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 most Fridays at 7 am in the Plaza View Room at Arcata’s historic Jacoby Storehouse.
The Calendar …
RISE: “Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone“
Sunday, September 9: “Out of the Darkness” Community Walk to raise funds and awareness for suicide prevention. Registration on the Arcata Plaza is at 9 am; the walk begins at 10 am. You can also register as a “virtual walker” on the website. Our team’s page is https://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.team&teamID=176251
Saturday, September 22: Public Lands Day – Community Forest Cleanup from 9 am to Noon!
Saturday, October 6: Pastels on the Plaza
Sunday, October 21: Foundation Celebration Dinner North – 2 pm at the Elks Lodge in Eureka
Committee Meetings
Taste of the Holidays Committee – Wednesday, September 12 – 5:30 pm at The Griffin
Community Service – Thursday, September 13 – 7:00 am at the Country Store on Giuntoli Lane in Arcata
Transitional Age Youth – Wednesday, September 19 – 5:30 pm at Coast Central Bank in McKinleyville
World Community Service – Tuesday, October 4 – 7 am at the Country Store on Giuntoli Lane in Arcata
Additional Important Stuff
Luau Night! – On Saturday, October 20th, the Rotary Club of Mad River will celebrate Hawaiian style at the McKinleyville Activity Center. The festivities begin at 5:30 pm.
The Arcata High School Interact Club meets every Friday at 12:20 pm.
The North Bay Rotaract Club meets in the Plaza View Room at Jacoby’s Storehouse at 6 pm on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month.
Links for monetary donations to fire relief via Rotary –
Victims of the Carr Fire: http://www.shastarcf.org/funds/cdrf Please be sure to enter #NorCalRotary in the notes section as you enter your donation.
Mendocino/Lake Counties: https://www.larca5130.org/
From 5 to 7 pm on Sunday, September 9, our community will welcome back HSU students at the “Home Away From Home” potluck event. The event will take place at the D Street Neighborhood Center in Arcata.
On Thursday, October 18th, the Arcata Police Department and the Humboldt County Office of Education will begin an 11-week series of Parent Project classes that are free to parents of at-risk youth beginning at the McKinleyville High School Library.
Supporting the Rotary Foundation
Final Fridays are all about the Rotary Foundation, so that’s when we like to honor our new (and returning) Paul Harris Fellows. These are individuals who have donated at least $1,000 to the Foundation, or who have had that amount donated in their name. If you are unfamiliar with the amazing work that the Rotary Foundation supports, take a look at the Foundation page on the Rotary International website by clicking on the logo below:
While you’re there, consider making a donation – there’s a “DONATE” link on the upper right side of the page. The Rotary Foundation is one of the most efficient charities you can donate to, because so much of the “boots on the ground” work is done by great volunteers – Rotarians!!
Getting back to the original topic, our newest Paul Harris Fellow is our President-Elect, AJ Gonzales!! We also honored long-time Sunriser Matt Babich for becoming a Paul Harris Fellow … and then going back and doing it seven more times!!! Thank you to a couple of very generous “Fellows”!!
Final Friday Foundation Auction
We held our Final Friday Auction, where all of the items are donated, and all of the proceeds go to the Rotary Foundation (with one exception this time, noted below). Here are the items offered, the donors and the winning bidders:
- Foundation Chair Terri Clark realized that she would be unable to attend the upcoming Lyle Lovett concert at the Van Duzer Theater, so she auctioned her tickets! President Ray had the winning bid, so he will be seeing a very tall person on stage!
- Andreas Krause is the host father for Rotary Exchange Student Finn Grewe, and they cooked up a scheme whereby Finn would offer four hours of his time to the high bidder, and the proceeds would be split between the Foundation and Finn himself, since he needs to earn funds for two trips – one to New York, and the Rotary Western Safari in June. We had not one, but two winners (so Finn will have to work twice as hard). One was Katie from the Mad River Rotary, and the other is currently unknown to this reporter.
- What says summer better than succulents and mezcal? I don’t know either, and that’s what Claire Ajina donated for the auction. AJ Gonzales offered the most for the package, as he started his way toward a second Paul Harris Fellowship!
- The Humboldt Coastal Harvest Package, which included a lot of fish was donated by Cam Appleton. Terri Clark will be sauteing, frying, and roasting for a while, courtesy of her winning bid!
- Ceva Courtemanche donated a set of large, lovely wooden wind chimes. Once again, a member of the Mad River Rotary – this time it was Michelle – won the prize! (Okay, we really should go to their Luau Night!)
- Some choice wines were donated by Romi Hitchcock TInseth. I know they were really good, because the winning bidder was wine aficionado Scott Heller!
- And how ’bout some tequila? Bryan Reeser brought some, Craig Newman bought some!
- Julie Vaissade-Elcock contributed a complete succulent set – plants and rocks and dirt and a tray – that was purchased by Ed Christians.
- Maggie Kraft made a donation of wine paired with an Abruzzi gift certificate. I’m not sure who won that, but just look for a Sunriser with a big smile on his or her face.
- AJ Gonzales recently toured France, and he kept picking up things. He arranged many of those items – including a lovely shawl, lavender sachets, and wine – in a basket, along with a gift certificate from Le Monde. Dick Johnson picked that one up, and will be dining in style!
- A bucket filled with the fixin’s for Old Fashioneds (the drinks) was Bob Moore’s donation, which was picked up by Matt Babich.
Thanks to the donors and the bidders – your generosity means that the Rotary Foundation has $1,710 in additional funds to use around the world! Our last Final Friday of the calendar year will take place on September 28th – you’re welcome to come bid with us then!
“Watch this episode of The Adventures of President Ray!“
(Click on President Ray’s photo to view the video of the full meeting.)