Oct 30 - Pumpkin Carving Contest (at our regular spooky meeting). Bring your creepily carved creation!
Oct 30 - Arcata Sunrise K-8 Cross-Country Championships at the Arcata Community Center
Oct 30/31 - RISE EVENT - Lost Coast Rotaract's 5th Annual "Spirits & Spirits" in Old Town - Three tours each night!! (The RCAS group will take the 7 pm tour on Friday.)
Nov 7 - RISE EVENT - Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir's "Harvest Concert" at the Arcata Presbyterian Church - 7 pm
Nov 14 - RISE EVENT - Foundation Dinner North in Ferndale - "An Evening in the Enchanted Forest"
Nov 19 - A Taste of the Holidays at the Arcata Community Center
Dec 5 - RISE EVENT - Christmas Caroling for Arts Alive in Old Town Eureka
Dec 10-12 - The Jerry Paul Arcata Invitational Basketball Tournament (AIBT) at Arcata High School
- Participants in our Transitional Youth Program took a field trip last week. They visited Sun Valley Floral Farms and learned about the program there - the largest in the world. Their other meeting last week focused on Information Technology careers.
- President Howard reiterated that the La Trinidad Microcredit Project is "definitely a go", and he said that over 30 Sunrisers and others have expressed an interest in participating in the trip to the area in the spring, which will probably take place in late April. Howard said that the project could last as long as ten years.
- Ron Sharp reminded us to continue selling tickets for A Taste of the Holidays. Also, keep gathering those raffle prizes.
- Also keep the Backpacks for Kids program in mind - the SignupGenius emails are circulating.
- Members of the North Bay Rotaract Club were on hand to solicit recipes for this year's edition of their cookbook. District Rotaract Representative Ashliegh Diehl noted that the book will state that it is "a Cookbook by our Rotary Family", so she encourages us all to contribute. The proceeds will go to the End Polio Now campaign. To submit your recipe, please click on this item.
- Nominations are still open for the Vocational Service Award. Please contact Jessica McKnight if you would like to put forward a name. Nominees should not currently be Rotarians, but should exemplify Rotary ideals in their approach to their careers.
- The K-8 Cross-Country Championships will take place this Friday, October 30th. Rebecca Crow said that Sunriser Support is needed from about 3:30 pm, to help out on the course, and to present awards to the runners.
- We recently lost an important member of our Rotary family. Many of us knew Steve Brodhag, both because he was the beloved husband of Sunriser Rina Brodhag, and because he was a strong, fun presence in our community - as a Rotarian as as a Realtor. Steve attended our events, and the costumes he and Rina wore to our Spring Fundraisers were great. There will be a Celebration of Steve's Life at the Eureka Elks Lodge on Sunday, November 1st at 2 pm. Our hearts are with Rina and her family.
Sophia's Stories
Our Exchange Student from Sweden, Sophia Waern-Bugge, went to San Francisco recently, for the Rotary Youth Exchange "Bluesbuster Weekend". She is looking forward to returning sometime soon.
Sophia said that last week was Homecoming Week at Arcata High. She told us that it was a new experience for her, and a lot of fun.
World Community Service Update - Part 2
John Gullam continued his update from the previous Friday. He said that his Committee is supporting the efforts of Rebecca Aalto to provide family planning information to women in Afghanistan. Rebecca spoke to our Club on August 7th on this topic, which was covered in the Sunrise Spirit. John accompanied her when she spoke to the Ferndale Rotary, and he implied that it was an interesting experience speaking to that group about family planning in the Middle East. "There weren't a lot of questions," he said. Our Club has pledged $3,000 which earned a $1,000 match from the District.
The Committee is also planning to fund a housing program for former child soldiers in Liberia. This project came from one of President Howard's former students, and the goals include helping these young people develop farming skills. Finally, Backpacks for the Philippines is another potential project in the pipeline.
Recognition
Lynda Moore is a Charter Sunriser, and she was recognized by Joyce Hinrichs last Friday. Lynda grew up in Ukiah, which was "a great place to grow up." Her stay-at-home mom was very involved in all of Lynda's activities - from school to Campfire Girls and swimming. Her father was a distributor of Borden's dairy products. Their refrigerator was full of popsicles, which made their house the most popular hangout in the summer. Summer was also the busy season for her dad, so the rest of the family (including her brother, who was born when Lynda was ten) would spend much of that time at Clear Lake or Blue Lake.
