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.
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| Grace Lovell, Cindy Sutcliffe, and President George |
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).
