Volume XIII, Issue 3: July 24, 2015

Coming Soon ...  

August 6:  RISE EVENT - Arcata Chamber Mixer at Coast Central Credit Union on Giuntoli Lane

Sept 13: RISE EVENT - "Out of the Darkness" - Arcata Community Walk Against Suicide. 
Sept TBA: RISE EVENT - Welcome Party for Inbound Exchange Student Sophia

Rotarian News

• Exchange Student Mozara Abdalla was on her way home to Brazil last Friday. Host Mom Julie Vaissade-Elcock said that Mozara had a very good Exchange Year, and she would be missed by all of us.
• Karen Burgesser's grandson "Mr. Henry" is on his second round of chemotherapy, and it looks like he will be spending his third birthday in the hospital. We'll be thinking of him.

Craft Talk

Last Friday, we had our first Craft Talk of the new Rotary Year - Tom Tellez provided his life story (so far). Tom said that he is 55 years old, with a full head of hair, and "I own a bar company". He noted that those facts do not define him. 

"I am a family man," he continued, "with two kids." Those kids are his passion. His son Marco is 21 years old, and his daughter Danielle is 32. Both still live with Tom, and he said their house is filled with laughter. 

Tom said that his father's family has a European heritage, mostly British and Polish. His mother's ancestry is Mexican and Spanish. 

Tom was born in Southern California, and his family moved around quite a bit. In 1977, two weeks out of school, Tom joined the Army. He mused, "I don't know if it's the smartest thing I ever did, but I did nonetheless." He was stationed in Panama, part of the Airborne Infantry, and he served from 1977 to 1980. He trained with Special Forces at the School of the Americas. During that time, he was married "to a smoking hot Panamanian woman, and by 1980, I was discharged from both".

He drifted a bit after that, hitchhiking across the country, "trying to get my life back together, but I screwed up more than I buckled down".  When he was 23, his daughter Danielle was born. He says, "She's the best 'whoops' a dad could have." He worked for the National Park Service as a ranger, a firefighter, and an outdoor educator, in locales ranging from Santa Cruz to Pinnacles National Monument.

In 1987, Tom moved to the North Coast to attend Humboldt State University. He planned to live here for a few years, but "in 1990, two things happened," he told us. "I got married again, and I started with Wallace and Hinz." When he started with them, he was sanding wood for a bit above minimum wage. As Tom continued school taking a few classes at a time, and Wallace and Hinz started having him help with installs. The new job duties changed his life, allowing Tom to travel all over the world.

When he was 33, his son Marco was born. Two years later, Tom graduated from HSU, receiving "a B.S. in B.S. (Natural Resources)". By the time he was 36, Tom was a foreman, and from then until 1990, the company was earning record profits. 

Tom Tellez

However, when he turned 40 in 2000, he realized that he was "making someone else a lot of money - it's time I started doing this on my own". He left Wallace and Hinz, opening his own installation business. Tom said that they had a lot of fun. "Maybe too much fun," Tom admitted, since by 2002, Tom's marriage ended.

In 2004, Wallace and Hinz closed its doors, but later in the year, Tom was able to purchase the company. He credits the counsel of David Hitchcock for his ability to complete the deal. Tom found himself as a full-time parent as well as a full-time businessperson. "And wow," he said, "it became exciting!" Tom moved the business to Blue Lake, and soon after he purchased the property there, the economy crashed. However, he was able to keep the business going.

And the business always fueled Tom's passion for travel. He loves going wherever the work takes him, even though he doesn't always know where that will be. 

Recognizing Charlie

Joyce Hinrichs reminded us last week of how special Sunriser Charlie Jordan is. She informed us that Charlie was born in Upstate New York, and raised in Southern California. She moved to Humboldt County in 1989, and she has been here ever since, and this is where she raised her two children, Kevin and Samantha.

Charlie Jordan (Shamelessly Lifted from Facebook)

Charlie inherited a love of music - especially jazz - from her father, who was a drummer with some of the greats in the 50s and 60s. Charlie was a member of a local all-woman band in the 1990s; the band was called "BB-Queen". 

