September 24, 2021 – Final Friday!

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, due to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are again 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

  • October 6 – Guided Meditation with Charli
  • October 8 – The North Coast Ethics in Business Awards
  • October 8-9 – The District 5130 Conference, celebrating the 2020-2021 Rotary Year
  • October 17 – RCAS Oktoberfest – pick up your package at the Griffin!
  • November 11-14 – The Zone Institute, tentatively scheduled for Tuscon, Arizona
  • November 11-14 – The Zone Institute, tentatively scheduled for Tuscon, Arizona
  • June 4-8, 2022 – The 2022 Rotary International Convention in Houston, Texas.

For Openers …

After welcoming our guests, President Ian shared a couple of decisions from the RCAS Board, which met earlier in the week. First, we will require volunteers and others who work at our fundraisers and other activities to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and second, that this requirement will be administered on the honor system, in keeping with the Rotary Four-Way Test.

The committees for our two upcoming fundraisers – the Oktoberfest and Taste of the Holidays @ Home – are starting planning meetings in the run-up to those events. Contact Claire Ajina to help with Oktoberfest, and Lisa Hemphill to be part of the TOTH Team.

The Oktoberfest is scheduled for Sunday, October 17th, and we will need volunteers to prepare food at the Community Center the afternoon before. On the day of the event, a group will meet at the Griffin to assemble the meals from 9 am to 2 pm, and we will be “open for business” from 3 to 5 pm.

Jessica McKnight, our Facilitator of Fellowship, said that although it’s difficult to conduct fellowship activities during a pandemic, we are planning a guided meditation session on October 6th, which will be led by Charli Murphy (AKA Crystal Perez).

Diversity and Equity at Humboldt State

Several guests from Humboldt State University attended the September 24, 2021 RCAS meeting to share information about the school’s Social Equity and Accountability (SEA) Committee and the SEA scholarships awarded by the school.

President Ian introduced Ashley Donnell, who is a member of the SEA Committee. She also serves as the Head Coach for the HSU Men’s Rowing team (and she is married to Sunriser Amanda Nelson). Ashley in turn introduced HSU Women’s Basketball Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. Michelle told us that the school developed its Diversity and Equity Committee to establish an equitable and inclusive place within its Athletic Department for student athletes and also for staff.

The committee established scholarships (initially funded by our Club) to support retention of student athletes at HSU. The first two recipients – Tania Estrada-Rodriguez and Marco Silveira – were on hand to discuss their experiences.
Tania majors in Wildlife and Fisheries, and she wants to be a Wildlife Rehabilitator after college. She said that writing her essay for the scholarship was “thought-provoking”. She belongs to several groups on campus, and she noted the importance of “bursting your bubble” – becoming aware of what is happening outside your world. Marco is a senior, majoring in Marketing, and he plays on the HSU Soccer team. Both scholarship recipients are from Northern California; Marco graduated from Petaluma High School, and Tania is a graduate from Novato High. Congratulations to both of these student leaders!

Foundation News and Final Friday Foundation Auction

President Ian gave the welcome news that there were no new cases of polio in the past week, which means that there have been only two new cases reported this year – one in Pakistan and the other in Afghanistan. Fingers crossed!

Ian also reported that AJ Gonzales has achieved his second Paul Harris Fellow level, and Lisa Hemphill is now a Paul Harris Fellow Plus 6! AJ noted that as he grew up, he had the opportunity to travel to other countries, which made him more globally aware. Lisa said that she appreciates the opportunity to help people around the world. Thanks to both of you for your generous support of the Rotary Foundation.

And then it was time for our Final Friday Foundation Auction! Here are the packages, the donors, and the purchasers:

  • Jeff Stebbins offered golf for a foursome with a cart at Baywood Golf and Country Club! He paired this with a gift certificate from Septentrio Wine Lounge in Arcata. The winning bid was offered by Tom Tellez.
  • Cam Appleton donated two salmon dinners – part of a fundraiser for the Friends of the Dunes. The dinners will be prepared by caterer Brett Shuler, who has become a Sunriser Favorite in recent years. Randy Mendosa will be dining well on October 2nd!
  • An “Arcata Fun Night” package was Stephanie Lane’s contribution. This included dinner at Pho Hoang, a gift certificate from the Hatchet House, and dessert at Arcata Scoop. Lori Breyer was our top bidder,
  • Gregg Foster offered an insider’s look at the Eureka Theatre for eight people! This includes a private viewing of the movie of your choice, a tour before the movie, two large pizzas from Live From New York, and two six packs of the winner’s beverage of choice. A little arm-twisting later, Gregg agreed to double the package to allow for two winners – Ashleigh Diehl and Jeff Stebbins! (Please note that there was very little arm-twisting required.)
  • Go Jacks! That was the theme for the fan basket provided by Amanda Nelson. It included a family pass to most HSU sporting events for 2021-2022, two Jacks t-shirts, a cap with the new Jacks logo, a water bottle, an umbrella, a foam finger, two Humboldt masks, and an decal of the new logo. All that swag went to the Justice Of Your Club, aka JOYC!
  • Charli Murphy offered to provide a group of four people with pour painting lessons, with all supplies and canvases included. She agreed to double this family-friendly package so both Lori Breyer and Rachel Sarvinski could win!
  • Cam Appleton donated the final item – a Friends of the Dunes Gift Package. This included a tote bag, stickers, wine, and goat cheese (with crackers). Claire Ajina was the winning bidder.

As always, we appreciate the generosity of the donors and the purchasers of these items. They allowed our Club to donate an additional $1,915 to the amazing work of the Rotary Foundation!

 


President Ian’s Closing Haiku …

Never a dull day
Opportunities abound
Get yourself involved


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