This Friday’s Program:
Please join us this Friday, December 9th, for another great RCAS meeting!
RISE Calendar … “Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone“
December 8 – Foster Family Dinner
December 8-10 – Arcata Invitational Basketball Tournament (AIBT)
December 12 – RCAS Board Meetings – 7 am at the Golden Harvest Cafe
January 21 – Adopt-A-Highway cleanup. Meet at the Coastal Nature Center
February 18 – Charter Night at Baywood! Our annual RCAS birthday party!!
March 11 – The RCAS Spring Fundraiser! Put it on your calendar now (or as soon as you purchase a 2017 calendar)!!
May 12-14 – The District 5130 Conference at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort in Incline Village, Nevada
Sunrise Moments
- Former President Barbara Browning led us last Friday in President Susan’s absence. Her first order of business was to thank our Taste of the Holidays Event Co-Chairs, Lisa Hemphill and Ray Noggle. “That was amazing,” Barbara said. “I didn’t think it could get any bigger and better, and it got bigger and better!” She also thanked everyone else who “stepped up and took a leadership role”.
The Judy Report
Judy, our Exchange Student from Taiwan, traveled to Portland recently. “It was so good,” she told us. “I did a lot of shopping.” But before she started, she called her mother to say, “Mom – I’m ready to use your card!” The response? “Okay, good job!” Last week, however, she returned to school after the Thanksgiving break, so she was tired.
New To Our Club, But Not New to “Service Above Self”
Last Friday, we welcomed not one, but two new Sunrisers at our last meeting – Ashliegh Diehl and Jose Zapata. But before that, Membership Chair Tomas Chavez presented the coveted Blue Badge to John Richmond, who has fulfilled the requirements for transitioning from Red Badger status!
Her aunt, Sunriser Susan Diehl McCarthy, sponsored Ashliegh, but she has been part of the Rotary community for a loooong time! Ashliegh became a member of the Lost Coast Rotaract Club in 2011 , and she became the Founding President of the North Bay Rotaract Club in 2014. She has also served as the District 5130 Rotaract Representative, promoting collaboration among the local Rotaract Clubs. She is a two-time Paul Harris Fellow, and she is a Rotary Leadership Institute graduate. Ashleigh holds a masters degree in Accounting, and she works for Hunter, Hunter, and Hunt. She and her partner, Jesus Quinonez, live in Fortuna.
Jose was also a member of the North Bay Rotaract. He was encouraged to join by his wife Shelly, and he has been part of that Club for the past two years. Jose has also been a fixture at RCAS meetings and events, and his sunny and warm disposition are always welcome, along with his perennial smile. He graduated from HSU earlier this year, with a degree in International Business. He currently works as a Cook at HSU in the Housing and Dining program. He told us, “I enjoy the opportunities that Rotary gives me to give back to the community, the District, and the globe. I appreciate the camaraderie that goes along within this Club and with other Clubs.”
We are very pleased and fortunate that Jose and Ashliegh decided to become Sunrisers.
“The Future Isn’t What It Used To Be” – Legal Cannabis and Our Community
Our Featured Speaker was Ken Hamik, a futurist who has more than 35 years of experience in management and consulting across a wide range of markets. He has worked with Fortune 100 companies, start-ups and nonprofits. He earned his masters degree from the University of Houston in its Studies of the Future program, and he is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists. Ken is a partner at Hummingbird Healing Center, and he spoke with us about how the legalization of recreational cannabis use may impact our community.
Ken told us that cannabis has been used as a medicine for thousands of years, and he also said that hemp has a long history of use in the United States. Our area also has a long history with the product as well, and it has driven a significant portion of our economy for years. The cannabis industry considers it an agricultural product, and Ken noted that “agriculture is king in California”. He reminded us that 1 in 10 Americans lives in California, and our state has the 6th largest economy in the world – larger than all but five countries.
The future for the industry is uncertain, and developing a strategic plan is imperative for these businesses. The uncertain times are what Ken calls “the Messy Middle” – before the market for cannabis begins to mature. He sees this as a period where local producers can make the claim that cannabis grown in this area is superior to that grown elsewhere. Ken believes that Humboldt could be “the next Silicon Valley”, if the opportunities are embraced. He said that our local cannabis producers have about five years to establish the area’s primacy in the industry.
Ken said that cannabis producers are looking to become accepted members of the business and agricultural communities. He told us that many growers are looking forward to the pride of ownership that a business license conveys. He feels that the future holds a sense of what he terms “CommUnity”, with a capital U. The Board of Supervisors were proactive in beginning to establish a framework for the industry that will protect buyers and sellers, as well as the environment.
“When people think of farms,” Ken said, “they usually think, you plant a seed and you grow it.” But he told us that strides are being made in agricultural productivity, using high tech methods including using lights to maximize yields. He noted that “we may actually reinvent agriculture through cannabis”, which would be interesting, since it was illegal, and still is at the federal level. It’s going to take a lot of work, he warned, but the possibilities and the options are there, both for the industry and for our community.