November 20, 2020

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.

(Please note that we will not be meeting on November 27th.)


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

  • December 5th – Taste of the Holidays – Home Edition!
  • December 9th – Sunrise Swednesday – Holiday Party
  • December 10th – Adopt-a-Highway Cleanup at 10 am
  • January 20 & 27 – RCAS Equity & Diversity Workshops

Opportunity Door #1: RCAS Business

Our first Door of Opportunity of the morning was labeled “Club Stuff”. The stuff included information about our December Sunrise Swednesday, which will also serve as the RCAS Holiday Party. It will start at ~5:15 pm, either in person or online.
Barbara Browning volunteered to helm our Club’s Public Relations Committee, and she would like anyone who is interested in helping to contact her. The first meeting will take place Wednesday, December 2nd at 7 am.

President Maggie announced that during the Rotary Year 2022-2023, our Club will be led by President Vanessa Griffin!! What a great choice!! Maggie reminded us that there are two open seats on the Board, and she is looking for nominations or volunteers.
We followed up on a couple of November birthdays, and learned that Stephanie Lane attended the Arcata Chamber Mixer on her day (November 12th), followed by a trip down Highway 101 to the Benbow Inn for some relaxation. John Gullam’s birthday was on the 16th, and he went to work. However, his son Jack bought him a brisket. Mmmm … meat!

 

Opportunity Door #2: Service

President Maggie President Maggie told us about several opportunities for service, including a chance to help the folks at the St. Vincent DePaul dining facility as they prepare Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday & Wednesday, November 24th & 25th. Although it may be too late for that by the time you read this, you can make a donation of cash or gift cards to the Area 1 Agency on Aging’s “Be a Santa for a Senior” program. The deadline for that is December 10th.

Our Club plans to honor the essential workers in our community, and we are seeking nominations for your favorites! Please head to our website – www.arcatasunrise.org – and let us know who has helped you or someone you know. Twenty of these important people will receive a “Gratitude Goody Bag” – one of the Taste of the Holidays at Home Baskets that are on sale now (also on our website).
Lisa Hemphill thanked everyone who has been helping with the Backpacks for Kids program. There are still two unfilled slots for December, and then it will be time to shift the tasks to our “Winter List” Rotarians. Lisa will send that list out shortly before Christmas.

In related news, we heard that Bryn Coriell’s Coldwell Banker Sellers Realty has donated $1,111.11 to the Backpacks program. Thank you, Bryn and company!!

RCAS has “more than met our goal” for donations to the Rotary Foundation’s efforts to stop Polio, Terri Clark told us. And several Sunrisers have joined the PolioPlus Society, which means that they have pledged to contribute a minimum of $10 per month (or $100 per year) to the End Polio Now campaign, continuing until the disease is eradicated.

A Taste of the Holidays was mentioned above, and we have adjusted the fundraiser in the wake of the pandemic. In response, we are rolling out TOTH – The Home Edition! Those who purchase one of our baskets will receive an impressive selection of goodies provided by local food and beverage vendors. These packages are available for purchase on the RCAS website for $60 per basket until November 27th. After that (if baskets are still available), the price will be $75. Purchasers can pick up their movable feast on Saturday, December 5th at the Griffin on 10th Street in Arcata.

Opportunity Door #3: Water Poverty in the Navajo Nation

The Featured Speaker at the November 20, 2020 RCAS Meeting was Dave Simmer, a member of the Rotary Club of Sedona, Arizona (and the Past Governor of Rotary District 5495). Dave was introduced by our own Past District Governor Barb Spangler, and he told us about the Navajo Water Project, which was established to help fight water poverty in the Navajo Nation.

The Navajo Nation is comprised of about 175,000 Native Americans who live in an area of the American Southwest that is about the size of West Virginia. This sparsely populated area receives an annual rainfall of about 6 inches. (By contrast, Arcata receives about 46 inches per year.) While the average American household uses about 100 gallons of water per day, Navajo families use roughly 7 gallons in the same period. These families have to gather water to use and reuse, often several times.

The geology and topology of the area makes the typical “hub and spoke” water distribution system unworkable here. And other factors cause problems as well, including the remoteness of homes and pollution from uranium mining. This last also contributes to the high rates of cancer among the Navajos.

Barb added that the Navajo Birth Cohort Study, which began in 2008, showed that “tailings” (uranium mine waste) are very toxic and that they tend to be very wet. Tailings are found in abandoned uranium mines on the surface of much of the Navajo Nation.

Following the presentation, Sunriser Charlie Jordan announced that the RCAS World Community Services Committee is donating $1,500 to this important project!

 


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

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