She loves to travel, and she's been to Bangkok, Patagonia, Venice, London, and Cinque Terre in Italy. Charlie also enjoys bicycling, hiking, and long walks on the beach. She has also been involved in the infrastructure of the Kinetic Sculpture Race. 

She has held management positions at many prominent local businesses, including Yakima, Tomas Jewelry, Los Bagels, and now at Mad River Brewing. She originally founded Kinetic Coffee as a fundraiser for the Humboldt Kinetic Association. Now she and her husband Mark Ritz have built the company into a nationally-known brand. 

She is active in Rotary, as you know, but her influence and contributions extend farther. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Arcata Chamber of Commerce. 

Ellen LeBel wrote that her friendship with Charlie began when she accompanied her husband Bruce on a company rafting trip when Bruce and Charlie both worked at Yakima. After the trip, Charlie confided to Ellen that she was not a swimmer, but she was determined to experience the whitewater. Ellen later participated with Charlie in the Kinetic Sculpture Race - first as friendly competitors, then as teammates. Ellen says that "few people are as loyal, reliable, and fun as my friend Charlie".

Sunriser Susan Jansson told Joyce that there are three things that she especially appreciates about Charlie:

1. She can put up a tent, build a fire and hang out the food so the bears don't get it. She can fix anything, and she is someone I would want on my 'Survivors' team.
2. She is a hard worker who can fix and grow businesses.
3. She is a good friend and Rotarian. When I asked her to help with the Live Auction for the Spring Fundraiser, she said she didn't have time, and she did a fantastic job!

Joyce then noted that Charlie lost her son Kevin Ebbert in 2012, when he was serving as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan. She described Kevin as a loving, caring man who shared his mother's high moral standards and many of her interests. One of the ways Kevin has been remembered include "Kevin's Climb" - an effort by his fellow SEALS to find a previously unclimbed route up the face of Cyclorama Wall in Kings Canyon. Although the first attempt, in 2013, was unsuccessful, Kevin's friends succeeded the following year. 

Other memorials for Kevin include a memorial garden in front of the Arcata Chamber of Commerce and the just-announced designation of a one-mile stretch of Highway 101 as the "Kevin R. Ebbert SO1 Navy SEAL Memorial Highway". Donations are being accepted to fund the commemorative signs.

Thanks, Charlie, for being such an amazing Sunriser, and such an inspiration to us all!


About Redwood Coast Montessori
Our Featured Speakers last week were Bryan Little and Terri Vroman-Little, both with Redwood Coast Montessori. Bryan is the school's Director, and Terri is the Program and Education Specialist. She also founded the school, which was chartered in 2012. 

Terri provided an overview of Maria Montessori, and the educational philosophy she developed in the first half of the 20th Century. Montessori was born in 1870 in Italy, and she defied the prevailing cultural norms by attending medical school. As the 19th Century waned, she was working with children who were physically and/or mentally disabled. 

In 1907, she was asked to oversee the education of children living in a large apartment building in Rome. The first class at the Casa dei Bambini (Children's House) was about 50 students. As she learned the most effective ways to teach, she realized that three basic concepts were essential:

• Follow the child
• Prepare the environment
• Provide freedom within limits

The Montessori method is based on these ideas, as it also encourages cooperative learning and the use of physical representations of conceptual information. Montessori found that when the materials used by the students are inviting, they engage more fully in the learning process. The curriculum also encompasses a strong emphasis on service, interpersonal skills, and "real world" activities, which help the children develop life skills.

Bryan and Terri

Bryan told us that the school is part of the Arcata Elementary School District, and its mission of the school is "to serve a diverse population of elementary and middle school children (K-8) in the Humboldt County area by providing children with a high quality educational option based on the Montessori method". 

The school's complementary Vision Statement reads:

Redwood Coast Montessori maintains as part of its mission a commitment to a specific vision that emphasizes the needs of the child, the community, and the earth.

 The school and its staff are dedicated to fulfilling the school's mission by providing enriched educational, social, and recreational opportunities for local children and families. They intend to be a good community partner by making efforts to protect and enhance the dune ecosystem, and they are working to build partnerships with local organizations, other schools, and businesses.

