Our Next Meeting:
Please join us for our January 20th meeting at Jacoby Storehouse.
RISE Calendar … “Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone“
January 21 – Adopt-A-Highway cleanup. Meet at the Coastal Nature Center at 9:30 am.
January 21 – “Sunrise Seafood Boil”, presented by the Rotary Club of Fortuna Sunrise. The fun starts at 5:30 pm at the River Lodge in Fortuna.
February 11 – History Day at HSU – Judges and other volunteers are needed!
February 13 – RCAS & Foundation Board Meetings – 7 am at the Golden Harvest Cafe
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
- President Susan was unavailable, so Former President “Brother” Bob Johnson led the show. (And if you missed the meeting, you can click on the tiny cameraman above to watch the whole shebang!)
- We received a thank you from residents of Pakistan’s Swat Valley for our support in providing safe drinking water to additional villages in the area.
- He’s here all month! Brother Bob the Ragman still has fine Arcata Sunrise attire available. Twenny bucks’ll get you either a t-shirt, featuring our Club’s logo and the words “ROTARIAN AT WORK”; or a long-sleeved polo, which also has our logo, but no indication that you are (or should be) at work. Get ’em while they’re blue!
- Our first Adopt-a-Highway cleanup will take place this Saturday, January 21. Please meet at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center at 9:30 am for the quick orientation, then we’ll be on the road!
- Jessica McKnight reported that the Club’s Fellowship Committee has set an attendance-friendly price of $25 per person for this year’s Charter Night. On Saturday, February 18th, we will head back to where we celebrated Charter Night I, 25 years ago – Baywood Golf and Country Club. We’re hoping that all can attend.
- Humboldt History Day will take place on Saturday, February 11th at HSU, and the organizers are looking for volunteers. If you’re a little shy about judging, there are other tasks that await you. “It’s really easy,” said Lori Breyer, “and a lot of fun.” If you’re interested, check in with Lori or with Jeff Stebbins.
The Judy Report
New Member Induction
At Friday’s meeting, we welcomed Timothy Overturf as our newest Sunriser. Tim’s sponsor is Bryan Reeser, and his classification is Wealth Management. Tim was born in Switzerland in 1995, and his family moved to Humboldt County the following year. He attended Freshwater Elementary until the family moved again, this time to Mill Valley. Tim completed his high school education in Switzerland, where he apprenticed as a Network Technician. In 2014, he returned to Mill Valley where he and a partner started a wealth management company which focuses on alternative investing strategies. He recently opened an office in Eureka, and he now splits his time between Humboldt and the Bay Area.
Join the Sunrisers (via the video link below), in our tradition of welcoming Tim to our Club by getting up and shaking his hand:
Special Daze
- Mark Burtchett’s birthday was November 30th, and he reported that he and his wife Cammy just returned from a trip to Thailand and Burma! Wow – great birthday gift!
- New Year’s Eve and Ron Sharp’s Birthday take place on the same day of the year, and Ron said that he and Barbara Browning flew to Bellevue, Washington to visit friends and family. In addition to celebrating another year of Ron and the end of 2016, they also celebrated Ron’s retirement, which also took place on December 31st! Congratulations, Ron!
- Rebecca and Abe Crow celebrated their 14th anniversary on January 2nd relatively quietly. Rebecca reported that they were both tired, but she promised more excitement next year.
- As a Club, we also celebrated Scott Heller’s birthday, which was last Friday. President Bob took a video of us singing “Happy Birthday” to him, and he sent it after the meeting. The “Official” Sunrise Spirit video is shown below:
Village Approach to Helping Seniors
Our Featured Speaker was JoAnn Schuch (pronounced “shook”), who told us about Redwood Coast Village, which is a new program sponsored by the Area 1 Agency on Aging. This is an organization that is run by its members and supported by volunteers. The program helps promote independent living for seniors and others. The group is very close to becoming an independent nonprofit. A1AA’s Executive Director, Maggie Kraft, introduced JoAnn as a “driving force” in the movement to establish the program.
JoAnn sees the main goal of the program is to help seniors stay in their own homes. “You may have noticed,” she said, “that people around you are getting older.” JoAnn was serving as a caregiver for her mother, her father, and her aunt. When she and her parents moved to this area, she was in for a “crash course” in the services available here. “We have some really wonderful businesses and agencies here in Humboldt County,” she noted. But there are gaps that have remained unfilled. Her hope is that Redwood Coast Village and its members and volunteers can fill in many of those gaps. Many of those gaps are associated with relatively mundane everyday tasks. For older people, these tasks can be daunting as they become less able.
JoAnn first heard about the Village Movement when she was caring for her parents. “I was delighted to find out that Area 1 was working on [the local Village].” The system coordinates volunteer help for assistance with tasks such as setting up home technology, changing light bulbs, and assisting those who need it following an illness or injury. They try to avoid duplicating services offered by other agencies, but they do provide referrals to those organizations. They also maintain a list of businesses that have been recommended by other Village members. They operate on a “one phone call” model. Calling the Village connects you with someone who can either coordinate with a volunteer or with another member.
The initial organizing meetings were held in November 2014. Through a series of lunch-time meetings, the Village came together. Currently, the program has over 100 members and volunteers signed up, and it is one of the fastest growing villages in the United States. There are over 205 villages in the country, and over 60 in California. The service area currently ranges from Big Lagoon in the north to Rio Dell in the south, and as far east as Blue Lake and Freshwater, but they plan to expand gradually. They are housed in the Area 1 Agency on Aging building in Eureka.
JoAnn emphasized that the Village is not a physical location; it is a membership organization. “Members offer their skills to help each other,” she said, “and then we also have outside volunteers of all ages.” Members must be 50 years of age or older. The membership fee for individuals is $35 per month, or $420 annually. A two-person household can join for $52.50 per month, or $630 per year. Partial scholarships are available for lower-income members, thanks to the Union Labor Health Foundation and individual donations. For the safety of all, members and volunteers must submit to a background check and an orientation.
For more information, visit the Redwood Coast Village website by clicking below:
