The 2024 Rancho Bernardo Hall of Fame inductees are Reed Reichert and Gary Saks.

The following appeared in the RB News/Journal:

Reed Reichert, Gary Saks selected for the Rancho Bernardo Hall of Fame



By Elizabeth Marie Himchak

April 5, 2024 3:09 PM PT

Longtime community volunteers Reed Reichert and Gary Saks have been selected for membership in the Rancho Bernardo Hall of Fame. As the Class of 2024, Reichert and Saks will be inducted during an Aug. 3 celebration at Silvergate Rancho Bernardo. “We are very excited about our new inductees becoming members,” said RB Hall of Fame President Debbie Kurth. “This year is extra special since we are celebrating our 50th anniversary. It will be a wonderful night for all who attend.”

Reichert was selected for his leadership in the Kiwanis Club of Los Rancheros, which has led to numerous projects that benefited those in and outside of Rancho Bernardo, Kurth said. “I was absolutely flabbergasted when Jeff Shea approached me six weeks ago saying I want to nominate you for the Rancho Bernardo Hall of Fame,” Reichert said. “Since I moved here what always impressed me about Rancho Bernardo … was the participation of its residents in making this a better community and how much they volunteer,” he said. “To be recognized by the community … is humbling, I’m grateful and surprised. … It was very unexpected and is a great honor.”

The retired banker said he moved from Portland, Oregon, to RB in 2010 to help care for his mother, Lois Reichert, an RB resident who died in late March, and because he has a lot of family in San Diego.

Reichert, 78, said his desire to help others was due to a lesson he learned as a child from his father, L.S. Reichert, while growing up in Hoople, North Dakota. He recalled that as a boy of 7 or 8 he asked his father for a new baseball glove. His father, knowing he did not need another one, said he should be grateful for what he had. The elder Reichert also repeated a poem his father told him at around the same age. “He said, ‘I cried because I had no shoes, then I met a man who had no feet,’” Reichert said. “I had no response for that.” Reichert said he did not fully understand until a week later. He saw a boy his age wearing galoshes and made a comment about the boy wearing them in June. The boy said they were the only shoes he had.

“A couple days later … I took all the shoes I had in my closet and put them on his front step,” Reichert said. His mother was upset with his deed until his father explained what had inspired it. As an adult, Reichert continued doing for others. In 2011, through the local Pepperdine Alumni Club (his son, Mitchell, is an alumnus) he started San Diego USO Waves of Appreciation. The program provided bags filled with snacks to military personnel flying during the holidays through San Diego International Airport. The project was inspired by a young Marine who told Reichert he was worried that no food would be served during their flight because he had not eaten for many hours. Realizing many young military members do not have enough money to buy food while traveling, Reichert decided to distribute the free snack bags to tide them over. The program provided over 36,000 food bags and raised over $200,000 during its duration from 2011 to 2019, he said. It was through Waves of Appreciation that Reichert became acquainted with the Kiwanis Club. The Rancho Bernardo Lady Lions gave a donation and suggested he also ask the Kiwanians. They, along with the Knights of Columbus at San Rafael Catholic Church, became major supporters by not only providing donations but volunteers. “It was an amazing community effort by Rancho Bernardans … who were huge supporters,” Reichert said. “If not for Rancho Bernardo, I doubt it would have gotten off the ground.” When the pandemic put an end to Waves of Appreciation, Reichert decided to become a Kiwanian. “I always respected them for (their help), and when Waves ended I knew if I wanted to continue doing things (Kiwanis) would be a great organization to be a part of,” he said. Since becoming a Kiwanian in 2020, Reichert has been president and vice president of the club. He is credited with increasing its membership from 17 to 41, adding new service projects and increasing its fundraising. This led to starting Breakfast of Champions, which awards $18,000 among 10 Poway Unified student-athletes annually, the “Stand Up So They Can Stand Down” golf tournament that raised over $20,000 for the last four years to help homeless veterans, and starting a trade school career fair for high school students. He has also been an instrumental volunteer in numerous club service projects.

Saks, 75, said he joined the Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo in 1975, shortly after opening his optometry practice. “I did not know anybody … and knew I needed to meet people,” Saks said. “Back then RB had about 9,000 people.” He considered Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions and found Rotary’s noon meetings and many volunteer opportunities to be the best fit. “I have found it to be very rewarding because I have the opportunity to reach out to the community and give back,” Saks said. He credited his wife with helping him throughout their 53 years of marriage.

“I would not be recognized with this award if not for her being with me every step of the way,” Saks said. In his nomination, Saks is credited with revitalizing the Rotary Club during his presidency from 2013-14 and for leadership as president of the RB Rotary Club Foundation that led to over $90,000 in scholarships and grants being distributed from 2013-2015.

For the last eight years he has overseen the club’s scholarship committee and in 2016 created annual scholarships for students with disabilities. He said this was due to their son, Adam, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. Saks said students with special needs are not the usual recipients of scholarships, but he felt it was important to honor them for overcoming their challenges.

“It is very gratifying to give them $1,000 or $1,500 scholarships, because as a family who has a child with special needs, I know families put in a lot of time, work and money to care for them,” Saks said, adding, “It is nice to recognize the students and their families in that way.”

His son also inspired other volunteerism Saks and his wife have done. Since 2017 they have been volunteer golf coaches with the Special Olympics, helping Rancho Bernardo children and adults with special needs learn how to play the sport at The Heights Golf Club.

“It takes a very special person to coach a Special Olympic athlete,” said Neil Berkin, founder and organizer of Special Olympics Golf North County. “Dr. Gary Saks has been that special person for many years now. You need patience, compassion, kindness, love and dedication to be an effective coach. (He) has all of these characteristics in abundance.” According to Berkin, Saks develops a custom training program for each athlete to meet their specific needs.

Other volunteer efforts included coaching youth sports during the 1970s and 1980s, serving on a business council for the Poway Center for the Performing Arts (2010-2020), leading fundraising efforts for the San Diego Polycystic Kidney Disease Chapter for 15 years and volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House.

For 11 years, until the pandemic, Saks and his wife were volunteer drivers for Rides & Smiles through Jewish Family Services, providing transportation to low-income seniors in Rancho Bernardo to medical appointments, shopping and dialysis treatments.

Throughout his years in practice, Saks provided free eye exams to those in need through a program run by the San Diego Optometric Society. For decades he also volunteered at the Lions’ Optometric Vision Clinic in Balboa Park to help underprivileged community members.

Other community involvement includes being a member of the Mensch Tones, a men’s singing group through Temple Adat Shalom that performs throughout the community including at retirement facilities in RB; a host and committee member for the International Youth Orchestra Music Camp and a San Diego Food Bank volunteer.