Volume XII, Issue 22: December 20, 2013

Exchange Student News
At last week's meeting, Alex Rialet, our Exchange Student from France, gave us an update. He said that he went to the final football game of the year at Humboldt State, then he attended the Arcata Invitiational Basketball Tournament at Arcata High. President Jessica said that she and Alex were the two representatives from our Club at the final game. He also made some croissants for the holidays. Jessica also told Alex that his Christmas present from the Club is an AHS yearbook - "a solid set of memories" - to be delivered near the end of the school year. 

Jessica also shared a few words from our Outbound Exchange Student in Italy, Logan White: "The weekend after my last post [in early November], my host parents took me and two friends to Lugano. If you ask the Internet, you will learn that Lugano is a small city on the shore of a lake in the south of Switzerland. If you ask me, you will learn [that] it is a breathtaking city on the edge of a breathtaking lake with crisp autumn temperatures, ridiculously high-end stores, and an awesome public park." For more from Logan, click on "Logan White in Italy" in the Links section to your right.

Announcements
As mentioned, President Jessica (and Alex) attended the AIBT Championship Game between Arcata High and the Fortuna Huskies. As our President who is also a Fortuna High alumna, she was conflicted. She sat with the Arcata fans, but she said that "it did my heart good to give FHS the trophy".

She also reminded us that through the end of the year, your donations to the Rotary Foundation will receive double recognition toward your Paul Harris Fellowship. But the clock is ticking ...

Recognitions
Craig Reed Keeps his Minions in Line
Tomas Chavez hosted the Recognitions segment of last week's meeting, calling upon Craig Reed to discuss his recent cruise to the Bahamas with family members. He also had fun at a recent holiday party at work. This photo shows him dealing with Gary ("one of my minions at work"), keeping the celebration from getting out of hand. Craig was awarded a tote bag with a pineapple and goat cheese for winning the limbo competition. He was also involved in a contest during his cruise. in which they sought the World's Sexiest Man. Craig noted that it "went poorly. I did come in last place, but there were only 10 people, and that makes me the 10th sexiest person on the ship."

Bob Johnson was recently returned from a brief trip to Hawaii to visit his son Aaron, who is attending school there. He arrived the day after Thanksgiving, and they spent four days walking around Honolulu. It rained on the Sunday he was there, "but it's still 70 degrees, so it's still kinda fun." He had a really good time, and he said that Aaron is now home for the Christmas holiday through early January.

Zöe and Romi
Romi Hitchcock Tinseth was very excited - not so much that she had completed the "Holiday Half" half-marathon in Portland, but that her daughter Zöe had completed it with her. They trained together and supported one another during the race. 

 Janice and Craig Newman celebrated their recent anniversary with a 12-day trip. They were in Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Connecticut, and other parts of southern New England. While there, they encountered the "Elf on the Shelf", the live version of the children's book character. Apparently, in real life, the Elf wears mascara and rides atop a truck in Christmas parades. Janice also encountered Susan Branch, who has been Janice's favorite author since the late 1970s. Craig added, "She made me drive by her house." For his part, Craig spent his time looking at the hardware and architecture, when he wasn't watching football at the B&B. Since he occasionally forges iron himself, he is appreciative of the work done by the blacksmiths of the 1700s and 1800s. 

The day before our meeting was Ed Christian's birthday. When asked what he did to celebrate, he replied, "Pretty much nothing. All I really wanted was a nice quiet day at work, and since I didn't get that ..." Ed did say that he would probably go out to dinner over the weekend, especially since his co-workers got him a gift certificate for Moonstone Grill. "Problem solved!" he said.

Your Editor's birthday was the day of the meeting. I noted that, "I'm awake, I'm still alive ... I think." I planned to go to dinner with my wife Shelley that night, "or we will just go out with Ed tomorrow night".

President Jessica had one more recognition - she presented our faithful server Elsa with a token of our appreciation. Elsa works hard at each of our meetings to ensure that we are fed and (perhaps most importantly) provided a good supply of coffee. 

Our Annual Holiday Treat
As per Arcata Sunrise tradition, we were serenaded by the Arcata High School Madrigal Choir, directed by Carol Jacobson, and accompanied by Jonathan Webster. Below, you will find links to videos of the pieces they shared with us, and below those is a photo showing President Jessica with a check for $500 to help pay for the group's April trip to Italy!
A Little Help for the Madrigal Choir's Spring Trip
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Volume XII, Issue 21: December 13, 2013

What's New With Alex?

