Coming Soon …
Oct 3 – RISE EVENT  – CASA Kids Walk (Support the North Bay Rotaract Club’s team) – 6 pm at the Old Town Gazebo
Oct 10 – RISE EVENT – HSU Homecoming Tailgate Party!
Oct 22/23 – District Governor Erin Dunn visits our Club (officially!). Thursday night Board Meeting and Social, Friday Morning Club Meeting.
Oct 23 – World Polio Day! For more information, please click here
Oct 30/31 – RISE EVENT –  Lost Coast Rotaract’s 5th Annual “Spirits & Spirits” in Old Town – Three tours each night!!
Nov 14 – RISE EVENT – Foundation Dinner North in Ferndale – “An Evening in the Enchanted Forest”
Nov 19 – A Taste of the Holidays at the Arcata Community Center 
Dec 5 – RISE EVENT – Christmas Caroling for Arts Alive in Old Town Eureka

Rotarian News 

• Arcata Volunteer Fire Department Chief Desmond Cowan was on hand last Friday. He invited us to tour the renovated Fire Station on Saturday, October 3rd. Tours will be taking place all day.
• John Gullam reminded us that the Backpacks for Kids program is experiencing a funding gap for the coming year. If you would like to sponsor a year’s worth of nutritious food for a needy student for $265, please contact him. Partial sponsorships are also welcome.
• President Howard announced that the Manila Community Services Board has named Mad River Montessori School the new managers of the Manila Family Resource Center. This should mean that we will be working on our next SWOT project soon!
• Our indefatigable Friday server, Elsa Dearth, announced that she has extended her anniversary sale on massages and yoga training. For more information, please call her at 805-453-4593.

Sophia’s Week
Rotary Exchange Student Sophia Waern-Bugge told us that she recently went to Coos Bay, Oregon for a cross-country meet. “I’m not the best runner yet,” she admitted, “but it’s fun, and I’m improving.” Last Thursday night, she went to dinner with Tami Camper, who is Sophia’s Rotary Counselor. 

Sophia also joined the Arcata High School Interact Club recently. She had only been to one meeting, but there was another scheduled later that day. “I hope I get some pizza this time,” she said. She summed up her life right now, saying, “I go to school and to cross-country practice. That’s what I do. I’m very tired all the time.” 

Interact/Rotaract Update
Craig Newman told us that the mission of the Interact/Rotaract Committee is to support the North Bay Rotaract Club (which we sponsor) and the Arcata High Interact Club (which we co-sponsor with the Arcata Noon Rotary. Craig noted that we had sponsored an unofficial Interact Club at Sunny Brae Middle School, but there was mutual agreement that we would still support their efforts and they would help at our events, but their service club will no longer be considered an Interact Club. Fortunately, the Arcata Nooners were willing to share responsibility for the AHS Interact Club with us. 

In addition to Craig, the Committee includes co-chair Robert Goodman, Dustin Littlefield, Nick Torres, Laura Montagna, and maybe Tomas Chavez. “Tomas kinda hung around our meeting last time,” Craig said, “so we think he’s probably going to join.” 

Kendall Boyett is this year’s AHS Interact President, and she told us that the previous weekend, several of their members helped with the Prairie Creek Redwoods Half Marathon, handing out t-shirts and staffing the water stations. The same weekend, they worked at the North Country Fair, helping the event participants achieve zero-waste by directing people to recycling areas. They have an auction coming up on Saturday, October 10th at the Fortuna River Lodge. Craig reminded us to think about the AHS Interactors as we develop projects through the year. Kendall said that there were about 70 members at their last meeting. (No wonder they ran out of pizza!)

Kendall Boyett, Craig Newman, and Rachel Damme

The President of the North Bay Rotaract this year is Rachel Damme, who told us that her Club boasts 21 active members, and another 15 “Friends of Rotaract” – people who are involved, but either can’t commit at this time, or who are over the age of 30 (the upper limit for Rotaract membership). The group was chartered 15 months ago, and in that time, “we have accomplished a lot,” Rachel said. In April, the group put together the “Run for a Cause”, which supported Project La Trinidad, which the Rotaract Club is co-sponsoring with the Arcata Noon Rotary, Club Rotario San Jose in Costa Rica, and our Club. It was their first fundraiser, and they had over 100 runners participate!

