January 27, 2017 – Foundation Final Friday

2016-17 Rotary Theme

Welcome to the Sunrise Spirit –
the Weekly Newsletter of The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise

Our Next Meeting:
Please join us on Friday, February 3rd for a update about the Small Business Development Center!

Click Here To Watch The Complete Meeting

RISE Calendar … “Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone
February 4 – “Swine & Wine” – A fundraiser at the Eureka Elks Lodge for Make-A-Wish of the Greater Bay Area. See Alyson Hunter for tickets.
February 11 – History Day at HSU – Judges and other volunteers are needed!

February 12-14 – Valentunes!! Support the ARMACK Orchestra and the AHS Madrigal Choir by purchasing a Valentune – one or more love songs performed by a small musical group from these two organizations. To order, call 707-599-5414. For more information, including an order form with a list of available songs, CLICK HERE.
February 13 – RCAS Club & Foundation Board Meetings – 7 am at the Golden Harvest Cafe. Everyone is invited!
February 17
– MardiGras For A Cause – The Rotary Club of Eureka event at the Sequoia Conference Center in Eureka
February 18 –  Charter Night at Baywood! It’s the Silver Anniversary of the Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise, and tickets are only $25 per person!!
March 4 – AHS College & Career Center’s Annual Pancake Breakfast – 8 to 11 am at Arcata High School.

March 11 – The RCAS Spring Fundraiser! Put it on your calendar now (or as soon as you purchase a 2017 calendar)!!
May 12-14 – The District 5130 Conference at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort in Incline Village, Nevada


Sunrise Moments
Thank You Note:  We received a thank you note from Zebu Jilani, who visited with us on November 16th. Princess Zebu is the granddaughter of the last ruler of Pakistan’s Swat Valley, and the founder of the Swat Relief Initiative. She wrote:

Thank you very much for your approval for a $1,500 grant from your committee for SRI’s education project, and for discussing the possibility of a grant from RI for starting educational institutions in the Swat Valley to educate children.

SRI’s “20/20 Vision” [intends] to put 20,000 children in school by 2020. I am also sending some pictures and a proposal for a school that we will complete in March of this year for the children of the remote mountain village of Gatto Sar. This village will have a school and an opportunity for education for the first time in their lives.

Our Club has previously helped fund the construction of wells in the area to provide safe drinking water for the residents of the Swat Valley. We have also provided support for the Roshni Centre for Women, which helps provide economic and educational opportunities for women in that area.

Eating for a Good Cause: Jeff Stebbins announced that the annual Jackie Foote Memorial Arcata Career Center Breakfast will take place at Arcata High on Saturday, March 4th. If you are interested in sponsoring this event, please contact Jeff. Although AHS provides the location for the Career Center, this event provides the operational funds, so your support is needed and appreciated.

Only a Dollar Per Year: Jessica McKnight reminded us that our Charter Night is coming up – Saturday, February 18th at Baywood Golf and Country Club.  Be there at 5:30 for cocktails, and 7:00 for dinner. It’s our 25th Anniversary, and Jessica promises lots of fun, including a photo booth – all for only $25 per person!

The Phantom Is Coming! President Susan told us that the Spring Fundraiser Committee held its first meeting earlier in the week, and the Phantom of the Opera event promises to be an elegant, exciting, and fun night for all! Karen Burgesser will be in charge of decorations, and she plans to have the table decorations done about a week in advance! Some of the entertainment is being kept under wraps, but there will be “Music of the Night”, to be sure.

We have seasoned hands returning to head up several key areas, including Rebecca Crow, who will be organizing the greeters, and Dustin Littlefield will encore as the Drink Concoctor. Lori Breyer will again handle the accounting for the event. Barbara Browning is in charge of the food, and she promises that the dinner will be “abundant, elegant, and delicious”. Orrin Plocher and Howard Stauffer will organize the cleanup crew.

Sunrisers have been organized into groups of 4-5 people, and each group is tasked with providing one item for the Dutch Raffle (value between $75 and $100), and two silent auction items ($110 to $400). There will be fewer live auction items, which we are hoping will encourage higher bids, and a brisker event.

We also need to fill the room. Tables of 10 are $750, 8-person tables are $600, and individual tickets are $75. Table purchasers also have the option of paying $100 for a waiter assigned to that table. There will be perks for those tables that have yet to be determined, but our goal is to ensure that the buyers feel that the extra charge was worth it. Please let Craig Newman know when you identify a business/organization that wants to purchase a table. He needs to know the name, phone number, mailing address, and email for the contact person; he will send the tickets directly to him or her, along with an invoice. Please also let Craig know who of individuals who would like to attend as well.

The Judy Report
Exchange Student Judy told us that she had participated in Finals at Arcata High the previous week, so she spent a lot of time studying. Here’s what else she had to say:

Final Friday Foundation Auction
We held our first Final Friday Foundation Auction of 2017 last week. The auction was the brainchild of Former President Craig Newman, who encouraged us to donate items to be sold at our meetings. The money raised would go directly to the Rotary Foundation, supporting all of its great programs. (Click here for information about the Foundation.) Half of the purchase price is credited to the Paul Harris Sustaining Membership account of the donor, while the other half goes to the purchaser.

Ray Noggle was our Auctioneer, and Terri Clark served as the Display Goddess. Here is a list of last Friday’s winners and … winners!

  • Harry Johnson wasn’t able to attend last week, but he sent a lovely glass pitcher with matching glasses from Mexico. This set was purchased by Bob “No Relation” Johnson.
  • The Perfect Cold Weather Drink ensemble was provided by Dustin Littlefield. Bryan Reeser knows Dustin’s history as a expert drink designer, so he put in the winning bid.
  • Dick Johnson donated a turntable that can be used to play vinyl records and/or transfer their music to a computer via USB, along with a vinyl copy of Adele’s album, “21”. Top bidder Terri Clark will be taking that for a … spin!
  • Ed Christians may not drink coffee himself, but he knows what appeals to his fellow Sunrisers. His contribution was a Coffee Lover’s Delight package with 4 pounds of coffee, 16 ounces of Death Wish Coffee, coffee mugs, decorative canisters, and more. That will keep winning bidder Joyce Hinrichs awake on the bench!
  • Praj White donated a $200 gift certificate to Folie Doux. Lori Breyer was the purchaser. We may hear about that when her anniversary rolls around …
  • Vodka and tomatoes headlined Barbara Browning’s auction donation. She also provided homemade Barbara-Que Sauce (Editor’s Note: I just made that up.), and home-canned tomatoes. Some hand-crafted cards were also in the mix. John Gullam will be sorting through that for a while. (Especially if he starts with the vodka!)
  • Emanuel Rose donated the ingredients for “a typical fun night” with Emanuel and President Susan. The contents included a mini disco ball, sparkling wine, bath salts, a jigsaw puzzle, a candle, chocolates, body polish, and more chocolates. The winning bid came from Joyce Hinrichs.
  • Dan Johnson was also unable to be at our meeting, but he sent a lovely gift basket that contained a variety of edible delicacies and “cooling beer glasses”. Auctioneer Ray offered to throw in a supply of beer, which raised the bids immediately! When the dust (and the froth) settled, the winner was President Susan!
  • A large batch of cupcakes was up for bid as well, although the proceeds here did not go to the Foundation. Inbound Exchange Student Judy and next year’s Outbound Exchange Student Isabella White baked them to raise funds for the Rotary Western Safari trip this spring. Many Sunrisers stepped up to purchase the goodies.

As always, we thank the donors and the bidders for their generosity. Thanks to them, we raised $800 to support the wonderful work of the Rotary Foundation!

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