Volume XII, Issue 30: February 21, 2014

Alex's Week

Alex's backpack is filled with veggies!

President Jessica showed a photo of our Rotary Exchange Student, Alex Rialet, being "kicked out" by his host dad, Craig Reed. His transgression? Cooking vegetables! As Jessica noted, "No PlayStation for you!"

We found out that it was all in fun, but apparently Alex still needed a week to recover - at least following a weekend with friends. Fortunately, he had Presidents' Week off. Alex celebrated like most American kids would - "I stayed home, slept, and watched TV."


Announcements
Despite short notice, there were Sunrisers helping the HSU Natural History Museum move its display cases on Saturday, February 15th. Lori Breyer and Karen Burgesser were on hand, along with Rotary Kid Kate Breyer and Cori Suttell from the North Bay Rotaract Club. Karen described the work: "It's like Christmas and putting a puzzle together". Thank you all for representing our Club in the effort.

Lori & Kate

Karen & Cori

The Pirates' Ball Spring Fundraiser is only days away, so please be sure to get your auction and raffle prizes to HealthSport and let the coordinators know what you're donating, so the lists and signage can be compiled. Be thinking about what task(s) you would like to take on at the event - we will be discussing and signing up at our next meeting. 

Other calendar items ...

• March 7-9: President-Elect Training Seminar for Barbara Browning, Terri Clark, and Lori Breyer.
• March 30: Opportunity to meet Rotary International President Ron Burton at a dinner at the Doubletree Hotel in Sacramento. See President Jessica for details.
• April 4-5: District Assembly at Mendocino College in Ukiah. A great way to learn more about Rotary and to meet with other Rotarians from our District.
• April 19: Mad River Work Day. The cleanup will be followed by a Hoedown at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center - the Friends of the Dunes headquarters.

Board Reports
President Jessica provided the highlights of the February 11th meetings of the Club and Foundation Boards of Directors, as follows:

Club Board

• January attendance was 60%, on a par with the previous year. She encouraged us to visit other Clubs for makeups if we can't be here on Friday.
• Two members are currently on leaves of absence - Brenda Bishop, who is expected to return this month; and Amy Bohner, who is scheduled to return in July.
• Two other members - Travis Schneider and Garrett Perks - realized that they don't currently have the time to fully participate in Rotary, so they tendered their resignations. We hope that their schedules will allow them to rejoin us at some point.
• The resignations remind us that we should always be looking for potential Sunrisers. Talk with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others who may be interested.
• Julie Vaissade-Elcock, Barbara Browning, and Karen Burgesser are putting together our applications for District Awards. Please let them know if you are interested in helping.

Foundation Board

• More income came in for November's Taste of the Holidays fundraiser, and we also received additional funds from the Arcata Invitational Basketball Tournament.
• The Board discussed a request by the World Community Service Committee to consider the annual budget line item to help fund Project Amigo in Colima, Mexico. The committee would like the flexibility to consider a variety of projects, in several countries. This discussion will be ongoing, and you are encouraged to attend Board meetings and/or committee meetings to weigh in on the topic.
• The Board is still looking at the cash balance in our checking account, and discussing options for storing the extra funds. President Jessica also encourages the committees to find projects, commit funds, and spend the money in their budgets. 

Recognitions with Tomas Chavez
Tomas's first few intended victims honorees were not in attendance last Friday, but Brandi Easter was recognized for taking an area in her kitchen/pantry which had previously been occupied by stacks of canning supplies. So she availed herself of scraps from the "Free Box" at Arcata Countertops, and put together a set of shelves that are "all pressure-fit ... there are no nails, no screws, no glue" involved. It looks great, and it's a lot more accessible for Brandi.

Howard and Rebecca Stauffer's anniversary was on January 26th, and Howard said that they celebrated by visiting New York and Washington for about two weeks. Their visit coincided with the first big snowstorm of the year, which was an issue when they needed to travel from the west side of Manhattan to the east. Since most of the transportation runs north and south, they "hiked across Central Park at the height of the blizzard". Later they went to a museum, where they encountered a woman picking up her cross-country skis at the coat check counter. 

Maggie Kraft had company from France for her birthday on February 5th. She said that the day started with her asking "how that could possibly happen - again and again and again". Since she had company from France, she said that they did "French things for my birthday - we ate and we drank (well, I drank)". Afterwards, she went to her tango class - Lionel knows how to tango, so that worked well. 



