Volume XII, Issue 42: June 21, 2013

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Last Friday, President George, aka "Kahuna Kavinta", said that he had retrieved the mail earlier that week and found a postcard. The card had been mailed on May 8th by Your Editor when he was on Grand Cayman Island. Fortunately, the card arrived before President George became Past-President George.

Our Exchange Student from Thailand, Fa Sillapajarn, said that she enjoyed graduating the previous week. She told us that the experience is different back home. Graduates get diplomas, but they don't dress in caps and gowns. Following the ceremony, Fa attended the Safe and Sober party, "which was really cool". It started at 9 pm and ended at 3 am, and Fa was afraid that she might fall asleep. But she said there were a lot of fun things to do, like getting a fake tattoo ... again? She also attended the Oyster Festival last weekend. "I ate a lot of oysters," she noted. And she attended a meeting with the Arcata Noon Rotary at Moonstone Beach. It was a beautiful, sunny evening.

Members of the Lost Coast Rotaract were on hand to encourage us to attend the Carnival at the former Jefferson School on June 29th. The event will help fund the transition of the school to a community center, and the fun will take place from noon to 4 pm.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
Our Club welcomed three new Paul Harris Fellows last week. Former Exchange Student Grace Lovell, current Exchanger Fa Sillapajarn, and President George were all recognized for their service to Rotary.

Grace Lovell, Cindy Sutcliffe, and President George

In addition, Grace was honored for assisting the family of Exchange Student Franco Calleja-Lorenzini and our District, after Franco was injured during a ski trip earlier this year. Grace traveled to and from Redding during the crisis, and translated for everyone. Her efforts played a significant role in Franco's recovery. The Calleja-Lorenzinis were one of Grace's host parents in Chile the previous year. She received the Rotary In Action award, for exemplifying Rotary ideals. Grace's mother Harriet was on hand for the presentation. Congratulations, Grace, and thank you!

At the recent District 5130 Conference, Cam Appleton also received a Rotary In Action award. Cam was recognized for his service with the Youth Exchange program over the years. The Kahuna noted that Cam is one of those Sunrisers who quietly gets things done "behind the scenes".

SPECIAL DAYS
Kyle Visser said that he "appreciated the reminder" last week about his anniversary. He and Natalie were married four years ago on June 17th. He said that he got the salmon out and they had a celebratory feast.

That same day was Praj White's birthday! He said that his celebration included a campout at Patrick's Point. However, the actual birthday began with work, but he did leave early to play a round of golf. That was followed by dinner at the Plaza Grill with his wife Alisa and their daughter Isabella.

RECOGNITIONS WITH BOB
Brudda Bob Johnson handled last week's recognition session. He asked whether any Sunrisers had graduates that they wanted to talk about. Scott Heller did. His son Michael graduated from 8th grade. Although Michael originally planned to attend high school in Humboldt County, plans change, and now he will be a student at Bay School in San Francisco's Presidio. But first, he will travel to China to test for his black belt.

Bryan Reeser's daughter Brooke also graduated from 8th grade. She's on her way to McKinleyville High next year.

In what may be a first for our Club, a Sunriser was a graduate! Kyle Visser graduated from Humboldt State in May - with honors! He majored in Business with a minor in Economics. Kyle said that he's "busier now than ever".

Bob then asked about Sunriser vacation plans. Romi Hitchcock Tinseth said that she recently returned from a "fantastic" trip abroad. She and husband Glenn were in Europe for a visit that encompassed Denmark and Italy. She said it was the first time in many years that they had been on a vacation for just the two of them. It was a celebration of 25 years together. Romi and Glenn said that we should set aside July 27th for an anniversary celebration. They won't be renewing their vows because, "we really meant them the first time". However, they will be whoopin' it up that day, and they plan to top it off with a Plaza Parade.

Terri Clark shared that 15 years ago, she became the President of the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka, and next month, her husband Marty Lay will take that office. Terri attended PETS (the President-Elect Training Seminar) and saw the process anew. As a former District Governor, she has been involved in many PETS, but this time she saw it "through the eyes of Jessica and Marty".  Terri is joining our Club's Board of Directors next month, and she is eagerly anticipating the new Rotary Year.

Bob then told us of the new addition to his family. The Johnsons lost their beloved family dog Lizzie late last year, and they were not ready to adopt another. However, Bob was driving down the North Coast and saw a dog on the beach. When he got home, he told his wife Susan what he had seen, and whether she thought that maybe ... Sue told him, "There's one dog left in a litter in Oregon." She drove to Tillamook and back to retrieve Coco - an adorable Springer Spaniel (the same breed as Lizzie).

Volume XII, Issue 41: June 14, 2013

ANNOUNCEMENTS
We didn't hear from our Exchange Student Fa Sillapajarn last week. She had attended the Safe and Sober Graduation Party the previous night (into that morning). Her quote of the day? "I'm so tired ..." Here's hoping that we get her take on the whole graduation experience at our next meeting.

