Volume XI, Issue 25: January 20, 2012

A Chat With Noëmi
Exchange Student Noëmi  Schönenberger is from Switzerland, so she is no stranger to snow.  But she recently got to see some snow of the California variety.  After school, she went with some friends up Highway 299 to frolic in the white stuff.

Noëmi also said that was called to the office recently.  They gave her a piece of paper and sent her back to class.  Puzzled, Noëmi showed it to a friend, and asked what it meant.  The friend said, "That means you're really smart!"

Announcements
Saturday              1/21       Volunteer Trail Stewards.
Saturday              1/28       Arcata Playhouse Makeover Benefit featuring the Country Pretenders
Friday                  2/17       Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise Charter Night: Our 20th Anniversary

Our charter night celebration will be held at the Arcata Playhouse.  The festivities will begin at 6:30 pm with a no-host bar, followed by a program at 7:30.  Dancing will begin at about 8:30.  The cost will be $35 per person.

The Circus Is Coming to Town on March 10th!
Ceva Courtemanche and Dan Johnson reminded us last week that our Spring Fundraiser is less than seven weeks away.  We need donations for the Live Auction, Silent Auction, and the Raffle.  And of course, we need to sell tables for the event, as well as individual tickets.  Ceva said that tickets are also available for the after party dance.

Silent auction teams will be announced at our next meeting.

Bob Johnson's Recognitions
The Girl Scouts of Northern California know a leader when they see one.  For their 100th anniversary, the group is honoring 100 women who are "greening the future for Northern California.".  Among these Forever Green Honorees is former Arcata Sunrise President, Joyce Hinrichs.  Joyce said that there will be a number of events throughout the year, but the big event locally will be a luncheon at Avalon in September.  Congratulations Joyce!

Terri Clark told us that 2011 was "the most difficult year of my professional life."  The upside was that she got an education in dissolving a California corporation. One other positive note is that most of the Mobile Medical Clinic employees were hired by Open Door Clinic.  Unfortunately, Terri was not among them. She is currently working with Hunter, Hunter, and Hunt.

Bob showed us a photo of Dan Collins "surfing".  Not entirely convinced that this was a true action shot. However, we were assured that it was taken in Hawaii, because Dan has lots of family there.  With Photoshop.

Bob had another picture that I wish I was able to reproduce here -- a shot of Donnie Rosebrook wearing a deer hat and a pair of boxers.  Fortunately, the boxers (Joe Boxer brand) were tastefully worn on the outside of Donnie's pants.  As we all know, that makes it okay.

Although we celebrated, President Scott's stealth birthday the Friday before, he decided that he just wasn't done.  So he headed down to Beverly Hills for the weekend.  It was the weekend of the Golden Globes, so the stars were out.  Scott even sat near (but not too near, thank you very much) David Arquette at dinner.

For his birthday, Bryan Plumley said that went golfing with some buddies at Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon.  When he came back, another birthday party was waiting for him with family and friends.

Our Featured Speaker, Susan Jansson
“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom.” – Martin Luther King, “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”, April 1963

Susan Jansson was our featured speaker last Friday.  In addition to being a Sunriser, Susan is the founder and CEO of HealthSport. She offered the quote from Dr. King as evidence that, "Everything I read reminds me of fitness."  And when she thinks of change, she thinks about how people feel about exercise.  Because if we think we want to change, we need to change the way we think.

Success in any endeavor depends upon the following:  how you think about that endeavor, how you feel about it, what you believe about it, and what you remember about it. Timing is also critical to success.

Most Americans gain an average of 5 pounds over the holidays.  That's why many of us resolve to diet or to exercise more in the New Year.  Susan reminds us that January is the month of new beginnings.  It is an opportunity for change.

Susan with Ceva Courtemanche during the Pushup Challenge
We watched an excerpt from a 2006 movie, “The Peaceful Warrior”, in which Nick Nolte’s character helps a young gymnast learn that the most difficult, most important battles are internal.

Susan said that her mission is to "to help the world get fit". So she asked us to make a plan to take care of ourselves. Commitment involves a desire for control, and follow-through.  If we commit to taking care of ourselves, we will look and feel better.

Susan closed her presentation with the Pushup Challenge - she would donate $100 to any Sunriser who was able to do more pushups than President Scott. Scott set the bar pretty high by doing 39 pushups (I think). There were a few takers, but the winner was Coach Jason White, who did Scott one better. Congratulations, Jason!

A vocation location note: HealthSport will soon move its Eureka location to the waterfront building that until recently housed Greystone Jewelers.