Romi Talks Up Humboldt State
Last week, our featured speaker was a Sunriser - Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth - who gave us the skinny on Humboldt State University. Romi works at HSU on the faculty of the Communications Department and as an Outreach and Admissions Counselor, but she is also an HSU graduate. (She also graduated from Arcata High, and she earned a Masters Degree in Education from Oregon State University.) She met her husband Glenn at HSU, and the couple and their two daughters Sky and Zoë volunteered for a year at Project Amigo in Mexico. 

Romi is a tireless advocate for HSU, talking up both its contributions to the community (and the  world), as well as the opportunities it offers potential students. If I heard her correctly, Humboldt State makes a $216 million impact on the region.

Romi listed the reasons why HSU is an excellent choice for students:

• An amazing environment for learning 
• Exceptional academic opportunities
• Personal connections with faculty
• Hands-on learning
• Strong support
• Success after graduation
• We use our education to make a difference in the world!

Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth

She is especially proud that the University pioneered the Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility in 1987. Since then, the pledge to "thoroughly investigate and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job opportunity that I consider” has been adopted by over 100 schools, including Stanford, Harvard, and MIT.

Romi said that as she travels to discuss Humboldt State with potential students throughout the West, she is able to show them the natural beauty of Arcata and Humboldt County, and all of the activities available locally. 

The faculty, students, and facilities at HSU are excellent. Romi gave some examples, including Geography Professor Stephen Cunha, whose study guides for the National Geographic Bee are among Amazon's top-sellers; Sunriser Kyle Visser is a great example of a graduate living the Pledge, running Shred-Tec; the School of Business recently revamped its curriculum to help students learn how to implement the Pledge into their careers; and the Advising Center and the Learning Commons provide direction and support when needed by students. Romi also noted that HSU has the highest percentage of students with documented disabilities in the CSU system, because they receive excellent support.

Romi provided many examples of excellence at Humboldt State including these:

• The new Fire Science Laboratory
• HSU's Wildlife Students are once again #1 in the nation
• The Botany program is the largest in the country (be sure to check out the greenhouse when you get a chance)
• HSU boasts the largest telescope in California that is used for undergraduate research
• A few years ago, two HSU Astronomy students on an internship at Aricibo Observatory in Puerto Rico discovered a new galaxy
• The Art Department has the largest metal foundry on the West Coast
• The campus's Behavioral Sciences Building was designed in part by the the HSU Psychology Department
• There are two campus radio stations - the NPR member-station KHSU, and the student-run KRFH (Radio Free Humboldt)

In closing, Romi reminded us that two HSU Spring Previews are coming soon. On March 28th and April 11th, please roll out the welcome mats for prospective students and their parents. 

Volume XII, Issue 29: February 14, 2014

The Alex Report
Our Rotary Exchange Student from France, Alex Rialet, told us that he attended the last AHS basketball game he will see this season. He also said that he is persevering in his effort to help his host dad (Craig Reed) learn to love tolerate vegetables. "You're a good influence on him," President Jessica remarked. She also noted that Alex attended a recent Crab Feed hosted by the Fortuna Sunrise Rotary, and he even helped out with the clean-up (see picture).

Announcements
President Jessica said that Charter Night, which took place earlier in the week, was quite a success. Everyone had a great time at the Ingomar Club, and she thanked Rina Brodhag, Terri Clark, and Janice Newman for putting the event together, and Matt Babich for securing the venue.

If you would like to donate to the STEPS project to help kids in Botswana and nearby countries beat clubfoot, you can make your check payable to the RCAS Community Foundation. We will hold your funds until the grant is applied for and approved.

We are close to selling out the March 8th Pirates' Ball Spring Fundraiser. Keep checking in with organizations or businesses to give them the opportunity to support their community by purchasing a table or individual tickets. 

If you haven't marked Saturday, April 4th on your calendar yet, be sure to fill the box with the District Assembly. The training session/fellowship event will take place in Ukiah at Mendocino College. For more information, see President Jessica.

On Saturday, April 19th, you are invited to participate in the Mad River Clean-Up Work Day, followed by the Earth Day Volunteer Hoe Down at the Friends of the Dunes headquarters in Samoa.

We had members of the North Bay Rotaract Club with us last Friday, selling Cake Pops for Valentines Day. They were yummy - don't miss them next year!