Bryan said that the proposed Manila Family Resource Center and the school will complement one another - serving the students and the residents of Manila at many levels. He is confident that the proposed redesign of "Building A" on the grounds of the Manila Community Center will provide space for a number of enriching activities for all ages. (However, Bryan did note that a name change might be in order.) The current plan includes a meeting area, computer stations, library shelves, and office/storage areas. 

Our Club hopes to perform our SWOT magic on Building A and its surroundings this year, helping to create a working space for the Manila Family Resource Center. Bryan, Terri, and their staff are willing to help make it happen, so be ready when the work whistle blows!

World Community Service Update
Jim Maher provided an update on the activities of our World Community Service Committee last Friday. He started by recapping last year's projects - our contribution to the Children's Surgery Project in Honduras; our assistance to the STEPS program in Botswana and surrounding countries, which trains health care workers to help children overcome clubfoot; the Costa Rica Microcredit Project, with our Rotary and Rotaract partners; the Water Filtration Project in Pakistan's Swat Valley; and our donation of computers to libraries in Macedonia.

 So what's on the horizon?

• A District-wide visit from former students of the Cambodia Academy, which is supported by our Club as well as individual Sunrisers;
• A visit to the site of our Costa Rica microproject in early 2016;
• Providing more water pumps and filtration systems to villages in the Swat Valley
• A potential project in Liberia, working with a former HSU student on curbing ebola.

Jim said that the Committee is also researching other possibilities including assistance for victims of the cyclone in Vanuatu; renovating a school in Buikwe, Uganda; supporting the innovative "The Shoe That Grows" project (see their website for more details); providing more library computers in Macedonia; projects in Nepal, Cuba, Haiti, and/or Afghanistan; and providing fluoridation tablets and other supplies to Mexican children in cooperation with our friends at Project Amigo. 

Volume XIII, Issue 2: July 17, 2015 -

Coming Soon ...  
July 25:  RISE EVENT - Sand Sculpture Festival Team - (Benefit for Friends of the Dunes)
August 6:  RISE EVENT - Arcata Chamber Mixer at Coast Central Credit Union on Giuntoli Lane
Sept 13: "Out of the Darkness" - Arcata Community Walk Against Suicide. 

Rotarian News

• President Howard reminded us to fill in squares on the Activities Chart to qualify for the drawing for a $100 credit to your Paul Harris account. Basically, any Rotary activity other than a regular Friday meeting qualifies. The sooner we fill it up, the sooner we will have a drawing!
• Howard also reminded us that the RCAS Website has some valuable treasures hidden in the Members Only area. (The link is found at the bottom of the Home Page.) You can view the Committee Chart, a list of our projects and fundraisers, monthly agendas for both boards (which include Committee updates), financial reports, and schedules for programs and recognitions. Thanks to Scott Heller for maintaining the site and all its gems, both hidden and public!

Returning Scholar Update

River Sween received the renewable Arcata Sunrise Memorial Scholarship last year. He attended last Friday's meeting to provide an update on how things went in his first year at
UCLA.

River told us that he "took part in a lot of the sports they have to offer", attending many events. He was occasionally able to meet up with friends from Arcata High School who were in the area. 

He became a writer for the Daily Bruin, UCLA's student newspaper. In that role, he covered a Congressional election

River Sween

and protests.

"I also met an amazing girl," he told us, "who ended up becoming my girlfriend." With her and friends, River had many fun adventures, including visiting tourist areas such as the Hollywood sign and taking hikes. He took a seminar taught by the Chancellor, which dealt with solving the "grand challenges" of our time, such as climate change and education issues.

He also took part in a dance marathon. Participants danced for 24 hours, to raise funds for research on Pediatric AIDS; "It was one of the best experiences and one of the worst experiences I've ever had," he said. "You can't sit down for the entire 24 hours, but it's for a good cause."

River expressed his gratitude for the scholarship. "I was able to buy books. I was able to buy the first suit I've ever owned," he said, "which I wore to interviews for research positions. I was able to do all these things in part because of the money I received from the Sunrise Rotary." 

