Our meeting on July 25th was our farewell breakfast at the Community Center. Next stop ... the Days Inn at Valley West. President Mark presented gifts to the Senior Resource Center representatives, in honor of their service and smiles.
Mark also announced that our new Exchange Student Kaspar will soon be here. The Youth Exchange Committee has arranged for two of the requisite three host families, but another venue is needed. Kaspar will bunk with Craig and Janice Newman for the first part of his stay, and he will end his year with Romi Hitchcock Tinseth and her family, but the middle leg is still up for grabs. That's the fun time - it includes Christmas and New Year's. If you're interested let someone on the YE Committee know. Operators are standing by.
SPECIAL DAZE
July 10th was the 9th anniversary for Sunriser Barbara Browning and her husband Ron Sharp, but they weren't able to hang out together. Thank goodness they planned ahead and went camping in the Sierras the previous week. More on that week in the space below.
George and Diana Cavinta celebrated their anniversary - number 17 - with a night out ... dinner with the kids and a trip to Target. (It sounds more romantic if you pronounce it
Tar-jay.) What else is a young couple in love to do when all the babysitters are out of town?
There were no kids in attendance when Romi Hitchcock Tinseth and her hubby Glenn celebrated their 20th anniversary - again, keep reading to learn some of the details.
On July 12th, Julie Vaissade-Elcock celebrated 28 years of marriage to Stan with an evening of hot dogs, beer, and a Crabs game. They did hop into the hot tub afterwards to wind down.
FINEMASTER JESSICA TAKES ON THE CAMPERS!
"A camping vacation is an oxymoron." I can't tell you whether that was a quote from Barbara Browning or from our finemaster Jessica McKnight. But we did learn that Barbara's anniversary camping week, mentioned above, covered a lot of miles. The trip was a 10-day odyssey with her best friend and their (Barbara's and her friend's) husbands. That's how Barbara found out that "their idea [of a camping vacation] is to park and drive". And drive they did ... about 1,400 miles worth!
Romi Hitchcock Tinseth's anniversary camping trip, also mentioned above, may not have included kids, but it did involve three families and about 15 coolers. "Even without kids," she said, "we still managed to fill every square inch of our van!"
It didn't happen at the game she attended for her anniversary, but Julie Vaissade-Elcock did throw out the first ball at the Crabs game on the Fourth of July. "Did it make it to the catcher?" Jessica asked. Eventually, I'm sure.
Speaking of catching, Craig Newman said that he had missed the previous week's Club meeting because he had been fishing in Oregon. Over the course of five days, Craig was involved in catching (and releasing) about 120 fish. The angling adventure included a day of crappie fishing with his father. (Crappie fishing sounds so negative, though.)
Jessica allowed us to vote on the fine for Bob Johnson, who also missed our last meeting. Bob had attended Brianna Madsen's wedding at Lake Tahoe. He didn't do a make-up, but he did see "a guy wearing a Rotary shirt (?) at the rehearsal dinner. It turned out to be the father of the groom.
At some point in the discussion of the wedding, the mother of the bride (Sunriser Wendy Madsen) took up the narrative. We learned that the event took place at Valhalla, a hall on Tahoe's South Shore. We also learned that Bob graciously paid his fine as well as Wendy's.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Scott Heller said that there was a great turnout for the previous Sunday's Adopt-A-Highway cleanup session. Seven members and three significant others showed up to pick up stuff along Samoa Boulevard. Scott said that we must be doing a great job, because there's less trash each time we go out. That means more refreshment time at the Plaza Grill afterward.
Amy Bohner sez ... Don't forget the Redwood Park Rotary Walk & Run on August 9th. We'll need volunteers as well as participants.
President Mark told us that the Arcata (Noon) Rotary has invited us to join them at the Crabs game on Wednesday, July 30th.
FINAL FRIDAY
Barbara Browning had the magic Post-It Note under her chair, so she had the opportunity to answer the Final Friday Foundation Trivia Question: How much did Rotary International receive as a Gates Foundation Challenge Grant?
Click here for the answer. Our Club's Foundation Chair, Terri Clark, reiterated that District 5130 Governor Ed Fullerton has set a Rotary International contribution goal of at least $200 per Rotarian this year.
Howard Stauffer chairs our International Service Committee, and he recounted his group's plans for the year:
- The Vangtang Village School in Laos is scheduled to be completed by August 15th, and a group from our area plans to be in attendance at the opening ceremony.
- We will be providing assistance for AIDS orphans in Nigeria.
- We will partner with the Arcata Noon Club to provide malaria relief in Sierra Leone.
- Our support of Project Amigo will continue, with the donation of fluoride pills by Dr. Harry Johnson, the purchase of dental chairs for the local dental clinic, and a service trip to Cofradia.
FINAL FRIDAY FOUNDATION AUCTION RESULTS
In our Foundation Auctions, all the proceeds go to the Rotary Foundation, with half of the purchase price credited to the buyer's Paul Harris Sustaining Fellowship account, while the prize donor is credited for the other half. Here are the winners and their booty:
- President Mark donated a bottle of Two Barrel Wine and a box of chocolate. These were snapped up by Janice Newman for a tasty fifty dollar bill.
- Robert Goodman donated a bottle of his own Cabernet Sauvignon, along with another box of chocolates. Our purchaser this time was Wendy Madsen.
- A slew of Mary Kay potions and lotions were provided (with a box of chocolates) by Karen Burgesser, and Dick Johnson swooped in with the winning bid.
- Donny Rosebrook and Terri Clark teamed up to donate a luncheon package for two - dining at Murphy's Market and at the Co-op. Susan Johnson was the winner, and a second package was offered and purchased. Unfortunately, Your Editor failed to discern the identity of the other generous bidder.
