Unknown: And I'm gonna start this video Docker
Unknown: on Stan
Unknown: Good evening. I'll call to order the SMUD Board of Directors meeting of July 16, 2026.
SPEAKER_17: Please join me in the Pledge of the Flag. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United
SPEAKER_20: States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible,
SPEAKER_20: with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. This meeting of the SMUD Board
SPEAKER_17: of Directors is recorded with closed captioning. The recording will be cable cast on Metro
SPEAKER_17: Cable Channel 14, the local government affairs channel on the Comcast and DirecTV U-verse
SPEAKER_17: Cable Systems. The recording will also be streamed at Metro14live.sackcounty.gov. Today's
SPEAKER_17: meeting replays Sunday, July 19th at 2 p.m. and on Saturday, July 20th at 9 a.m. on Metro
SPEAKER_17: Cable Channel 14. Once posted, the recording of this meeting can be viewed on demand at
SPEAKER_17: youtube.com Metro Cable 14. Please remember to unmute your microphone when speaking in
SPEAKER_17: order that our virtual attendees may hear. The microphone will display a green indicator
SPEAKER_17: light when the mic is on. Please put all electronic devices in the silent mode while in the auditorium.
SPEAKER_17: For members of the public attending in person who wish to speak at this meeting, please
SPEAKER_17: fill out a speaker's request form located on the table outside this room and hand it
SPEAKER_17: to SMUD security. Members of the public attending this meeting virtually who wish to provide
SPEAKER_17: verbal comments during the board meeting may do so by using the raise hand feature in Zoom
SPEAKER_17: or pressing star 9 while dialed into the telephone toll-free number. At the time, public comment
SPEAKER_17: is called. Technical support staff will enable the audio for you when your name is announced
SPEAKER_17: during the public comment period. You may also submit written comments by emailing them
SPEAKER_17: to publiccomment at smud.org. Written comments will not be read into the record but will
SPEAKER_17: be provided to the board electronically and placed into the record of the meeting if received
SPEAKER_17: within two hours after the meeting ends. Members may speak to items on the agenda on which
SPEAKER_17: the board will take action and may also address the board on other agenda items and items not on
SPEAKER_17: the agenda but within our jurisdiction during the general comment period. The auditorium is
SPEAKER_17: equipped with a safety alarm. If the alarm sounds, please leave in an orderly manner via the exits
SPEAKER_17: to the lobby behind the dais. Assemble in front of the building and wait for the all-clear
SPEAKER_17: announcement from security before re-entering. Would the Chief Legal Officer please conduct
SPEAKER_17: the roll call? Director Rose? I am here. Director Buie-Thompson? Present. Director Fishman? Here.
SPEAKER_14: Director Herber? Here. Vice President Kurth? Here. Director Sanborn? Here. President Tamayo? Here.
SPEAKER_17: All members are present. Thank you. Now, Director Fishman will share our 2030 climate action tip.
SPEAKER_17: SMUD is working hard towards 100% zero carbon by 2030 and there's a lot you can do to help us lead
SPEAKER_20: the global Clean Power City movement. SMUD offers many rebates to help you go electric and save. Did
SPEAKER_20: you know that households that switch from gas to electric can save an average of more than $500 per
SPEAKER_20: year on utility bills? Our rebates help you upgrade to energy efficient, all-electric heat pump systems,
SPEAKER_20: appliances, and even induction cooktops. Have one of those myself and absolutely love it. Learn more
SPEAKER_20: at smud.org slash go electric or you can join the charge and visit clean power city dot org.
Unknown: Thank you, Director Fishman. If there are no corrections, changes, or additions,
SPEAKER_17: I'll entertain a motion to approve the agenda. So moved. Second. Okay. Moved by Director Herber,
SPEAKER_17: seconded by Vice President Kurth. Directors, please vote. The agenda is approved. It's all
SPEAKER_14: directors voting yes. All right. At this time, the board would like to present Paul Lau with
SPEAKER_17: accommodation resolution. But before we get to that, we have a number of guests in attendance
SPEAKER_17: that have requested to speak and we'd like to invite Senator Angelique Ashby up to the podium
SPEAKER_17: to say a few words. Are you here, Senator Ashby? Hi, everyone. Wow. What an honor to be here. Look
SPEAKER_10: at this full house. That's great. How extraordinary and also not at all surprising for the smud
SPEAKER_10: board. Thank you for allowing me to interrupt your meeting just a little bit today. Brought a couple
SPEAKER_10: members of my team with me, Michael Benjamin and Bob Vinchema. We wanted to come and I wanted to
SPEAKER_10: present this in person. So I know there's parties and all kinds of things happening, but this felt
SPEAKER_10: more appropriate. So thank you for allowing me to crash this meeting today and bring this to you,
SPEAKER_10: Paul. And I know you know this. I talk about this all the time. I am not shy about how I feel about
SPEAKER_10: smud. And I get to serve on the energy committee in the California State Senate, which is a real
SPEAKER_10: honor and privilege. But my favorite thing about being on the energy committee is that most of the
SPEAKER_10: time they're arguing about things that don't pertain to us because we have smud. And therefore,
SPEAKER_10: I smugly remind them all the time that, you know, I have smuds so these aren't really my problems.
SPEAKER_10: You guys work it out amongst yourselves. And then I usually text most of you and say,
SPEAKER_10: good work. You're making us look amazing. And Paul, you've spent almost four and a half decades
SPEAKER_10: about here serving this region. There are over, you know, about 1.5 million people that rely on
SPEAKER_10: all of you. And you've done everything from build them a grid to lead this entire organization. And
Unknown: we're really, truly so fortunate that you made Sacramento your home and that a young Paul Lau
SPEAKER_10: decided to take a job at a municipal utility district. I have no doubt you could have been
SPEAKER_10: hired anywhere that you would have applied. And not only did you come here, no doubt to get
SPEAKER_10: experience, but then you stayed because you bought onto the mission. And I don't think I've
SPEAKER_10: met anyone who's bought onto the mission more than you. And that is to say that the energy belongs to
SPEAKER_10: the people and that a municipal utility district gives it back to you at the best price that they
SPEAKER_10: can in the most convenient way that they can, that they listen to you and that they show up for you.
SPEAKER_10: And believe me, this doesn't happen everywhere around the state of California. And it doesn't
SPEAKER_10: happen anywhere in the state of California the same way that it happens here, which is a true
SPEAKER_10: point of pride. And I know this organization is strong and that we have amazing leaders,
SPEAKER_10: both up there at the dice, literally every one of them, incredible leaders, and that the staff
SPEAKER_10: at SMUD are second to none. So I know that they will continue on without you, but they are
SPEAKER_10: positioned for success because of your entire lifetime of career and dedication to this region,
SPEAKER_10: to this topic. You have advanced the energy discussion nationally. This is one of the largest
SPEAKER_10: utility districts in the entire country, not just in the state. And that is, I hope you and your
SPEAKER_10: family understand the magnitude of the gift that you have given generations to come for the
SPEAKER_10: Sacramento region. And on that note, I'd love to give you this.
Unknown: Thank you.
Unknown: Well, thank you, Senator Ashby. That was terrific. At this point, we also want to invite Chief of
SPEAKER_17: Staff Matthew Ciccato to say a few words on behalf of Congressman Ami Berra. Come on up, Matt.
SPEAKER_17: I love the pre-speech applause. But no, thank you so much for having me here, President Tamayo,
SPEAKER_16: Vice President Kurth, and the rest of the board. It's good to be here on behalf of Congressman
SPEAKER_16: Ami Berra. We're here at SMUD. I know SMUD. I know SMUD when I turn my lights on, and my thermostat
SPEAKER_16: is at a reasonable degree right now, and it's keeping my house cool for my family and my
SPEAKER_16: children. I know SMUD, as the Senator said, we're a city that's dedicated to be clean power. I know
SPEAKER_16: SMUD as we go around this region. Folks are talking about SMUD, just as the Senator hears.
SPEAKER_16: We're hearing about it as well, because they're jealous about SMUD. I know SMUD because your
SPEAKER_16: employees are everywhere from helping run Chambers of Commerce, neighborhood associations. Your
SPEAKER_16: employees are working with little leagues. They are completely everywhere in this community. I know
SPEAKER_16: SMUD because of all of you up there, all of you and incredible board of directors that our office
SPEAKER_16: has a chance to work with. I know SMUD because the federal government recognized you and brought the
SPEAKER_16: Cabinet Secretary, Department of the Energy, Jennifer Granholm, all the way out here just to
SPEAKER_16: see the battery storage capabilities, and then she was blown away by the linemen school that is
SPEAKER_16: teaching world-class education and going to change everything we're doing here. I also know SMUD
SPEAKER_16: because of Paul. I know SMUD because of Paul, and I've had the chance through the congressional office
SPEAKER_16: to get to know Paul, and I will close with a small story. We were leaving cap to cap. Wednesday night,
SPEAKER_16: an exhaustive, incredible, informative trip. I knew I had a middle seat, which I was not looking
SPEAKER_16: forward to this direct flight, and I'm working myself through the airport, keeping my hoodie up
SPEAKER_16: high and my head down low to minimize conversations. No offense to anyone if I skip past you. And sure
SPEAKER_16: enough, there at the aisle seat that I was walking to was Paul, right there, and we both kind of looked
SPEAKER_16: at each other. I settled into my seat, brought everything out, put on my AirPods or get ready
SPEAKER_16: to put them back on, and Paul looks at me and goes, great time, huh? I was like, yeah, how about you?
SPEAKER_16: And he goes, oh, great time. There's like lots to do, lots to follow up. How about we both have a
SPEAKER_16: great flight? And so we sat there, he moved over a little bed, and we sat there, and we both did our
SPEAKER_16: own work and a little bit of complete silence, a little bit of chatter, and that's exactly who he is.
SPEAKER_16: It's a man who leaves with humility, integrity. It's because he cares about the people that he
SPEAKER_16: serves. He cares about the people that work with him, and we appreciate that. So I've got this
SPEAKER_16: Congressional record that the Congressman put. I've got this Congressional resolution that
SPEAKER_16: Congressman put in the Congressional record. Try that a few times. It states a lot of different
SPEAKER_16: things, but I'll really sum it up, that it allows the incredible things you have done in your career
SPEAKER_16: and as CEO. It wishes you the best in your retirement, and we look forward to everything
SPEAKER_16: you're going to do next. Congratulations, Paul.
Unknown: Thank you.
Unknown: So I think it's actually really remarkable that Senator Ashby and Matt Cikado came here to talk
SPEAKER_17: about you and all the things that you've done for the community, what you mean for the community.
SPEAKER_17: Really, that's just the very tip of the iceberg. There's so many great things that we can do.