Committee Reports
Recognitions Committee
Joyce Hinrichs and Dustin Littlefield outlined their Committee's plans for the year. They provided a schedule for recognitions (also on the Club website), and asked us to let them know as early as possible if we will not be available on the day scheduled for us. 

They need us to respond quickly to requests for information and contacts (family members, co-workers, and friends) who can provide real insight into each of us. Conversely, if you don't want to be recognized, please let them know.

Joyce noted that the Committee still plans to deal with "timely" events - these will be forwarded to President Howard for the Rotarian News segments of our meetings.

Community Service Committee
Carol Vander Meer said that her Committee is in "brainstorming mode", even though they have many projects on their (our) plate. She reminded us that we are all invited to their meetings, with the next one coming up on August 18th at the Golden Harvest Cafe. 

Ongoing/Proposed Projects:

• Backpacks For Kids (BFK)
• Supplemental nutrition assistance for HSU students
• Support of the Tour of the Unknown Coast cycling event
• Community Gardens Development
• Senior Assistance - home maintenance & transportation care
• Dental supplies for BFK families
• Bookshelves for Babies
• Adopt-a-Hisssssssssssssssghway events
• Rotary Park work days
• Pastels on the Plaza

Also in the wings are potential SWOT projects with the Manila Family Resource Center and the Humboldt Domestic Violence Services. Other new projects include participating in the "Arcata Community Walk" on September 13th, and creating a picnic area at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center.

Featured Program: 

Appropriate Technology Near and Far

Lonny Grafman is a man of many roles, but all relate to his passion for appropriate technology. He is a lecturer at HSU, he founded the Practivistas Dominicana appropriate technology program, he is the Executive Editor of the International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering, and he founded Appropedia - a wiki dedicated to "sharing

Lonny Grafman

knowledge to build rich, sustainable lives".

Lonny defines appropriate technology (AT) as "any technology that meets current needs by leveraging available resources while bolstering local capacity and protecting the future".

He said that appropriate technology, which he also calls "resilient community technology", takes into consideration the following two questions:

• Can it be maintained and adapted with local knowhow, money, and other resources?
• What are the cultural, political, economic, and environmental (local and global) impacts?

"For me," he said, "a great appropriate technology must be developed and built not just for, but by or with the local stakeholders." 

In the past 20 years or so, Lonny has been involved in roughly 1,000 AT projects. One of these projects was Waterpod, which was a living structure constructed on a barge. In July 2009, the barge set sail in New York City's East River, and visited all of the city's five boroughs over the five months of the project. Waterpod was designed to be self-sustaining, and it housed 11 projects designed and built by students in HSU's Introduction to [Engineering] Design class. These included composting toilets, rainwater catchments, and even a small scale version of the Arcata Marsh. Lonny said, "Pretty much, we built Arcata, and floated it through New York City."

Lonny noted that all of the Waterpod projects, as well as the work performed by Practavistas, "are all shared on [Appropedia] in excruciating detail". He said that the photos on the site may not be beautiful, but they show the details of each project, so they can be reconstructed and adapted by others. Appropedia has 40,000 pages of projects to date.

"I learned this morning," Lonny said, "that Rotary Clubs like to get things done while having fun, and you do it through friends and connections. We're going to work well together!" 

His method for working in a new area is to start with a meeting to assess the community's needs and the resources available. Las Malvinas, in the Dominican Republic, has a lot of children, but there is a shortage of available schoolrooms. Since there are many used plastic bottles available, Lonny's students looked at many ways to use that supply to make building materials. Eventually, they were able to construct a classroom from these materials. This means that 48 additional students can now attend the school.

Las Malvinas also has an abundance of rice husks, which are now being processed into construction blocks (with the addition of sand and naturally-occurring binding materials). These blocks are less than half the weight of traditional contruction blocks, with 60% of their strength, and with better thermal properties. "When they break, they don't explode," Lonny told us, "and when they fall on you, they don't kill you." The community built a pharmacy using the blocks.

