April 21, 2023

Welcome to the Sunrise Spirit –
the Weekly Newsletter of The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise


Rob England of United Indian Health Services

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, 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

  • April 29 – Pancake Breakfast at the Arcata Presbyterian Church to support Cairo’s Rotary Exchange Year
  • April 29 – Arcata Noon Rotary hosts its annual Wine Festival at Baywood Golf and Country Club
  • May 4-7 – District Conference at Konocti Harbor Resort
  • May 7 – Home Away From Home welcoming event for Cal Poly Humboldt students
  • May 27-31 – Rotary International Convention in Melbourne, Australia

For Openers

President Vanessa recapped the Board Meeting held earlier in the week. She said that RCAS will transition our website to DACdb* to save money and to centralize our Club’s information. The Board also voted to donate $500 to help remodel a men’s addiction clinic in Mexico, another $500 to support the installation of solar power at a senior facility also in Mexico, and $1,000 to help train people with disabilities to use cycling. She also noted that the Scholarship Committee will be interviewing candidates in early May, so contact members of that group if you would like to participate.

Rebecca Crow reported on the “Home Away From Home” event that will take place on Sunday, May 7th. She noted that our Club is sponsoring this event along with the Rotary Clubs of Arcata (Noon) and Southwest Eureka. The intent of the events (which happen several times during the year) is to show that our community appreciates and welcomes all students, especially students of color. Volunteers are needed to help fill and distribute bags of supplies. For more information and to sign up, please contact Rebecca.

We count Lonny Grafman as one of RCAS’s great friends. He and his engineering students at Cal Poly Humboldt are developing some projects at Trillium School with our support. These include at solar-heated hand washing station, a “Math Pathway”, a paper-making press, a Galton Board (a desktop device that helps teach probability concepts), an interactive bench, and a busy board.

United Indian Health Services Update

Our Featured Speaker was Rob England, the  Director of Tribal Public Health for United Indian Health Services (UIHS). Rob is a member of the Yurok Tribe, and he has been with UIHS for over seven years, serving in his current position since January 2022. Rob discussed recent changes within UIHS, including their acquisition of two buildings in Eureka. He said that the organization provides wide-ranging public health services, encompassing their patients’ physical and mental well-being.

Rob shared a memoir he wrote for a workbook that supports men’s mental health: Guts, Grit & The Grind: A MENtal Mechanics MANual – 10 Advanced Mechanical Tips to Repair and Overhaul after a Breakdown. His story is moving and heartfelt, and you can hear him read it in the video below:


DACdb is a database membership software program that is used by many Rotary Clubs (and District 5130) to manage their websites and their membership information. The program allows you to access our Club roster, as well as information about other Rotarians in our District, either on your computer or on your phone (or both). 

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