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“
Saturday, May 11: Adopt-A-Highway – meet at the Coastal Nature Center at 10 am
Friday-Sunday, May 17 – 19: The Four-Way Fest – four Rotary Districts will hold their annual Conferences together, at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada.
Friday, May 31: The Third Annual Stephen Brodhag Memorial Golf Tournament at Baywood Golf & Country Club.
Additional Important Stuff
The Arcata High School Interact Club meets every Friday at 12:20 pm during the school year.
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.
Recognitions
Although we were without PowerPoint for the early part of the RCAS Meeting on May 3, 2019, JOYC recognized Terri Clark for her trip to Japan last month. Terri said that she lived there for a time when she was young. (I believe her military father was stationed there.) She and her husband Marty Lay spent two weeks enjoying the cherry blossoms and all of the other sights, including Mt. Fuji!
Community Service Committee Update
Rachel Damme told us all the things that our Community Service Committee has been up to lately. She started by telling us that the Committee’s goal is to “identify local, community projects that improve the overall health and well-being of the community and provide opportunities for hands-on club involvement as well as financial support.” Projects range from one-time assistance to long-term involvement. Here is a list:
- Adopt-A-Highway
- Non-Native Plant Eradication in Arcata Community Forest
- Backpacks for Kids
- SWOT Projects – “Serving With Our Talents”
Our latest SWOT Project is helping to renovate the Bayside Community Hall (formerly the Bayside Grange). There’s still much to be done, so keep an eye on your email. And this Saturday (May 11th) we will once again clean up our section of Manila Boulevard.
Your input is welcome – the next Committee meeting will take place Wednesday, May 22nd.
Senator Mike McGuire Visits
Our Featured Speaker was State Senator Mike McGuire, who told us that he has the “best job you could ask for”. Senator McGuire is also a fellow Rotarian – he has been a member of the Rotary Club of Healdsburg for 12 years!
He spoke with us on several topics, first focusing on the economy. He said that we are currently looking at a budget surplus of about $5 billion by the end of the current fiscal year. The Senator noted that we have not been very good at saving our surpluses to prepare for leaner times, but he believes that we can improve.
He also talked about educational opportunities, noting that we are likely to achieve the goal of offering California high school students two years of tuition-free education at a community college, if they attend full time and make passing grades.
Other themes that Senator McGuire discussed included affordable housing, health care, the recent wildfires, infrastructure, and re-establishing the nursing program at Humboldt State.
“Watch this episode of The Adventures of President Ray!“
(Click on President Ray’s photo to view the video of the full meeting.)