In another community in the Dominican Republic, Arroyo Norte, most residents live in homes made from metal sheets reclaimed from 55-gallon drums that have been hammered flat. Here too, there is a lot of plastic waste. Last year, with Practavista assistance, members of the community shredded the waste, then melted and pressed it in a converted tortilla press. The resulting product was a block, somewhat smaller than a traditional brick. This summer, another process was developed, to extrude melted waste plastic into strands, which can then be woven into bags and other useful items.

In 2012, Lonny's class worked closer to home, helping Friends of the Dunes on several projects, including the construction of an amphitheater built using waste concrete (urbanite), and a tool for baling beachgrass.

Another project in the Dominican Republic was taking an animal shelter off the grid, providing it with 100% solar power. Access to power through the grid was limited and random. "Where they are, they only receive energy three hours a day, but you don't know which three hours."

Practivista ran a series of solar workshops, and by the end, local community leaders were leading the classes. This allows the locals to continue the process after the Practivista workers have returned.

For a list of projects developed by Lonny's classes, visit the E215 Introduction to Design page on Appropedia, and for more information on the use of Appropriate Technology, visit Appropedia's main page, and browse through some amazing and creative ideas!

Volume XIII, Issue 1: July 10, 2015 - Tales of Captain Infinity!

Coming Soon ...  
July 25:  RISE EVENT - Sand Sculpture Festival Team - (Benefit for Friends of the Dunes)
August 6:  RISE EVENT - Arcata Chamber Mixer at Coast Central Credit Union on Giuntoli Lane
Sept 13: "Out of the Darkness" - Arcata Community Walk Against Suicide. 

Ian Schatz looks unfazed as DG Erin Dunn snaps a photo of 
Captain Infinity (aka President Howard)

Rotarian News

• Kyle Visser's family recently increased "by 25%" with the addition of baby Phebe. Kyle, his wife Natalie, and their son Damon have taken up residence in their newly remodeled home, and Kyle launched a new business as well - Bio Waste Resources. Hmmm ... what shall we do next week?
•  Karen Burgesser's grandson Henry is about a month shy of his third birthday, and he is facing a big challenge. He has begun 6+ months of chemotherapy following the removal of a brain tumor. Karen calls him "Mr. Adorable", and you'll agree if you see his photos on Facebook. You can help his family cope with the mounting costs by contributing online at Helping Mr. Henry on gofundme.com.
• President Howard announced that, after 29 years of service, Janice Newman has retired from Jackson & Eklund! She also celebrated her 65th birthday on June 27th, and we serenaded her with a rousing "Happy Birthday To You". Congratulations, Janice!!
• It is "Back to the Future" for Gregg Foster, who left a satisfying position at Redwood Capital Bank to return to the Redwood Region Economic Development Corporation (RREDC). Gregg described his "new" position as Executive Director 3.0 - perhaps the third time will be the charm for our hero ...
• Howard also noted that, although we hadn't met for a couple of weeks, we haven't been idle. He showed photos of Sunrisers staffing a beer booth at the Oyster Festival, and providing a Family Comfort Station and Kid Zone at Arcata's Family Fourth of July Jubilee.
• There will be a lot of Youth Exchange activity in the next several weeks, according to Ian Schatz. Sylvie Leppig has returned from Belgium, and she plans to give a presentation about her experience soon. Our new inbound Exchange Student Sophia Maria Waern-Bugge will arrive on July 14th. (Actually, shortly after midnight on the 13th.) And Mozara Abdalla will return to Brazil on July 17th - leaving at 4:30 am! A bleary-eyed group of Sunrisers plans to see her off before our next meeting - and you're invited too. And Trula Rael will be Italy-bound very soon.

Club Assembly
President Howard discussed the new Rotary Year last Friday. He looked at things at the Rotary International level, then he talked about District issues, and wrapped up with his goals for our Club.

Rotary International
K.R. "Ravi" Ravindaran, of the Rotary Club of Colombo, Sri Lanka, is the RI President for 2015-2016. He is the CEO of the tea packaging company Printcare. Ravi is noted for negotiating a cease-fire during the civil war between the native Sri Lankans and the Tamalese, to permit polio vaccinations to take place. 

