Ty Steele, with his love of journalism and storytelling, always knew he had a face for television. 

Sacramento RT employs approximately 941 people locally, 77 percent of whom are dedicated to operations and maintenance of the bus and light rail systems. John Haswell has been a light rail vehicle technician at Sac RT for the past seven years and says he is “genuinely and thoroughly thrilled to be working on the light rail vehicles.

In Auburn, officers with the California Highway Patrol Valley Division Air Operations run emergency response missions from Butte County to San Joaquin County, a coverage area of 13 counties. “Emergency response is the aircraft’s top priority,” says Sergeant Jeff Watkins, aerial supervisor and pilot for CHP. 

As a student, Melanie Haller trained for 12 years at the internationally-recognized Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under world-renowned ballet teacher Marcia Dale Weary. Now, as principal of the School of the Sacramento Ballet, Haller trains the Pre-Professional Division — the school’s three highest levels (ages 10 to 18-and-up).

Arrhythmias (irregular or erratic heart rhythms) can lead to heart failure, stroke or cardiac arrest. That’s why cardiologists at UC Davis Medical Center aim to treat it efficiently and completely with a remotely operated magnet-guided catheter system — the first of its kind to be used in the Sacramento area.

Benjamin Schwartz was an aspiring film producer in the middle of creating his first TV show when he stumbled upon his true calling as a cordwainer (a fancy word for shoemaker).

“We are lucky to work with a great team here, because this is not always easy,” says set designer and charge artist for B Street Theatre Samantha Reno. “You have to be flexible, you have to be quick and you have to make good, solid decisions. The schedule can be grueling, but the show must go on.”

“Old fashioned butchering really is becoming a lost art,” owner and operator of Longhorn Meat Co. Phil Kattenhorn says, “In a world now filled with internet purchases and self-service counters, I think people are beginning to miss that connection. It seems we are headed back towards a more simple way of doing things.”

VSPOne Optical Technology Center-Sacramento opened in Folsom in November of 2014. The lab manufactures custom prescription eyewear and processes approximately 4,600 pairs of eyewear per day. Here’s how they do it: 

“Our business allows us to center our livelihood around our family, rather than our family around our livelihood,” says Karen Ball. “We probably work harder and longer because of it, but we love what we’re doing.”