Fa Sillapajarn, our Thai Rotary Exchange Student, told us that the previous Friday, she and Host Mom Romi Hitchcock Tinseth got in the car and drove to Seattle. "It's a really long drive," Fa said. Romi agreed. In the morning, Romi had to work, so Fa and the others went to the local Farmers' Market. She said that there were a lot of beautiful flowers, and they took the opportunity to walk around town and go up in the Space Needle.
The next stop on the tour was Portland. Fa said that they did a lot of walking here as well, and she found that "they have a lot of food trucks". She told us that they went to the "Saturday Market, but it was on Sunday". Romi and Fa had lunch from one of the food trucks, selecting the finest in mobile Thai cuisine. Then it was off to Corvallis and then Eugene. In both locations, Romi had to work, while Fa and the others roamed around town. Fa said that there was a bit of shopping involved in the trip.
ANNOUNCEMENTS/CALENDAR
The May "Fifth Friday Fellowship" event will involve actual fifths! On Wednesday, May29th, we will be joining Barbara Browning and Ron Sharp at their home in Blue Lake for a Tequila Tasting Party. The evening will also feature a presentation on Project Amigo - don't miss it!
Fireside Meetings are scheduled for the week of May 6th. President-Elect Jessica McKnight is looking for your input as she plans her reign. The Firesides count as our meeting for that week, so we are dark on Friday, May 10th.
Bob Johnson will be "no-hosting" a Club Mentorship meeting at 6 pm at the Plaza Grill. If you have any questions about Rotary, and/or if you want to learn more about what takes place at the end of the Rotary Year as we transition from leader to leader, you won't want to miss it.
While you have your calendar handy, be sure that you have May 31 through June 2nd blocked off for the District Conference. It will take place at the Hyatt in Santa Rosa.
Kahuna Kavinta provided sports news, reminding us that the inaugural Arcata Little League/Arcata Sunrise Rotary Home Run Derby is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 18th. Our annual Kids, Crabs, and Rotary event will follow on Sunday, June 9th at the Arcata Ballpark.
SPECIAL DAYS
Lynda and Michael Moore's anniversary was April 20th. Lynda reported that they were at their home on the Trinity River, just relaxing and having a quiet celebration together.
Jim Maher celebrated his birthday on April 3rd. He and his wife Joni had a nice dinner at Brick and Fire in Eureka. Jim said that he did get a surprise birthday gift - his daughter posted a photo on Facebook from the early 90's. Jim said that he is wearing some bright, bright running clothes dating from that era.
April 23rd was "the best day ever," according to Barbara Browning. It was her birthday, of course, and the weather was stunning. She said that it was 90 degrees at her home in Blue Lake. Her celebration included a dinner party featuring her childhood favorite - lamb curry and rice. She also attended an "awesome" food vendor show at Redwood Acres, and topped the extended celebration with a small dinner party.
RECOGNITIONS
Recognitionist Jessica McKnight called Past-President Scott Heller to the front of the room, where she presented him with a Rotary Award. The plaque (shown at right) listed the awards won by our Club during the last Rotary Year.Kathy Fraser is on a quest to visit all of the National Parks in the United States. On a recent trip, she and her husband Bill checked four more off the list - visiting Saguaro, Carlsbad Caverns, the Petrified Forest, and one other - I missed that name. Kathy reports that their National Park Passport is really filling up; so far they have visited 22 of the 59 parks. Jessica asked what they would do when they run out of parks, and Kathy's ready answer was that they would move on to the National Monuments.
Retirement is suiting Karen Burgesser well. After all, it gave her the opportunity to travel to Portland to see her 9-month-old grandson.
Susan Jansson was another recent Portland visitor. Susan was there with her daughter, visiting the "latest and greatest food spots" there. Someone asked if one of those locations was a food truck featuring Thai food, but Susan said no. But maybe next time. Susan also traveled to Lincoln, California, where she recently opened a new health club. No word on the hot food spots there.
Bob and Susan Johnson were recently in France, where Bob made an amazing discovery - "You know," he said, "They have a different word for everything!" While there, the Johnsons saw former Exchange Student Audrey Bellier, who came to Paris to show them around. They also went on a riverboat cruise and a bus tour to the beaches of Normandy. Since Sue's father was involved in D-Day, that portion of the trip was quite emotional. They capped the journey with a visit to Audrey's home in Geneva.
FOURTH FOUNDATION FRIDAY
The fourth Friday of each month is dedicated to the Rotary Foundation. Last Friday, we held one of our frequent auctions raise money for the cause. Bob Johnson served as auctioneer, with Terri Clark as his lovely assistant. Here is a list of items, the donors, and the purchasers:
- Rotary Kid Mary Crow is determined to become a Paul Harris Fellow, and she wants to do in under her own steam. To that end, she once again contributed cookies (snickerdoodles, to be precise) to our Foundation Auction. The yummy treats were purchased by Kathy Fraser.
- A decorative C-Clamp crafted from wood, and featuring the Rotary Wheel was donated by Orrin Plocher. The object d'Orrin was picked up by Susan Jansson.
- Bryan Plumley provided a case of pre-release India Pale Ale from Mad River Brewing (I think). The ale was brewed using a new recipe, and it is not yet available to the public. However, it is available to Terri Clark, who was the high bidder.
- Three bottles of local wine along with a cheese slicer were donated by Romi Hitchcock Tinseth. Dawn Elsbree won that package.
- Rina Brodhag showed up with a bottle of wine and some wine glasses from Fire & Light. Matt Babich was the winner that time.
- A bottle of 1991 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon was donated by Scott Heller. The vintage earned 98 points out of 100 possible recently. Once the price point was set at $100 per bottle, Scott pulled out three more, which were sold to Rebecca Crow, Tami Camper, Bryan Plumley, and Bob Johnson.
- Craig Reed chipped in a unique piece of art, which depicted the Arcata Plaza. The work also incorporated the Rotary Wheel representing the rising sun. Janice Newman took it home.
- Lynda Moore donated a beautiful pot of lilies along with two books on flowers. The package went to Scott Heller.
- A hand-felted scarf was offered by international traveler Howard Stauffer. In this case, the item was imported from distant Kneeland, California. Unfortunately, either my pen ran out of ink or I fell asleep, because my notes show that "Ma" was the winning bidder. (I'm guessing that means that Matt Babich made off with it. If I'm wrong, please let me know.)
