Welcome to the Sunrise Spirit –
the Weekly Newsletter of The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise
Our Next Meeting
This Friday, April 28th, we will celebrate the amazing work of the Rotary Foundation at our regular 7 am meeting. Since the Foundation was formed a century ago (from a suggestion by Rotary International President Arch Klumpf), it has spent over $3 billion to change lives and to fund sustainable projects around the world.
Our Club traditionally sets aside the last Friday of most months as “Foundation Final Friday”. We learn more about the Foundation, and we have the opportunity to participate in an auction. Items are donated by Sunrisers (and occasionally others), and the proceeds are donated to the Rotary Foundation. Half of the purchase price for each auction item is credited to the donor’s Paul Harris Sustaining Fellow account, and the other half is credited to that of the purchaser. You don’t have to be a Rotarian to bid on these great prizes, so please feel free to join us!
RISE Calendar …
“Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone“
April 29 – The Rotary Club of Old Town Eureka will host the First Ever Rhododendron Festival at Carson Park immediately following the Rhododendron Parade (about 11 am).
May 12-14 – The District 5130 Conference at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort in Incline Village, Nevada
May 19 – History Day presentations at our Friday Meeting – 7 am at the Plaza View Room in Jacoby’s Storehouse.
May 22-26 – Firesides Week – Please be sure to sign up to attend one of our annual planning sessions to help President-Elect Dustin Littlefield prepare for his Reign of Glory!
June 2 – The Steve Brodhag Golf and Crown Royal Classic at Baywood – a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka. Contact Emanuel Rose to participate.
June 10-14 – The Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia
June 17 – RCAS Food Booth at the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival
August 13-19 – Pedal for Polio bike ride to raise awareness and funds to support Rotary’s fight against polio. Participants will ride from Crescent City to Petaluma (or portions of the route)
Sunrise Moments
Former President Howard Stauffer led the meeting last week, since President Susan was out of town.
The Judy Report: Judy, our Rotary Exchange Student from Taiwan, was in Washington during Arcata High School’s Spring Break. So Host Dad Steve McHaney provided this week’s Judy Report:
Firesides Week is Coming Soon: President-Elect Dustin Littlefield announced that our Fireside Meetings will take place beginning Monday, May 22nd. Generally, three to five meetings are held to provide the incoming Club President with a sense of what is working in our Club, and areas where there is room for improvement. When the dates and venues are announced, please select the meeting that best fits your schedule, but please be sure to participate. The Firesides are an important tool to help our Club continue to thrive.
Oyster Opportunities: Dustin also told us that RCAS will again be participating in the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival. We will need Sunrisers to staff a food booth for the event, which is scheduled for Saturday, June 17th. More details will follow, but please save the date.
All Rhodies Lead to Rotary? Following the Rhododendron Parade on Saturday, April 29th, the Old Town Eureka Rotary will host the First Annual Rhododendron Festival at Carson Park in Eureka. The event will feature crafts, food, and more, with all proceeds dedicated to finding improvements at Sequoia Park.
Pedal 4 Polio: We hope you will support this effort to raise funds and awareness of Rotary’s continuing fight to eradicate polio. District 5130 will host a six-day bicycle ride from Crescent City to Petaluma, and you can help by riding (either the entire route, or a portion of it) or pledging an amount per mile. You are also encouraged to sign up to host one or more of the riders as they pass through town.
Per the announcement on the District Website, “If all 2,400 Rotarians in our District pledged just $0.10 per mile (Remember the March of Dimes?) to sponsor a rider, we would raise $84,000 for PolioPlus.” This charge is being led by polio survivor Bob Rogers, who will serve as our District Governor next year. For more information, check out the announcement here, and watch your inbox.
Blue Badge: Membership Co-chair AJ Gonzales presented a shiny new Blue Badge to Ashliegh Diehl, who completed her requirements about as quickly as anyone in recent memory. Congratulations, Ashliegh!
Mycoremediation
Mycoremediation is a method of bioremediation that uses fungi to clean up contaminated soil or water. Our Featured Speaker was Levon Durr, the owner of Fungaia Farm. Levon told us about a project that his firm worked on in Orleans:
Click here to visit the Fungaia Farm website, where you can find the link to the full report.
La Trinidad Project Update
Pablo “Chespi” Elizando from Club Rotario San Jose Noreste in Costa Rica visited our Club, and he provided an update on the microcredit project in La Trinidad. The project is a partnership among his Club, the Arcata Noon Rotary, the North Bay Rotaract Club, and our Club; our goal is to help people in this remote mountainous area of Costa Rica “jumpstart” their businesses with a small infusion of cash and help with planning.
