RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - After the postponement of the Rancho Cordova Luncheon because of COVID considerations in January, Mayor Donald Terry took the podium at City Hall on February 18.  “I’d like to start out by thanking the Community Council and the Chamber for inviting me to be the first speaker of the year,” Terry said.  “As you know that was January, we’re still here in February.”  Terry proceeded to take attendees on a review of how we “Live, work, learn, and play” in Rancho Cordova.

Terry praised Rancho as great place to work. “Over 3,500 businesses employ over 65,000 people making Rancho Cordova one of the largest employment centers in the region,” Terry said.  Infrastructure has been a big focus in the past and continues into this year. Some of the improvements will be to White Rock Road from Sunrise Boulevard east to the Rancho Cordova Parkway, upgrades to the Cordova Vineyard and Cordova Lane neighborhoods, Mills Ranch neighborhood and Mather Field Road from Folsom Boulevard to Rockingham.  To keep track of infrastructure projects, go to cityofranchocordova.org, Departments and select Public Works.  Metro Fire is building another station in Rancho Cordova near the Anatolia Marketplace, scheduled to open this spring.

Terry highlighted two new programs by the Rancho Cordova Police Department.  To ensure your home is protected while you are away, you can call to have a vacation home check while you are gone.  Also, in a program launched by RCPD and Eskaton, called Rancho Cordova CARES, RCPD volunteers can provide daily phone calls to adults over the age of 65 to form relationships and avoid a sense of isolation in seniors. CARES stands for “Connect and Ring Every Senior.”  Applications to participate can be found at RanchoCordovaPD.com/RanchoCordovaCARES.

The Rancho Cordova Youth Center is under construction and will open this summer, Terry said, operated and programmed by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento and Rancho Cordova PAL.  “This is something that is coming to fruition that started long before I was on the Council,” Terry said.  “The Center of Praise donated their old church to us just off of Folsom Boulevard, so we have an almost 10,000 sq. ft. facility that we’re just doing the upgrades to.”

Donald Terry was elected to the city council in 2012 and this is his second term as mayor.  He served as vice mayor in 2016 and 2020. Prior to being a city council member, Terry was a member of the Sacramento City Unified School District Board from 2008 to 2012.  He grew up in Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley and attended Soquel High School where he participated in football, cross country and wrestling, as captain of the wrestling team his sophomore through senior years.  He qualified for the wrestling state championships twice, placing second at the Central Coast Section Tournament in his junior and senior years.  He continued wrestling at West Valley College for one year.  Terry was vice-president of the Student Senate of Cabrillo College, and the regional president of the California Student Association of Community Colleges.

Terry earned a B.A. degree in political science with a minor in community relations from UC Davis.  In his day job, he serves as director of real estate development for NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center, Sacramento Region, where he oversees affordable housing development in an 11-county region in Northern California.  Donald and his wife Angela have two sons, Keaton and Holden.

When he thinks of the phrase, “Live, work, learn, play” in regard to Rancho Cordova, Terry said, “We have built a great community by working together to address problems and leverage our assets.”  The help he could use from Rancho Cordova residents? “Get to know your neighbors and learn how we can all help each other to build relationships and a better community,” Terry said.

Also present at the luncheon was Don Nottoli, who is retiring after 28 years on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, with a total of 44 years with the County in public service.