Howard said that Ravi is committed to diversity, inclusiveness, and living our Rotary values. His theme, "Be a Gift to the World", expresses his hope that we will take the year to "take all your talents, all your gifts, everything that you are and can become".

District 5130
Our District Governor for 2015-2016, Erin Dunn, was at Howard's debut. In addition to being a member of the Fortuna Sunrise Rotary, she is the CEO of the Fortuna Chamber of Commerce. 

Erin has two slogans for her Gubernatorial Year. The first is  "Explore". She would like us to find at least one new personal opportunity to serve through Rotary. She also wants each of us to support the Rotary Foundation, and to visit another Rotary Club at least once. For more "Explore" ideas, visit the District 5130 website. 

As a proud graduate of the University of Oregon, Erin's other motto for the year (and beyond) is "Go Ducks!"

Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise
President Howard acknowledged the contributions of Past President Barbara and all her predecessors. He admitted that he struggled to create a theme for his year as Club President - following Barbara's "Have Fun and Get Stuff Done".  Here are a few of the rough drafts:

• The Burner Year
• Having More Fun and Getting More Stuff Done
• If It Isn't Broke, Don't Fix It
• It Is Impossible to Break Our Rotary Club in One Year

Although any of those would have been excellent, Howard decided on ...

"Let the Service, Fun, 

and Fellowship Continue!"

Howard also provided this as our Mission Statement for the year: 

We are an organization of community leaders meeting weekly in fellowship:

• With high ethical standards guided by the Four-Way Test
• Dedicated to hands-on service to those in need in the local and global community
• Promoting international understanding, good will, and peace

 His goals for the year are ...

• Provide weekly meetings that are fun, high-energy, informative, entertaining, and inspiring
• Achieve 100% hands-on engagement of all Club Members in committee activities, projects, and fundraisers, with 90% to 100% participation in leadership roles
• Continue important community projects, including SWOT, Backpacks for Kids, Adopt-a-Highway, Pastels on the Plaza, and others
• Engage in international projects, including hosting graduates of the Cambodia Academy, visiting the site of the La Trinidad Microcredit Project in Costa Rica with representatives of the project's co-sponsors - the Arcata Noon Rotary and the North Bay Rotaract Club, and supporting important projects in Uganda, Pakistan's Swat Valley, and others 

Howard announced the dates for our major fundraisers. A Taste of the Holidays will be held Thursday, November 19, 2015, and the Spring Fundraiser will take place on Saturday, March 12, 2016.

Howard is bringing some new traditions to his year, including 

• Rotary Values
• Vocational Moments
• Committee Updates
• Unsung Rotarians
• Social Time

He reassured us that we will continue fun stuff such as RISE Events (Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone), the Activities Chart, the all-important Selfies, and Recognitions, such as this one from last week ...
Recognizing Angelo
Our first recognition of Howard's year was a profile of President-Elect Nominee Angelo Bacigaluppi. Lori Breyer started with the "ABC's of Angelo", but Your Editor missed many of the letters. We do know that A is for Angelo and B is for Beer. C stood for a few things - computers, coffee, and cooking - he is a tech expert, he loves coffee, and he is a great cook. D represented the Dominican Republic, where he was born and where he met his lovely wife Michelle. 

Michelle & Angelo

We'll skip over E and go to F, for Family and Friends. Angelo is devoted to both. He and Michelle have two children, Diego was born in 2004, and Emma was born in 2007. Michelle says that Angelo was an "awesome, dedicated Dad from Day One". Anyone who sees him with his kids can see how much they love each other. The family hosted our 2013-2014 Inbound Exchange Student Alex Rialet, and he will attest to Angelo's dedication to family.

Angelo has also been dedicated to Rotary since he joined our Club in 2012. He is our New Generations Director this year, he co-chairs our Membership Committee, and he will be handling ticket sales for A Taste of the Holidays this fall. And in 2017-18, Angelo will serve as our Club President. 

I think that "A" really stands for "AWESOME"!!!

Volume XII, Issue 47: June 19 & 24, 2015 - Special Double Issue!

Winding Down a Fantastic Year of

Having Fun, Getting Stuff Done,

& Lighting Up Rotary!

