April 2: RISE Event! - The Living Rooms performing at Chapala Cafe
April 2: Arcata Chamber of Commerce Mixer
April 14: Board Meeting at the Golden Harvest Cafe
April 18: "Run For A Cause" - North Bay Rotaract's Fun(d)raiser to benefit the La Trinidad Project in Costa Rica
April 22: Earth Day Adopt-a-Highway! Meet at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center at 3 pm
April 24-26: District 5130 Conference at Yosemite!
May 4-8: Fireside Meetings (no Friday meeting)
May 22: Progressive Dinner
May 31: Kids, Crabs, and Rotary at the Arcata Ballpark
June 2-9: Rotary International Convention at Mozara's place (aka Brazil)
Announcements
Acting President Bob Johnson wielded the gavel last Friday in the absence of President Barbara. He asked Mozara to come up and tell us about her recent trip to Hawaii with 20 other Rotary Youth Exchange Students. The group hit the beach at Waikiki, but when Bob asked, "Are there any stories you want to tell about that?", Mozara declined. Bob said, "That must have been something to watch." It was warm there, though, and Mozara returned with a tan. Bob noted that Mozara's grandfather passed away over the weekend. To honor his memory, the Word of the Day was "avô", which means "Grandfather".
Special Daze
Bryan Reeser's birthday was March 2nd, and he told us, "I got that birthday thing wrong". Bryan is a CPA, and his birthday falls in the middle of tax season. He did break away with his family to drive to Tomo's, had lunch, then it was back to work.
Tami Camper-Dart's birthday arrived two days later (March 4th), and she didn't remember what she did, "so it must have been fun". She actually had to work a lot that day, so she moved the celebration to the weekend. She spent time with friends and her family, playing cards and having a good time.
March 19th was Matt Babich's birthday. He went to a friend's home for a tri-tip dinner, and it was "a friend party and a dog party - the dogs destroyed the back yard while [we] destroyed the living room".
And Brandi Easter's birthday was on March 21nd. "I went away," she told us, "for my annual gathering of women at Southport Landing." She had a good time with good folks.
Finally, we jumped the gun a bit for Charlie Jordan's birthday - it wasn't until the next day (March 28th). "I get to go to the Bay Area and see my hubby," she said. Mark just returned from a 14-day trip to Hong Kong and China, so she was looking forward to reuniting.
Angelo and Michelle Bacigaluppi's 15th anniversary was March 25th, and (like Bryan Reeser) Michelle is inundated during tax season. She worked until about 7 pm, then "we went out for a quick dinner" and they shared some champagne before heading home to the kids.
World Community Service
John Gullam provided an update on the activities of our World Community Service Committee. He told us that our Club's contributions have helped provide clean water for about 80 households in Pakistan's Swat Valley. We supported the Swat Valley Initiative in this project, and we have worked with that group in the past to provide assistance to the region. John stated that he is passionate about Rotary's water projects, since safe water is essential for health and irrigation.
John noted that we often work with existing organizations, as in our Swat Valley efforts. This allows us to avoid duplication of efforts and to maximize the effective use of our funds. He also reminded us that the Rotary Foundation requires that a local Rotary Club be involved when possible, to provide on-site oversight.
John also briefly discussed the La Trinidad Project. This project will involve funding microcredit loans to family-owned businesses in rural Costa Rica. We are partnering with the Rotary Club of Arcata and the North Bay Rotaract Club locally, and the Club Rotario San José Noreste in Costa Rica. The project will also include an infrastructure improvement component. John said that President-Elect Howard Stauffer is working with Noon Club President Susan Diehl-McCarthy to organize a February 2016 trip to the project area.
John would like input from Sunrisers regarding existing international projects and ideas for new projects as the Committee begins to develop its budget for 2015-2016. He noted that most such projects have a timeline longer than a single Rotary year, and we are willing to commit our resources for a longer term when needed.
Paul Harris Fellows!
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| Trula and Terri |
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| Terri with Rebecca and Brandi |
Terri also recognized two women who are already Paul Harris Fellows, but who have continued to contribute to the Foundation. These dedicated Rotarians are Brandi Easter and Rebecca Crow. Thanks to both of them, and to all of you who support the Rotary Foundation!
Auction Time!!!
Our Final Friday Foundation Auction raises money for the Rotary Foundation thusly: a Sunriser (or another generous person) provides a prize to be auctioned off. The bidding is frenzied and confusing (to Your Editor, anyway). A winning bidder is named, and the purchase price is donated directly to the Foundation - no handling fees, no percentage of the gross, none of that stuff applies. The credit for the purchase is split evenly betwixt the supplier's and the buyer's Paul Harris Sustaining Accounts. Brother Bob Johnson was once again our auctioneer.
Here are last week's results:
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| Auctioneer Bob with Flamingos and Terri |
- Janice Newman provided a Flamingo-festooned planter stand. Joyce Hinrichs picked that up quickly.
- A Jazz Festival package, including four all-event passes and several one-day tickets was donated by Jackson & Eklund. Matt Babich bought that, following a brief telephone consultation with a powerful individual.
- Ian Schatz came in with the makings for a Brazilian drink. (Yes, a Potent Potable ("potável poderoso" in Portuguese - although I don't expect that to be the Word of the Day anytime soon.) Scott Heller will be enjoying that soon, unless he already has done so.
- A gift certificate to the Sushi Spot, perhaps with a flamingo hat, was donated by Terri Clark. Visiting Rotarian Cindy Sutcliffe was the winner.
- I can't do it justice in words, but a beautiful handpainted vase (and you have to pronounce it vahzz in this case) was Karen Burgesser's contribution. Carol Vander Meer emerged with the winning bid.
- A bright pink collection of pink flamingos - veterans of a recent trip Down the Rabbit Hole - were donated by our Club. Maggie Kraft won the whimsical prize.
- Julie Schaeffer provided a Paul Mitchell Curling Iron/Comb appliance, along with lovely earrings. Another Julie (Vaissade-Elcock) was the winner.
- Our last prize was one of Maggie Kraft's Happy Birthday Packages, including a cake! Janice Newman will be celebrating her win all month long!!