SPEAKER_17: I think that's something that you can say about the service that you provided, not just to SMUD,
SPEAKER_17: but to the Sacramento community, and really the entire country because of the leadership that you've
SPEAKER_17: put SMUD in a position. And a lot of it is because of you, because of your vision, because of your
SPEAKER_17: vision, and just everything that you've done to make this a really effective organization. So I
SPEAKER_17: know that you didn't do it by yourself, but the culture of this organization would not be at the
SPEAKER_17: really high point that it is right now without your leadership. I mean, you've just done an amazing
SPEAKER_17: job over the last five and a half years as our CEO at getting us up to the next level, making sure
SPEAKER_17: that we're well positioned to keep going and keep rising even after you ride into the sunset with
SPEAKER_17: your beautiful wife Rosalind and do something else really cool. So we do have an agenda item here
SPEAKER_17: that we'll pass, we'll vote on anyway. So if there are no corrections, changes or additions, I'll
SPEAKER_17: entertain a motion to approve the commendation resolution. So moved. Second.
SPEAKER_11: Okay, so moved by Director Sanborn, seconded by Director Bowie-Thompson. Directors, please vote.
SPEAKER_17: And so would directors care to say something or you want to wait to the end with your director's
SPEAKER_17: report? I think we should wait. We might cry. Yeah. So let's go ahead and wait. So we do have, we've
SPEAKER_17: got this actual resolution right here. And I'm going to read every single one of these warehouses.
SPEAKER_17: There's like 20 or 30. But I'll read the first one and the last one. I mean, I could cherry pick, but
SPEAKER_17: there's so many great things in here. But Paul Laut, whereas Paul Laut joined in 1982 as an intern and
SPEAKER_17: was serving as a chief grid strategy and operations officer when the SMUD Board selected him to serve as
SPEAKER_17: chief executive officer and general manager effective October 3rd, 2020, in which capacity he has served
SPEAKER_17: with dedication for almost six years. And let's see, let's do the last one, or second to last one.
SPEAKER_17: Whereas Paul's commitment to the Sacramento community and state of California extends far beyond
SPEAKER_17: his activities as chief executive officer and general manager, as demonstrated by his service as a
SPEAKER_17: board member on the boards of several Sacramento area community organizations, including the Greater
SPEAKER_17: Sacramento Economic Council and Valley Vision. He also serves as director at large and is past chair of
SPEAKER_17: the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce. And whereas this board, SMUD, its employees, customers
SPEAKER_17: in the Sacramento community have greatly benefited from Paul Laut's visionary leadership and outstanding
SPEAKER_17: public service, now therefore be it resolved by the County Board of Directors of the Sacramento
SPEAKER_17: Municipal Utility District that this board commends Paul for his outstanding service, and I can't read it
SPEAKER_17: because it's hidden by a ribbon. So, but, and we wish him the very best of luck in his future endeavors.
SPEAKER_17: So let's come on up here and we'll get some pictures with you and the board. And congratulations, Paul.
SPEAKER_17: And, you know, we're going to be saying all sorts of great stuff to you all night, so I can't go on and on
SPEAKER_17: right now, but let's get this picture right now.
Unknown: And would you care to say a few words in your daily three minutes?
Unknown: It's Steve that you and Jonathan won't be able to boss all around anymore. But he's the only, they're the only
SPEAKER_17: boys that get to boss the board and the board all around.
Unknown: And, you know, I also want to mention that Paul's family, Rosalind, you're here and the rest of the family is here.
SPEAKER_17: So please stand up and wave to the crowd. You don't want to do that.
Unknown: So, but it's great to have you here. I know that like this is, you've waited all this time to go visit Paul's office and now you see the kind of grim condition that he has to work under the last few years.
SPEAKER_17: So anyway, thank you very much for coming. It's just a great thing to honor Paul and to thank him for just decades of service and accomplishment.
SPEAKER_17: And we really love Paul and, you know, the board and I know the vast majority of staff in the community love Paul for just who he is and all he's accomplished and just his place.
SPEAKER_17: He's just got a great place in the heart of many people and the community in general. So I'm just really happy that we're able to do this.
SPEAKER_17: I'm not happy that you're leaving, but I am happy for you for everything you've done. And so thank you. So, but I could go on and on, but I shouldn't.
SPEAKER_17: So at this time, we'll take comments from the public on the consent calendar.
Unknown: Have we, do we have statements from visitors, public comments?
Unknown: Do we have any comments on the consent calendar? No, we do not. Okay. Thank you. So we will move on from that.
SPEAKER_17: So our consent calendar item number two is to approve board member compensation for service rendered at the request of the board for the period of June 16, 2026 through June 30, 2026.
SPEAKER_17: Item number three is to approve board member compensation for service rendered at the request of the board for the period of July 1, 2026 through July 15, 2026.
SPEAKER_17: Item number four is the approval of the minutes of the meeting of June 18, 2026. If there are no corrections, changes or additions, I will entertain a motion to approve the consent calendar.
SPEAKER_17: Moved. Second. Moved by Director Fishman, seconded by Vice President Kurt. Directors, please vote.
Unknown: The consent calendar is approved with all directors voting yes.
Unknown: All right. Thank you. So moving on to our discussion calendar, item number five is to approve the employment agreement between SMUD and Laura Ongwai, CEO and general manager.
SPEAKER_17: This item number five includes this oral report to summarize and seek final determination and action on the proposed written employment contract establishing the salary and fringe benefits between SMUD and Laura Ongwai, CEO and general manager.
SPEAKER_17: The contract would provide an initial annual base salary of $825,000. So do we have any discussion?
SPEAKER_06: Okay. Well, I can just say we discussed this at length in a closed session. So this is what we agreed to and welcome.
Unknown: All right. Well, this is definitely an important step here. Have we received any cards or requests to comment on this?
SPEAKER_17: No, we have not. Okay. All right. So if there's no further discussion, I'll entertain a motion to approve discussion calendar, item number five.
Unknown: So moved. Second. Okay. Moved by Director Herber, seconded by Director Fishman. Directors, please vote.
Unknown: The discussion calendar is approved with all directors voting yes. Congratulations.
Unknown: All right. Thank you. At this time, we allow the public to comment on items not on the agenda but within our jurisdiction.
SPEAKER_17: And I have received three cards at this point. I have Cynthia Peterson, Edward Pearson and Scott Slatterbeck.
Unknown: So Ms. Pearson, if you'd care to come up to the microphone. Oh, and I've got a couple things to say.
SPEAKER_17: So just please state your name for the record and don't move the microphone because it'll pick up your voice wherever you are near the podium.
SPEAKER_17: And if you have written materials you wish to provide to the Board, please hand them to the SMUD Security to distribute.
Unknown: Also, since your matter has not been placed on the agenda, the Board may not engage in an active discussion of the matter and is limited to briefly responding to statements, asking clarifying questions and directing staff to follow up on the matter.
SPEAKER_17: So go ahead. You have three minutes.
SPEAKER_13: You've probably heard about Apple Hill, and that's where we live.
SPEAKER_13: And we bought property in, let's see, 1986, and built our house.
SPEAKER_13: We have a live stream that goes back in our backyard. It's a beautiful place. It was.
Unknown: But it isn't any longer because of SMUD's, what would you say?
Unknown: Desires to remove all the trees in the creek area. The creek area is a, it is a wetland, designated wetlands area.
Unknown: The trees growing in the creek area had been pruned twice, the trees behind our house.
Unknown: With the new veg management group, they decided pruning was not good enough. They needed to take them to the ground.
Unknown: So they sent a biologist out there to the house, and I talked to the man, and he said, I said, isn't this going to kill everything in the creek?
Unknown: And he said, no, it's not going to bother anything. I said, I'll tell you what we'll do then.
Unknown: Let's put a thermometer in the creek right now, and then we'll come back in August and we'll check it after it's been 100 degrees for three or four days in a row,
SPEAKER_18: with no shade canopy over that and see what it looks like.
Unknown: No, they didn't want to do that. They absolutely didn't want to do that.
Unknown: So they did. Clear cut the creek to the grass. It was the only thing left in the creek, was the only thing when they left.
Unknown: They got a permit. It was through Fish and Wildlife, and when they came in, according to the permit, they were supposed to be using chainsaws and hand equipment to cut the trees in the creek.
SPEAKER_18: They came in with power equipment, drove down into the creek bed, did not go into the water, but they drove down into the creek bed and cut it down with power equipment, logging equipment, big logging equipment.
Unknown: They would reach across the creek and grab a tree, cut it, and take it back on the other side.
Unknown: That was totally against the permit. On the permit, it stated that the work had to be done according to the boxes checked on the permit, and the permit was only good for the work that was being done in their easement area.
Unknown: No, neither one worked. They went in, they used this power equipment against the permit. They also took trees outside the permit that they had no permit for.
SPEAKER_18: The permit was valid for only the creek area.
Unknown: What they did was, instead of trimming the trees, they cut them to the ground, like I said, and used the power equipment.
SPEAKER_18: After they were through doing that, they sent a crew up onto the hillside of our property to cut every berry vine to the ground.
SPEAKER_18: Now, to tell you the truth, I've never seen a berry vine grow 41 feet high to a power line, but apparently they have, because that's what they did.
Unknown: And I said, isn't that going to cause the hillside to slide?
Unknown: Well, sir, could you maybe take another...
Unknown: And then we'll have staff...
SPEAKER_17: I had three minutes for three different items. I do have other items. You're only hearing part of this.
SPEAKER_18: So the item that you're commenting on is items that are not on our agenda, and you're allotted three minutes, but you can have another minute to wrap it up.
SPEAKER_17: But we will have... Paul, can we have appropriate staff?
SPEAKER_17: Yeah, President Tamayo, we actually have staff look into this.
SPEAKER_25: Okay. All right. But I'll give you another minute to wrap up your comments. I understand the gist of it, and we'll get...
SPEAKER_17: Okay, they took trees that were 15 foot 8 inches from my house.
SPEAKER_18: 120 foot trees down to the ground. They gave me an offer. You can cut the trees. We'll take the top 40 feet out of a tree.
SPEAKER_18: Well, I looked at that, and I said, okay, let me find out about that. So I went online and I found out, you cut a 120 foot tree 40 feet out of the top, and you're going to kill the tree.
SPEAKER_18: You're going to either have it through bug infestation, or you're going to have root rot, and you're going to have the tree falling.
Unknown: And this was offered by an arborist, an award-winning arborist. They did not have a permit when they took those trees, so obviously that goes against tree trespassing, timber trespassing laws of California, which is up to a felony.
Unknown: We tried to mitigate with them. We tried to tell them that we would dissolve this thing if they would just take care of their responsibilities.
SPEAKER_18: But instead, no, they didn't want to do that. So last winter, when it rained, the hillside started to slide.
Unknown: I had told them I thought the hillside was going to slide because there were bare spots up on the hillside where the berries had been cut.
