Message from the Mayor

Two life-changing principles were hammered home during my formative years growing up in Sacramento.

First was the idea of working hard and going the extra mile in everything I pursued.  I knew that if I wanted to achieve a goal, I needed to do more than the average person.  I needed to push hard, study hard, and never forget the importance of repetitive practice.

Second was the principle that I should give back to both my community and my country.  Growing up, my grandfather told me a good person can’t sit on the sideline.  He taught me that my greatest reward and contribution as an individual would be measured by my service and how others could benefit from my actions.

Both concepts became an integral part of everything I did and pursued. In following these principles, I’ve had the great fortune of achieving a number of goals important to me: I graduated from the University of California at Berkeley; played in the National Basketball Association for 13 years; founded a non-profit community-development organization focused on turning my hometown’s inner-city communities into centers of hope and possibility; and I was elected the Mayor of Sacramento.

As Mayor, I launched Volunteer Sacramento as my first priority initiative to promote service and volunteerism in Sacramento.  The Sacramento Serivce Plan we recently developed outlines an innovative set of initiatives that aim to achieve two overarching goals: making our city the most caring city in the nation, and setting a new standard for how cities can tap the power of their people to tackle our most pressing challenges.  I hope it inspires you to get off the sideline and become more engaged in your local community.

Sincerely,

Mayor Kevin Johnson