ROTARY EXCHANGE UPDATE
Our Rotary Exchange Student from Switzerland, Noemi Schonenberger, told us what she's been doing since she arrived earlier this month. We saw photos of her wakeboarding in the sunshine. She also went to Frosh Day at Arcata High School last week, and she was excited about starting classes this week!
Our Outbound Exchange Student, Grace Lovell, is scheduled to leave for Chile this Friday. We are looking forward to hearing from her when she settles in her new home away from home.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
There will be a meeting of the Community Services Committee this Thursday (September 1st) at the Plaza Grill beginning at 5:30 pm.
Everyone is invited to Humboldt State's first home football game on Thursday, September 8th. The game will be nationally televised, so you could get yer mug seen across the country! (No outstanding warrants in Mobile, I trust.)
The Makeover of the Arcata Playhouse is still going on. Amy Bohner said that President Scott and Bob Johnson put in new carpet, but Scott demurred. "Bob installed the carpet," he said, "I was the glue guy."
Mark your calendars now for the "Hearts On Fire" Foundation Dinner North on October 15th. The event will take place at Blue Lake Casino. Contact Barbara Browning for more details.
RECOGNITIONS
The lucky number last week was "19" - that's the number of years that HealthSport has been in business (under that name), and every 19 minutes the club was announcing another winner. Sunriser Susan Janssen said that the anniversary celebration was taking place in all HealthSport locations. The business boasts about 270 employees, and "we're always adding new services". For example, at the Eureka location, you can now get your nails done. Recognitions Master Bob Johnson did not limit his Susan-lauding to Humboldt County or even this state! His extensive research revealed that Susan also owns three Snap Fitness franchises in Southern Oregon. The clubs, located in Talent, Medford, and Jacksonville, are open 24/7, and the Jacksonville location is conveniently located across from Gary West Meats on G Street!
Cindy Sutcliffe pre-announced her retirement last week. President Scott sent a request for a volunteer Sunriser to serve on the District Conference Planning Committee. Cindy responded, "Well I am going to be retired by then (hee hee) so I could do it". So Bob asked if she is currently retired, but Cindy said that her retirement date is December 23rd. "It's been on my mind," she said, "and I want it to be on everyone else's mind."
When Bob asked for Good News, Lori Breyer told us that her daughter Megan has returned from Guatemala. Megan was singing with a Christian musical group that toured the country. They did "at least two concerts a day" while they were there.
Karen Burgesser is back from an ill-fated trip to Portland. Unfortunately, her car broke down, but she did make it there and back safely.
It takes a lot of time and effort to see all of our country's National Parks, but that is a goal that Kathy Fraser is working toward. In honor of her upcoming birthday, she plans to scratch three more off the list by visiting Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks.
Ceva and Doug Courtemanche celebrated their 4th anniversary in Las Vegas. Ceva served as the advance person for the trip, since she was attending a trade show prior to Doug's arrival. When he got there, they did up the town, including seeing the sights by helicopter! When Ceva said it was "super hot" in Vegas, I think she was talking about the weather ... but maybe not ...
Terri Clark said that she has been married for 29 years to "a remarkably tolerant man". Although there was some miscommunication between Terri and her husband Marty Lay, there was a pink rose waiting for her at home, and the couple had a lobster dinner.
Last Friday was the 22nd anniversary for Randy and Lisa Mendosa. They have a long-standing tradition of dining at The Larrupin' Cafe in Trinidad. Randy said that they also planned to leave Sunday for a trip to Southern Oregon - the River Lodge in Grants Pass.
August 10th was Howard Stauffer's birthday, and he went kayaking in the Yukon. But Howard's big secret was that he went to summer camp - in fact he went to several! All were musical camps in places like Louisville, Kentucky and Salem, Oregon. One was a jazz camp (he played keyboards) and at another, he got to sing with the Oakland Gospel Choir. He has time to do these things because he officially retired in May. (Take notes, Cindy!)
ROTARY FOUNDATION INFORMATION
Last Friday was Foundation Final Friday. We watched a moving video that reminded us just how close we are to eradicating polio forever. There are only four countries that we still have to fully immunize - Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Nigeria. Foundation Chair Terri Clark said that the countries are easy to remember, all you have to do is remember that the first letters of the country names spell out "PAIN". Your contributions to the Rotary Foundation go a long way towards eliminating that PAIN.
Our Foundation Auction was once again a great success. For those of you who don't know how it works, a Sunriser donates a prize to be auctioned. The amount of the winning bid is donated to the Foundation, and half of the credit goes to the donor's Paul Harris Sustaining Fellowship, and the other half is credited to the winning bidder.
- Our first item was a little decadent - Scotch and cigars for a manly evening in the den. Well, maybe not - the winning bidder was Amy Bohner!
- Next up was one month of fresh, local, home-grown eggs donated by Kyle Visser. The healthy package was purchased by Susan Janssen.
- Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth pitched in a guided tour of the forest canopy (waaaay up there) and a day pass to the climbing gym. The item was won by President Scott Heller.
- It was back to decadence with the basket of wine and chocolates donated by Dick Johnson. Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth won that one.
- Randy Mendosa provided jars of homemade granola and spaghetti sauce. The items came with a testimonial - eating the specially-prepared granola has lowered Randy's cholesterol by 19 points. That was enough to prompt Joyce Hinrichs to place the winning bid.
- Rebecca Crow's now-famous Snickerdoodles were snapped up by Kathy Fraser.
- Orrin Plocher donated a necklace featuring an Oregon Sun Stone. Orrin claimed that the necklace "has magical powers". I don't know whether Ceva Courtemanche "bought" it, but she bought it.
In all, we made $895 for the Rotary Foundation - a great start. Be sure to bring your checkbooks to bid on more great items at our next auction late in September.
