or educational pursuits.

The unemployment rate of CTE graduates has consistently been less than half of the rate of the general population for the same age group.