Unknown: It started to slide into the creek. The creek that flows through our property flows into Slab Creek.
Unknown: Slab Creek, you people know about because you have a reservoir on there. And they stopped the whitewater rafting industry from having a whitewater season on Slab Creek because of the yellow-legged frog.
Unknown: So now you have soil that's flowing into the creek, which is going to go into Slab Creek and destroy the yellow-legged frog.
SPEAKER_18: I get what you're saying. So I'm going to have to stop you there because you're well-passed.
SPEAKER_17: That's the only reason that I came here to talk to this.
SPEAKER_17: Sir, we have staff that you can talk to and give more details to. You can contact me.
SPEAKER_17: But I wanted you people to hear it because I'll tell you what.
SPEAKER_18: Right. And you have three minutes.
SPEAKER_18: I tried to get you people to hear it, but you wouldn't listen.
SPEAKER_18: Sir, I'm telling you right now.
SPEAKER_18: You had an attorney take me to court over lies. He told you that I built a gate across the east.
SPEAKER_18: I said I did not.
SPEAKER_17: Sir, I understand your concerns, but there's an order to this meeting and you've exceeded.
SPEAKER_17: I understand the order. I was supposed to get nine minutes because I had three on one subject.
SPEAKER_18: I had six more that I could use. Could nine?
SPEAKER_18: No, that's not how this works, sir. So I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but you had three minutes to comment on items not on the agenda.
SPEAKER_17: My wife didn't use her for three minutes.
Unknown: Well, in general, we don't allow for the compiling of those, but I understand that.
SPEAKER_17: But you've clearly used both your wife's and your allotment.
SPEAKER_17: So I'm going to have to ask you to stop right now, sir.
SPEAKER_19: My wife is using their about one husband and wife using each other's minutes.
SPEAKER_19: I looked at the board meetings before to see if there was.
SPEAKER_19: All right. Could we turn the mic off and, sir, you can talk to our staff or?
Unknown: I've talked to your staff.
Unknown: All right. Well, we've got the staff here. All right.
SPEAKER_17: Now you're not obeying the rules of this meeting.
SPEAKER_17: I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the microphone and the podium.
Unknown: If you can do that on your own, that's fine.
SPEAKER_17: If you need assistance, we can find you assistance that will not make you any happier.
SPEAKER_17: But please step away from the podium.
Unknown: Please step away from the podium.
SPEAKER_17: Would you please remove Mr. Pearson?
Unknown: I did not know that this was going to be your retirement night, and I'm sorry about this.
Unknown: So please don't hold that against me.
SPEAKER_17: I'm not holding this against you. I understand your point.
Unknown: Just be quiet.
SPEAKER_17: Scott Sliderback, you've got three minutes.
SPEAKER_17: Come on up.
Unknown: I'm a governmental agency.
SPEAKER_05: In California, for many, many years, transparency has been an important factor.
Unknown: As some of you know, and I've attended several of these board meetings and several meetings ago,
SPEAKER_05: one of your staff people said that somebody from your organization will contact me
SPEAKER_05: regarding the various issues that I brought up, and I returned the call and, sadly, never heard back.
SPEAKER_05: I wanted some information about SMUD and what's going on with the energy mix
SPEAKER_05: and some of the past actions that have transpired with the board.
SPEAKER_05: So I contacted your media division because if you call the main SMUD office,
SPEAKER_05: you're very helpful, friendly people have zero idea about anything and don't offer any help
SPEAKER_05: on giving me a phone number where I can call.
SPEAKER_05: So I called your media office, left my name and phone number, and I think you can understand what didn't happen.
SPEAKER_05: I never received any response, never any call back.
Unknown: And as I mentioned, several years ago, I was interested in various questions I had about SMUD,
SPEAKER_05: and so I called and I was just very, very frustrated that no one seems to be at all interested
SPEAKER_05: in explaining things to me or offering any sort of information or people to talk to
SPEAKER_05: or people to ask questions of.
SPEAKER_05: What I get from SMUD is a big fat silence, and I don't think that's appropriate at all.
SPEAKER_05: I think the SMUD board and SMUD itself should be much more transparent.
SPEAKER_05: I happen to be a rate payer, I happen to be a citizen, I happen to be a long time resident of Ward 3.
Unknown: I've lived in Sacramento almost my entire life.
SPEAKER_05: My family's been a SMUD customer almost their entire life, and yet I'm treated with indifference,
SPEAKER_05: active resistance, collective shrug, and I don't think that's appropriate at all, to be honest with you.
Unknown: Laura, would you care to answer something?
SPEAKER_17: Yeah, Laura Lewis, Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer.
SPEAKER_14: I met with Mr. Slaughterback after the last meeting.
SPEAKER_14: I got his mobile phone number, I passed it on to our staff.
Unknown: A few days later, the staff followed up with me and said, we've been trying to call Mr. Slaughterback,
Unknown: but his voicemail is full and we can't leave a message.
Unknown: So perhaps we can meet again after this meeting, we can confirm we have the correct number,
SPEAKER_14: but we've been trying to reach and get ahold of you so that the resource planning group can talk to you.
Unknown: I want to assure the board that we take seriously our obligation to return phone calls to customers,
Unknown: customer service is what we do, so I'm happy to meet with Mr. Slaughterback and make sure we have the right number.
SPEAKER_14: I'm confident we do because he, I believe, called me on my cell phone, so I do have it.
SPEAKER_14: Maybe there's another number we can use.
SPEAKER_17: Thank you.
SPEAKER_17: All right.
SPEAKER_17: So we're moving on.
SPEAKER_17: Do we have any other requests for comment?
SPEAKER_14: I don't see any hands, no.
SPEAKER_17: So at this point in the agenda, we provide the directors an opportunity to report on SMUD activity,
SPEAKER_17: and we will begin the report with Director Rose in Ward 1 and continue in ward order with the President's report as the final item.
SPEAKER_15: Should we praise Paul at this point or should we wait until after our reports?
SPEAKER_17: You know, I got all night.
SPEAKER_17: Just keep, just praise Paul.
SPEAKER_17: I'm not totally prepared, but I wouldn't say this, at least, right?
SPEAKER_15: We've had a couple of angry ones, like us, for one summer of New York transmission line, for people who may be listening.
SPEAKER_15: If you're having an issue, please just email, like us, my email is on the front of the SMUD website.
SPEAKER_15: Please email me and ask for assistance if you're having trouble.
SPEAKER_15: You don't need to drive down to the SMUD board meeting.
SPEAKER_15: I'm happy to help do that.
SPEAKER_15: And I just feel like I need to remind people a lot that we're very easy to access and we're happy to help people who may be having trouble outside our regular customer service lines.
SPEAKER_15: So with that, let me switch over to a couple of pretty quiet months, I would say.
Unknown: The one thing I do want to do is I, you know, we just voted for the new CEO employment contract, and congratulations to Laura Angway on the promotion.
SPEAKER_15: But I wanted to just take a moment to thank all of our staff who worked on that nationwide CEO search.
SPEAKER_15: It was a tremendous amount of work, and I think they did a really fabulous job.
SPEAKER_15: I also want to, of course, thank the candidates who participated in that search.
SPEAKER_15: It was an A-list suite of candidates who all did a fabulous job, and I appreciate the time and effort it takes to go through that process.
SPEAKER_15: And frustration, it must feel when the opportunity doesn't come your way.
SPEAKER_15: And I know at some point in the future there will be more opportunities out there.
SPEAKER_15: So just thank you for all of them from me.
SPEAKER_15: I don't have a ton of lovely things to say about Paul, but it's always very easy, too.
SPEAKER_15: It's been a joy to work with you this last five or six years.
SPEAKER_15: I would say I think one of the things that's impressed me is, you know, the board had our climate emergency declaration,
SPEAKER_15: and we wanted to see at least carbon neutrality.
SPEAKER_15: And you had this vision to come in and let's shoot for the stars and do zero carbon.
SPEAKER_15: And I think that really has set you apart in terms of leadership in the energy electric utility industry.
SPEAKER_15: And I think that's something that we should applaud and is wonderful.
SPEAKER_15: In terms of we spent a lot of time traveling over the years.
SPEAKER_15: I have learned a tremendous amount of things about you.
SPEAKER_15: But one of the things I know is that willingness to work hard when we were in Dubai for COPA 28.
SPEAKER_15: And we were literally walked all day long.
SPEAKER_15: We walked all through.
SPEAKER_15: We worked all day.
SPEAKER_15: And I get up the next morning, early in the morning, and run across town and people ask,
SPEAKER_15: Paul was up at 3 in the morning e-mailing the staff back at home.
SPEAKER_15: Right?
SPEAKER_15: And that's the work ethic you get.
SPEAKER_15: Right?
SPEAKER_15: He won't stop running.
SPEAKER_15: There's something to be done.
SPEAKER_15: He wants to fix it.
SPEAKER_15: And I think that's just really it's pretty amazing.
SPEAKER_15: And then the one other thing that really reminds me is when I became SMUD president,
Unknown: and we spent about five hours sort of running through what I wanted to accomplish that year.
SPEAKER_15: And we stayed until late into the night.
SPEAKER_15: No rush.
SPEAKER_15: Just doing the work.
SPEAKER_15: But then everything we had talked about and agreed to, everything happened throughout that year.
SPEAKER_15: And I did not have to ask for follow-up.
SPEAKER_15: I did occasionally.
SPEAKER_15: I didn't have to ask for follow-up.
SPEAKER_15: And I think that's also just a sign of this fabulous management and fabulous leadership
SPEAKER_15: to take these visions and turn them into reality, for sure.
SPEAKER_15: So I'm sure there's lots of other comments with these two little parables from me.
SPEAKER_15: Thank you so much.
Unknown: Okay.
SPEAKER_09: I will first report on district activities.
SPEAKER_09: I attended the summer soul system.
SPEAKER_09: So thank you to our staff that support that.
Unknown: Great event for the American River Parkway Foundation.
Unknown: Our fellow board member Greg is on the board.
Unknown: I attended customer contact week.
SPEAKER_09: I attend every year.
SPEAKER_09: AI is a big focus, as always, with technology and contact centers.
SPEAKER_09: From my experience there, it's still I think a lot of people selling a lot of things.
SPEAKER_09: Other than the day, people don't want to talk to a chat bot, I feel,
SPEAKER_09: since they're still not as sophisticated as they need to be.
SPEAKER_09: They want to talk to a real human.
SPEAKER_09: But what I see the differences of technologies is how we can help our customer contact center agents be more efficient
SPEAKER_09: rather than having our customers talk to bots, because I still think that's a big frustration.
SPEAKER_09: I know myself, the last thing I want to do is talk to a bot that doesn't really help me.
SPEAKER_09: So it'll be interesting to see how the technology trends move forward and advance over time.
