In the absence of the mighty Kahuna Kavinta, last Friday's meeting was hosted by Brother Bob Johnson. President George was on special assignment in the South of Humboldt.
Lori Breyer told us that she has been in contact with next year's Inbound Exchange Student. Florent hails from District 1700. If the number of that District sounds familiar, that's because it (Southern France / Andorra) is the home of the Group Study Exchange team we welcomed at our previous meeting. Florent is a 16-year old who enjoys playing bass guitar. His mother is (or was) a Rotary Club President. We have all three of Florent's host families lined up for the year: he will start his stay with Angelo Baciagaluppi's family, then he will move to the home of Craig Reed, and his final host family will be Praj White. (The last will be true reciprocation, since Praj's son Logan will be our Outbound Exchanger at that time.) Watch for more information about Florent in the weeks to come.
Susan Jansson thanked President-Elect Jessica McKnight for making the recent Board of Directors Retreat a smashing success. Jessica said that the session was inspiring, and she in turn thanked her board members for their participation. She told us that we will soon get our chances to select the committees we would like to be part of. We should each sign up for at least two committees. Jessica also said that the District 5130 Directory will be published soon, and it's not too late to place an ad. If you're interested, please let her know.
There are only a couple of weeks before the big Logan White Exchange Student Fundraising Extravaganza! "Oh, The Places You'll Go" will take place on Friday, June 7th at the Bayside Grange. The doors open at 6 pm, and the event will feature a steak dinner, live music, and a live auction. You can save $5 per person if you buy your ticket in advance - call Logan at 845-2922 to order or for more information.
SPECIAL DAYS
Bob Johnson told us that his recent birthday was a smashing success. He spent at least part of it with Mr. Ian Schatz, installing blinds in the new Advanced Security World Headquarters building. Following that, he had dinner with his lovely wife Susan at the airport in Sacramento, which led to breakfast in Houston, then on to a surprise lunch in Cancun!
Craig Reed's birthday was yet to come, but we were in awe of his fantastic facial foliage, which was (sadly) destined to be short-lived. With the use of all of the tools in my Photoshop bag, I tried to turn the picture below into something other than a silhouette - see whether you can make out the facial hair:
RECOGNITIONS WITH JESSICA
Rah, rah, sis, boom, bah!! Recognitions Maestra Jessica McKnight led off with a tribute to the cheerleaders in our Club. Those included Rina Brodhag, visitor Jeff Stebbins, Cam Appleton, Matt Babich, Chuck Giannini, Cami Camper, and Jacqueline Debets. It should be noted that not all of these folks were "official" cheerleaders, but most went to Arcata High! (I think ...)
Jessica then played her signature "Penny Game", in which she asks a Sunriser to pull a penny from a container. That person then tells a story from the year that the penny was minted or from the present day. The first year was 1997, pulled by Tomas Chavez. He said that was the year he got his driver's license. He drove a 1958 VW Beetle Convertible, which didn't go very fast, so he was able to stay out of trouble.
Ian Schatz drew 1989, and told us that he was at Chico State at the time, "failing miserably". However, once he transferred to Humboldt State, he got serious about his education.
Dawn Ellsbree's penny held the year 1999, which in turn held a good memory for her - that was the year that her daughter Claire was born. (She's now 13.)
We then learned that in 1987, Brenda Bishop was pregnant with her daughter (who was born in 1988). That year Brenda also participated in the Summer Adventure Program.
Like Dawn, Tami Camper drew 1999 as her year. She said that was the year she graduated from college and began working for the Forest Service.
Jessica next turned to Sir Charles ("Chuck") Giannini, whose penny bore the year 1972. So Chuck talked about the here and now. His kids are all doing well. His daughter Julie was recently named principal of McKinleyville Middle School, his son is in Oroville, and his youngest daughter is attending HSU. He said that he is enjoying all of his grandchildren.
The final penny of the day was drawn by Dewey Keifer, and the year was 1985. Dewey said that he was a sophomore at Arcata High School, and that he had a vehicle. It was "half Ford Courier and half ... something else." He said that his classmates included Bryan Reeser and Rina Brodhag.
THE FOURTH FOUNDATION FRIDAY AUCTION
For the last time in the Year of the Kahuna, our Club held an auction benefiting the Rotary Foundation. Here is a list of the items and the donors and winning bidders:
Bryan Reeser's contribution was a basket containing Humboldt Crabs tickets, beer from Mad River Brewing, a hat, and Cracker Jacks. Baseball fan Jessica McKnight was the winner.
Rotary Kid Mary Crow is working hard to become a Paul Harris Fellow on her own. She donated a plate of cookies she made, precisely following the instructions given her by Ms. Betty Crocker. Randy Mendosa and his staff (or family) were the beneficiaries.
Praj White provided a painting by local artist Cynthia Noble. This was purchased by Cam Appleton.
A Jitter Bean Coffee travel mug containing a gift certificate was donated by Joyce Hinrichs. Rina Brodhag will be taking advantage of that soon.
Cindy Sutcliffe offered a gift certificate to the Sushi Spot, which was purchased by Jacqueine Debets.
A garden-green purse containing an assortment of gardening implements and tools was next on the block. The donation from Janice Newman was won by Brenda Bishop.
Karen Burgesser contributed a Memorial Day Barbeque Fun Pack, which included a foot soak and a Super Soaker (very different concepts). We'll trust that Terri Clark had fun with that.
Tami Camper donated a jar of home-canned organic honey from McKinleyville. That will grace the toast of Julie Vaissade-Elcock.
President-Elect-Designate Barbara Browning offered a 90-minute organizing session. Jacqueline Debets will reap the benefits.
Our last item was a gift certificate good at Abruzzi's, the Plaza Grill or Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill. The donation from Jeff Munther was purchased by Ian Schatz.
As always, thank you to all who donated, purchased, or drove up the bids. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the great work of the Rotary Foundation.
