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 and for the meeting links, 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“
- November 11 – Veterans Day Flag Lowering Ceremony at 4 pm on the Arcata Plaza
- November 17 – The return of in-person Taste of the Holidays! All hands on deck at the Arcata Community Center!
- 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
For Openers
President Vanessa showed photos of the “small but mighty” Adopt-a-Highway cleanup crew that attacked the trash on Samoa Boulevard the previous weekend. She also let everyone know that Sunriser Sophie Saucedo is off the market – she recently became engaged to Augustin Padilla! A Taste of the Holidays is coming up fast!! We learned that guests will receive an extra drink ticket if they bring a toy, which will be donated to Toys for Tots. And the team is also looking for volunteers to help with decorations for the event. And we’re also looking for a strong turnout for the Veterans Day Flag Lowering Ceremony on the Arcata Plaza at 4 pm.
Fellowship events that are coming in the new year include a Cal Poly basketball game on Thursday, January 26, and our annual Charter Celebration, which will take place on Sunday, February 19. In March, we will have an outing to the Hatchet House, for some convivial ax throwing, and in April, we’re hoping to meet at Fieldbrook Winery.
Our Exchange Student from Uganda – Lazo – talked about why he chose to join the Exchange program, and he told us a little about his family.
A Proposed New National Monument
Mike Cipra was the Featured Speaker at our Meeting. Mike is the Executive Director of Friends of the Dunes, and he talked about the proposal to establish the Wigi Dunes National Monument, encompassing several public lands along the coast. The proposal would leave control of the open spaces in the hands of the agencies that currently administer them, but it would provide a greater level of protection.
“Wigi” is the Wiyot Tribe’s name for this special area. The Tribe has been working for 40 years to acquire and restore these lands, with the help of nonprofit organizations, state and federal agencies, and community members. The proposal pays respect to the understanding that this is ancient Wiyot land and waters, and it acknowledges that the Tribe have been faithful stewards of the land for millennia.
In Closing
We closed our meeting with the ping-pong ball drawing, followed by the sale of a belated Final Friday Auction item – a pie donated by Charli Murphy.
We also encouraged folks to vote in the midterm election, and ran through some last-minute Taste of the Holidays stuff.