Our Outbound Exchange Student for 2013-2014, Logan White, made it to our meeting. He wanted to let us know that the fundraiser that he co-hosted the previous weekend had been very successful. The three Exchangers-To-Be raised just over $4,000. "I'm okay with that," Logan said, "that being my first time." (Maybe we should reconsider sending him to Italy this summer - we might want to keep him here and put him on the committees for Taste of the Holidays and the Spring Fundraiser.)

Let's have a round of applause for  ... well, us! At the recent Rotary District 5130 Conference, Our Club won the New Generations award. We were honored for our work with youth, including Youth Exchange and our Kids, Crabs, and Rotary event. Thanks to Barbara Browning and Karen Burgesser for putting together our awards applications.

Luca and Fa with Crabs Manager Matt Nutter

Speaking of Kids, Crabs, and Rotary ... a great time was had by all on June 9th. The Arcata Noon Club's Exchange Student Luca Vass threw out the first pitch to her batterymate Fa Sillapajarn. During the game (in which the Crabs took on the Healdsburg Prune Packers), we served a bunch of "Fellowship Franks" to youth baseball players and other youngsters.

Romi Hitchcock Tinseth said that help is needed for the 4th of July celebration on the Arcata Plaza. If you can lend a hand, please let her know.

WELCOME, CAROL!!

Kahuna Kavinta, Carol, Amy, and Craig

It's always exciting to bring a new Sunriser into the Club, and we had the opportunity last week when Former President Craig Newman inducted Carol Vander Meer. Carol was already a Rotarian - she joined the Arcata Nooners in 2006. Her membership with our Club was sponsored by Amy Bohner.

Carol is the Executive Director of Friends of the Dunes, and her Rotary classification is Environmental Non-Profit. She and her husband Steven have been married for 14 years. She enjoys kayaking and camping, and she sings with the Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir.

WOO-HOO! THE LATEST FROM JESSICA!!
President-Elect Jessica McKnight told us that, after five fundraising events and one prom, the cardboard buildings that were created for this year's Spring Fundraiser have been retired . By that, I mean recycled. They got quite a bit of mileage while they lasted, though.

She also noted that a few of us have not yet submitted our requests for committee assignments. She will close signups on June 20th, at which point she will assign posts. She is excited about the coming year, especially in the areas of Community Service, Vocational Service, and Programs. She also plans to work to help reconstitute the North Bay Rotaract Club.

SPECIAL DAYS
May 27th was Craig Reed's birthday, which he described as "fairly uneventful". He recently bought a new house, which got in the way of his celebration. He and his brother-in-law tore out and reinstalled the electrical system and then he moved in. Craig said that he was off work, "But I still worked from 8 to 10." We clarified that was eight in the morning to ten at night. Craig said that he still does not officially own the house, but after installing new carpet and new wiring, he will soon.

Rotary Kid Brody Johnson celebrated his 17th birthday recently (on June 11th). He said that he didn't do much - the day fell right in the middle of finals. He did take in a movie with friends and then had dinner with his parents.

Rotary Spouse (and President-Elect of the Southwest Eureka Rotary) Marty Lay said that his birthday was on Monday, June 10th. He said that he had a very good day which involved working on his motorcycle, enjoying beef stroganoff, and quaffing dark beers.

RECOGNITIONS
Before Laura Montagna rolled out the recognitions, she showed us a "production model" of the portable bookshelves that our Community Service Committee will be providing to underprivileged families. The wooden shelves are foldable, and are being made by the students in McKinleyville Middle School's Woodshop.

Laura with the Bookcase

Laura then called upon Bryan Plumley to tell us what's happening with him and his. Bryan said that school is now out, and he will be visiting Washington, D.C. with his kids. They plan to make it a tour - from Washington, they plan to travel down the East Coast then on to New Orleans.

Lynda Moore will also be hitting the road. She is planning a road trip "without an agenda" to Sedona, Arizona. Last weekend, though, she came out of retirement (for a while?) to consult with HSU for a bit. She said that the assignment sounds "interesting and fun".

FIREHOUSE CHECK
President George asked us to reconvene at the fire station following Friday's meeting. There, we presented the Arcata Volunteer Fire Department with a check for $26,135.66 - their portion of the net proceeds from the Spring Fundraiser.

Volume XII, Issue 40: June 7, 2013

We Congratulate Arcata High School Graduates

and Honor 2013's Academic Top Ten Percent

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Kahuna Kavinta (aka President George) read a Quote of the Day from Theodore Roosevelt: "The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything." Fa Sillapajarn, our Exchange Student from Thailand, used that as her defining quote in the Arcata High School Yearbook (which is where the Kahuna saw it).

Kyle Visser announced that his wife Natalie gave birth on May 31st. I believe the boy's name is Nathan, and he weighed in at just over 18 inches, and 6 pounds, 4 ounces. Congratulations!!

