THE LATEST FROM FA
Our Club's Rotary Exchange from Thailand, Fa Sillapajarn, had a lot to report last Friday. She recently went kayaking with her host mother, Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth. She reported that the day was beautiful and she had a lot of fun, even though it was a little bit windy. Fa then said that her host dad (Glenn Tinseth) took her to a "tattoo party". Fa's US History class at Arcata High had an Easter "dinner" on the Friday before Spring Break.
During the break, Fa and Romi drove to San Francisco and visited some tourist sites including Lombard Street, with its sharp turns, then they went to the top of Coit Tower to enjoy the views of The City. Soon, they headed to the airport for a flight to Palm Springs, where they met up with Fa's host sister Skye, who is in the Air Force. "She's very nice," Fa reported. "I really like her."
Palm Springs was sunny but windy. Fa compared it to winter in Thailand. The group had lunch in Newport Beach, and took a picture of the Beach Madonna, which has something to do with Marilyn Monroe.
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| Bob Goodman, Tami Camper, and Lori Breyer |
Former Club President Lori Breyer introduced us to the newest Sunriser - Tamara "Tami" Camper. Robert Goodman sponsored Tami's membership. She is an Environmental Planner and Re-vegetation Specialist with CalTrans. Tami holds a Master's Degree in Biology from Humboldt State University, and she and her husband, Chris Dart, have four children, Cameron, 13 yrs old, Nolan, 11 Yrs old, Caleb, 9 yrs old and Audrey, 7 yrs old.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Brandi Easter reminded us that the Group Study Exchange Team from France will be arriving next month, from May 9th through May 26th. The District is still looking for families to host one or more team members, and we also need vocational sites that the group can tour. If you can help on either front, please contact Brandi.
It was Spring Break for schools in Arcata, so Sunriser Kyle Visser was able to join us last Friday. He reminded us that the next Adopt-A-Highway cleanup day will take place this Saturday (April 13th). In deference to the Tsunami Drill that will take place that morning, the crew will convene at 11 am.
Kyle also invited us to the April 26th Grand Opening of the new facility operated by his company, Shred-Tec. The event will take place from 12:15 to 1:15, and the building is "close to Target". Watch for a more detailed address in next week's Sunrise Spirit (or perhaps in a revision of this edition).
Ceva and Doug Courtemanche are the proud parents of Hayes Kapuawiwoʻole Courtemanche. Hayes arrived on March 23rd, and his middle name is Hawaiian for "Fearless One". Congratulations!
SPECIAL DAYS
March 25th was Angelo and Michelle Baciagaluppi's 13th anniversary. They celebrated with dinner at Abruzzi's, then headed upstairs for drinks at the Plaza Grill.
A few days before (on March 21st), Brandi Easter cooked salmon for 10 women
to celebrate her birthday. The group gathers each year to help Brandi light another candle.
RECOGNITIONS WITH ORRIN (RecORRINgnitions?)
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| Hippity-Hoppity |
There were kids in the house at the Robert Goodman Wine Tasting Room the other night. Orrin took his son Alex to the restaurant, and they both had a great time. (Orrin also noted that the venue is excellent for anniversary celebrations.)
Finally, a copy of the March 31st edition of the Times-Standard was circulated. The front page featured a picture of the Kahuna's daughter, Gabriella. She was hunting for Easter Eggs on the Arcata Plaza. Surely, proud papa George was there, cheering her on? Nah - he was at the beach on an Easter Clam hunt! (Gabriella was more successful.)
ROSHNI CENTRE UPDATE
Rabia O'Loren returned as our Guest Speaker last week. Rabia last visited our Club in 2011, and we learned about the Roshni Centre for Women that she founded in Pakistan in 2006. The Centre was the dream of a young Pakistani woman named Nadia, who felt that the women of her village in the Swat Valley should have a place to meet, learn how to support themselves, and how to support one another. The word "Roshni" means "light" in Urdu.
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| Rabia O'Loren |
The women of the Roshni Centre were originally taught the traditional embroidery style by Princess Mussarat Ahmedzeb, whose father-in-law once ruled the Swat Valley. She founded La Doré, a company that purchases the embroidered works and markets them around the world. The goods are crafted using high-quality threads and material.
Rabia told us that Nadia has completed training to become a midwife, In that capacity, she continues to serve her fellow women of the Swat Valley.
