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 (almost) every Friday at 7 am in the Plaza View Room
of Arcata’s historic Jacoby Storehouse.
Please note that we will not meet on the Fridays before Christmas and New Years Day
We will return to the Plaza View Room on January 6, 2023 for more Service and Laughter!
For more information and for the meeting links, 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“
- January 6 – Friday RCAS Meetings resume in the Plaza View Room!
- January 7 – Yahtzee Tournament at the Adorni Center
- January 26 – RCAS Fellowship at the Cal Poly Jacks Basketball game
- February 19 – RCAS Charter Celebration!
- March 31 & April 1 – District Training Assembly
- May 4-7 – District Conference at Konocti Harbor Resort
- May 27-31 – Rotary International Convention in Melbourne, Australia
For Openers
At our last meeting of 2022, we saw a video from the Arcata High School Interact Club, and President Vanessa expressed appreciation to several Sunrisers – Chris and Lisa Appleton, Craig and Janice Newman, John Gullam, Rebecca Crow, Marty Lay, and Terri Clark. Also appreciated – the $9,000 donated to the Backpacks for Kids program by an anonymous local entrepreneur!
In addition, the Sunrisers who headed up A Taste of the Holidays opted to commit $1,000 from the fundraiser’s revenue to Food for People, represented by Arcata Rotarian Carly Robbins.
Lazo – our Rotary Exchange Student from Uganda – got a boost in raising funds for the Western Safari – a spring excursion taken throughout the Southwest each spring by RYE participants. He auctioned off a dinner for up to 10 people, and raised over $500!
And Lark Doolan of Queer Humboldt became a Paul Harris Fellow, courtesy of Sunriser Ian Schatz. Lark was the Featured Speaker at our October 8, 2021 meeting, and they continue their efforts to bring people together, noting that any separation is largely due to the lack of a common vocabulary.
Redwoods Across America (and Beyond)
Our Featured Speaker were Jonathan Claasen, founder of the Jonsteen Company, and his son Elliot, who is the company’s CEO. Jon opened by showing a recent video from ABC World News Tonight, which spotlighted the McKinleyville company in its “Made In America” segment.
Jon said that he started the business back in the early 1990s, when Jon and his friend Steen Christensen began assembling “tree in a tube” packages that contained live redwood saplings. Jon has continued with the company since. He started his career as a “wordsmith” – serving as a publicist and advertising representative. But he and Steen saw an opportunity to begin selling the young trees, Jon realized that his copywriting skills could be used to market trees. And Jon noted that sequoias can (and do) grow throughout the United States.
While others in the tree nursery business are experiencing difficulties, Jonsteen continues to thrive. Jon said that many small landowners come to them to provide trees to establish modest forests on their properties.
In Closing
As our meeting was winding down, Scott Pesch of the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka told us about the Fifth Annual Yahtzee Tournament, which will take place on Saturday, January 7th at the Adorni Center in Eureka. The event is co-sponsored by his Club and the Rotary Club of Eureka Old Town, and the proceeds will benefit Sorrel Leaf Healing Center, which is a youth crisis facility located between Arcata and Eureka. The two Rotary Clubs hope to net $50,000 to help build a pavilion on the property.
Also, Sunriser Shoshanna Rose announced that there would be a Chanukah on the Plaza celebration over the (now past) weekend.