SPEAKER_09: I also had the opportunity to attend the SMUD Cares bowling tournament.
SPEAKER_09: I want to thank our executive sponsor for SMUD Cares, Jose, who's there.
SPEAKER_09: Picked up and bowled with us for a little bit and showed us all the fun bowling skills.
SPEAKER_09: But it was great to see all of our employees.
SPEAKER_09: I believe the Fire and Burn Institute, again, were big recipients from the bowlers who killed the rest of us.
SPEAKER_09: I was just happy to break over 100 once.
SPEAKER_09: But I appreciate all of our SMUD staff who personally spend their time and money to raise money for all these great charities within the region.
SPEAKER_09: So I want to thank our employees who do that with their own funds.
SPEAKER_09: I also wanted to thank Paul.
SPEAKER_09: Rob and I are the longest serving board members.
SPEAKER_09: It's funny to say we've seen you grow, because you've seen us also grow as directors.
SPEAKER_09: But from when I met you, it's now 19 years ago, which is crazy.
SPEAKER_09: Who would have thanked us?
SPEAKER_09: I would be around this lab.
SPEAKER_09: I knew you would be around.
SPEAKER_09: But to see you grow into the leader that you are.
SPEAKER_09: And I remember talking to you just over the years.
SPEAKER_09: There's one thing being a very technical person.
SPEAKER_09: It's another thing parlaying that into being an inspirational leader.
SPEAKER_09: I'm a tech nerd, too.
SPEAKER_09: And sometimes we just talk really fast.
SPEAKER_09: And we don't understand why other people don't understand us and just don't come along.
SPEAKER_09: And I think people with such big brains, Paul, it's sometimes difficult.
SPEAKER_09: It's difficult to slow down and go, how can I parse this?
SPEAKER_09: How can I connect?
SPEAKER_09: How can I get people to understand?
SPEAKER_09: And Paul has done an exceptional job over those 45 years of growing that technical skill
SPEAKER_09: into being just an amazing leader who has empathy and can humanize things,
SPEAKER_09: but also see it from all the sides, see it from a technical side, see it from the human side.
Unknown: And I love that you are retiring on top.
SPEAKER_09: I love that you're retiring healthy.
SPEAKER_09: I love your time with your family.
SPEAKER_09: Happy to have you home, Laura, and seeing you around.
SPEAKER_09: Because I think sometimes people stay to just stay that extra year and do more.
SPEAKER_09: But you have done all the things.
SPEAKER_09: You have left SMUD in such an amazing place.
SPEAKER_09: Lay a great foundation for Laura to take over.
SPEAKER_09: But I know that people, you've been at SMUD longer than you've not been at SMUD.
SPEAKER_09: In your life.
SPEAKER_09: Which is an amazing fact.
SPEAKER_09: Who can say that?
SPEAKER_09: This has been your family.
SPEAKER_09: We'll miss you.
SPEAKER_09: But your 45 years of impact will be felt for generations to come.
SPEAKER_09: So thank you for being my friend.
SPEAKER_09: Thank you for your leadership.
SPEAKER_09: And I'm excited.
SPEAKER_09: I know you're still young and still have things to do.
SPEAKER_09: I'll be very excited to see what your next chapter and know you're not going to be far from us.
SPEAKER_09: And you'll get your three minutes.
SPEAKER_09: I guess I'm up.
SPEAKER_20: Let me start by echoing something Director Rose said.
SPEAKER_20: We are accessible.
SPEAKER_20: And if people have questions specifically for Mr. Slaughterback, my email address is, I represent Ward 3.
SPEAKER_20: You said you live there.
SPEAKER_20: My email address is GBFishman at gmail.com.
SPEAKER_20: I'll do anything I can to help you understand what we do.
SPEAKER_20: And if I don't know or can't answer, I'll find somebody who can.
SPEAKER_20: So please reach out in that way if you need to.
SPEAKER_20: A couple of quick events and then I'll get to the pop.
SPEAKER_20: The pop is the praise of Paul.
SPEAKER_20: Had the great opportunity to represent SMUD at the American River Parkway Foundation Summer Solstice Dinner.
SPEAKER_20: It was on the committee that put that together.
SPEAKER_20: I was grateful for SMUD's sponsorship and for the work that the Parkway Foundation does in our community.
SPEAKER_20: Protecting and preserving the Parkway, the gem of our region.
SPEAKER_20: I attended the College Glen Neighborhood Association Foundation Family Night Out Block Party and Fireworks Show.
SPEAKER_20: Didn't stay for the fireworks, but that is always a wonderful event.
SPEAKER_20: Annette Degloe and her husband John have been there probably longer than Paul has been here.
Unknown: And when they throw a party, people show up.
SPEAKER_20: So that was fun.
SPEAKER_20: I also attended the Friends of Fulton El Camino Park and Rec District, GALA, in the park.
SPEAKER_20: A fundraiser for some of their programs to help disadvantaged children access the programs that they offer if they can't afford it otherwise.
SPEAKER_20: And then also I was asked to speak about SMUD's zero carbon plan to a group known as AOF, atheists and other free thinkers.
Unknown: And an interesting group of folks.
Unknown: And it just goes to show you that zero carbon is not political and it's not religious and it's non-denominational.
SPEAKER_20: So we're here to help everybody understand what it is we're doing and why.
SPEAKER_20: And then a few words for Paul.
Unknown: You know, everybody's talking about what you've done for this organization and that's, you know, there's no superlatives that can be enough, Paul.
SPEAKER_20: Same for our greater community and the impact because you've embodied what SMUD does in our community.
Unknown: But I want to talk about your personal story a little bit and how important that is in this day and age as an immigrant to this country when you were a teenager, I believe.
Unknown: And it's not an easy time to be an immigrant here right now for some reasons.
SPEAKER_20: And for you to be in the role that you are in, to have played the role you've played in our community, shows what's possible when we value people for what they bring to the table, not for where they come from, the color of their skin, how they believe, who they love, any of those other reasons.
Unknown: We are a merit-based country when we are at our best.
SPEAKER_20: And you have shown what you can do as an immigrant who works hard from busing tables and waiting tables to leading the most progressive, best-damned utility in the country.
Unknown: And that means something, Paul.
SPEAKER_20: It means something to this community.
Unknown: It means something to this organization.
SPEAKER_20: It means something to this nation, Paul.
SPEAKER_20: And it means something to me.
SPEAKER_20: My grandparents were immigrants, and it wasn't easy.
Unknown: And we are all the beneficiaries of their bravery as your family, as of yours, courage, tenacity, hard work, education, and always believing in what's possible.
Unknown: And that is your legacy as much as anything else.
Unknown: Thank you.
Unknown: Well, like I said, it's always terrible to have to go after Greg.
Unknown: So I'm going to say it's been a really, really busy month.
SPEAKER_23: I've gone to lots of different events and done different stuff.
SPEAKER_23: But I just want to focus in on two things.
SPEAKER_23: One is I got to join Paul at the Sacramento Asian Sports Foundation, their new kitchen ribbon-cutting event.
SPEAKER_23: And what I think is so wonderful is that I toured the kitchen, and they have, you know, the electric walks.
SPEAKER_23: They have everything imaginable.
SPEAKER_23: And every year they put on the best crab-feeding event in the city.
SPEAKER_23: And this year they're going to be able, or whenever they have their next one, they're going to be able to cook the crab with electricity instead of gas.
SPEAKER_23: So it was really neat to be there and to see how many people are excited about this.
SPEAKER_23: And then the second thing I wanted to talk about was the American Public Power Association Policy Management Committee, or Policymakers Committee.
SPEAKER_23: I've been going to the APPA, the American Public Power Associations Policymakers Committee, for a couple of years.
SPEAKER_23: And this year it was amazing.
SPEAKER_23: The idea is that you invite elected officials and staff from the wide variety of public power entities.
SPEAKER_23: These are community-owned utilities all throughout the country.
SPEAKER_23: Come together, sit down, and talk about the biggest issues facing their communities.
SPEAKER_23: And of course the discussion is always about reliability, keeping costs low.
SPEAKER_23: But this year it was really interesting to see how the data centers, the AI, artificial intelligence data centers, really took the focus of the conversation.
SPEAKER_23: There is all kinds of development going on throughout the country, and some places that are courting large businesses who are 500 megawatts, and others who don't really want to have those large loads in their community and they're not sure what to do about it.
Unknown: So it was really insightful, and it made me think of our own experience, where SMUD, we haven't had any of the huge AI companies come to us, but we do have about 30 data centers already here in Sacramento.
Unknown: The difference is that these data centers are about 30 megawatts and less, not like the high-end entities or companies that are coming.
Unknown: But we know it's happening, it's only going to continue to grow.
SPEAKER_23: And I shared with the committee that SMUD will be adopting our own policy in the matter of another month for how we can allow data centers to bring business but also protect our customers.
SPEAKER_23: We don't want our customers to pay for stranded costs.
SPEAKER_23: We don't want our customers to have to pick up the pieces when companies close down two to three years later because they didn't make it.
SPEAKER_23: And so I shared with the committee, and they want a copy of our policy as soon as we pass it.
Unknown: But I just want folks to know that when different directors say that SMUD is leading the way, it is true.
Unknown: We are looking at the issues, and then we come up with a solution that is best for our customers.
SPEAKER_23: And so I was just really proud to be there and to hear the acknowledgment that, yes, it is possible to balance things.
SPEAKER_23: And even one public utility said that they're actually helping to lower the cost for their existing customers by getting their large AI users to do demand-side management and shed load during critical times.
SPEAKER_23: So that's the thing from the APPA.
SPEAKER_23: And I want you to know, Paul, that all those people love you.
SPEAKER_23: They know you, and they love you.
SPEAKER_23: And some of them were surprised that you were leaving.
SPEAKER_23: I was a little worried about those.
SPEAKER_23: But it was just really nice to be at that table and to know that SMUD is still leading the way, and we will continue to lead the way with Laura Angue.
SPEAKER_23: And my personal comments to you, boy, we have had a long ride, buddy.
SPEAKER_23: You know, I worked at SMUD for 20 years before I retired.
SPEAKER_23: And there were some times when Paul was my supervisor or our director.
Unknown: And what I can tell you is that Paul has really grown over the years, because when I first had him as my supervisor,
SPEAKER_23: he was much different than he is now.
SPEAKER_23: And I tell you, the age has helped him become more understanding, more able to see that different things happen that cause different things to happen.
SPEAKER_23: And it's been wonderful to be part of that.
SPEAKER_23: And I'm sure I've grown, too.
SPEAKER_23: I hope I've gotten easier to work with, and I hope that you know that I trust staff a whole lot more.
SPEAKER_23: But what I'll never forget about you is that you were always willing to give me a chance.
SPEAKER_23: You were always willing to listen to my ideas.
