Volume XI, Issue 2: July 15, 2011

President Scott's second meeting kept Your Reporter ascribblin'!

First came the announcement of the Farewell Party for Exchange Student Mariana Sanchez, to be held at Lori Breyer's home in Eureka. The bittersweet festivities will begin at 6 pm, Wednesday, July 20th.

Barbara Browning reminded us that the Arcata Playhouse fundraiser - the Country Cabaret and Chili Cookoff - will take place on Saturday, August 6th. (Cabaret and chili ... two words rarely seen together in one sentence.) Facebook Friends may have also noted that Barbara has put out the call for Chili Chefs to step up to the plate ... er, bowl. Following the fundraiser, you are encouraged to be part of the Sunrise SWOT Team (Serving With Our Talents), as we help the Playhouse on August 10 (office organizing), August 13-27 (kitchen remodel), and August 28 (pageant and reveal). Another Arcata Sunrise Makeover in progress!


RECOGNITHIONS! [sic]

Brother Bob Johnson has information on all of us. If you don't believe me, just ask Bryan Reeser. Bob told us that Bryan went to Seattle recently to cheer on his wife Susan as she competed in the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. I don't know whether there's any truth to the rumor that Bryan was tracking Susan's progress online as he sipped a Treinta Latte at Starbucks. (Is there even a Starbucks in Seattle? Probably not.)

Bob Johnson

Another Traveling Sunriser was Rebecca Crow, who recently visited Maine with her family. Apparently, the impressive sight Down East was a generator that plays the William Tell Overture. Ahh ... engineers are indeed a different breed. Rebecca said she saw a "Moose Warning" sign, but no moose. (Maybe the sign was to warn moose, and it works.) Daughter Mary had the whole journey in perspective, though. When Bob asked what her favorite part of the trip was, she said that it was "the pool at the hotel".

What's a California sheephead? That was the question posed to Brandi Easter. I saw the picture on the PowerPoint presentation, so I know. It's a big round silver fish. And on June 23rd, Brandi bagged the biggest one on record. This one, taken off Santa Cruz Island, weighed 11.20 pounds. Guess whose record she broke? Her own. Congratulations!

Barbara Browning attended the recent Kate Wolf Music Festival last month. There were a lot of good bands there, but Barbara's pick was Red Molly. (See for yourself at http://www.redmolly.com/)

Stan Elcock

Bob asked several Sunrisers about their recent anniversaries: Bob and Roxanne Moore celebrated their 21st (after work) with dinner at the Sea Grill. Barbara Browning said that she and Ron Sharp "had a blast" for their 12th anniversary. Their tradition is to tell each other "everything we love about each other". Bryan and Susan Reeser went out to dinner, but Stan Elcock (pictured at left) and Julie Vaissade-Elcock went to a Planning Commission meeting? Romi Hitchcock and Glenn Tinseth have their 23rd anniversary coming up, which we will hear about soon, I'll warrant. Finally, Kyle and Natalie Visser's 2nd anniversary took place last month, and it involved razor clamming and sushi.

Members of our club generally don't celebrate a single day for their birthdays - they commandeer the entire month for the festivities. A pioneer in that field is Janice Newman. Janice said that her month (June) was very good. It involved a drive up the Oregon Coast, whale watching, and a stay at a B and B on a paddlewheel boat! By way of contrast, Orrin Plocher's birthday was spent close to home. He went to one of the casinos the night before, and then attended the Mad River Festival, which he described as being a lot like a Rotary fundraiser, "but no one was puking".

WELCOME JULIE AND GARRETT!!

We welcomed two new Sunrisers into the Club last week - Julie Schaefer and Garrett Perks.

Julie owns and operates New Image Hair Studio and Spa, located in Sunnybrae Center. Julie and her husband Jim have four children, the youngest of whom graduated from Arcata High in June. Her classification is Hair Stylist. Her sponsor is Barbara Browning.

Garrett is the Principal and Creative Director of EvenVision, an online and print media design firm. He graduated from Humboldt State with a BA in Economics. His sponsor is Scott Heller, and his classification is Marketing Consultant.

Barbara, Julie, Garrett, and Scott

RABIA AND THE ROSHNI CENTRE FOR WOMEN

Our guest speaker was Barbara Rabia O'Loren, known in Pakistan as simply Rabia. She is an Arcata resident who traveled to Pakistan in 2004 "out of curiosity". Rabia said that her visit took place in the summer, while her children were out of school. Unfortunately, she was ill-prepared for the Pakistani heat, which reached 125 degrees.

Her original intent was to learn about several countries, but what she observed in Pakistan moved her deeply. She moved to the Swat Valley for a year, where she met Nadia. "I dream," Nadia told her, "of a place where women can come together." This was the genesis of the Roshni Centre for Women.

The Centre opened its doors on May 10, 2006, and today about 30 young women come in on a daily basis, learning the art and economics of sewing and Swatian embroidery. The women learn to sew by making items for their families, and then making items to be sold.

The traditional embroidery style, La Doré, was revived in the Swat Valley by Princess Mussarat Ahmedzeb, a member of the valley's former royal family. The Princess was widowed when her husband was shot in 1986, and she has been quoted by NPR saying, "I can understand a widow's pain, her suffering." Rabia echoed that on Friday, saying, "She understands widows as she is one herself."

Rabia showed us slides that illustrated the difficult lives led by the women who come to the Centre. However, the spirit of these women was also evident.

In honor of its fifth anniversary, and to fund additional efforts to help the women of the Swat Valley, the Centre is holding bake sales in Trinidad (July 17) and at the Arcata Co-op (August 2 and 27). You can also purchase raffle tickets. For more information, visit online at www.roshnicentre.org or call Rabia at 707-826-7123. To learn more about Princess Mussarat and the art of La Doré, visit www.ladore-swat.com.

President Scott with Rabia