On The Calendar
October 2 - RISE EVENT - Chamber Mixer at the Blue Lake Casino - 5:30 pm
October 3 - HSU Homecoming Parade - 4 pm
October 4 - Rotary Foundation Seminar at the Monday Club in Fortuna - 10 am to 2 pm
October 4 - RISE EVENT - Tailgate Party at HSU before the Jacks take on the "Hardrockers" from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology - 3 pm to Game Time
October 9 - Sneak Preview Tour of the Lost Coast Brewery - 5:30 pm
October 11 - Adopt-A-Highway - meet at the Coastal Nature Center at 9:30 am
October 16 - New Member Social - Plaza Grill - 6 pm
October 18 - Mad River Rotary's Fall Festival at Pierson Park in McKinleyville - 5:30 pm
October 23 - Arcata Sunrise Cross Country Championships
November 1 - RISE EVENT - Foundation Dinner North in Crescent City
November 20 - A Taste of the Holidays
Announcements
President Barbara noted that the first Participation Grid of the year has been filled up! We had a very full agenda last Friday, so she deferred the drawing for a Paul Harris Fellowship until the next meeting. Don't forget to put your name on the new grid each time you attend a RISE Fellowship Event, attend a committee meeting, work on a service project, participate in a Rotaract Meeting/Event, or make a "date" with our Exchange Student Mozara.
Barbara wants to ensure that all Sunrisers are engaged in our Club's activities. If you are not feeling that way (or if you are concerned about a fellow Sunriser), please discuss it with Barbara.
Despite the rain, there was a great turnout for the recent Exchange Student Welcoming Party at Moonstone Beach. The weather forced the celebration inside, but our Exchange Student Mozara Abdalla (from Brazil) and the Arcata Noon Club's Anais Bury (from Belgium) were welcomed in style!
Speaking of Rotary Exchange Students, we are still looking for a host family for the second part of Mozara's stay with us - from late November through early spring. Please let one of the Youth Exchange Committee members know if you are interested. If that time frame doesn't work for you, but you would like to host a student next year, speak up now.
Watch your inbox for messages about Backpacks for Kids - we're starting up again in October, and Howard Stauffer said that the program is being funded at twice last year's level, with $5,500 donated by our Club and the Noon Club. This means that we will be able to help support better nutrition for 44 students and their families this year.
Paul Harris Updates!
Last week, we welcomed our Club's newest Paul Harris Fellow - Ian Schatz! Congratulations! We also honored Former President Scott Heller for adding another gem to his Paul Harris pins - he is a seven-time PHF contributor!! Wow! Thanks to both gentlemen for their generosity and support of the Rotary Foundation.
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| Ian with Terri and Scott with Terri |
Final Friday Foundation Auction
Last week, we held another Foundation Auction - all proceeds going to the Rotary Foundation, with the half of the PHF credit going to each item's donor, and the other half
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| "Going twice ..." |
- Randy Mendosa donated a glass box with an etching of the Rotary Wheel on the lid. Inside was a gift certificate for Laruppin' Cafe. The package was won by Your Editor.
- A quilt with a package of Lacey's cookies was provided by Brandi Easter; that was purchased by Janice Newman.
- Maggie Kraft put together an October Birthday Girl package, and Jeff Stebbins was the winning bidder.
- Robert Goodman donated a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from his winery. Susan Jansson will be enjoying that vintage in the near future.
- Another wine package came from John Gullam, and that was purchased by Tami Camper-Dart.
- Tami was also the high bidder on a tequila package provided by Kathy Fraser. Kathy told Tami that she would need to give her specific usage instructions for the Himalayan shot glasses that were included. (They are made of salt!).
- Craig Newman donated a "Bounty of the Sea" package which included ling cod, snapper, salmon, halibut, smoked salmon, canned albacore, canned salmon, and Craig's award-winning salmon dip. (Actually, I'm not sure if it's ever won an award, but it should have!) Rob McBeth is happy that he made the winning bid for that!
A Visit From HSU's New President
Our Featured Speaker last Friday was Lisa A. Rossbacher, who was recently named as the seventh president of Humboldt State University, succeeding Rollin Richmond.
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| Dr. Lisa Rossbacher |
Lisa began by saying that she and her husband visited Humboldt County in 1985, and they "fell in love with the area". They noted how nice it must be to live and work here, and now that they are here, she said that "we are thrilled to be here". She noted that a lot has changed since that first visit. The artisanal wines and cheeses found here now are excellent, as are the music and the theaters. "The whole Humboldt Made movement is wonderful to see", she said, "and we're thrilled to be a part of it."
When Lisa asked how many in the audience had received either an academic credit or a paycheck from HSU, most of the group raised their hands. "It's great to see all of the connections between the community and the university," she said.
There were things that Lisa expected when she arrived at HSU. Since she started her career in the CSU system, she knew to expect the high quality of the academic programs, she knew there was a strong connection between those programs and the environment, she expected the school's strong commitment to student success, and she was aware of the independent spirit of the students, faculty, and staff. "There were a number of things I wasn't expecting that surprised me," she said, "and I'll only mention three of those today."
The first of those was the diversity she found on the campus. About 40% of HSU students are members of "under-represented groups". Also HSU ranks among the top 50 schools in the country for undergraduate students who continue on to doctoral degrees in the sciences. Forty percent of this year's incoming freshmen are from the Los Angeles area, a testament to the outreach being performed by the Admissions Department. She noted that "this part of the state is so profoundly different from Southern California, it's almost like an overseas study program". Sunriser Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth (formerly a member of the Admissions team) added that many of those recruits are first-generation college students. She also recognizes that there are many students whose families have also attended HSU for generations.
The second area that struck Lisa was the extent of the student-faculty research that takes place at the college. HSU has a strong focus on undergraduate research, which gives students opportunities to "explore interesting questions that are of value to the larger community". She said that one group of students are testing Einstein's theory with their professor, looking at microgravity effects.
The third surprise was her discovery that there are "moon trees" on the campus. These are trees that have grown from seeds that were carried on the Apollo 14 mission to the moon. It was part of an experiment to determine whether weightlessness would affect the seeds' ability to germinate. Among the species carried were seeds for redwood trees. "When I heard about the moon trees ... I was expecting something small," Lisa said. "These are big trees!"
