Welcome to the Sunrise Spirit –
the Weekly Newsletter of The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise
Our Next Meeting
Next Friday’s meeting will feature live jazz! Pianist Tim Randles, bassist Ken Lawrence, and drummer Mike LaBolle will provide a Sunrise Soundtrack! We hope you can join us for another meeting with our Club!
RISE Calendar …
“Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone“
May 12-14 – The District 5130 Conference at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort in Incline Village, Nevada
May 19 – History Day presentations at our Friday Meeting – 7 am at the Plaza View Room in Jacoby’s Storehouse.
May 22-26 – Firesides Week – Please be sure to sign up to attend one of our annual planning sessions to help President-Elect Dustin Littlefield prepare for his Reign of Glory!
June 2 – The Steve Brodhag Golf and Crown Royal Classic at Baywood – a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka. Contact Emanuel Rose to participate.
June 10-14 – The Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia
June 17 – RCAS Food Booth at the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival
August 13-19 – Pedal for Polio bike ride to raise awareness and funds to support Rotary’s fight against polio. Participants will ride from Crescent City to Petaluma (or portions of the route)
Sunrise Moments
With President Susan was out of town, Former District Governor Terri Clark led the Final Friday Foundation Festivities!
The Judy Report: Our Rotary Exchange Student from Taiwan, Yi Ting “Judy” Chen spent her Spring Break in Oregon and Washington with her Host Mother, Patty McHaney. Here’s her Report:
Firesides Week is Coming Soon: The week that begins Monday, May 22nd will be dedicated to our Fireside Meetings. President-Elect Dustin Littlefield is counting on all of us to attend one of the gatherings to provide him with information that will help him solidify his plan for the coming Rotary Year.
When the dates and venues are announced, please select the meeting that best fits your schedule, but please be sure to participate. The Firesides are an important tool to help our Club continue to thrive.
Friendship Exchange Opportunities: Rotarians and others from our District, including Sunriser Steve McHaney and his wife Patty, participated in a Rotary Friendship Exchange earlier this year. They visited the state of Gujarat in India’s Rotary District 3060, and they had a great time. (See the February 10, 2017 Sunrise Spirit for details.) Steve noted at the time that the Indian Rotarians showed our travelers the utmost in hospitality, and now we have the chance to return the favor. A contingent from India will be in our area from Tuesday, May 30th through Thursday, June 1st. Please consider hosting one or two of the members of the Exchange Group during that time. Steve said that the hosting obligations are pretty simple. “You give them a place to stay,” he said, “and you spend a little bit of time with them.” Their days will be busy, so the evenings and mornings will be good times to visit with your guests. You are (of course) welcome to join the group in its activities during the day. Please contact Steve if you are interested in service as a host.
Accepting the Award for … Julie Vaissade-Elcock has been mucho busy lately, but she completed another lap in the Paul Harris Recognition Derby. This means that she has donated yet another $1,000 to support the Rotary Foundation’s great work throughout the world. Since she was unable to attend, Terri Clark asked her husband Stan Elcock (also a Rotarian) to accept the pin, certificate, etc. on her behalf. Thanks, Julie (and Stan)!
Terri also recognized Claire Ajina, AJ Gonzales, Chris Hemphill, Lisa Hemphill, and Jeff Stebbins for their contributions to the Rotary Foundation this year. Since it’s the 100th year of the Foundation, Terri has awarded special 100th anniversary pins to each Sunriser who contributes $100 or more this year. This generous quintet was the latest group to achieve that honor, so each of them received the commemorative bling. There’s still time to donate .. don’t miss out!
Craft Talk
Jose Zapata has been participating in Arcata Sunrise meetings and events for so long, it’s hard to think of him as a newcomer. But for much of that time, he was a member of the North Bay Rotaract Club, and he did most of his makeup meetings (and more) at our Club. Last Friday, his lovely wife Shelly joined him at our meeting. Here’s Jose with his presentation:
Foundation Final Friday Auction Results!
If you’re unfamiliar with our Final Friday Auctions, what happens is this: A person (usually a member of our Club) donates an item to be auctioned that day. (On rare occasions, the item donated does not include alcohol.) The Auctioneer whips the crowd into a frenzy, exhorting them to take out a second or third mortgage on the family home or put their children to work in a sweatshop, so they can purchase the amazing items being offered. When the bidding is complete, the purchaser takes home his or her prize, secure in the knowledge that all of the money they just paid will be donated to the Rotary Foundation, and he/she will get half of the Paul Harris credit, and the donor will be credited for the other half. Here, then, is a list of the most recent items offered and sold …
- Karen Burgesser brought in all the fixin’s to make Frito Pies – snack-sized bags of the golden corn chips and all. That will be feasted upon by high bidder Jeff Stebbins.
- A gift card good for $250 worth of services provided by workers from Developed Employment Services was donated by Kyle Visser. Maggie Kraft will put those workers to good use, courtesy of her winning bid!
- Jose Zapata explained that Cinco de Mayo is a uniquely American holiday, and in that vein, he offered a package that included tequila and margarita mixes. If Dick Johnson looks a little light-headed this week (at least more so than usual), it may be the result of his purchase.
- Terri Clark provided a package of specialty toffee and spices from Cary’s of Grants Pass – a shop she likes to visit whenever she passes through. Dick Johnson won that package, too!
- Although she wasn’t able to attend (see above), Julie Vaissade-Elcock sent a Fire & Light vase filled with beautiful flowers, which Praj White took home (or to his office).
- The last item included a fantastic rose bush and gift certificate that were provided by Janice Newman. Jeff Stebbins was the winner of that great prize!
And truly, we were all winners – the Rotary Foundation received an additional $770 courtesy of these generous Sunrisers! Be ready on May 19th – that will be our Final Final Friday of President Susan’s year, so bring your checkbook and your pen!