SPEAKER_23: There would be times when we would have to say, well, let's think about it.
SPEAKER_23: Let's just think about it.
SPEAKER_23: And we'll talk later.
Unknown: But it made a big difference to me how supportive you were of the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
SPEAKER_23: It was really important to me that you saw how people will give more of their heart and soul when they're seen and when they're listened to.
SPEAKER_23: So it's been a lot of fun, and I hate to see you go, but you deserve a break after 45 years.
SPEAKER_23: The thing is, will he take that break?
SPEAKER_23: Rosalind, you might have some work to do.
SPEAKER_23: But thank you, Paul.
SPEAKER_23: Thank you for being part of my SMUD career.
SPEAKER_23: Thank you for helping me be a good board member.
SPEAKER_23: And thank you for being a good friend.
SPEAKER_23: You're the best.
Unknown: Well, I guess it's my turn, Ward 5.
SPEAKER_07: So just a couple of community events real quick.
SPEAKER_07: I had the real pleasure of speaking to the new Nehemiah Emerging Leaders Program graduates from this year.
Unknown: And I felt like I was looking at all the future SMUD staff there in the audience because we have so many great SMUD staff people who went through that program,
SPEAKER_07: learning how to be leaders in today's world and in the future.
Unknown: So number one.
SPEAKER_07: Number two, I got to fill in for President Tamayo on the SACOG trip, Twin City Tour,
SPEAKER_07: where we studied what they have done with bus rapid transit in Minneapolis.
SPEAKER_07: And it was really pretty interesting the way they had, you know, they have a light rail system there,
SPEAKER_07: but they've really stopped expanding that and are now focusing really entirely on bus rapid transit,
Unknown: which is dedicated rights away for buses.
SPEAKER_07: And of course, they're doing some electric buses.
SPEAKER_07: That's all coming.
SPEAKER_07: We're pretty happy about that.
SPEAKER_07: But it's definitely an option for us in the future.
SPEAKER_07: So it was interesting to be there.
SPEAKER_07: SACOG is mostly a transportation planning organization, but it does have some electric overlap there.
SPEAKER_07: Last, the one I want to mention is attended the site selection announcement for Peak Energy.
SPEAKER_07: They're a sodium battery manufacturer that is moving into the Sacramento area
Unknown: and use a tremendous amount of power.
SPEAKER_07: They're going to have a lot of employees.
SPEAKER_07: There are very many good-paying jobs involved in this.
SPEAKER_07: And so I'm sitting there, and I wanted just to thank the staff for pulling this off.
SPEAKER_07: And it didn't just start when they came snooping around looking for a site.
SPEAKER_07: It started years ago when you all put in place the areas in the Tomis where there would be enough power
SPEAKER_07: to accept these large manufacturers and ordering the transformers that today are years away,
SPEAKER_07: but somehow we managed to have already, and that we could welcome this major manufacturer into the Sacramento area.
SPEAKER_07: And you all pulled that off.
SPEAKER_07: So thank you.
SPEAKER_07: Thank you for doing that.
SPEAKER_07: That's a lot of great jobs there.
Unknown: Paul, there's one thing I agree with everything everyone else has said.
SPEAKER_07: There's one thing I really have to say has meant so much to me,
Unknown: and that is that you never forgot the people who have a hard time paying their bills.
Unknown: And that is just so key.
SPEAKER_07: And I think all the board members agree with that.
SPEAKER_07: But in an industry where throughout the country double digit rate increases are common every year,
SPEAKER_07: where so many people struggle to pay their bills, where they just can't make ends meet
SPEAKER_07: because of these enormous power bills that are coming out,
SPEAKER_07: in some ways it would be easy to say, well, it kind of takes the pressure off us.
SPEAKER_07: We can ratchet the bills up a little.
SPEAKER_07: It'll be fine.
SPEAKER_07: Everybody else is.
SPEAKER_07: But the answer was always no.
SPEAKER_07: We're going to keep this thing below inflation.
Unknown: Probably the only CEO in the country that has said that and managed to do it.
Unknown: And so to that end, thank you.
Unknown: And it didn't stop at just keeping the rates low.
Unknown: It went on to finding all that grant money to go through the older neighborhoods
SPEAKER_07: and to retrofit them electrically, whether it's Meadowview, whether it's the North Gate Garden Land area,
SPEAKER_07: all the different programs that we found to help people live better in their homes
SPEAKER_07: with electricity that they can afford.
SPEAKER_07: And that's way beyond.
Unknown: It's the kind of thing we don't put in a job description, right?
SPEAKER_07: We'd say, hey, why don't you go find a couple of grants and maybe we can make things a little better.
SPEAKER_07: No, instead it's like this is going to be a major focus.
SPEAKER_07: We're going to set up an effort to land these grants.
SPEAKER_07: We're going to bring them in here that's just so far beyond what is really reasonable to expect from a CEO.
SPEAKER_07: But you did it.
Unknown: So thank you.
SPEAKER_07: Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_07: And I guess I'd like to pass on the one last thing.
SPEAKER_07: I think I've known Paul longer than anyone in the room.
SPEAKER_07: Even you, Rosalind.
Unknown: Because we went to high school together.
SPEAKER_07: And I remember Paul.
SPEAKER_07: I was a senior, but I remember Paul as a sophomore.
SPEAKER_07: And I actually thought that he had a ping pong paddle growing for a hand.
SPEAKER_07: Because everywhere he went was ping pong.
SPEAKER_07: Ping pong an hour before school.
SPEAKER_07: Ping pong lunch.
SPEAKER_07: Ping pong after school.
SPEAKER_07: I'm sorry, table tennis.
SPEAKER_07: But no, I do remember Paul from being in high school together.
Unknown: And we actually grew up kind of in the same neighborhood in North Sac.
SPEAKER_07: And memory serves.
SPEAKER_07: One of Paul's first jobs was at Sammy's Restaurant on Del Paso.
Unknown: What's that?
SPEAKER_07: Wiener Schnitzel.
SPEAKER_07: That's right.
Unknown: So you know, you roll a clock forward.
SPEAKER_07: They just landed a pretty good sized grant from us.
SPEAKER_07: I'll bet they have no recollection of that.
Unknown: Anyway, thank you for just going above and beyond and keeping your eye on the ball.
SPEAKER_07: And remembering what all of us here.
SPEAKER_07: We all say, but we were able to actually do.
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
Unknown: I'll just start with a couple of community events.
SPEAKER_11: I just want to thank again, Director Fishman.
SPEAKER_11: You're on the American River Parkway Foundation board.
SPEAKER_11: And it was a fantastic event.
SPEAKER_11: And it's such a jewel of our community.
SPEAKER_11: And the Parkway Foundation does so much to bolster the park that we all cherish
SPEAKER_11: and go exercise on and enjoy quiet time out there.
SPEAKER_11: So that was a beautiful event.
Unknown: I want to thank the staff who took us out to see the Twin Cities Solar Project site in Harold.
SPEAKER_11: That was very helpful.
SPEAKER_11: And so thank you so much to the staff who did that.
Unknown: Very helpful to see things yourself.
SPEAKER_11: And then went to the Sacramento Business Journal Women Who Mean Business Awards.
Unknown: I'd won it a few years ago.
SPEAKER_11: I know Dr. Brud Thompson has.
SPEAKER_11: And there's so many incredible women in this town.
Unknown: We had Donna Lucas, my friend Anne Fong.
SPEAKER_11: She won.
SPEAKER_11: But there was just so many impressive women up there doing such wonderful things in our community.
SPEAKER_11: And I really want to thank David Lichtman from the Sacramento Business Journal for doing that event
SPEAKER_11: and uplifting women who mean business.
SPEAKER_11: Because they run amazing businesses in this community and they deserve that kind of attention.
Unknown: So, Paul, first of all, it's easy following all of them because they said a lot of things.
SPEAKER_11: So I get to add on to that.
Unknown: So I just want to say, you know, there's two things.
SPEAKER_11: It's your work, but it's also who you are.
Unknown: And who you are is just a person of high integrity who cares about people deeply in this community.
SPEAKER_11: I don't know if people can fully understand, because we see him up close,
SPEAKER_11: how deeply he cares about this community and how much effort and time he put into making sure it's the best community it can be.
SPEAKER_11: We are not just your electricity provider.
SPEAKER_11: By keeping our rates low, reliable, and safe, we attract business to this community.
SPEAKER_11: We are a major reason businesses cite here.
SPEAKER_11: Many times we've been told it is the major reason they cited here.
SPEAKER_11: So that's due to all of our staff, but Paul, there's leadership that comes.
SPEAKER_11: And we've had a line of really good leaders.
SPEAKER_11: And you've still done their shoulders and you took it to a whole new level.
SPEAKER_11: And so when I was president in 2023, that was the first year we went and I said,
SPEAKER_11: look, if we're going to do this 2030 thing and shoot for the moon, then we should be telling the whole world how we do it.
SPEAKER_11: Because we're keeping the rates low, the power on, going green, going renewable, and providing great customer service.
SPEAKER_11: That is so unusual.
SPEAKER_11: And when we went, and Brandon was there, Director Rose, we saw it.
SPEAKER_11: I mean, we always hear in conferences, we have SMUD NV.
SPEAKER_11: Oh, you're with SMUD.
SPEAKER_11: We have SMUD NV.
SPEAKER_11: And I'm like, really?
SPEAKER_11: That's really a thing.
SPEAKER_11: But internationally, we were in this room, absolutely huge, biggest old table I've ever seen.
Unknown: When Paul was talking, the entire room of CEOs of the world's biggest utilities could have heard a pin drop in that room.
Unknown: Because what Paul was saying was about our 2030 goal, how we were getting there, how we were not going over cost of living rate increases.
SPEAKER_11: And we were doing it by uplifting the whole of the community and not leaving anybody behind.
SPEAKER_11: It absolutely blew their socks off.
SPEAKER_11: And I remember that we had a beer later with the gentleman who ran the utility of Ireland.
SPEAKER_11: And the whole country.
SPEAKER_11: And he was just like, how did you do that?
SPEAKER_11: You know?
SPEAKER_11: And we were, it was just fascinating to watch people just soak up what this group and this team has done with your leadership.
Unknown: We got the green bonds done.
SPEAKER_11: We got, when we were there in Dubai, we got the certificate, the first in the world climate bond.
SPEAKER_11: We did the first signing of an international agreement with Edison International.
SPEAKER_11: So we had the private sector and SMUD representing public sector signing with other utilities of the world saying we will all share information.
SPEAKER_11: Because as we're all trying to get to more renewable energy, we really want to make sure that we're not reinventing the wheel.
SPEAKER_11: That we're not all testing the same thing at the same time and wasting our time.
SPEAKER_11: You test this, we'll test that, and we'll share data.
SPEAKER_11: And that's how we'll all move further faster.
