Terri told us some moving stories about her father, who had passed away earlier in the week. Her dad had a difficult life, losing his own father as a toddler, and with his mother raising her children in the days before public support was an option. Terri advises fathers with daughters not to "break their hearts, even though they will probably break yours".
THE FA REPORT
Fa was not able to attend last Friday's meeting, but her host mother, Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth, provided a brief update. Fa continues to enjoy her complimentary HealthSport membership, as she participates in its Boot Camp program. The downside is that she "hurts in many places". Romi reminded us to keep Fa in mind when we have activities planned. She's a lot of fun, and is interested in learning as much as she can. Please call Romi or Fa to set something up!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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| Jessica & Barbara swap lives ... sorta |
Franco Calleja-Lorenzini, the Rotary Exchange Student from Chile who was injured in a skiing accident, continues his slow but steady recovery. He is still at St. Joseph Hospital, and his parents are pleased. They said that he wouldn't be receiving the high level of treatment back home. Our District will continue its fundraising efforts and support of Franco and his parents.
Terri wanted to do some catching up with some long-time Sunrisers. First up was Jacqueline Debets, who said that currently, most of her life revolves around her 2½ year old son, Luc. She is working to develop an analysis of the local economy, and collaborating with fellow Sunriser Dawn Ellsbree in exploring avenues for economic growth. Jacqueline is also planning a trip to Australia. She will spend about three weeks visiting her sister-in-law, who lives in Queensland.
Terri then spoke with Randy Mendosa, who said that he is kept very busy - by his 8-year old and 10-year old kids at home, and at work by the Arcata City Council. But, "Life is good," he said.
Then Terri gave us her new definition of a best friend. When Terri's father passed away earlier in the week, Terri went to work for a bit, but soon went home. She called Cindy Sutcliffe to talk about it, and Cindy dropped everything to help her friend.
Since school was out for President's Week, Kyle Visser was able to join us. He had two pieces of news for us - his company, Shred-Tec, has acquired a building, and ... his wife Natalie is pregnant! The couple is expecting a boy sometime in June. Congratulations!
SUPERHEROES FUNDRAISER
The Spring Fundraiser is fast approaching, and as of last Friday, we still needed to sell about 12 tables. There was a flurry of sign-up sheets making the rounds, with more to come. Setting up the Community Center will begin at Noon on Friday, March 8th. Last year, the set-up was completed by 5 pm. On Saturday, the focus will be on arranging the items for the Live Auction, the Silent Auction, and the Raffle.
Event Czar Dan Johnson said that the day after our event, the AHS Safe and Sober Committee will hold a Fashion Show Fundraiser that will share our Superheroes theme, and will use most of our decorations and props.
Please contact Janice Newman if you have received any donations of prizes or other items, so she can ensure that those who have helped us receive a thank-you letter. We are also still hoping to identify about six more items for the Live Auction.
RECOGNITIONS
President-Elect Jessica introduced a new Recognitions idea - the Penny Game. Sunrisers pull a penny from a bag and tell us something about their life, either from the year on the penny or from today. Kathy Fraser pulled a 1977 penny, but decided to tell us about now. After 20 years as a teacher/administrator at Mad River Montessori, and another 15 years as General Manager of North Soles Shoes, Kathy is retiring. Long ago, she and her husband Bill decided that "we weren't going to work a day past 65." Kathy decided not to wait even that long. Bill retired about two years ago, and the couple plans to continue working toward their goal of visiting all of the National Parks in the US. They have also rented a house in Reno, and they plan to live there in the summer to be close to their grandchildren. Kathy said that they will be there on a trial basis, to see how it goes.
2012 was on the penny drawn by Bryan Reeser. He also chose to focus on the present, saying that his kids are keeping him on the go. His son plays basketball and his daughter is a cheerleader. His son also won a spelling bee recently, and his winning word was "discipline". Bryan said that it's the middle of the tax season, which also keeps him busy.
I didn't catch the date of the penny drawn by Julie Schaefer, but she talked about the birth of her daughter, which was very difficult. (She described it as a near-death experience.) But her daughter is now in college, doing great.
Dan Johnson's penny was from 2007, but he talked about life in the present. His older daughter will be graduating from high school soon, and his son is a sophomore, who is "testing every boundary there is". Dan coached his younger daughter's basketball team, which is doing very well.