Valentunes
We heard lotsa love songs last Friday, as two groups of Valentunes performers showed up to serenade us. Valentunes are an annual fundraiser for the ARMACK Orchestra and the Arcata High School Madrigal Choir. This year's Sunrise Rotary connections? One group included our Outbound Exchange Student for the coming year - Sylvie Leppig, while Rotary "Kid" Brody Johnson was part of the second crew.  Click on the links below to watch (and hear) their performances:

Sylvie's Group: "Count On Me"

Sylvie's Group: "I'm Yours" 

Brody's Group: "Stand By Me" 

Brody's Group: "Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream)" 

Sylvie Leppig, Melissa Perrett, Hannah Jimenez, Rika Hosaki, and Kaylee Steiner-Olsen

From Wood to Chocolate
There is no "Dick Taylor" at Dick Taylor Chocolates. The name is a combination of the two owners - Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor. The two men were working together as carpenters and woodworkers when they decided to make something else by hand. 

Adam Dick

Making chocolate began as a hobby, and they kept refining the process, working toward an ever improved product, using nothing but fine ingredients. Eventually, Dustin and Adam put forward their chocolate to the public. For two years, they kept their day jobs, working on chocolate only on Mondays, evenings, and on the occasional weekend. 

About two years ago, they participated in the Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle, and they
realized that they had reached a critical point. On the 10-hour drive back from Washington, the duo decided to begin a slow transition to full-time chocolate makers and to focus on quality as the benchmark for their product.

Adam and Dustin learned how to grade cacao beans, which is critical since, "if the beans are poor, you'll never make great chocolate". It is an intense process, according to Adam, but rewarding. In 2013, they returned to the Northwest Chocolate Festival, and their 72% Belize Torido won the Bronze Award in the Single Origin Dark category. 

The team is at another crossroads. Since the demand for their product outstrips the supply, they need to increase production. But they want to ensure that both their product and their customer service (and their engagement with customers) remain at a high level. They are looking at purchasing equipment that will increase the amount of chocolate produced in a 48-hour cycle from 60 pounds to 880 pounds. Adam said that even at that production level, they will still be considered a small scale producer in the industry.

For more information, visit their website.

Volume XII, Issue 28: February 7, 2014

Alex's Weekly Report
As she introduced Exchange Student Alex Rialet, she complimented his Host Dad, Craig Reed, who provides "just a wealth of choices" of photos on Facebook for her slide show. Here was the one she chose last week, which had this caption: Alex was getting a big head until Chloe the cheerleader said, "NO!" The photo was taken in Crescent City at a basketball game between Arcata High and Del Norte.

Alex told us that earlier in the week, he prepared for baseball by learning how to bat, and he watched his first Super Bowl. Somewhere in there, he ate a "spaghetti burger pizza". Jessica grimaced, and suggested that he should convince Craig that more eggplant is needed in his diet.

Alex also thanked the Club for presenting him with a Paul Harris Fellowship at the previous meeting. He said that he was "very happy and very surprised" to receive the honor.

Announcements
We were able to help Sefvon, a young man who recently aged out of the Foster Youth system and is attending College of the Redwoods. He was doing pretty well, had paid his registration,  but he couldn't afford to purchase the books for his English class. President Jessica stepped in, accessing her Presidential Discretionary Fund to keep the student from being dropped from the course. He is doing well in his class.

We continue to need folks to sign up for packing Backpacks for Kids on Friday mornings following our meetings. It only takes a few minutes to help needy students have nutrition over their weekends.

Don't forget that we have the Spring Fundraiser coming up on Saturday, March 8th. There's still tables left to be sold and auction/raffle prizes to be gathered!

SBMS Interact Update and Valentines
Linda Yeoman is the Principal at Sunny Brae Middle School, and she also serves as the school's Interact Club Advisor.  She brought members of the group with her to sell hand-crafted Valentines Day Cards; the proceeds support St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

The Interactors got a late start this year, due to construction taking place on the campus. Once they got going, they came up with an idea to deal with the "piles and piles of old uniforms". The students decided to gather up all the unis from track, basketball, soccer, and other teams and sent them to be used in schools in Central America.

Linda said that the group always likes to help our Club at Taste of the Holidays, and this year was no exception. They also appreciate our Club's involvement in their projects.