SPEAKER_11: That kind of international cooperation is needed now more than ever.
SPEAKER_11: And we are the tip of the spear.
SPEAKER_11: And I really hope the community understands what leadership we do bring.
SPEAKER_11: But Paul, you really led us there.
Unknown: And we cannot thank you enough the world.
SPEAKER_11: Well, someday I understand what you did.
SPEAKER_11: But really, it's incredible.
SPEAKER_11: And I know, Laura, being our zero carbon officer, you are going to take this to the next level and stand on his shoulders as he stood on our lens and all those before him.
SPEAKER_11: So thank you for everything.
SPEAKER_11: You're a dear friend and a wonderful human.
SPEAKER_11: And it's my honor to know you.
SPEAKER_11: Thank you for your service.
Unknown: All right.
SPEAKER_17: So I get a turn now.
SPEAKER_17: So first, the activities I had out in the community.
SPEAKER_17: I had the pleasure of attending a Los Rios community college district board meeting.
SPEAKER_17: And I just very briefly wanted to represent SMUD in welcoming their new chancellor and just talking about how much we value our partnership with them in improving the region on workforce and STEM education.
SPEAKER_17: I just felt that it was important that, you know, just to sort of underline that relationship.
SPEAKER_17: It wasn't a big ceremony or anything.
SPEAKER_17: I just went there to say welcome to Sacramento or welcome back to Sacramento.
SPEAKER_17: Chancellor Torrance Powell, he had worked for Los Rios previously, went away, I think, to Santa Rosa.
SPEAKER_17: And then we got him back.
SPEAKER_17: And so happy to have him here.
SPEAKER_17: Participated in a number of the Morelia delegation events and went to City Hall where the City Hall passed the resolution to do their part in establishing the sister city relationship.
SPEAKER_17: Jose Badipa-Memba and I attended a workshop or presentations on economic development.
SPEAKER_17: And Jose did a great job of representing SMUD, doing a presentation, talking about, you know, how we work in the community and support economic development.
SPEAKER_17: And I think people were very impressed with that.
SPEAKER_17: And all of that just sort of helped strengthen the relationship that we hope to continue to build between our region.
SPEAKER_17: Because, you know, it is the city of Sacramento, but really we're a more regional organization and thinking in those terms of developing the relationship between the regions.
Unknown: It was great.
SPEAKER_17: I attended the peak energy event as well.
SPEAKER_17: I had a chance to speak and really talk about, you know, how important that particular project is for our region.
SPEAKER_17: It's a $70 million investment.
SPEAKER_17: They moved here instead of Houston.
SPEAKER_17: I think you're probably going to talk about it in your thing.
SPEAKER_17: So I don't want to steal too much thunder.
SPEAKER_17: But SMUD was a key reason that they decided to pick Sacramento.
SPEAKER_17: And so, you know, Blue Diamond employees that are getting laid off are going to get retrained, work in this factory, and make more than twice as much money as they were making before.
SPEAKER_17: So it's an incredible win for our region.
SPEAKER_17: It's a great, you know, great start to our efforts and the whole region's efforts to build this ecosystem of advanced manufacturing, especially things that are related to energy and what we need to have in place to make this clean energy transition.
SPEAKER_17: So, and thank you for your leadership.
SPEAKER_17: Thank you to our Laura Angwai and James Frasier for leading the effort.
SPEAKER_17: But, you know, that was all part of, you know, getting them to come here and them understanding our commitment to working with them.
SPEAKER_17: But it's really, that's just another example of your leadership in the vision that you have supporting things like G-Sec and what started out as a mobility center.
SPEAKER_17: And oh, yeah, I was going to mention that as well.
SPEAKER_17: So I went to a workshop that they had at what is now called Cal-Epic.
SPEAKER_17: And there are folks, a lot of folks from the state, both agencies and then representatives of legislature.
SPEAKER_17: And we did a nice little tour of their facility.
SPEAKER_17: And they had all these high school students who were really enthusiastic about learning how to be Rivian technicians.
SPEAKER_17: And it was hands-on.
SPEAKER_17: They have these, they built a site that's exactly set up the way Rivian has its service centers, which is apparently standardized throughout the country.
SPEAKER_17: So they've set it up that way.
SPEAKER_17: And then these young people work there, learn how it works.
SPEAKER_17: They go to a real service center, shadow people, come back, go to the next level.
SPEAKER_17: And then by the time they're done, they know whether that's something that they want to pursue.
SPEAKER_17: And then also Rivian knows, oh, yeah, this person worked here several times and they were great.
SPEAKER_17: They're going to get a job.
SPEAKER_17: So that's something that we've been very supportive of with Cal-Epic.
SPEAKER_17: And it's great.
SPEAKER_17: That's another part of that.
SPEAKER_17: Ecosystem that we're creating.
SPEAKER_17: So that was yet another fruit of your vision and your leadership.
SPEAKER_17: And then finally, I'll talk about the SAC Asian Sports Foundation.
SPEAKER_17: That was just so joyful.
SPEAKER_17: And the personal connection that you had to it.
SPEAKER_17: And I know that we support a lot of great things where we may not have that long-term personal connection.
SPEAKER_17: But it was great to hear from you your really long-term personal connection and your family's connection to that.
SPEAKER_17: And what that very important institution is doing to help us advance electrification, help people understand,
SPEAKER_17: yes, you can cook Chinese food in an electric walk and it'll be good.
SPEAKER_17: And it's important that it's in a very well-respected and visible institution in our community.
SPEAKER_17: So it's just a great thing.
SPEAKER_17: So moving on to, and I know I've been spouting pop, praise of Paul, and stealing that from us.
SPEAKER_17: And I also got the idea of when I set up the shrine in my house for the POP,
SPEAKER_17: it's going to have something to do with Wiener Schnitzel.
SPEAKER_17: But there's so many things that you've done.
SPEAKER_17: And the 2030 carbon plan, which you brought to us, or at least the idea of it, you didn't bring the plan,
SPEAKER_17: but you brought the outlines of it.
SPEAKER_17: This is what we're going to do.
SPEAKER_17: It's like, oh my God, this guy is amazing.
SPEAKER_17: So we're going to hire him and we're going to hold him to this 2030 zero carbon plan.
SPEAKER_17: And it's far exceeded what I ever expected.
SPEAKER_17: It's so great.
SPEAKER_17: And even though we have all these headwinds, we've still made so much progress.
SPEAKER_17: We've advanced really the industry and what people expect out of their utility.
SPEAKER_17: And doing it all with, and actually I'm really proud of that, but I'm even more proud of all the investment
SPEAKER_17: and all the intention and resources and energy of this organization that's put into helping the community
SPEAKER_17: in so many different ways with workforce development, helping people lower their bills,
SPEAKER_17: helping people just be able to pay their bills.
SPEAKER_17: All the different things that we've done to improve the community under your leadership,
SPEAKER_17: just like when people ask me what do we do at SMUD and why am I there?
SPEAKER_17: It's like, because I want to make sure that we keep doing this stuff and make sure they understand.
SPEAKER_17: As board members, we don't do the work, but we say, yeah, keep doing that.
SPEAKER_17: And you have really made it happen.
SPEAKER_17: You're the reason that, or you're a key part of the reason that people say, I love SMUD so often.
SPEAKER_17: You hear it all the time.
SPEAKER_17: I'm sure you hear it.
SPEAKER_17: I'm sure most of our staff out in the community hear it when people find out that they work at SMUD.
SPEAKER_17: So it's under your leadership that we have this culture where our staff, we're all going in the same direction,
SPEAKER_17: and that's why people love us.
SPEAKER_17: And by extension, because you're there, people love you.
Unknown: And I know that, you know, I've heard people say that they love you.
SPEAKER_17: Probably not the people, just most people don't even know that SMUD is a public agency.
SPEAKER_17: But that love for SMUD, a lot of it is because of you, because of your leadership.
Unknown: You're such a great person, and that's really resulted way beyond just your technical abilities and leadership.
SPEAKER_17: But just that heart that you have, I think that's what's led us to these incredible results.
SPEAKER_17: So I'm going to, before I get too verklempt, I'm going to stop there, and I'm going to pass it on to you.
SPEAKER_17: And thank you so much for everything that you've done for the last, well, your whole life, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_17: It's your whole life.
SPEAKER_17: You've done wonderful things.
Unknown: Although Rob probably has some things to share about your high school career.
SPEAKER_17: All right.
SPEAKER_25: Go ahead, Paul.
SPEAKER_25: Well, thank you so much, President Tamayo.
SPEAKER_25: First of all, thank you so much, President Tamayo and the board, for the kind words.
SPEAKER_25: A lot of retirement.
SPEAKER_25: Also, I want to thank, obviously, Senator Ashby, and also Matt from Hummee Bear's office for coming down,
SPEAKER_25: for presenting the resolution.
SPEAKER_25: But I really want to say a big thanks to everyone in the room today.
SPEAKER_25: So all of my good friends that I've worked with for the past four decades.
SPEAKER_25: A lot of you have not been here for the past four decades, but some of you have, some of you have not.
SPEAKER_25: So it's so great to see Steve, Hoyt from PSO, Frug, all those folks that you'll hear from, Sarah, James over there,
SPEAKER_25: and I see Andrew back at the legal that we spent all the time together.
SPEAKER_25: So I think what it is is that when I look back, I'm avoiding my family for a second right now.
Unknown: I'll get to that a little bit later.
SPEAKER_25: But I just really want to say that, you know, I want to thank the board for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, you know,
Unknown: to serve an organization that I absolutely love.
SPEAKER_25: I think Nancy, you said it right.
SPEAKER_25: We've been together for a long time.
SPEAKER_25: And you're absolutely right.
SPEAKER_25: I just did the math today.
SPEAKER_25: I have spent 70% of my life as SMUD.
Unknown: Almost my whole entire adult life actually have spent on SMUD.
SPEAKER_25: And I'm an engineer kind of guy, right?
SPEAKER_25: So I calculated that I have done over 1,500 board meetings and committee meetings with 90,000 hours.
SPEAKER_25: That alone is a good reason to retire.
Unknown: So when I look back and say, you know what, it's really that, you know, people always ask me, it's like, you know, what's the SMUD's secret of success?
SPEAKER_25: And I said, there's two things.
Unknown: The first thing is that I'm looking at all of you.
SPEAKER_25: We have a board that is very innovative, very visionary, very courageous to set goals that other utilities and other boards is afraid to set because of the failure of failure.
Unknown: But what's more amazing is that besides doing that, a lot of people don't know this.
SPEAKER_25: You guys are one of the most committed board that I know in serving the Sacramento region.
SPEAKER_25: People don't know that our board member has 800 committee meetings last year.
SPEAKER_25: So on average, each one of you has attended at least 125 committee meetings.
