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 (almost) every Friday at 7 am in the Plaza View Room
of Arcata’s historic Jacoby Storehouse.
For more information, please visit the RCAS Website.
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 RCAS Calendar
RISE: “Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone“
- January 26 – RCAS Fellowship at the Cal Poly Jacks Basketball game
- February 19 – RCAS Charter Celebration!
- March 31 & April 1 – District Training Assembly
- May 4-7 – District Conference at Konocti Harbor Resort
- May 27-31 – Rotary International Convention in Melbourne, Australia
EDITOR’S NOTE: We have made some changes to the format of The Sunrise Spirit. Instead of featuring isolated video clips from portions of our meetings, we will do brief write-ups of those meeting segments. For those who would like to see video of the meeting, a link to the full meeting is provided at the bottom of the page. You are welcome to view the meeting in its entirety, but you can also fast-forward to a specific portion you would like to view, such as Bob Judevine’s Craft Talk.
For Openers
President Vanessa helped us get caught up on birthdays and anniversaries, starting with Dick Johnson. He said that he celebrated an anniversary and a birthday in December, but pleaded cognitive decline as he wavered on the details. He did note that his birthday celebration was combined with a celebration of his son Brody’s graduation from College of the Redwoods. Brody will be attending Cal Poly Humboldt to pursue his credential so he can teach history. Dick said that getting into Cal Poly was a little fraught, but with some timely help from Sunrisers Peggy Metzger and Romi Hitchcock Tinseth, he’s on his way!
Dustin Littlefield’s birthday involved a sushi breakfast, and the next day he traveled to Texas, where he was able to visit with his parents.
Jose Zapata claimed to be “pretty selfish” about his birthday. (If you know him, you also know that that adjective does not apply!) But he said that he traveled to Southern California to spend time with his family. Jose noted that there was a “lot of food” involved.
We all celebrated Tom Tellez’s birthday – he said, “I came to Rotary and had everybody sing Happy Birthday to me!” He got kicked out of work for the day, so he went out and had a great time.
Jessica McKnight said that this was a big birthday for her, but she’s “sick of winter birthdays,” so she plans to celebrate in full when she turns 55½ this summer. “Look for it,” she warned …
Craig Newman reported that he and Janice celebrated their anniversary on December 18th. They started going out 51 years ago when they were 16 years old and in high school. He said that Janice still remembers what day their first date took place.
Jeff Stebbins offered up some thanks (backed by bottles of wine) for the folks who helped him with this year’s Taste of the Holidays. First, he thanked the entire Club for its hard work and for pitching in wherever help was needed. He singled out several people for special recognition (and the aforementioned bottles): Dallas Fuentes, AJ Gonzales, Romi Hitchcock Tinseth, Holly Martel, Bryan Reeser, Sophie Saucedo, Tom Tellez, Jose Zapata, Bob Johnson (the Interact Wrangler), Malinda Damme, Lisa Hemphill, and Angela Robershotte. Our heartfelt thanks to all of you, and especially to Jeff for leading us through a very successful fundraiser!
We discussed the help that our Rotary District is providing to those who suffered serious losses in the recent earthquake. Maggie Kraft said that there is a lot still going on in the Rio Dell area, as they recover. The District 5130 Disaster Relief Fund was set up in the wake of the wildfires that ravaged Sonoma County a few years ago, and the fund is now helping earthquake victims. You are encouraged to contribute if you can. Assistant Governor Ian Schatz added that a recent conference call with his local counterparts and District Governor Jennifer Strong helped solidify the relief plan.
Our Club is also helping the local sanctuary, which was vandalized for the fifth time in recent months. We plan to help with security cameras and improved locks.
Craft Talk – Bob Judevine
“Who wants to come up to the front of the room and talk about themselves for five minutes?” It turns out that this was not an invitation, but instead a rhetorical question that Bob Judevine posed. Craft Talks are the way we get to know new Sunrisers better, and it can be a daunting process. Bob introduced himself as a banker with Redwood Capital Bank. He told us that he met his wife Teresa when they were teenagers, and they have been married for almost 43 years. They have three kids – Christopher, Candice, and Lillian. Bob said that a Craft Talk is about the only time that a Rotarian is supposed to talk about their business, and he said that “I work to live”. He loves working, but his family is what is most important to him.
Bob had worked at Humboldt State before being hired by Redwood Capital to process commercial loans over nine years ago, and he is pleased that his firm takes such an interest in its community. He said that he still finds if funny that the bank hired a “non-bank guy” for his position. While working in the Fortuna area, he became a member of the Rotary Club of Fortuna Sunrise, so he is familiar with the joys of Rotary. He was very pleased when he had the opportunity to work in Arcata, and to join our Club. He said that he is impressed with our Club’s representation and its personality. “I’m only just getting to know you,” he remarked, “but I really love the things that you do, and what you stand for.”
Following Bob’s presentation, AJ Gonzales presented him with his shiny new Blue Badge!
In Closing
Following Bob’s Craft Talk, we briefly adjourned to mill about the Plaza View Room, looking at informational displays provided by our various committees.
When we regrouped, Dallas Fuentes announced that his career will be taking him away from Arcata, to Tuolumne County. He will be greatly missed.
Also, Angela Robershotte noted that the “Rotary Wheel needs a home”. If you have room to store it safely please contact her.
Full Meeting Video Link: