Volume XII, Issue 32: March 22, 2013

ANNOUNCEMENTS


President George in his "other" uniform
Fa Sillapajarn, our Rotary Exchange Student from Thailand, told us about another busy week. She had a nice dinner with a friend who was an Exchange Student last year. But Fa didn’t have a lot of time for socializing – she said that, since she missed a week of school during her recent trip to Hawaii, there was a lot of work to catch up on.  Fa is looking forward to Easter, because her host mom, Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth, told her that “we’re going to eat a lot!”

Logan White is our 2013-2014 Outbound Exchange Student, and he will be heading for Italy this summer. As mentioned previously, he has teamed up with two other Exchangers to host "The Places We'll Go!", to raise money for their adventures. Logan said that, due to scheduling conflicts, the event will now take place on Sunday, June 9th. For more information or to order tickets, contact Logan at 845-2922.


The decorations from the Spring Fundraiser were used the following day for Arcata High's Safe & Sober Fashion Show. Students Sydney and Arianna were on hand last Friday to thank us and to let us know that their fundraiser was also a great success.

FUNDRAISER WRAP-UP
Our Spring "Superheroes" Fundraiser was quite a success, Event Chair Dan Johnson told us last week . Although our income was a little below our goal, we did raise a total of almost $75,000. Very impressive for an all-volunteer event! We all owe a great deal of gratitude the other Event Committee members:
  • Dan Johnson, Event Chair
  • Caley Mitchell, Assistant
  • Ceva Courtemanche, Arcata Sunrise Co-Chair
  • Kevin Pelascini, Arcata Volunteer Fire Department Co-Chair
  • Craig Newman, Ticketing
  • Mark Burtchett, Guest Seating
  • Sean Campbell, Bar
  • Rick Gomes, Bar
  • Dan Curtis, Food Preparation
  • Frank Toste, Food Preparation
  • Arly Allen, Table Service
  • Cam Appleton, Raffle
  • Susan Jansson, Silent Auction
  • Dawn Elsbree, Silent Auction
  • Scott Heller, Silent Auction
  • Ceva Courtemanche, Live Auction
  • Jessica McKnight, Models
  • Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth, Models
  • Orrin Plocher, Clean Up
  • Janice Newman, Programs & Acknowledgements
  • Lori Breyer, Cashier
  • Bryan Reeser, Permits & Insurance
  • George Cavinta, Arcata Sunrise Rotary President
  • Dave White, AVFD President & Slide Show
  • Justin McDonald, Interim Arcata Fire Chief
In addition, Dan thanked Howard Stauffer for being there to assist with the clean-up on Sunday afternoon.

I know I speak for the entire Club in expressing our great appreciation to Dan for leading us through yet another successful Spring Fundraiser. As he has said, this is the main event that allows us to help so many people, both in our community and around the world. Thank you Dan!


SPECIAL DAYS
March 2nd was Bryan Reeser's birthday, and he managed to celebrate even though his wife was outta town. "I went to the Clam Beach Inn," he said. Evidently, the festivities involved shuffleboard, pool, and Donnie Rosebrook. Under intense questioning from Kahuna Kavinta, Bryan admitted that he had turned 43.

Jacqueline Debets wasn't asked, but volunteered that Friday, March 15th was her 48th birthday. She took the day off to spend time with her family, which included watching (or reading?) "The Gruffalo" with her son Luc.

FOURTH FOUNDATION FRIDAY
On the fourth Friday of each month, we celebrate the Rotary Foundation. Last Friday, Foundation Chair Terri Clark noted, was World Water Day. For many years, the Rotary Foundation has been funding clean water projects around the world. Click here to take a look at one project sponsored by the Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale.

We celebrated Foundation Friday with an auction. As usual, all proceeds are donated to the Rotary Foundation - the amount paid for each item is credited equally to the Paul Harris Sustaining Fellowship accounts of the donor and the buyer.

The first item on the auction block was a three-tier serving stand. It was donated by Julie Vaissade-Elcock, and purchased by Lori Breyer. 

Bob Goodman donated a bottle of his winery's 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, which was picked up by Bryan Plumley.

An "Enjoy the Redwoods" package was provided by Lori Breyer. The prize, which included a beautiful small quilt of a redwood forest scene, was won by Janice Newman.

A pair of special Sponsor Tickets for last weekend's Redwood Coast Jazz Festival were donated by Jim Maher. Music lover Bob Johnson put forward the winning bid.

The last item of the day was a very large yellow "Zen Bowl" from Fire & Light Originals, donated by Ron Sharp. It was purchased by Rina Brodhag.

A FEW WORDS FROM PRESIDENT-ELECT JESSICA
Jessica McKnight will be taking the reins of our Club in a few months, and last week, she encouraged us to attend the District Assembly. The event is a great way to learn more about Rotary, whatever role you play (or want to play). "There's something for everyone," she noted. The event will take place Saturday, April 6th at Mendocino College in Ukiah, with an introductory dinner the previous evening. Jessica reminded us that the Club will pay for your registration - all you have to do is get there (and there will be some carpool seats available as well). Contact Jessica for more information or sign up online.

Jessica also told us that the 2013-2014 Rotary Theme is "Engage Rotary, Change Lives".  To see RI President-Elect Ron Burton engaging Rotary - Gangnam Style - Click Here!