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.
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| 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
"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
- 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 is bringing some new traditions to his year, including
- Rotary Values
- Vocational Moments
- Committee Updates
- Unsung Rotarians
- Social Time
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.
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| Michelle & Angelo |
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"!!!