This issue of the Sunrise Spirit covers the final two meetings of Barbara Browning's year as Club President. The first was the finale that she planned, which took place on Friday, June 19th. The other was her Debunking, which was planned by others. That took place on Wednesday, June 24th. 

President Barbara Gets Some Pre-Meeting Support From Ron

At the earlier meeting, President Barbara and the Club bid a tearful farewell to Charter Sunriser Kathy Fraser, who is moving to Reno with her husband Bill. Kathy has served in many roles with our Club over the years, and she is a tireless volunteer who plans to scope out the Rotary Clubs near her new home. She will be sorely missed.

Barbara then reviewed some of the work our Club has done this year. Here are the highlights, organized by Avenue of Service:

Club Service
One of our goals was to bring in nine new members this year, and although we fell slightly short on quantity, we exceeded expectations in terms of quality. This year's new Sunrisers are Alyson Hunter, Lisa Hemphill, Chris Hemphill, Claire Ajina, Nick Torres, Tom Tellez, Ray Noggle, and Steve McHaney. All eight have jumped right in to make stellar contributions.

Our Mentorship Committee hosted events to help new members learn more about our Club and about Rotary. The Programs Committee provided interesting presentations throughout the year. The Sergeant At Arms Committee kept all of our meetings running smoothly. Our Fellowship Committee provided many opportunities to RISE (Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone). And our Public Relations Committee let the community know about our projects and events.

Community Service
RCAS made a big impact in our community this year. From our "Mini-SWOT" projects to larger scale efforts, we made a difference. We helped tend the garden for a community leader (and former Sunriser) who was stricken with cancer. We helped move a disabled man who had been hit by a car, and we provided him with a hospital bed. 

On a larger scale, we partnered with the Arcata Noon Rotary, the North Bay Rotaract, and the City of Arcata to renovate Rotary Park on South G Street. We also painted the Arcata Night Shelter, and provided other renovations. These were in addition to ongoing projects - Adopt A Highway cleanups, providing Backpacks for Kids (helping 52 families each week of this school year!), Dictionaries for Third Graders, and Bookshelves for Babes (in cooperation with Rand Hall's Woodshop Class at McKinleyville Middle School).

Our Financial Assistance Committee spread the wealth this year, with donations to:

• Help a local chess prodigy compete in a tournament
• Send a Pacific Union student to Washington, DC
• Purchase a hospital bed for the disabled man mentioned previously
• Support the Northern Humboldt Regional Extreme Weather Shelter program
• Help HSU's Shining a Light on Hunger program 
• Provide dental supplies that were distributed with Backpacks for Kids
• Assist with funding that allowed an Arcata High School "Rising Star" attend Art and Design School in New York
• Provided funding for the Humboldt Rising Stars Foundation

Both of our fundraisers - A Taste of the Holidays and our Spring Fundraiser, "Down the Rabbit Hole" - exceeded all expectations, which provided the funds for all of our projects.

Vocational Service
Our Vocational Service Committee was rejuvenated this year. They provided leadership for the AHS College and Career Center's Pancake Breakfast fundraiser. Our groundbreaking Transitional Youth program hosted a dinner for those involved in the local foster youth program, and expanded our involvement by partnering with Humboldt Live! to offer a series of round table discussions to explore ways to provide real assistance to those transitioning out of the program.

World Community Service
We didn't neglect the rest of the world this year! Through the efforts of our World Community Service Committee, we began working with the Arcata Noon Club, the Rotary Club of San Jose Costa Rica, and the North Bay Rotaract Club on a major project to provide microloans to residents of La Trinidad. The second phase of the project will improve the digital infrastructure in the area. We also contributed to the construction of a water project in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, a project to help children with cleft palates in Honduras, provide computers to schools in Macedonia, and helped fight club foot for children in Botswana and neighboring countries in Africa. We also supported relief efforts in the wake of the earthquake that devastated Nepal in April.

President Barbara bestowed a special "International Star" award to Maggie Kraft, whose connections throughout the world have brought many opportunities to provide help in other countries.