SPEAKER_25: And that's a lot.
SPEAKER_25: But not that you just attend meetings.
SPEAKER_25: You go to meet customers where they're at and you really take your time to listen about really what challenges they have.
SPEAKER_25: And you come back and you challenge SMUD staff to see what we can do to help.
SPEAKER_25: So you heard President Tamayo talk about how did we came up with the, you know, completely electrifying the whole middle area.
SPEAKER_25: That's because our board members went out and did neighborhood walks.
SPEAKER_25: And they hear how difficult it is, you know, living in those really poor conditions, you know, in the houses, poorly insulated, you know, equipment doesn't work.
SPEAKER_25: And you trust staff.
SPEAKER_25: And trust the staff to say, go find a solution.
SPEAKER_25: And we did, you know, working with, obviously, with the city, the county, and also with the neighborhood associations and with the California Matsui that we were able to get $3 million from the federal government, $3 million from SMUD, and we completely revitalized the whole neighborhood.
Unknown: And this is really from hearing from the board out in the community, listening to our community and our customers about what's important and what really should a utility do.
Unknown: I still remember, you probably don't remember that we actually created the Zero Carbon Plan.
SPEAKER_25: We spent six months on the community asking them, what do you expect from a community owned electric utility?
Unknown: And we heard loud and clear, obviously, yeah, keep the rates affordable, keep the powers on, do everything you can to address climate change, but also be much bigger than that, making sure no community get left behind, making sure that, you know, people will understand that there's 100,000 of our customers can't pay the bill every single month.
Unknown: We need to do everything we can to make, to improve the quality of life for the Sacramento area.
SPEAKER_25: I still remember the board changing, you know, Vision 1A and 1B because we said, that is what's important.
SPEAKER_25: That's what our customers told us.
SPEAKER_25: And the board has the courage to actually set that forward, but also having the trust and trusting staff that we're going to execute.
Unknown: A lot of times, when we know people always talk about, I always talk about this is that our board is a policy governance board, which most people don't understand what that is.
SPEAKER_25: And thus, the board is set on looking to strategic vision, where do you want SMUT to go?
SPEAKER_25: How do you measure our performance?
SPEAKER_25: And then empower staff to go do the right thing.
Unknown: And so for that, I'm actually forever grateful for giving me a chance to work with you, but also work with this amazing staff.
Unknown: So for the last 40, you know, for the last half and half years, it's absolute an honor and a privilege working with you.
SPEAKER_25: And a lot of you have known me for many years, and I'm really thankful for each one of you has helped me grow as a leader in one way or another.
SPEAKER_25: So thank you.
SPEAKER_25: You know, Brandon, when I look at you, I said, you always keep us honest in terms of how do you make the budget presentation better so the public can actually understand, right?
Unknown: Because it's complex.
SPEAKER_25: It's $2.3 billion.
SPEAKER_25: You know, when you get up there and talk about it, how do you make sure that we're spending the money?
SPEAKER_25: That's important to our customers.
SPEAKER_25: And how do you hold us accountable?
SPEAKER_25: So thank you.
SPEAKER_25: And then, Nancy, you know, you've been, you know, sorry, Director Bowie-Thompson, you know, you've been, you know, you've been always been an advocate of solar about all the customer programs and always really about challenging us.
SPEAKER_25: What do we need to do for our low-income customers?
SPEAKER_25: The people who can't pay the bill, because you are those folks that lift first hands what is it like to having without the means to pay your bills or put food on the table from your family when you're growing up.
SPEAKER_25: So thank you for always reminding us that.
SPEAKER_25: And then, Director Kurz, I mean, I always said, you know, what, we, I know we went to school together, went to high school together.
SPEAKER_25: And I was always never forget, you know, Director Kurz, when you actually came and talked to me about really, you know, when you are a leader, when you run, you know,
SPEAKER_25: smart CEO, is more than just, you know, being a leader of a company.
Unknown: You have to understand that we are a community-owned organization, and everything that we do, we have to keep the customer in mind.
SPEAKER_25: I don't know if you remember this or not.
SPEAKER_25: He told me that every dollar we take out from our rates, we take out from our customers.
SPEAKER_25: Don't ever forget that.
SPEAKER_25: So thank you.
SPEAKER_25: And then, Director, you know, President DeBio, you're the one that's always inspired staff.
SPEAKER_25: I know you're kidding when you say, hey, I, you know, we do all the wonderful things that smart staff does.
SPEAKER_25: I want them to recognize.
Unknown: I want you to get, make sure that people know what smart does, and I think we're well-entracted for your 52 awards per year.
SPEAKER_25: So thank you for that.
SPEAKER_25: Thank you for that inspirational.
Unknown: And then for, you know, for, you know, Director Fisherman, you know, you've always been, you know, and for those of you who don't know, Director Fisherman actually has WorkforceMUT before, left.
SPEAKER_25: And so, Director Fisherman is the one I usually talk to call about, hey, Director Fisherman, if we do this, what does the community think?
SPEAKER_25: How does news media going to react to this?
SPEAKER_25: And you've always been, you know, very, you've been kind of my sage in terms of putting balance into something that's a lot of times very complicated, if you wouldn't understand.
SPEAKER_25: I always say, geez, Paul, I don't know.
Unknown: So thank you so much.
SPEAKER_25: And then, of course, you know, Director Herbert, you know, you've been a friend, a colleague for many years.
SPEAKER_25: And I know how passionate you are about, you know, making sure you address the inequality that we actually, you know, that you see in the community that we live in.
SPEAKER_25: And so I always always be grateful.
SPEAKER_25: And then, of course, you know, Director Sanborn, you know, our environmental champion.
SPEAKER_25: So one thing that I absolutely love, you know, and cherish our relationship together, our friendship together, is that you have always never let things get in the way of the principles.
SPEAKER_25: You love the environment.
SPEAKER_25: You do what's right.
SPEAKER_25: It doesn't matter if things go tough.
SPEAKER_25: You always stick to your guns.
SPEAKER_25: I wanted to say thank you.
SPEAKER_25: So when I look around the room, I want to make sure, you know, that, yes, being the CEO, I have the, I guess, the privilege of getting all the accolades.
SPEAKER_25: But I've said, you know, I think a lot of board members have said, you know, now after being the CEO, I really don't do much except being the biggest cheerleader for SMUD.
SPEAKER_25: It is really the amazing executive team that we have here and all the 2,500 employees that we have at SMUD that day in and day out make SMUD one of the best utilities in the U.S.
Unknown: Not just because they work hard, because they care.
SPEAKER_25: So people will ask me, is that, well, how do you get people that care?
SPEAKER_25: It's because we really hire people that truly believe their purpose is to serve the people in Sacramento.
SPEAKER_25: And they truly believe that in their DNA, and we hire people in the DNA.
SPEAKER_25: And so if you actually look at our staff, you know, they do it.
SPEAKER_25: Yes, I mean, SMUD is a great place to work, but it's really, they're passionate about serving the community, making life better.
Unknown: As a lot of us actually in the room, you know, that works for SMUD talk about how cool it is that you have a job, that every day when you go to work, I know Nancy's laughing right now, but Director Thompson's laughing right now is because we talked about a lot.
SPEAKER_25: How cool it is that you go to work every day and it's to make life better for your neighbors, for your friends, and for the business that you go to.
SPEAKER_25: Such a cool job, and I truly, truly bless that I have been able to work for this amazing organization for the past 45 years, and given the opportunity and the privilege and the honor to lead it for the last five and a half.
SPEAKER_25: So this is something that I'll always cherish for the rest of my life.
SPEAKER_25: And then I'm going to go back to thanking the folks I need to thank the most, my family, who's here tonight.
SPEAKER_25: So I consider tonight is one of the major accomplishments because it took me 45 years to convince my wife and her family to come visit me in my office.
Unknown: I know it's hard to believe. This is the first time to have visited me in my office today.
SPEAKER_25: And this is the first board meetings that they have attended. So I think without the support, I have my wife, before I have Rosalina over there.
SPEAKER_25: We've been married for over 40 years, so I'm happy that she's still married to me.
SPEAKER_25: And of course, my oldest daughter, Nicole, and then Kristin, my middle daughter, and her husband, Corey.
SPEAKER_25: So without their love and support, I wouldn't be able to do the stuff that I do.
SPEAKER_25: And I really want to say thank you, and I want to give them public knowledge, which I know they probably hate.
SPEAKER_25: But I really want to say thank you, Rosalina, and the love of my life, and also my family.
SPEAKER_25: So I just want to say thank you.
SPEAKER_25: But overall, we've got such a great team here, and I don't want to continue on.
SPEAKER_25: But in terms of saying praises for our employees, but our employees is the best of the best.
SPEAKER_25: And you guys are the best board, I think, that any organization could have.
SPEAKER_25: And I just really feel such a privileged honor to work for all of you, for all of this year.
SPEAKER_25: Thank you.
Unknown: Oh, I do actually forgot one thing, because I didn't look at any notes.
SPEAKER_25: And so I do want to say huge congratulations before I sign off to Laura Angway, you know, one of my good friends for the past 20 years.
SPEAKER_25: I think I knew Laura when she first actually came into distribution 18 years ago.
Unknown: And we actually worked on SDIT together, worked on ADMS together.
Unknown: And for those of you who don't know enough about Laura, it's that she is one of the most passionate, dedicated, and caring person that I ever know.
SPEAKER_25: So I couldn't be more confident, more happy for Laura stepping in as the next CEO, because I know she is going to take Smut to the next level.
SPEAKER_25: And I'm looking forward, you know, to reading all the accolades about her and seeing all the great things that she's doing.
SPEAKER_25: And she's going to have a wonderful team.
SPEAKER_25: I have Laura Lewis here that worked for over two decades.
SPEAKER_25: Jose Mujiba Mamba, my chief operating officer, Frankie McDermott, Shrej Kota, my CIO, Randy Bowton, my chief customer officer, and Kara, and my chief communication, and Scott Martin.
SPEAKER_25: You guys have been wonderful, not just as colleagues, but really as a friend, that we have went through many, many challenges together.
Unknown: And it's because of your hard work we made it through all of them, from crazy substation fires to crazy large plus power plant going down during the heat wave, right before the heat wave, to heat wave during the summer, to gas prices 10 times as normal, to six storms in nine days knocking out 600,000 customers.
SPEAKER_25: And we made it all through with all your help.
SPEAKER_25: So, Jose, thank you so much.
SPEAKER_25: And congratulations, Laura.
Unknown: Now, back to you, President Tamayo.
SPEAKER_17: Wow, 1,500 meetings, and this is the last one.
SPEAKER_17: You're welcome to come back anytime.
SPEAKER_17: They're public meetings.
SPEAKER_17: I mean, come back as, you know, you'll get your three minutes.
SPEAKER_17: But obviously, you are going to be missed.
