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.
Usually, we meet on most Fridays at 7 am in the Plaza View Room
at Arcata’s historic Jacoby Storehouse,
however, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are meeting online.
Please visit the RCAS Website for the meeting links.
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 Calendar …
RISE: “Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone“
- February 19 – RCAS Charter Celebration at our 7 am meeting. Dress up, ’cause we’re meeting RI President Holger Knaack!
- April 16-17 – District 5130 Training Assembly
- June 12-16 – The 2021 Rotary International Convention – Online!
- November 11-14 – The Zone Institute, tentatively scheduled for Tuscon, Arizona
- June 4-8, 2022 – The 2022 Rotary International Convention in Houston, Texas.
Recognitions, Fellowship, and Announcements!
Nick Torres and Vanessa Griffin were thanked for their repeat performances preparing and delivering Backpacks for Kids! Lisa Hemphill also told us that there are some new time frames for picking up from Food For People.
President Maggie told us that her Birthday Fundraiser and our Masks With A Message efforts have raised about $1,500 for organizations helping BIPOC youths. And the masks are still available – CLICK HERE to purchase one (or more).
We learned more about our Club’s efforts to help the village of Zarai Sar in Pakistan. Howard Stauffer noted that we have long worked to provide assistance to the town (along with other Rotary Clubs) He discussed our support for the expansion of the local school, which will allow it to serve more students.
The Raven Project is still requesting donations of menstrual products for its clientele. Please contact Rebecca Crow to offer your help. You can also help the Arcata High School Safe and Sober program by donating your wearable shoes. They are working with a nonprofit that pays for the shoes, then distributes them to those in need.
President Maggie paid for an advertisement/PSA for her organization – the Area 1 Agency on Aging (A1AA). She said that they serve older adults, “…and they wear masks!” The organization is recruiting volunteers to help local seniors get to their COVID-19 vaccination appointments.
And it’s Girl Scout Cookie time! Once again, Mary Crow is offering the tasty treats online this year, due to the pandemic. To visit “Mary’s Cookie World,” click on her photo:
Club & District Stuff
President Maggie said that RCAS Webmaster Ed Christians is still looking for someone who can (and will) post our videos to YouTube. If you’re the one, please contact Ed soon …
Lori Breyer gave us an update on the RCAS Health Challenge. Romi Hitchcock Tinseth has moved into a narrow lead over Ray Noogle/Noggle and Vanessa Griffin. Others in the hunt include (but are not limited to) Stephanie Lane, JOYC (the Justice Of Your Club), Chris and Lisa Hemphill, Scott (which one?), and others! Lori still claims that it’s not too late to join in the healthy fun. You may not catch the leaders, but you’ll feel better!
If you haven’t responded to President-Elect Ian’s questionnaire, please do so soon. Your responses will help him prep for our annual Fireside Meetings, which will take place during the final week of March.
Gratitude, the Rotarian of the Month, and more!
Bryn Coriell led off the Gratitude Recognitions for this meeting, with a list of things/people/places he appreciates. These included his family, the community, his employment, our beautiful North Coast, his kids (with a shout-out to the Cub Scouts), good books, and especially his wife Jennifer.
Dustin Littlefield said that Bryn co-opted many of the things he’s grateful for, but he emphasized that we have a good community – a conscious community filled with good people. He is also grateful for his friends and family, and people stepping up when they are needed, and he too had a shout-out, to the always amazing Barbara Browning!
The nominees for the next round of Gratitude Recognitions are Brett Watson (nominated by Bryn) and Steve McHaney (tapped by Dustin).
Speaking of Mr. McHaney, he was already on the agenda for this meeting, as President Maggie’s Rotarian of the Month. Steve told us that he joined RCAS about five years ago, after many years as a member of the Rotary Club of Eureka. He said that people always say that you should find a Rotary Club that fits you, and our Club fits him.
A slide (recycled from his Craft Talk) stated that “Nothing much happened before college …”, but that may not have been entirely true. After all, he was born in Detroit, and when he was about one year old, he moved to Southern California. (I believe he took his family with him, but that’s wasn’t made clear.) He often sported plaid as a youth, but that was his mother’s influence – you’re more likely to see him in a tie-dyed t-shirt.
When he attended HSU, he joined the Marching Lumberjacks, where he met John Gullam.
Steve married Patty McCormick at an RV park in Redding, and they lived in the Bay Area for a while before returning to Humboldt. Steve joined Winzler & Kelly, an engineering firm in Eureka, and they were set. They had twin boys (Carson and Westin), and they added two girls (Zhanna and Kristina) when they traveled to Irkutsk in Siberia.
The family is all very musical, but their creativity doesn’t stop there. Steve loves building things, so he created the Tri-Lo-Bike for the Kinetic Sculpture Race a few years back. This beast has undergone some evolution since his first race, morphing into the Tri-Lo-Bike Test Kitchen, the Tri-Lo-Bike Diner, and the Tri-Lo-Bike Carnival.
There’s a lot more, but you’ll have to hear it from Steve in the video below:
– Click here to view the complete meeting –