A couple of weeks earlier, Jeff and Courtney Munther also welcomed a new Rotary Kid. Grayson Robert Munther was born on May 17th. Congratulations again!!

President George thanked Ron Sharp and Barbara Browning for hosting the previous week's "Tequila 101" fellowship event. The attendees learned about tequila, and about Project Amigo, from Visiting Rotarians Susan Hill and Ted Rose.

President-Elect Jessica "Woo-Hoo" McKnight reminded us that she would like each of us to sign up for at least two committees for the new Rotary Year. Jessica also encouraged us to consider making at least one of those committees one that you have never served on before. So shrug off your comfort zone (or at least part of it), and sign up!

AHS's TOP TEN PERCENT
Arcata High School Principal Dave Navarre said that we Sunrisers are like his wife. She gets up each morning at 4:30 and drinks three cups of coffee. About an hour later, Dave gets up, and "she starts hitting me with questions and the morning news. I just stare at her for about 20 minutes." 

Dave said that the top ten percent from AHS are "a wonderful group of kids" that have GPAs ranging from "an impressive 4.052 to a staggering 4.616". They include two National Merit Scholarship semifinalists and one finalist. He said that all of the top tenners are dedicated to their educations and it shows.

Dave introduced each of the soon-to-be graduates, and told a little about them, including the school each will be attending in the fall. President George congratulated each of them in turn.

Below is a photo of the top ten percent:

SCHOLARSHIPS
Jason White chairs our Club's Scholarship Committee, and he presented the recipients for this year. Jason reminded us that the Arcata Sunrise Memorial Scholarships are presented in memory of late Sunrisers David Myers, James Hamby, Marilyn Fletcher, and Hal Fitzpatrick.

He said that the candidates this year were extremely bright, and that most of the 20 applicants would have been likely to win in previous years. 

Abigail Peterson received a $1,000 scholarship. She will attend Humboldt State University in the fall, and her long-term goal is to go to medical school to become an anesthesiologist. She did some research into the medical field by volunteering at Mad River Hospital.

Also receiving a $1,000 scholarship was Kelsey Sloane. She plans to attend UC Davis, and she also plans to go into medicine. The Committee was impressed by Kelsey's visit to a POW camp, and how that taught her not to take anything for granted.

The last of the $1,000 recipients was Geena Damian. Geena will study nursing at Mills College in the Bay Area. Geena volunteered with the Special Olympics, something that brings her a lot of pleasure.

Dustin Wallace is the winner of our four-year scholarship. He will receive $1,000 each of the next four years. He plans to study forestry and rangeland resources at Humboldt State University. Dustin has been in Future Farmers of America and he has been an outstanding football player at Arcata High. One thing that impressed the committee was when Dustin said that one of his "tools for success" is knowing how to save money. Also, on the day he was interviewed, he went straight from the committee to work on a school fundraiser.

From left to right: Abigail Peterson, Kelsey Sloane, Geena Damian, President George, Jason White, and Dustin Wallace

We expect our four-year scholarship winners to come back each year to let us know how they are faring at school. Alesha Beller and Gregory Arena were on hand last Friday to talk about their experiences so far. Alesha is majoring in Early Childhood Development at College of the Redwoods, and Gregory initially attended College of the Redwoods, but he is now at UC Berkeley, majoring in Biology. Cal Poly was still in session, so our 2010 recipient, Tom Salmunovich, was not able to join us.

Jason and Kahuna Kavinta with Alesha Beller

Jason and George with Gregory Arena

FINAL WORDS
Dave Navarre introduced the Superintendent of the Northern Humboldt Union High School District, Dr. Chris Hartley. Chris has been in his position for six months, following his tenure as Principal of Six Rivers Charter High School. His association with AHS dates back 17 years, when he was hired as the school's Dean of Students, and "it's been a fantastic journey".

He gave his thanks to the AHS administrative staff, led by Dave Navarre. He said that they "are truly out to serve the students". He said that they work very hard to promote excellence at the school.

When Chris asked for a show of hands from the students in the room who had taken five or more Advanced Placement classes, there were a lot of hands in the air. Then he asked who had taken six or more. A few hands dropped. This went on, and there were still hands in the air when he asked who had taken ten or more. 

Chris told the students to think back about the teachers who had helped them along the way, pointing out Linda Yeoman, the Principal at Sunny Brae Middle School, as an example. He noted that those who started here in Arcata, from kindergarten through twelfth grade, have received an excellent education. But he also said, "Please understand that your community supports you just as much, and sometimes more."  He expressed his amazement at the level of support provided by Rotary in Arcata. "[You] volunteer time, resources, financial contributions, and here again this morning, honoring the students and their achievement ... for the students, I think the takeaway here this morning is as you go out and continue your education ... enjoy the ride, but when you're done, please remember how you got [there], and please remember to give back."