April 31, 2020?? – Final Friday

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


Rachel Sarvinski & Her Busy (and Buzzy) Coworkers!

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, while we are under the Shelter In Place order, we are meeting online.
Please visit the RCAS Website for the meeting links.


The Calendar …

RISE: “Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone

Watch here for events as they return to our Calendar …


Thomas Reports from France!!

Thomas Spengler, our Rotary Exchange Student from France, had to return home early due to the COVID-19 crisis. But he was still able to provide a report on his return on our Zoom meeting. (Our 7 am PDT meeting time translates to 4 pm in France!)

“It’s weird to be home,” he told us. But he made it back safely, although the airports and the planes were “pretty empty”.
His family is doing well, however his father is working everyday, and it’s pretty stressful.

Recognitions & Announcements

Tomas Chavez was recognized for getting out (safely) on Earth Day with his kids and the family dog. Jennifer & Bryn Coriell posted some photos of the Trinity Lake area, but those were from a few years ago. Rachel Sarvinski was “busy like a bee”, according to President AJ – she has some new hives in her bee colony. AJ’s “Behind The Mask” segment featured Dick Johnson and Bryn Coriell.

We heard from Birthday Boys Nick Torres (who celebrated by completing his tile tub surround project), Brett Watson (my notes say “B-Day cake not” … mysterious), and Chris Hemphill (who was “disappointed” that he wasn’t able to go up to Redwood Park for his 4/20 birthday).

President-Elect Maggie Kraft is looking for volunteers for a new fundraiser. She put forward the idea of a “Passport Fundraiser”, that would involve businesses in various districts of Arcata. Participants would travel to those businesses and have their passports stamped, and they would receive a discount or a freebie of some sort. She thought it might work like Disneyland, without the long lines. (“You must be this tall to …”)

We’re going to try a new social distancing friendly version of Happy Hour on Thursday, May 7th from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. You can order your cocktails from The Griffin (@TheGriffin on social media) up to the day before, and they will be delivered sometime Thursday morning. (The menu consists of a Saffron Lemon Drop, a Corpse Reviver, or a Margarite del Oro for $10; or you can order a Fancy Lemonade for $5. Doubles are encouraged, but remember – the RCAS Meeting starts at seven the next morning!)

The Stimulus Check Challenge continues. If you can afford to part with some of your relief payment, you may want to help the RCAS Foundation as we deal with lost revenue due to the cancellation of our Spring Fundraiser. President AJ reminded us that the Redwood Regional Rotary is continuing its support of Food For People.

AJ also reminded us to support “Feed the ER” efforts and to Howl for Healthcare Workers each night at 8 pm. Stephanie Lane said that in addition to the howls, someone in her neighborhood shot off a cannon! And Romi Hitchcock Tinseth won’t forget to lend her voice to the chorus, because her sister-in-law Jessica McKnight texts her at two minutes to eight each night!

A Virtual Final Friday Auction!

Undaunted by the chaos surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, our Club held an online version of our popular Final Friday Foundation Auction. Since we held our Fireside Meetings the previous week, April got an extra day! (Sorta.) It was another “Stick It To Scott” auction – the generous Scott Heller agreed to match all winning bids with his own additional donation to the Rotary Foundation! Wow!! 

Some of you may not know, but our Final Friday Auctions start with the donation of an auction item/package from a Sunriser. The amount of the winning bid is donated to the Rotary Foundation, with the winning bidder and the donor sharing the credit in their Paul Harris Sustaining Fellowship accounts!

Here are the results:

  • Charlie Jordan offered a “Quarantine Kit”, with certificates good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with drinks! Lori Breyer was happy to part with the winning bid for all that.
  • “Four Elements” was the title of Ian Schatz’s archival print (15″ x 24″) mounted on aluminum, which was purchased by Susan Jansson.
  • Lisa Hemphill donated a gardening basket (crafted from a garden hose) filled with two flowers, gardening tools, and two beers. Dick Johnson cast the winning bid.
  • Jose Zapata used his donation to help out local businesses, as well as the Rotary Foundation! He offered gift certificates to local restaurants, including Carmela’s, El Chipotle, and Valley Azteca. And he added some tequila! The winner was Tom Tellez.
  • Another very nice gardening package (which also included a couple of beers) was donated by Amanda Nelson. Past President Ray Noogle/Noggle sweetened the offer by adding a couple of growlers of beer to the mix. And Dick Johnson bought that one too! (Cynics opined that Dick would be drinking the beer from both packages while his wife Shelley toils in the garden. The cynics are probably correct.)
  • The donation from Ed Christians sought to life our spirits “… in times of trial”. His package included inspirational buttons, inspirational prints, a desk mat, and an ergonomic chair mat. There was also an “I Survived the Great Toilet Paper Crisis of 2020” mug! The whole inspiring bundle was snapped up by Rachel Sarvinski!
  • The final package was donated by Tami Camper, and it included handcrafted elderberry syrup, home-canned albacore, a guided plant walk, and a fishing trip (to be taken when social distancing rules permit). The winning bidder was the adventurous Brandi Easter.

The whole auction was a great success, and after Scott Heller matched the $1,425 in bids, we raised $2,850 to support the great work of the Rotary Foundation. Thank you to all the donors and bidders!

 


Don’t miss a minute!
(Click here to view the video of the full meeting.)

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