New Generations
Our Club has a long history of Youth Service, and this year was no exception. We sponsored the annual Cross-Country race; hosted Kids, Crabs, & Rotary; supported the Arcata Invitational Basketball Tournament (AIBT), along with another basketball tournament - this for local Special Olympics participants!

Our Scholarships and Competition Committee helped local History Day champions move on to the state competition, and we provided scholarships to seven deserving members of Arcata High School's Class of 2015. We will also be sending five students to RYLA Camp this summer. (RYLA stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.)

We have a very active Youth Exchange Committee, which hosted Mozara Abdalla this year, sent Sylvie Leppig to Belgium, and will be sending Trula Rael to Italy later this summer. It's a dedicated group of Sunrisers, many of whom serve or have served on the District Youth Exchange Committee.

The Final Awards
President Barbara presented three last awards at the June 19th meeting. Her first was the Rotarian of the Month Award, which she presented to Cam Appleton. Cam is involved in just about everything, and he is a long-time supporter of all things Youth Exchange.

The Rotary Star Award went to Craig Newman. Barbara noted that she can ask Craig for anything, including guidance when needed.

Barbara said that she conferred with her "Wingmen" - Bob Johnson and Scott Heller - before deciding on her Rotarian of the Year. Here are his bona fides as described by Barbara:

• He served on the Sergeant at Arms Committee
• He supported her in her excitement
• He helped her with her challenges
• He provided wise and loving counsel
• He showed up every week to help her with the AV equipment
• He was "at my side from beginning to the end"
• He cooked her meals and did her laundry
• Finally - "I couldn't have done it without him"

Yup, it was Ron Sharp. Bob and Scott said that it would have been wrong to name someone else! Congratulations, Ron! It's a very well-deserved honor!
 

The Wingmen with Ron and Barbara

 

On to the Debunking!

A few days later, in a town called Blue Lake, a group of Sunrisers, significant others, and at least one Rotary Kid gathered to kidnap an RCAS Club President, for the evening. President Barbara had hoped to pull off a Progressive Dinner this year, but it didn't pan out. However, we were able to provide a "Progressive Debunking". Former President "Kahuna" George Cavinta loaded Barbara up with supplies she would need at the Kate Wolf Festival the following day. Her pack done runneth over by the time George got through. (Thank goodness he only insisted on the absolute essentials!)

At each of the succeeding stations, Barbara was allowed to sign a Participation Grid with only four squares! Before she could do this, however, she was required to perform an action or series of actions intended to exemplify the dignity of her office. Soooo ...

... the first stop was (naturally) the Logger Bar. There, Former President Bob Johnson asked her to answer just a few simple questions, to earn her first Participation Grid square. [Your Editor was not in attendance for this portion of the Debunking, but I'm sure it went well - for everyone but President Barbara, at least!]

The First Participation Grid Square - On The Road To Victory!!

The group then crossed the road to Stardough's, where Former President Scott Heller presented Barbara with a very special cowboy hat. While she wore this work of art, Former President Dick Johnson helped her sing a few songs about, well, crying. As if it were controlled by an unseen hand, the hat helped Barbara shed tears on cue (and unbeknownst to her). This permitted her to add her name a second time to the Participation Grid.

...Gonna Cry With A Little Help From My Hat ...

Since that watershed moment failed to electrocute our President, we all moved on to the next stop - the Mad River Brewery Tasting Room. There, Former President Janice Newman required her to take as many selfies as possible. (I believe that the use of a selfie stick was prohibited.) Barbara filled in the penultimate square on the Participation Grid.

 
Then we crossed another road to Wallace and Hinz, where we regaled Barbara with awards - some were runner-up awards, but recognitions all the same. She signed the fourth and final square on the Participation Grid, Bob threw the squares into the hat, and had Barbara draw the winning name. It could, of course, only ... be ... Susan Jansson!!!

The close came with the traditional Debunking song, written for the occasion by Dick Johnson. This year, the title was "We're Arcata Sunrise". Click on the link below to watch the video.

Thank you, Barbara, for leading us in a very inspiring year!
In your honor (and by your side), we'll keep having fun and getting stuff done!!!