New Member Welcome!
We welcomed our newest Sunriser last week. Dustin Littlefield was born in Crescent City, and raised in Arcata. His father is a Rotarian and former President of a Club in the Stockton area. Dustin moved to Austin to pursue a career in music, but eventually returned to Humboldt State University, where he majored in Economics. He currently works for Redwood Coast Financial Partners in Eureka, and he is single. The photo shows (from left to right) Dustin, his sponsor Angelo Bacigaluppi, former Club President Dick Johnson, and President Jessica McKnight. Great to have you with us, Dustin!

Humboldt Air Travel Update
In June 2012, Don Ehnebuske of the Redwood Region Economic Development Corporation (RREDC) visited our Club. At that time, he discussed the Fly Humboldt initiative, which was an effort to bring a second airline to our local airport. Last week, he returned to provide an update. He said that a good deal of money has been raised, and as of the end of last year, things were looking good. However, in early January, the FAA changed the rules for pilot flight and rest times, which had the unintended result of making a stop in Humboldt economically unworkable for the airline they were negotiating with. The group is still negotiating with other airlines, but no agreement is expected soon.

Don then spoke to us about ways to invest in the local economy. He said that since we all benefit from a healthy local economy, it is an appealing concept. Investing locally can help an investor to diversify his or her holdings, and it provides a different relationship with your money - you know more directly how and where your funds are being put to use.

He pointed out that the US economy can be split roughly in two, with half consisting of large, publicly traded companies, and the other half consisting of small independent businesses. Both sectors generate about $7 trillion in revenue each year.

Don estimated that there is about $1 billion in retirement savings controlled locally. That figure is based on 25,000 individuals with an average retirement fund of $40,000. If only 5% of that amount was invested locally, that would be a $50 million total.

Don provided ideas for easy ways to invest locally:

• Keep your money in a local bank or credit union
• Pre-purchase local goods by using Community Supported Agriculture organizations (CSAs) and other local producers and retailers
• Support local Crowd Funding efforts, such as Fund Humboldt

Don Ehnebuske & President Jessica

The same rules that are in place to protect investors from scams also make large-scale alternative investing difficult. Since most of us don't qualify as "Accredited Investors" - those with over $1 million in assets (not including your home) and an annual income of at least $200,000 - we are pushed toward investing in publicly traded companies.

Don then talked about other vehicles for local investing, including the new North Coast LION, which is short for Local Investing Opportunity Network. This group has a meeting scheduled for Monday, March 17th from 3 to 5 pm at the Humboldt Area Foundation. Don said that subsequent meetings will provide information about other ways to invest locally, such as direct public offerings (DPOs) and self-directed IRAs.

Volume XII, Issue 27: January 31, 2014

Fantastic Foundation Final Friday!

Editor's Note: The following report would not be possible without the assistance of two Super Sunrisers - Lori Breyer and Angelo Bacigaluppi. Your Editor was unable to attend last Friday's meeting, but they made sure to provide great notes and photos. Any inaccuracies or out-and-out falsehoods are the responsibility of the Editor and Publisher only.

The Youth Exchange Report

Eggplant "Something or other"

On Friday, Alex Rialet, our Rotary Exchange Student from France, told us that the previous weekend was quite busy. He joined the other Exchangers from our District (past, present, and future) for a confab at the Samoa Women's Club. The students met up with the Lost Coast Rotaract Club at Cooper Gulch in Eureka for a clean-up project , cleaned themselves up at HealthSport, and then headed for the Eureka Municipal Auditorium for some roller skating. 

The first night of the meeting, next year's Outbound Exchangers learned where they will be spending the 2014-2015 year. Silvie Neander found out that she will represent our Club/Community/Country in Belgium! President Jessica noted that she will need to work on her French.

Later in the week, Alex cooked dinner for his host dad, Craig Reed. According to Craig's Facebook post:
"My boy is making eggplant something or other. I'm going to try to eat it, even though I am morally opposed to veggie eating, because I care."

Announcements 
Last week, we also welcomed Lionel Lainard from Alex's home city of Toulouse, France. He is pictured here with Sunriser Maggie Kraft.

