Welcome to the Sunrise Spirit –
the Weekly Newsletter of The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise
We hope that you will attend one of our lively Friday meetings,
whether or not you are interested in joining Rotary.
We meet most Fridays at 7 am in the Plaza View Room at Arcata’s historic Jacoby Storehouse.
Please plan to attend our Spring Fundraiser – A Taste of Spring.
This will be a Triple Crown Event at the Arcata Community Center,
and the doors open at 5 pm on Friday, May 3rd … don’t miss it!
Click on Chris Hemphill’s photo below to purchase your tickets:
The Calendar …
RISE: “Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone“
Friday, May 3: RCAS Presents A Taste of Spring! – our Spring Fundraiser! The event will have a Triple Crown theme (as in horse racing). You could win a cash prize of $1,000!!
Friday, May 3: The Arcata High School Interact Club hosts a Spaghetti Feed at the AHS Fine Arts Building. Sunrisers are invited early, so we can get to our Fundraiser!
Friday-Sunday, May 17 – 19: The Four-Way Fest – four Rotary Districts will hold their annual Conferences together, at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada.
Friday, May 31: The Third Annual Stephen Brodhag Memorial Golf Tournament at Baywood Golf & Country Club.
Additional Important Stuff
The Arcata High School Interact Club meets every Friday at 12:20 pm.
The North Bay Rotaract Club meets in the Plaza View Room at Jacoby’s Storehouse at 6 pm on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month.
Our Newest Rotary Kid!
Sunriser Brandon Kakitsuka had two guests last week – his wife Kristyn and their son, Maverick Charles Kakitsuka! Until Tuesday, April 9th, Maverick’s only appearances had been on ultrasound images. But last Friday, he and his mother both looked great! (Yeah, Brandon looked pretty good too …)
Rotarian of the Week
We heard about the great work that our Club has done to restore the Bayside Community Hall (formerly the Bayside Grange), and then President Ray named Tom Tellez as his Rotarian of the Week. Why? Because Tom and his company (Wallace & Hinz) put together the venue’s new bar in record time, so it would be ready for that weekend’s events! Great job, Mr. Tellez!!
Final Friday Foundation Auction
As is our Final Friday tradition, we held an auction of items donated by Rotarians. The proceeds are used to support the Rotary Foundation – which in December was awarded four stars by Charity Navigator. That is Charity Navigator’s highest rating, and the Foundation has earned that accolade for eleven consecutive years! The ratings are based on an organization’s financial performance and its accountability and transparency performance.
Here is a list of the auction packages and the generous donors and purchasers:
- Amanda Nelson from the Rotary Club of Old Town Eureka showed up with the mother of her significant other, and that woman turned out to be Kathy Moxon, who served as the RCAS President during the 1996-1997 Rotary Year! They came bearing a plaque containing the names of RCAS Presidents from Jim Hamby (our Founding President, who served from February 1992 though June 1993) to AJ Gonzales, who will wield the gavel next year. The plaque was an updated version of one that had been donated to RCAS by the Rotary Club of Healdsburg. They found it in Kathy’s attic, redid the engraved part, and had it mounted on the original burl! All Past (and Future) RCAS Presidents have been “encouraged” to donate $100 each to the Foundation. Thank you very much, Amanda and Kathy!!
- Karen Burgesser donated a Rotary composter (that is, it turns on an axis to mix up the compost). This will help to enrich the soil in Rachel Damme’s garden!
- While we were out in the garden … JOYC (the Justice Of Your Club) brought in a garden tote package with a lotta cool stuff to help this spring. Matt Babich was the winning bidder!
- But sometimes, you just need to sit back, let the garden grow on its own, while you enjoy some Stags Leap wine, provided by Praj White. That may have been Bob Moore’s plan, as he cast the top bid for that package.
- In other wine news … Romi Hitchcock Tinseth donated two unique bottles of wine that are no longer available on the open market. They were auctioned separately, but both went to winning bidder (and wine connoisseur) Tom Tellez.
- President Ray offered a package containing Zoya Rum with glasses – one stop shopping at its finest! Brandon Kakitsuka topped the other bidders on that one.
- Speaking of Brandon … he donated a basket of spring, including a large vase with fade-resistant flowers, pillows, and other cool stuff (including a bottle of vodka that was hidden – but not hidden well enough to elude a Sunriser! Nick Torres took that package home.
- Lisa & Chris Hemphill came in with a Titan Rolling Cooler that held beer and other crucial medical supplies. That cooler rolled out with Lori Breyer, who outlasted all other bidders.
Thanks to the generous donors and buyers (and to our RCAS Past Presidents)! It looks like another $1,600 will be making its way to the Rotary Foundation to support its fine work!
“Watch this episode of The Adventures of President Ray!“
(Click on President Ray’s photo to view the video of the full meeting.)