On The Calendar
February 18 - Charter Night at the Arcata Playhouse - 5:30 to 8:00 pm - "Denim & Diamonds"
February 21 - Arcata Chamber of Commerce Dinner - 5:30 pm - Arcata Community Center
March 14 - "Down The Rabbit Hole" - our Spring Fundraiser ... in Wonderland!!
March 21 - District Training Assembly in Ukiah
Announcements
We had a great turnout for the Pancake Breakfast fundraiser for the AHS College and Career Center. President Barbara thanked all who worked at the event, and those who attended. Special thanks were extended to Jessica McKnight and Jeff Stebbins, who made sure that the event took place, and who worked on promotion, organization, and onsite management of the event!
Barbara also said that we had a healthy number of Sunrisers at Pints for Nonprofits at the Mad River Brewery Tap Room last week. The event supported Rotary International's Polio Plus program.
Our Financial Assistance Committee (with the help of several generous businesses and individuals) provided a hospital bed for Tom Pulaski, a disabled senior citizen who broke his hip in July 2013. Now that his rehab is largely complete, he needs the special bed to continue his recovery and minimize his pain and discomfort. Our Community Service Committee has taken on Tom's move to a new home as a "SWOT Lite" Project.
Our Spring Fundraiser is fast approaching, and Susan Jansson, who is leading us to the Rabbit Hole, thanked her Committee for all its hard work. Scott Heller reminded us to invite our Facebook friends (and any other friends we have as well). Please secure your auction and raffle items and deliver them to HealthSport as soon as possible.
President-Elect Howard Stauffer is hoping that you will travel to Ukiah for the District Training Assembly on March 20th and 21st. Friday evening is a dinner and "Star Party", and Saturday is devoted to sessions dealing with various aspects of Rotary involvement. The schedule includes a training in developing projects that involve Serving With Our Talents - that's right, our home-grown SWOT Program! You can sign up online by clicking here.
Welcome Vanessa & Robson!
We had some very special guests last Friday - Exchange Student Mozara Abdalla introduced her mother Vanessa and her father Robson. Mozara served as interpreter for her parents, since "they don't speak much English". Robson said that he is grateful to our Club for hosting their daughter, and that they were very happy to be here. "And they thank you for being nice to me," she said. President Barbara thanked them in return, "for sending Mozara to us". We learned later in the meeting that the couple was celebrating their 20th anniversary on the trip. Vanessa and Robson brought gifts, which will find their way into a Final Friday Auction coming soon to a Sunrise Rotary meeting near you.
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| Vanessa, Mozara, Barbara, & Robson |
They have been traveling a lot recently, so Kathy Fraser and her husband Bill had a shorter than usual anniversary trip to Benbow (an annual tradition). On the way home, they had a celebratory dinner at Shamus T-Bones. It was their 44th anniversary.
Howard and Rebecca Stauffer celebrated their 30th anniversary on January 26th. "Our lives are so wonderful in retirement," he told us, "and we enjoy each other's company, so we did nothing." Which led John Gullam to conclude, "So you forgot?"
The highlights among the recent birthdays in our Club included Cam Appleton celebrating with some long-term buddies in Washington, and Randy Mendosa enjoying a crab feast.
Our Newest Sunrisers
Last week, we had a two-fer - we brought two new members into the Club. But Lisa and Chris Hemphill are not new to Rotary. They belonged to the Rotary Club of Dougherty Valley in San Ramon, and both served as officers. Chris is a Past President and Lisa served as Treasurer. Their son is a student at HSU, and they fell in love with the area during their visits. We're happy that they chose our Club to continue their Service Above Self.
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| Lisa, President Barbara, Chris, and Romi |
Recognition
Tomas Chavez recognized Joyce Hinrichs last Friday, and he started by reading a note from one of Joyce's former court clerks, Karen. She said that they met when Joyce worked in the District Attorney's office, and she said that Joyce is an excellent teacher. Joyce helped Karen to be more tolerant and more empathetic, and she witnessed Joyce's compassion and how she put that compassion into her judgments. She saw how Joyce would work to keep kids in school even when their families were in crisis. Karen said that Joyce wants each child who comes through her court to grow to become a successful and productive adult, and to keep their dreams alive. "She is tireless," Karen wrote, "especially when it comes to the youth of this county. We are lucky to have a judge with Joyce's qualities working within our community."
Tomas also asked Joyce's daughter Kayla to name one of her favorite memories of her mom, and she said that Joyce enjoys working with her poodle, Dobby. She also said that Joyce paid her a Christmas visit while she was studying in Spain. Mother and daughter traveled to Paris and London.
"Being in Paris at Christmastime was so special with her," Kayla wrote.
Kayla also said that she has learned so much from Joyce. "She loves to send quotes to me and to my sister," she said, "and for the most part, they have a similar theme. Work hard, treat people well, and don't settle."
When Tomas asked for something that made Kayla feel proud of her mother, she had a difficult time narrowing it down. "On a personal level," she said, "I'm so proud of my mom for running the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco - six times!"
We're all proud of Joyce, and we're glad that she is a Sunriser!
Fly Humboldt!
Our featured speakers were our own Gregg Foster, and his own Emily Jacobs. (They were married last month!) They discussed the next steps in the Fly Humboldt effort.
Fly Humboldt is a local movement that is working to expand the options for those flying into and out of Humboldt County. Currently, our local airport is served by one carrier, and the group is working to entice another airline to establish service here. An effort to raise $1.3 million to provide a revenue guarantee for an airline that adds Humboldt County to its route system was successful, and ready to be put to use. (See the June 1, 2012 Sunrise Spirit for additional details,)
Emily identified a number of constraints that work to tamp down the enthusiasm airlines might otherwise feel for providing service to Humboldt County. One of those is a recent tightening of the rules that determine how much time a pilot can spend in the air. Wall Street is also tamping down growth ambitions, noting that airlines are starting to turn their first profits since the advent of deregulation. She said that this profitability is the result of the airlines seeking optimal capacities, and then having the discipline to maintain inventories at those levels.
Fuel prices play into the situation, but in a counter-intuitive way. Legacy airlines have invested heavily in fuel-efficient
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| Emily & Gregg in Thailand (They flew there) |
It wasn't all bleak, however. Emily said that the airlines are slowly adding capacity, and as they do, Fly Humboldt is ready with a minimum revenue guarantee, and local business leaders are confident that we will fill the seats of any carrier that comes here. In addition, we should realize that flying in and out of Humboldt is not as cost-prohibitive as most people think. She told us that Google has established Google Flights. This allows you to enter your home and destination airports, then you can see a calendar showing the best rates for your flight for each day of the month.
Emily told us that the best thing we can do to support the local efforts would be to "fill the planes". Book 'em, Danno!
