... at the Arcata Community Center
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Doors Open at 5 pm
Dinner / Show at 7 pm
Dancing from 10 pm
Last Friday, our Rotary Exchange Student from Thailand, Fa Sillapajarn told us about her first skiing trip, which took place the previous weekend. The trip is an annual feature of our Rotary District's Youth Exchange Program. Fa had a good time, but the weekend was marred when a fellow Exchange Student was seriously injured in a fall on icy snow. Franco Calleja-Lorenzini was taken to the hospital, and he had just been released from the ICU as of Friday. Cam Appleton provided an update, saying that Franco needs time to heal. His parents flew here from Chile to be with him, as did the Governor from his sponsoring Rotary District. Grace Lovell, who we sponsored on an Outbound Exchange last year, was planning to travel to Redding to be with the family - they hosted her for part of her stay in Chile. If you would like to help out with the expenses incurred in the wake of the accident, you can send your donation to The Calleja-Lorenzini Family Support Fund, c/o Rotary District 5130, 1345 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga, CA 94515.
There was also good news learned on the ski trip - our Outbound Exchanger for next year, Logan White, learned that he will be headed for Italy this summer. And Sunriser Ian Schatz was tapped for a position on the District Youth Exchange Committee.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Things continue to happen "behind the scenes", but the main need for our Spring Fundraiser continues to be guests. Please continue to invite people to the event, and as they confirm, let Craig Newman know so he can send out tickets and invoices.You should also be getting in touch with your team members to come up with prizes for the Raffle and the Silent Auction.
Bring some extra bucks to this Friday's meeting - the Sunny Brae Middle School Interact Club will be visiting, selling hand-crafted valentines. The annual sale helps provide funds for their activities, including preparing Easter baskets for underprivileged families.
Thanks to all who participated in the recent Dictionary Days distributions. Sunrisers presented dictionaries to third graders at Pacific Union School, Jacoby Creek School, and Arcata Elementary.
RECOGNITIONS WITH ROMI
Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth was in charge of recognitions last Friday, and Travis Schneider was in her sights. If I got this right, he got married in Whistler, British Columbia. It is certain, however, that he will be leaving for Sweden and Norway soon. He plans to take "overseas delivery" of a new Volvo. It turns out that it is cheaper to buy the auto there, even after factoring in the costs of airfare, lodging, and shipping!
Once again, Howard Stauffer extolled the virtues of retirement. He said that he and his wife Rebecca will soon leave for Italy for a three-week trip. They will journey to Rome, Naples, Umbria, Florence, Pisa, and Venice. Then, they will go their separate ways (but only for a while). While Rebecca travels to Scotland, Howard will be on his way to the Andes for a bicycle tour (downhill, he says).
Patrick Johnson (Sunriser Bob's son) was a guest last week. We congratulated Patrick on becoming a registered nurse! Bob said that he recently had a colonoscopy, but he didn't know that he would need a ride following the procedure. So, he naturally turned to his phone, and called Sue - but instead of Sue Johnson, he reached Susan Jansson - to provide an update on the situation and arrange for a ride. Bob told the rest of us, "I just feel bad 'cause I didn't let the rest of you know."
LOST COAST ROTARACT UPDATE
Our featured speaker last Friday was Sofia Pereira, President-Elect of the Lost Coast Interact Club. Sofia said that Lost Coast Rotaract (LCR) started about four years ago by a group of former Rotary Youth Exchange Students, or "Rebounders". The group meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month at Los Bagels in Eureka. This Friday, the group will have a special meeting with District Governor Michael Juric. The festivities will start at Los Bagels at 6:30 pm, but will move down the street to the Local Beer Bar at 8 pm.
LCR is involved in many projects. In addition to helping the local Rotary Clubs with their fundraisers and other events, they sponsor Backpacks for Kids for students at Pine Hill School and they support the Toys for Tots program. They have a monthly fundraiser at Eureka's Arts Alive - a "wine pull". For $20, you get the opportunity to pull a bottle of wine from a bag. If your bottle has a sticker, you get to pull again. The next pull will support a Peace Corps project in Rwanda.
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| Sofia Pereira |
Other LCR activities include the annual Art & Wine Pairing fundraiser in the fall, and the Spirits & Spirits Tour of Old Town Eureka at Halloween. The group also recently worked with the Eureka Rotary Club to construct a kayak rack on Woodley Island.
March 10-16 is World Rotaract Week, and the local group plans to showcase its accomplishments and recruit new members. And this June, Sofia will represent the Lost Coasters at the Rotary International Convention, which will be held in Lisbon, Portugal!
