Volume XII, Issue 12: September 28, 2012

GOOD MORNING, FA!

Fa Sillapajarn, our Rotary Exchange Student from Thailand, told us that she had recently attended a baby shower. “It was sooo cute!” she said. She had also planned to take in a presentation for prospective HSU students, to be given by Sunriser Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth. Although Fa made it to the correct room, alas Romi did not. Fa’s coming plans include lunch with Sunriser Cindy Sutcliffe.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Kahuna Kavinta (aka President George) told us that leaves of absence were approved for Julie Schaefer and Scott Heller by our Board. Don’t worry, they’ll be back within about three months. On the other hand, George also told us that John Wesa has decided to leave the Club for now. John still plans to contribute, and he hopes to return to our ranks someday.

Terri Clark told us that she recently met her grand niece Faye Taylor Clark, who was born September 3rd. Little Faye is already a Paul Harris Fellow, and she owns three quilts – all courtesy of Great Aunt Terri.

We heard last week that our Club will continue our tradition of hosting and sending Rotary Exchange Students again next year. As usual, our Club will join with the Arcata Noon Club to host an Information Night for prospective Outbound Exchangers at Arcata High. We’ll let you know when the date is arranged – if you know of any students who might be interested, please tell them to watch for the meeting.

The Rotary Foundation Dinner North is coming to Fortuna’s River Lodge on Saturday, October 13th, starting at 6 pm. To register, click on this link: FOUNDATION DINNER. But don’t be slow!

Here are some other events that should be on your radar (or at least your calendar):

  • October 15th  – Youth Exchange “Bluesbuster” Trip to San Francisco
  • November 15th – A Taste of the Holidays

CRAFT TALK With CRAIG REED

Editor’s Note: New Sunrisers are presented with a red Rotary Badge when they join our Club. One of the requirements for attaining the Coveted Blue Badge is to give a Craft Talk. This is an opportunity for the new Rotarian to tell us about their personal history – how he or she came to be a Sunrise Rotarian.

Craig Reed was born in Livermore, California, and raised in Cameron Park. When he graduated from high school, he decided to attend Humboldt State  University.”Eventually,” he said, “I got my degree in Theater Arts.” He said that it may not have been the most relevant major, given that he is a Network Engineer for Humboldt Open Door Clinics. However, he noted that he is not your stereotypical information technology professional. “IT guys have a reputation as being hostile and combative,” he said. “I try to knock that down.” 

Craig became acquainted with Rotary in the fall of 2010, when he served as a member of a District 5130 Group Study Exchange team that visited Japan. Thedestination was perfect for him. As a kid, Craig and his family had neighbors from Japan, and he took Japanese in high school. Craig and fellow GSE team member Jillian Yerby visited our club in August 2011 to recount the highlights of their adventure. (See Sunrise Spirit Volume XI, Issue 5 for more information.)

That set the Rotary Wheel in motion. He learned more about Rotary and about our Club from Terri Clark, who had worked with him at Open Door, and his co-worker Angelo Bacigaluppi agreed to serve as his sponsor. 

Craig’s family includes his girlfriend and her two children, and his own child. He said that they are not yet married … yet. “That will be rectified soon,” he stated, “but she doesn’t know that yet.” The family is also owned by a cat. And we welcome them all to our Club’s extended family.

RECOGNITIONS WITH ROMI

Last week, our Recognition Maven was Romi Hitchcock Tinseth, and she told us that Max Crow had recently celebrated a birthday. Max told us that he just turned six, and that he celebrated by playing laser tag with friends. He also had a special treat – popsicles with candles! We sang “Happy Birthday” to him – another treat, but maybe not quite as special.

Our last meeting also saw the return of the game Liar, Liar. In this game, a Sunriser says three things about his or her life. Two are true, and one is false. A second Sunriser is selected to ferret out the falsehood. 

Our first Liar was Dean Krushke. He said that (1) he has swam/swum across Lake Tahoe six times, (2) he has a “very useful degree in Microbiology”, and (3) he played Minor League Baseball. Ceva Courtemanche got it right – she correctly guessed that Dean hadn’t made the Minors. (He said that it had been “a pipe dream”.)

Liar Number Two was Dewey Kiefer, who claimed (1) that he had set a record by drinking a fishbowl-sized glass of margaritas in 24 seconds, (2) he is descended from Daniel Boone, and (3) he was an early neighbor of Glenn Tinseth (Romi’s hubby). I failed to write down the Lie Detector, but I did catch that the first statement was … shall we say … less than true.

Our Final Liar of the day was Past President and Past District Governor Harry Johnson. Despite his credentials and knowledge of the Four-Way Test, Harry took some liberties with the truth. He said (1) that he is and was a Charter Member of our Club, (2) That he was born and raised in Humboldt County, and (3) that he has caught a bigger fish that Kahuna Kavinta. I don’t know whether Tomas guessed correctly (sorry, Tomas), but the second statement was untrue.

FOUNDATION FRIDAY AUCTION

Most Foundation Fridays feature our special auction, where Sunrisers (and anyone else who happens to be in the room) get the chance to bid on prizes donated by other Sunrisers. The proceeds are donated to the Rotary Foundation, with half of the purchase price credited to the donor, and the other half credited to the winning bidder. Here are the details from last week’s auction:

Prize Description Donor Winning Bidder
“Snack Attack” – a selection of snacks plus a Figueiredo’s gift certificate Rob McBeth Cindy Sutcliffe
A Cooler filled with beer, wine, and snacks Donny Rosebrook Terri Clark
Four HSU Basketball tickets – baseline, with complementary beverages Ian Schatz Rina Brodhag
Special Zucchini Bread hand-made by Rotary Kid … Mary Crow Mark Burtchett
Two HSU Basketball tickets Mark Burtchett Jessica McKnight
Chocolates Galore! Dawn Elsbree Laura Montagna

Thanks to all of our donors and purchasers. Your generosity added up to a $515 donation to the great programs of the Rotary Foundation. There will only be one more Foundation Auction this calendar year, to take place on October 26th. That will be a perfect opportunity to get some special holiday gifts, so be there!