 This photo of Alex Rialet (our Club's Rotary Exchange Student from Toulouse, France) was taken at the birthday party for his Host Brother DIego Baciagaluppi. I assume that he wore something different for the recent cold weather - maybe a wet suit? President Jessica noted that despite the low temperatures, Alex has begun learning how to surf!





Announcements

 Scott Heller's father Doug passed away shortly before Thanksgiving. Doug and Scott's mother Mary visited our Club in October 2011, during Scott's term as our Club President. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Scott, Mary, and the rest of their family.
 
Mary, Scott, and Doug Heller

The Arcata High School Madrigal Choir will entertain us at our next meeting (Friday, December 20th), but if you want a preview and a chance to hear the ARMACK Orchestra and the AHS Concert Choir, go to HSU's Van Duzer Theater at 7 pm on Thursday, December 19th for their Winter Concert. Tickets are only $5.


Ed Christians has completed the requirements that allow him to discard his Red Badge in favor of a shiny new Blue Badge. (Actually, the red one gets recycled.) And although Recognitions Master Tomas Chavez was unable to attend last week's meeting, he infomed Jessica that best Christmas light display in the neighborhood belongs to Ed. Ed told us that when he lived in Texas, the next city over spent over $20,000 on its holiday light extravaganza. Nonetheless, Ed said that his Austin neighborhood outdid them. So this year, he "put up the lights that survived the move".
Not too Austin-tatious!



The Boards of Directors for both the Club and our Foundation met on December 10th. The agendas and minutes (from the previous meetings) are available to Sunrisers on our website. Here are the highlights from the Club Board Meeting:
  • Our Club's Attendance for November was up to 75%, including our Taste of the Holidays meeting.
  • The Treasurer's Report is available on our site, as are committee reports.
  • Club Elections have been completed for this Rotary Year
The top items from the Foundation's Board Meeting included:
  • The Treasurer's Report showed that our committees have begun making use of their budgets. And although the final figures are not yet in for Taste of the Holidays, it looks like our return on investment will be good.
  • The World Community Service Committee has requested that it (and other committees) be allowed to set aside funds annually to be applied to future Rotary Foundation Matching Grant projects. There was some discussion, but no decision was made.
  • Susan Jansson and Barbara Browning continue to lead the discussion about the future of our Spring Fundraiser. President Jessica noted that we need to continue to keep the Arcata Volunteer Fire Department Club in the loop, as they have worked as hard as we have over the years to make the event a success. She also said that Sunrisers will probably be surveyed sometime in January.
  • The PTO at Pacific Union School is applying for nonprofit status, but the process is not complete. They have requested that we help process funds for their annual fundraiser, as we did last year. The final decision has not been made yet.
President Jessica continues to recognize those with perfect attendance. If you missed a meeting somewhere along the line, please be sure to do a makeup meeting with another club or at a committee meeting. Remember, you're eligible for Jessica's monthly drawings if you had 100% attendance in the previous month.

A Visit From Maheen
Maheen
We had a special visitor from Pakistan last week. Maheen has been in the US for four months, and she told us that life here is "pretty much the same" as her life in her home country. "We wake up every morning," she said, "and go to school or go to jobs."  To illustrate her point, she showed us photos of her family and her friends from her university in Pakistan. She said that every child in Pakistan is inquisitive and wants to attend school. Maheen's stay in this country was sponsored by Pakistani businessmen.

She told us, "The notion that you get from the media that people [in Pakistan] are terrorists is wrong. People have the same feelings and the same values."

Radiation Oncology at St. Joseph Hospital
Our featured speaker last Friday was Dr. Michael Harmon, the Director of Radiation Oncology for St. Joseph Hospital. Dr. Harmon said that there have been major advances in cancer treatments over the past five years. In addition the hospital has hired many new staff members, including Medical Oncologist Dr. Jeff Allen. The group has pledged a new commitment to working as a team.

Dr. Harmon also noted that the hospital now enjoys an unprecendented relationship with Stanford University Medical Center. Stanford has never before made the commitment to work in conjunction with a community hospital. The benefits include access to Stanford's medical records and its treatment protocols, including experimental protocols. The local staff can now present cases to Stanford's Tumor Board for review as needed.

