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“
- June 12-16 – The 2021 Rotary International Convention – Online!
- November 11-14 – The Zone Institute, tentatively scheduled for Tuscon, Arizona
- October 8, 2021 – The North Coast Ethics in Business Awards
- June 4-8, 2022 – The 2022 Rotary International Convention in Houston, Texas.
Gratitude and Recognitions
We started the meeting (actually, the pre-meeting) with a “Hello Kitty” moment, featuring Bryan Plumley’s cat. However, there was no guest appearance by President Maggie’s cat, Domino, since she was presiding from her mother’s home in San Luis Obispo.
Maggie reminded us that the “Still Kicking” workshop on June 3rd is filling up quickly, so let her know if you would like to attend.
Janice Newman shared her gratitude list with us. She said that she is thankful that our meetings are currently on Zoom, which allows her to participate; she is happy that people are able to be vaccinated; and she is especially grateful that her sons will be able to visit with her this summer.
May’s Rotarian of the Month is Brandi Easter, who talked about her two passions – photography and diving. She began taking photos in 8th grade, and never stopped. In 1989, she received a business license as a commercial photographer, and she continues to this day. (Although COVID’s impact to her business last year led her to a day job as the Office Manager for the Arcata Economic Development Commission. Brandi started diving as a 17-year old, and she was certified in 1987. She took up competitive spearfishing, and she represented the United States in the 2004 World Spearfishing Championships in Chile. Brandi recently learned that she was not the oldest child in her family – she has an older sister – Jocelyn. The two bonded quickly, and are now quite close. Brandi is fully vaccinated, and she is looking forward to lots of hugs when we start meeting in person.
Serving the Community and Beyond
Our most recent crew loading Backpacks for Kids had a supervisor – DoLo the Goldendoodle. He watched carefully as Vanessa Griffin, Mike Pazeian, Tom Tellez, and Monique Molina attended to their task. Thanks to all five of you!
President Maggie urged us all to attend the Rotary International (Virtual) Convention, coming June 12-16. She also told us about the Nepal WASH Project, which is a partnership between the Rotary Club of Kathmandu and the Rotary Club of Sonoma Valley. The project is focused on three schools in the far west of Nepal, constructing sanitation facilities.
Ceva Courtemanche is heading up a fundraiser for Jacoby Creek School – an open-air market on Saturday, May 22nd from noon to 4 pm. All of the items being offered were purchased at full price from local businesses, to help them during the pandemic, and they include food and gift baskets.
Randy Mendosa announced that the Arcata Fire District is looking for places that their new recruits can rent. Please contact him or Fire Chief Justin McDonald with any leads.
The Swat Valley Initiative
Our Featured Speaker was a familiar face – Zebu Jilani, the Founder and President of the Swat Relief Initiative (SRI). Her organization is dedicated to improving the lives of the residents of the Swat Valley in Pakistan. Zebu’s grandfather, Miangul Jahan Zeb, was the last royal ruler (Wali) of Swat, which became part of Pakistan in 1969. SRI was formed in 2010 to help the area recover from the earlier takeover by the Taliban.
The organization provides various services, including community outreach, education, health, economic empowerment, and clean water projects. RCAS and SRI began working together in 2014, first with providing clean water to the area’s residents, then helping to construct and improve schools. Our most recent collaboration was the Zarai Zar School expansion. Zebu thanked Sunriser Howard Stauffer for all of the work he has done to promote our Club’s partnership with SRI.
For more information about the Swat Relief Initiative (including donation options), click on the logo below:
– Click here to view the complete meeting –