Lionel & Maggie

• The Backpacks for Kids program needs help. Please be sure to grab a shift or two on Signup Genius.
• Your financial support of our Club's proposed project to help children with clubfoot in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa would be greatly appreciated. For more information, please contact Maggie Kraft. 
• Charter Night 2014 will take place on Tuesday, February 11th at the Ingomar Club. The time to RSVP is now!
• PETS (President-Elect Training Seminar) will take place on March 7th through the 9th. Our President-Elect, Barbara Browning, will be attending, and some of our fellow Sunrisers will be helping out as well. The rest of us will be at the Community Center for ...
• The Pirates' Ball! Saturday, March 8th is the date for our big fundraiser of the year. Sell tables, get prizes, and be there to help out.
• On April 4th and 5th, you have an opportunity to learn more about Rotary at the annual District Assembly. It's a great way to deepen your understanding and appreciation for the awesome volunteer organization you're in. The event will be held at Mendocino College in Ukiah. Even if you can't make the Friday night dinner, the Saturday morning sessions will inspire and educate you!

Recognitions

HealthSport's Susan Jansson

Tomas Chavez presented "Flashback Friday", which featured a 2007 article from the Eureka Reporter on Barbara Browning and her then-new business "Order Within". (Was that really seven years ago?)

He turned to new business then, congratulating Susan Jansson. HealthSport, which is owned and operated by Susan, was selected by the Eureka Chamber of Commerce as its 2013 Small Business of the Year. 

Rotary Foundation Grants
President Jessica spoke briefly about Rotary Foundation Grants. She said that the grants have six focus areas:

1. Promoting Peace
2. Fighting Disease
3. Providing Clean Water
4. Saving Mothers & Children
5. Supporting Education
6. Growing Local Economies

These goals are accomplished through three types of grants - 

• District Grants - these fund small scale projects, which may be based in the local community or in a community abroad. The activities funded are selected by the Rotary District.
• Global Grants - these provide support for large international activities that support the focus areas listed above. 
• Packaged Grants - these support projects that are designed by Rotary and its partners to make a major impact in the areas of focus. 

Foundation Donation Recognition
Craig Newman discussed planned giving to the Rotary Foundation. This may take the form of making a provision in your will and/or trust, designating the Rotary Foundation as your life insurance beneficiary, transferring real estate or other assets, or providing gifts of retirement plan assets.

He reminded us that the following recognitions are provided to Rotary Foundation donors:

• Rotary Foundation Sustaining Member - one who gives $100 or more to the Annual Fund
• Benefactor - one who includes the Endowment Fund as a beneficiary in his or her estate plans or one how makes a donation of $1,000 or more directly to the Endowment Fund
• Paul Harris Fellow - one who donates $1,000 or more to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus, or another approved Foundation grant.
• Paul Harris Society Member - one who makes an annual donation of $1,000 or more to any of the funds eligible for Paul Harris Fellow recognition.
• Bequest Society Member - one who gives $10,000 or more via his or her estate plans.

New Paul Harris Fellows
Last week, we welcomed our Club's two newest Paul Harris Fellows. Julie Vaissade-Elcock gave her grandchild PHF recognition, and our Club bestowed PHF status on Exchanger Alex Rialet. Congratulations to both!

Jessica, Alex, and Terri

Terri and Julie

Final Friday Foundation Auction
We held our first Final Friday Auction of 2014 to support the Rotary Foundation. In case you are unfamiliar with the process, one Sunriser donates an item to be auctioned, another person (not necessarily a Rotarian) makes the winning bid. The total purchase price is donated to the Foundation, with the Sustaining Member recognition for the donation split evenly between the donor and the purchaser. Here are the winners and the other winners from last week's edition (which raised $895!):

Jace and his Kid's Package

• Dawn Ellsbree donated a Valentine's Day basket containing jewelry, chocolates, and liquor. The top bid was provided by Ed Christians.
• Another important holiday - Superbowl Sunday - was the theme of a basket provided by Ed Christians. The winner was Susan Jansson.
• Charlie Jordan brought a Superbowl Kickstarter Package, which featured a case of Mad River beer. Matt Babich made the right call to come away with the win.
• Terri Clark donated a $100 gift certificate from the Sushi Spot, which was purchased by Ian Schatz.
• Brandi Easter used kiwis provided by Orrin Plocher to make some delicious jam. Joyce Hinrichs was the winning bidder - ask her how it was!
• Cindy Sutcliffe's grandson Jace made the highest bid on a Kid's Package that Romi Hitchcock Tinseth donated. (See the photo that Angelo took!)
• Jeff Stebbins purchased another Superbowl-themed package provided by Bob Johnson.
• A Personal Care Package was donated by Julie Vaissade-Elcock. The item was won by Terri Clark, who will be luxuriating in perfume, bubble bath, and more for the weeks to come.