SPEAKER_17: I definitely will miss you.
SPEAKER_17: But I have your phone number, and I know where you live.
SPEAKER_17: So, and, you know, normally we have, we frequently have a video.
SPEAKER_17: We weren't expecting a video, but we've been lying to you.
SPEAKER_17: We do have a video for you.
SPEAKER_17: So, it looks like you actually are surprised.
SPEAKER_17: So, it's a look back on your incredible career and the impact you've made on SMUD
SPEAKER_17: and this community and even the world.
SPEAKER_17: And so, really looking forward to seeing it.
SPEAKER_17: So, anyway, thank you so much for everything.
SPEAKER_17: And we'll be seeing you.
SPEAKER_17: It's been an absolute pleasure to be on the board with you as our CEO.
SPEAKER_17: All right. Thank you, Paul.
SPEAKER_17: So, let's fire up the video. Check it out.
Unknown: I was actually shocked when he called me and said that he was retiring
SPEAKER_17: because I thought, you know, how could he retire?
SPEAKER_17: He's having such a good time.
Unknown: What I love about Paul in his 44-plus years here is that he is an engineer by trade,
SPEAKER_09: but he is led through his compassion and just deep caring for the utility.
SPEAKER_09: And he started as an intern.
SPEAKER_09: He grew up here at SMUD, and that in itself is a testament to who he is.
Unknown: That longevity is so amazing that he's been here for that long,
SPEAKER_20: and he's served in virtually every leadership position there is at SMUD.
Unknown: Paul's journey is remarkable because he actually was in an engineering discipline
SPEAKER_27: and then ended up in customer, ended up in many other roles along the way,
SPEAKER_27: and ultimately CEO.
Unknown: Out of that was born this intense sense of loyalty for the organization
SPEAKER_08: and for its mission, and I think that's what the 45 years says.
Unknown: To see him grow as a supervisor, even though he didn't want to do it,
SPEAKER_27: I think was really something that I enjoyed watching.
SPEAKER_27: He helped lead the transformation during the energy crisis.
SPEAKER_27: He helped implement a significant organizational overhaul called re-engineering.
SPEAKER_27: He was involved in the YOLO annexation effort, Smart Sacramento,
SPEAKER_27: the largest grant that anybody ever got from the Department of Energy,
SPEAKER_27: all of our smart grid installation, and now, of course, the Zero Carbon Plant.
Unknown: And we said, we want to get to net zero.
SPEAKER_07: Guy like Paul, he jumped on and said, no, we're getting to carbon zero.
SPEAKER_07: That's unbelievable.
Unknown: He was the most determined person I had ever seen, and still is.
Unknown: Paul took the 2030 goal and turned it into a plan.
SPEAKER_15: It has concrete vision, it has real goals,
SPEAKER_15: and really is making what we thought was a moonshot into reality.
Unknown: A really key part of our 2030 Zero Carbon Plant is that we stress the need
SPEAKER_17: to make sure that everybody is brought along in our clean energy transformation,
SPEAKER_17: and DEIB is a part of that.
Unknown: That culture has really strengthened under Paul.
SPEAKER_17: It was strong before. I think it's even stronger now.
SPEAKER_23: Some people think that Paul is just a nice, sweet, gregarious guy,
SPEAKER_23: and he is that, but he's also very strategic.
SPEAKER_23: Paul is a rare soul that is driven to get results,
SPEAKER_23: but also driven to have people feel good about themselves when they work at SMUD.
Unknown: We worked on things like SMUD's first scholarship programs, grants to nonprofits,
SPEAKER_08: expanding the internship program.
SPEAKER_08: All of those things that help communities that have been left behind feel included,
SPEAKER_08: but also can help give them paths to better lives for them.
SPEAKER_08: What stands out for me is Paul's heart.
SPEAKER_11: He has a very big heart. He cares about people first,
SPEAKER_11: but he's so good at what he does technically.
SPEAKER_11: It's just a very unusual combination to have both in one person.
SPEAKER_11: I don't see many leaders that have the level of integrity and humanity
SPEAKER_11: and technical skill all in one that we have been so blessed with with Paul.
Unknown: A major impact that he has made is really strengthening that interface
SPEAKER_26: between our customers and SMUD and climate change.
Unknown: We should say Dr. Paul Lau received his honorary doctorate from Sacramento State
SPEAKER_01: because of the incredible work that he has done as a leader in SMUD,
SPEAKER_01: but also throughout the entire community, including his investment at Sacramento State.
SPEAKER_01: It's the highest honor that we as a system can give to someone who is within our community.
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of people within our community who see him as a hero.
SPEAKER_24: Paul has brought SMUD into a national leadership position
SPEAKER_24: where we're recognizable as a leader of clean energy
SPEAKER_24: and looking forward to the innovative policies that we are putting forward at the federal level.
SPEAKER_24: What Paul has done was demonstrate that this is real.
SPEAKER_24: It works, and we're going to push forward because of what Paul has done.
SPEAKER_24: SMUD is on this track to be probably the most consequential utility in the nation.
Unknown: He's changed the world.
SPEAKER_11: I mean, I sat there while I watched Paul speak to a roundtable of sheikhs and leaders,
SPEAKER_11: CEOs of utilities from around the world, and talk about what we were doing at SMUD.
SPEAKER_11: And then all these leaders came up to Paul afterwards and said,
SPEAKER_11: how are you doing this? I want to meet with you. I want to learn more.
SPEAKER_11: I want to come see your utilities. I want to send my staff.
SPEAKER_06: It's just such a nice guy just down to earth, very reasonable, very sensible.
SPEAKER_06: And to have that personality in such a key position in the region,
SPEAKER_06: Paul was instrumental in creating the opportunities to be on the global stage
SPEAKER_06: and present the vision and the ideas that not only SMUD has for clean energy,
SPEAKER_06: but also representing the region.
SPEAKER_06: And we were very happy to be a part of those conversations.
SPEAKER_06: The thing I appreciate about Paul is just being a steady hand at the wheel
SPEAKER_04: and helping guide SMUD through many, many challenging moments
SPEAKER_04: and really emerging where you have some of the lowest cost, most reliable clean electricity in the state
SPEAKER_04: and to showcase the best of what public power can be.
Unknown: He is one of the most confident and determined person I've ever met in my life.
SPEAKER_21: Even when we first met, when he was just an engineering student
SPEAKER_21: and working part-time in a Chinese restaurant, I already discovered the characteristic of him.
SPEAKER_21: And I always have faith that whenever he determined to do something, he would get it done.
SPEAKER_21: He definitely is a great father, great role model for my kids.
Unknown: Ever since we were growing up, he was there for every sports game, graduation,
SPEAKER_22: and he was from the smallest events at school.
SPEAKER_22: He's always there rooting for us from day one.
SPEAKER_22: So now it's our turn to pay it forward and be his biggest cheerleader in this next chapter for him
SPEAKER_22: as he is going to retire and enjoy his best life.
SPEAKER_22: So thank you, Dad. We love you.
Unknown: My dad has taught me a lot of lessons growing up in life,
SPEAKER_12: but I think the one that has really stuck with me is that perseverance and hard work
SPEAKER_12: are two traits that matter a lot and are two things that I can do and you don't have to be born with.
SPEAKER_12: Those are two lessons that I'm really grateful that my dad taught me and also showed me.
SPEAKER_02: I think one lesson is probably hard work.
SPEAKER_02: My dad, ever since we were young, has really instilled that into us
SPEAKER_02: and always has been if you commit to something, put your whole heart into it and do it 100%.
Unknown: From the first time I met him, what struck me was his generosity towards everybody,
SPEAKER_03: making everybody feel welcomed and everybody important.
SPEAKER_03: Sacramento is going to miss him dearly, especially Smud.
SPEAKER_00: He is the same person throughout, and whether we're either at a barbecue or at the Smud Gala
SPEAKER_00: or even on family vacation, he brings his authentic self every time.
SPEAKER_00: And I really admire that about him as he's earnest to that
SPEAKER_00: and is able to always bring that same energy, which I really appreciate.
Unknown: I'm going to miss Paul terribly.
SPEAKER_17: It's just been a great experience over the last five years with him as CEO.
SPEAKER_17: It's just a really rewarding experience.
Unknown: He looked at what was best for all of us, for the environment, for Smud, our employees and the community.
SPEAKER_09: So he will be greatly missed for all those things.
Unknown: He has devoted his career, his life to our community, to the Smud family,
SPEAKER_26: and it is why we are shining here in this community.
SPEAKER_26: Congratulations! We love you, Dad!
Unknown: Can we say thank you to the staff to put that together? That was beautiful. Thank you.
Unknown: Yeah, we hadn't seen it. That was amazing. I think it really captures a lot.
SPEAKER_17: So thank you very much. Great job on putting that together.
SPEAKER_17: I'm so glad we got to surprise you with that.
Unknown: Do we have any summary of board direction?
SPEAKER_17: No, we do not.
Unknown: Okay. So before we are officially adjourned,
SPEAKER_17: I think Director Sanborn wanted to say a few words about it.
Unknown: Thank you.
SPEAKER_11: So first I want to wish, I don't know if you all heard,
SPEAKER_11: but Supervisor Rich Desmond unfortunately had a very serious accident on his motorcycle.
SPEAKER_11: He was hit going down towards Slough House.
SPEAKER_11: A person fell asleep at the wheel and ran into him while he was on his motorcycle.
SPEAKER_11: And he was in the hospital for days. He's home. He's recovering. It's going to be long.
SPEAKER_11: But I just wanted to put it out there that we could all wish him well and a fast healing.
SPEAKER_11: He loves this community and that was a really close call.
SPEAKER_11: And he's promised his wife he will not ride a motorcycle again.
Unknown: So best wishes to Supervisor Desmond. We're so sorry to hear about that.
SPEAKER_11: So I'm wearing this because I just came back midnight last night from Waikiki,
SPEAKER_11: where we were living aloha. My husband's family goes back to the mid 1800s in Hawaii.
SPEAKER_11: And his father passed and we put him to rest off of Diamond Head.
SPEAKER_11: And his name was Peter Sanborn. And I'd like to adjourn in his honor tonight.
SPEAKER_11: He was a great father-in-law. He asked me all the time about all the environmental things,
SPEAKER_11: especially what was going on at SMUD and what we were doing.
Unknown: He loved it and just thought that we were the greatest utility that he had ever heard of.
SPEAKER_11: So I just want to say, rest in peace, Pete Sanborn. Mahalo nui aloha. Thank you.
Unknown: Thank you for sharing that, Director Sanborn. And best wishes to you and Brad and the rest of your family.
SPEAKER_17: So we concluded our business. I'm really going to miss you, Paul, but we'll be in touch.
SPEAKER_17: And so this meeting is adjourned. Thank you.