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“
- March 20 – Adopt-a-Highway Cleanup – 10 am at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center
- March 20 – Arcata Noon Rotary’s Drive-Through Tri-Tip Dinner
- March 21 – Hands-on Garden Renovation at Jacoby Creek School from 10 am to 2 pm
- March 25 – “Best of the Wurst” – Southwest Eureka Rotary’s drive-by bratwurst dinner event
- 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.
Be Thankful …
The Rotarian of the Month for March was Cam Appleton, a Charter Member of RCAS. Cam provided some of his observations from his “fifty years of being exposed to Rotary”. He noted that our group’s mission is one of service, and that we share a vision of a world where people are united. “Rotary has a reputation for dreaming big,” he noted. And we do – including building schools, and especially inoculating children in our fight to end polio. Cam noted that Rotarians are welcomed with open arms across the world, and we trust in each other. That is because Rotary is non-political and non-religious. Cam has a particular passion for Rotary’s Youth Exchange program, and he takes pride in RCAS’s strong history of participation.
President Maggie then celebrated some birthdays from February and March, including:
- Jeff Stebbins (who always delays his celebration, which this year included a trip to Bend, Oregon with his girls),
- President Maggie herself (she had dinner with family members, then Zoomed with even more family),
- Ray Noggle (who told us that “46 is not a reason to celebrate”, but he did manage to donate 46 pairs of shoes to a fundraiser),
- Charlie Jordan (whose birthday is actually on March 28th, when she is hoping for a walk around the block with her husband Mark, who recently underwent spinal surgery),
- Bryan Reeser (who was not at the meeting, so we’ll ask him later),
- Tami Camper (who asked her Facebook friends to share their personal memories of their relationship, and who later did a solo trip to Washington),
- Craig Newman (who enjoyed his Once A Year cake – a sour cream spice cake, baked by his wife Janice),
- Matt Babich (who was not able to join us),
- AJ Gonzales (whose birthday is coming soon – he hopes to have a barbecue to “ring in the next year”), and
- Brandi Easter (who was also not at the meeting , but her birthday isn’t until March 21st, so wish her well when you see her).
Ed Christians and his wife Beth celebrated their “double-digits” anniversary! On March 3rd, they marked 20 years of marriage with a takeout dinner from Larrupin’s.
Rotary Wheels Keep Turning …
Cindy Denbo of the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka stopped in to tell us about the North Coast Ethics in Business Awards, sponsored by our Rotary District 5130. The awards will recognize businesses and organizations that make extraordinary efforts to conduct their affairs ethically. She asked that we consider nominating a business or nonprofit for the honor.
Speaking of the Southwest Eureka Club … they will hold a “Best of the Wurst” fundraising dinner on Thursday, March 25th. This is a drive-by bratwurst dinner, and they will be serving from 5 to 7 pm. And a few days before that, on Saturday, March 20th, the Arcata Noon Rotary is offering a drive-by tri-tip dinner.
President-Elect Ian Schatz reminded us to sign up for one of the Fireside Meetings, which will be held on March 30, March 31, and April 1. We will discuss all aspects of our Club – its strengths, its weaknesses, and its opportunities. He said that he has some “big ideas” for our Club, so be ready!
Lori Breyer reported on the Club Health Challenge, which will continue through the end of this month. Vanessa Griffin has completed the 300 mile tier, in 61 days! Romi Hitchcock Tinseth will get to that level soon, and Ray Noggle would be there too, if he hadn’t suffered a technological breakdown. Kudos to all of the participants!
District Governor-Elect Dustin Littlefield is in the “biggest time for a Governor-Elect” – he’s attending a lot of meetings, including PETS (the President-Elect Training Seminar), the Governor-Elect trainings, and the International Assembly. The last is an eleven day confab, where incoming District Governors from around the world meet and prepare for the coming Rotary Year. The Assembly featured next year’s RI President, Shekhar Mehta, of the Rotary Club of Calcutta-Mahanagar, West Bengal, India.
Dustin gave a shout-out to Howard Stauffer, President-Elect Ian Schatz, and Lori Breyer for their efforts at this year’s PETS. He also reminded us that the District Training Assembly is coming soon (April 16th and 17th), and it will feature a talk with John Blount – who has served as our District Governor and as a Director of Rotary International.
Service Above Self
Thank you, Nick Torres, Lisa Hemphill, Vanessa Griffin, and Charli Murphy for your efforts to pack and deliver the Backpacks for Kids last week!
Another opportunity for hands-on service is coming on Saturday, March 20th – we’ll meet at 10 am at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center in Samoa for another Adopt-A-Highway cleanup! The following day, we will meet at Jacoby Creek School to work in their garden.
Bryan Plumley provided an Scholarship Committee update, in which he noted that there are several members who are parents of eligible students. He asked for reinforcements from our ranks, to avoid conflicts of interest. He also said that we are looking at the criteria for our scholarships, to make the opportunities more equitable.
Brandon Kakitsuka said that our next RCAS Golf Tournament is likely to take place in August, due to the schedule at Beau Pre Golf Course.
– Click here to view the complete meeting –