Dr. Harmon presented four case studies to illustrate the progress being made in radiation treatment. The first case involved an 84 year old male who had a Stage 4 carcinoma at the base of his tongue, which had metastasized to his neck. A PET scan (which Dr. Harmon explained is a combination of a CAT scan and radioisotope imaging) showed that
Dr. Michael Harmon
the tumor was using glucose at a high rate. This is an indication that the tumor is growing quickly. With the new linear accelerators available to the staff, radiation can be more precisely directed at the tumor, with less scatter. In this case, the patient also received chemotherapy, and was in complete remission one year later.

Another success story involved a woman 66 years of age who had a Stage 3B carcinoma in her lung. The tumor led to SVC (Superior Vena Cava) Syndrome, which is an obstruction of the blood flow from the upper half of her body to her heart. Emergency radiation therapy resolved her SVC Syndrome, and was followed by chemotherapy.

A 40 year old woman was admitted after a massive chest tumor was found that was compressing her lungs and heart. She was approaching cardiac and pulmonary failure. After four radiation treatments led to dramatic improvement, she too was switched to chemotherapy.

The final case was of a 70 year old woman who had a recurrence of a Stage 3B carcinoma of the lung. Six years prior, she had been treated with radiation and chemotherapy. Two years later, the cancer had metastasized to her brain, which led to brain surgery and more radiation therapy. The latest recurrence was treated with radiation and chemotherapy. which led to a complete response.

Local cancer treatment is possible in large part due to the acquisition of the two new linear accelerators at St. Joe's. Over 6,000 patients have been treated by the Radiation Oncology Department in the past 20 year, and early stage breast and prostate cancers have a cure rate of over 90%. Local treatment is critical in cases where the patient would be unlikely to survive the rigors and duration of a medical flight.

Dr. Harmon said that it is helpful to be able to be treated by doctors you know, to receive more personal care in a local facility, to be able to live at home and enjoy the support of family and friends. It is also nice not to "live out of a suitcase" for the time it takes to be treated out of the area. He noted that, especially with the new relationship with Stanford, patients are not sacrificing quality care when they are treated locally.
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Volume XII, Issue 20: December 6, 2013

Checking In With Alex and Silvie
Chef Alex
Our Exchange Student from France, Alex Rialet, experienced his first Thanksgiving this year. He said that he went to Lori Breyer's house for a gathering of Exchangers. He made creme puffs, meringues, and quiche. Following that, he and his host family went to Oakland for Thanksgiving to meet with more family members. "Were there a lot of them?" asked President Jessica. Alex nodded quickly - "Yeah ... and there was a lot of pie!" While he was there, he watched football and posed for his Senior Picture. And now, it's back to school and to HealthSport.
Silvie Neander

We met next year's Outbound Exchange Student at last Friday's meeting - Silvie Neander. Sylvie is a senior at Arcata High this year, and she said that her "top choice" for an Exchange posting would be in Spain. We shall see ...

Announcements
Last week we held our annual elections, selecting two Directors and the Club President for the year 2015-2016. Scott Heller and Dawn Elsbree were voted in as Directors, and Howard Stauffer will lead our Club following Barbara Browning's term.

President Jessica thanked us all for our work on this year's Taste of the Holidays. Everyone did a great job with ticket sales and finding items for the Dutch Auction. However, the TOTH Committee deserves special recognition - Amy Bohner, Scott Heller, Julie Schaeffer, Angelo Baciagaluppi, Dawn Elsbree, Karen Burgesser, and Rina Brodhag. And a super special Thank You goes out to TOTH Chair Ron Sharp! If you are still hoarding ticket money or tickets, please turn those in as soon as you can, so we can get a final accounting for the event.

George Cavinta and another stellar group of Sunrisers also deserve a shout-out for hosting another successful Foster Youth Dinner last week. On the menu were turkey, ham, mashed potatoes (4 pans!), mac & cheese, and a huge salad. There was enough to feed the foster kids and their supporters, with enough left over for a donation to the Rescue Mission at the event's end!

This week, we turn our attention to the  Arcata Invitational Basketball Tournament, better known as the AIBT. As usual, it's a three-day affair, beginning Thursday, December 12th through Saturday the 14th. The Coaches' Reception will take place at the Plaza Grill Friday at 10 pm. Coinciding with the AIBT is Saturday's Annual Pancake Breakfast, which supports the AHS College and Career Center. Breakfast will be served from 8 to 11 am in the AHS Multi-Purpose Room. The cost is $8 for those between the ages of 18 and 60, and $5 for everyone else.