Among their goals for the current year are increased youth advocacy, community beautification, creating more opportunities for networking and leadership, and maintaining a focus on helping to End Polio Now. Rachel said that the group will participate in the CASA Kids Walk for the third year, they will field a team in Bowl for Kids’ Sake, which supports the North Coast Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, and they will spend some cold nights near the Costco parking lot in November and December, collecting Toys for Tots. They will raise funds to support the Raven Project, which provides outreach for homeless youth. They are also building raised planter beds for the Raven Project’s vegetable and herb gardens, and they will be working with other Rotary organizations to revitalize Rotary Grove in Prairie Creek State Park.

Last year’s North Bay Rotaract President, Ashleigh Diehl, is this year’s District 5130 Rotaract Representative. She said that the local Rotaract Clubs are working more closely together, and they held a camping retreat recently, with 21 attendees from throughout the District’s six Rotaract Clubs. They discussed common goals, better communication and coordination of efforts. The District-wide effort to create a second volume of the Rotaract Cookbook will be dedicated this year to Rotary’s polio eradication efforts. 

Ashleigh said that the six Clubs want to work more closely with both the Rotary Clubs and the Interact Clubs in the District. They plan to support the World’s Greatest Meal to End Polio, and the Purple Pinkies for Polio project being adopted by several District Clubs.

Foundation Final Friday
Last week was the last Friday of September, which means … it was time for Foundation Final Friday!! We started with Paul Harris Presentations. It was the third time around for Karen Burgesser, and with Paul Harris Fellowships, it’s always a charm! And Foundation Chair Terri Clark announced three new PHFs – Lisa Hemphill, Ed Christians, and Exchange Student Sophia. Congratulations to all!!

It wouldn’t be Final Friday without our Foundation Auction. All proceeds are donated to the Rotary Foundation, with the prize donor and the winning bidder splitting the Paul Harris Recognition amount. And here is the list:

• The North Bay Rotaract Club donated a basket filled with pasta sauce, pasta, and a bunch of other goodies. Maggie Kraft will be going Italian, courtesy of her winning bid.
• Bourbon, anyone? Alyson Hunter’s package included Maker’s Mark bourbon and a batch of bourbon brownies. The top bid came from Bryan Reeser.
• Krissemma wine is not available in stores, but Jessica McKnight attests that it is excellent. She brought a bottle along with wine glasses. It was ready to enjoy, but I think that the winning bidder (Alyson Hunter) waited at least a few hours …
• Rebecca Crow will be doing some baking for the holidays, with Jeff Stebbins and John Gullam as the happy recipients. They will receive a large tin of cookies from Rebecca at a holiday time of their choosing for their winning bids.
• We don’t know who donated the certificates for a night at the Benbow Inn and $50 credit toward dinner or other amenities. We know who bought it, though – Your Editor! 
• Orrin Plocher is quite the woodworker, and he made a very special cross ornament. He told us that he made it in memory of his father, who also crafted in wood. Bob Johnson’s winning bid made it a memory for his family, too.
• Maggie Kraft donated a bottle from another rogue winemaker (from the Calistoga Rotary Club). The label read “Iniquity Cellars”, and Ed Christians will be able to study it at length, courtesy of his winning bid.
• Joyce Hinrichs provided beautiful jewelry from Baroni Designs, which was purchased by Carol Vander Meer.
• The last item was a “Project Bucket”, assembled and donated by Chris Hemphill. The bucket included several items essential to the completion of any project – including beer and chips! Resident handyman Craig Newman is sure to make the most of it!

As always, thank you to all who donated and/or purchased items. This time, we raised $1,025 for the Rotary Foundation. But remember, you don’t need to wait for the next auction – you can make your contribution online by clicking here!