Jeffrey Mason thinks everyone has an amazing life story.
His belief led the Elk Grove resident and retired state employee to build a $12 million-a-year business that started from a personal place.
“I took for granted that my mom and dad would always be in my life,” Mason says. “We would visit a couple times a year and talk on the phone a lot, but distance still happens. I was in my 50s when my dad started feeling the effects of Alzheimer’s.”
Ralph Hughes knew what to choose for his last performance after 40 years as conductor and artistic director of the Sacramento Master Singers.
He picked a new choral commission by Robert Cohen for the group’s “A Season of Gratitude” concert May 14 at the Harris Center in Folsom.
The piece is about “a music conductor appreciating their life in music,” Hughes says.
Sotiris Kolokotronis will be honored May 7 with The Salvation Army Spirit of Giving Award, a recognition of the developer’s four decades of community-first construction and philanthropy.
Born in Greece, Kolokotronis came to the U.S. for education and opportunity. After studies in economics at University of Athens and UC Berkeley, he founded his company, SKK Developments, in 1987. The company quickly became a force in land development, mixed-use projects and urban revitalization.
Under Kolokotronis, SKK delivered thousands of residential units—single-family homes to multifamily apartments—and commercial space. His portfolio spans billions of dollars in projects, with an emphasis on sustainability, design and socially responsible development.
Long before youth sports became a year-round industry of travel teams, elite training and escalating costs, Bill Campbell believed athletics should be something simple and more powerful: a place where young people learn discipline, teamwork and confidence, regardless of background or income.
That belief became the foundation of Rio Del Oro Sports Club, one of Sacramento’s most enduring and influential youth sports organizations.
Lauren Dibble doesn’t hold back when charting her success. “Thank God I have ADHD,” she says.
This may sound strange coming from a marriage and family therapist who helps clients deal with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, autism and other neurodivergence. For Dibble, the way her mind works is a blessing.
“My brain is hardwired to follow niche interests,” she says. “After college, I tried out a bunch of careers to see what I wanted to double down on. I was an AmeriCorps volunteer. I did outreach in Spanish to agricultural workers. I studied Spanish for mental health professionals in Peru. I worked at a record shop. I did babysitting. I did online merchandising while going to grad school part time at night. I was a tech recruiter.”