President Jessica announced that nominations are open for District Governor for the Rotary Year 2016-2017. Please let her know if you have someone in mind, or if you would like to be considered.

Recognitions
Karen Burgesser served up the recognitions last Friday, and she discovered that during our recent Holiday Hiatus, Mark Burtchett celebrated his birthday. He had plans to go on a morning bike ride, but it was too cold. Among other things, he hiked a bit (I think) and had a nice dinner. Most important, he was able to stay away from work.

President Jessica celebrated her birthday by "serving 250 people dinner". Her birthday coincided with the Foster Youth Dinner on Thursday of last week. Following that, she and her husband James went to Robert Goodman's Tasting Room for "a bite to eat and a birthday cocktail".

Karen then called upon Your Editor to discuss his anniversary as well as his recent "exciting travels". I had to confess that Shelley and I hadn't had an overly romantic or exciting 18th anniversary - we picked up burritos from the mall. I noted that we planned to make up for it with a nice dinner over the weekend. As for the travels, I had a quick business trip planned for the week. I left Arcata on Tuesday, headed for San Diego and then to San Clemente Island to do some management training for our nonprofit's staff there. However - and this was expected - I travelled by way of Salt Lake City. I went even farther afield on my way back, making an unexpected jaunt to Denver before returning to the Golden State. The good news was that there were clear skies over much of the Southwest, and I was treated to a great view of the Grand Canyon.

Tomas Chavez said that a lot of his family was in town for Thanksgiving week, and Karen found a photo of him fishing with his brother-in-law and his nephews, who are four and seven. "We took the boat out to Freshwater Lagoon and caught nothing." Tomas laughed, "It was a lot of fun just to


be out there with the boys."

Karen then called on Ron Sharp to discuss the Co-op's recent prize-winning display. It was a national contest, and the Co-op received the Grand Prize for being the Non-GMO Project Supporting Retailer. Someone asked what the prize was, and Ron had to admit, "I'm not sure yet." Apparently it won't be awarded until September of next year, so they've got time to put something together.

Gregg Foster was asked about a photo of him with fellow Sunriser Laura Montagna. Gregg was the emcee for the TEDx Youth @ Humboldt Bay presentation, held Sunday, November 17th. Laura was one of the key organizers of the event, which featured 22 speakers, and lasted around four hours. Click here to watch video from the event.

Fire Station Update
Our Featured Speakers last week were Chief Desmond Cowan and Captain Alan Davis, both with the Arcata Fire Department, and Kirk Cohune of Greenway Partners. They shared the current plan for revitalizing the Fire Department's facilities and operations.
Desmond started by telling us that they wanted to share the "evolution of the project that we've been working on for so long". He noted that the partnership between his department and our Club has been "positive and so beneficial". The department brought Greenway Partners on board to help them develop a strategic plan to sort through the many alternatives for relocating the main fire station.

The two entities looked at the data on the types of calls received, and more importantly, the locations of those calls. The analysis led to the conclusion that the optimal location for the main station is right where it is. The department serves a large geographic area, from Crannell and McKinleyville to Fieldbrook, Blue Lake, Arcata, Jacoby Creek, Bayside, Indianola, and Manila.

A task force was formed, and they considered all of the department's assets and the needs of the people to whom they provide services. The analysis considered all of the properties the AVFD owns, and evaluated each to determine the best locations to house the needed functions. The sites discussed were the existing facilities - the downtown headquarters, the Mad River station on Janes Road, and the station on Central Avenue in McKinleyville; and the proposed sites - Bayside and the location on Sunset.

The task force concluded that the proposed new station at Sunset would require a continuation of fundraising efforts for years to come. The cost had increased to over $5 million, and so the consensus was to improve two of the current facilities. The current downtown station would be expanded and modernized with new quarters for the crew, an update to the volunteer meeting room and kitchen, expanded apparatus bays, creating offices for staff, relocating the administrative headquarters to the McKinleyville station, and ensuring that the entire facility met ADA and public safety standards. The McKinleyville station, would be expanded to accommodate the administrative offices, and its crew quarters and apparatus bays would be expanded and modernized. 

The task force believes that the current plan is the best option for moving forward and providing the best service to the people in the communities it serves. They hope to begin the project in the early part of 2014.

Alan Davis, Kirk Cohune, President Jessica, and Desmond Cowan
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