January 15, 2021

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.
Usually, we meet on most Fridays at 7 am in the Plaza View Room
at Arcata’s historic Jacoby Storehouse,
however, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are meeting online.
Please visit the RCAS Website for the meeting links.


Rotary Vision:

Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change
across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.


The Calendar …

RISE: “Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone

  • January 20 & 27 – RCAS Equity & Diversity Workshops

Door Number One: Club & District News

We heard from more RCAS committees at this meeting, starting with the Program Committee. Howard Stauffer told us that it is a very efficient committee, meeting every six months to decide the upcoming schedule of programs. The group welcomes input from all Sunrisers, whether you want to suggest a topic or a speaker.

JOYC (the Justice Of Your Club) chairs the Recognitions Committee, which seeks to celebrate each RCAS member. JOYC said that this helps us learn more about one another. She also said that we are focusing on gratitude during these difficult times, and she welcomes your ideas and information.
The Sergeant-At-Arms Committee is headed by Nick Torres. He reminded us that once upon a time, our Club met in person. His team was tasked with setting up the room, organizing and troubleshooting the facility, taking attendance, running the raffle, and restoring the room after the meeting. Some of those tasks don’t apply to online meetings, but the group still keeps our meetings on track.

Due to limited funds, the Finance Committee is on hiatus for now, said its chair, Randy Mendosa. But when it comes back “online”, the group will once again review requests for donations. They work with the Public Relations Committee to ensure that the public hears about the good work being funded by our Club.

Nick Torres said that the Interact/Rotaract Committee and the Clubs they advise – the Arcata High School Interact Club and the North Bay Rotaract are still meeting, but their activities have been limited by the pandemic. AHS Interactors Seri Walsh and Ian Letts were on hand to tell us about projects that have taken place, including a effort to eradicate invasive non-native plants and their ongoing Coats for the Cold campaign, but they noted that it is harder to find projects to take on fight now.

President Maggie then turned her focus to Rotary District 5130, and its incoming District Governor – Sunriser Dustin Littlefield. Dustin told us that there is a lot of activity, with meetings happening “all at once”! The District is looking into helping its Clubs deal with changes in meeting formats. He also showed us some of his Rotary mementos, and we learned that Dustin’s childhood dream job was to become a weather reporter!

Door Number Two: Recognitions

President Maggie thanked Scott Heller and his son Michael for preparing the week’s Backpacks for Kids earlier in the week. She reminded us to sign up online to help in the weeks to come.

She also encouraged us to contact Amanda Nelson to get on board with delivering Meals for Seniors.

We held a Fellowship event – a cooking Sunrise “Swednesday” – earlier in the week. Jessica McKnight led an online contingent in preparing Spaghetti Carbonara!
We celebrated some birthdays, including Randy Mendosa’s. Since Larrupin Cafe was closed (for Randy Mendosa Day?), he celebrated with a walk.
Scott Heller’s January 13th birthday was marked by him giving back – he provided gifts to each of his dinner guests, and he and his son Michael packed Backpacks for Kids, as noted above.

Although she was not in attendance, we celebrated the birthday of new mother Rachel Sarvinski, as well.

Rebecca and Abe Crow’s 18th anniversary took place on January 2, and they marked it with movies, a walk, and they renewed their commitments to one another.

On January 26th, Howard and Rebecca Stauffer celebrated their 35th anniversary. Howard recalled that their ceremony in the redwoods was marked by one of his colleagues jogging by during the wedding. He was dubbed their “Best Jogger”.

JOYC (the Justice Of Your Club) told us that upcoming recognitions will be focusing on gratitude. She used her life as an example, singling out her appreciation of her husband (who always makes it all work), her daughters (who have grown up to be good citizens), her ability to continue meaningful work, and that she is proud to live in a country that continually aspires to be better. She asked Randy Mendosa and Vanessa Griffin to provide their moments of gratitude next time.

Door Number Three: Attracting New Rotarians

Our Featured Speaker was Dr. Bill Wittich. Bill spoke with us about how to increase our Club’s membership, suggesting that we “Stop Recruiting and Start Attracting!” Bill noted that the core of recruiting is that you go out and find potential members. On the other hand, when you focus on attracting new members, they find you.

Why do we want new members? They bring new ideas, they help shoulder the work of the Club, and they provide us with a larger friendship base.

Why do potential members want to join us? They get an opportunity to network, they make new friends, the learn new things, they are joining a group that knows how to have fun, and they want to be involved in service. Our job is to raise awareness of the benefits of becoming a Rotarian – and specifically becoming a Sunriser.

 


(Click here to view the video of the full meeting.)

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