Her parents encouraged her to be involved with her community. At 16, she volunteered one afternoon each week at a local mental hospital. She would visit patients in the geriatric ward, which was an educational experience. After she graduated from high school, Lynda worked in the medical records department of the hospital as a transcriptionist.
Lynda moved to Arcata to attend Humboldt State, where she majored in Health and Physical Education. She enjoyed various sports, so she gravitated towards becoming a PE teacher. One semester teaching PE at the elementary school level, followed by a semester teaching at the college level showed her that teaching was not for her.
Lynda paid her own way through college, working in many departments as a Student Assistant. Her mother had insisted that she learn to type and take shorthand, which put her in great demand. Over time, she took a position in the HSU Personnel Office. She enjoyed the field and stayed there for a while, becoming Assistant Personnel Officer in 1979, and Human Resources Director in 1992. She added the title (and duties) of Director of Risk Management in 2004. She said, "It was a great career, and one of the best I could have had ... and with no idea I would do that when I was younger." She always tells young people to keep their eyes open - you never know what you're going to see.
Lynda married Mike Moore in 1985. They had been friends earlier, but when they reconnected, it really stuck! They have three wonderful nieces, and four grandnieces and one grandnephew. Lynda and Mike love animals; their pets have included cats, dogs, and even a cow! For ten years, they commuted to Arcata from Willow Creek before purchasing a home and ten acres above Blue Lake.
She has always been a traveler. Her first major excursion was a trip to Europe with college friends. She has returned many times since, mostly visiting England, Ireland, France, and Spain.
In the early years of their marriage, Lynda and Mike spent a lot of time at Trinity Lake, camping and water skiing. They also participated in local softball leagues. And Lynda still loves sports. Ten years ago, she talked three friends into training for and running a marathon. Although none of the four were distance runners at the time (less than six months before the event!), they all finished. Lynda also enjoys golfing, participating in Pilates and other forms of conditioning, and just being outdoors. She is currently taking a drawing class, to exercise her mind as well!
In addition to her service as a Sunriser, Lynda has volunteered in other arenas:
- She was the foreperson of the County Grand Jury in 1986-1987, which reviewed the Child Welfare Services department, among other things. Due in large part to the Grand Jury's findings, the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program came to Humboldt County. Lynda was the Founding President.
- She has participated in, and served as President of, Humboldt Sponsors. The group is dedicated to raising funds to help the needs of Humboldt County youth.
- Lynda has served on the Board of Directors for St. Joseph's Hospital.
- She is currently involved with our Club's Transitional Youth program.
Explore Rotary!
Last week, our Featured Speaker was our District Governor, Erin Dunn. But President Howard didn't let her speak right away - a musical interlude was provided by our Club's own "Sonny and the Sunrisers":
When that failed to scare off Erin, Sunriser (and Assistant District Governor) Lori Breyer introduced the Governor of District Five-One-Three-Oh-Woh. Erin is a member of the Rotary Club of Fortuna Sunrise, and she is the CEO of the Fortuna Chamber of Commerce.
Erin grew up in Oregon, and graduated from the University of Oregon. From there, she went on to stints in Washington, D.C. and New York City, where she was a Theatrical Press Agent. One of her first jobs in the field was at the Kennedy Center.
After moving to the North Coast, Erin joined the Fortuna Sunrise Rotary. She served as Club President in 2007-2008 - the same year that Lori was our Club's President! In 2010, DG Kirk Brown (aka "Captain Kirk") named Erin the District 5130 Rotarian of the Year. Erin's motto for this year is "Explore Rotary", and Lori said that she has lived up to that idea for quite some time - she's hosted Exchange Students, she's served on District Committees, she's been involved in Rotoplast, in addition to many other Rotary projects. Outside of Rotary, she serves on the Board of Directors for both the McLean Foundation and Redwood Memorial Hospital.
Erin's partner, Ross Rowley, is the President-Elect of the Fortuna Sunrise Rotary. The couple has a pair of Boston Terriers who keep them on their toes.
Here is the video of DG Erin's presentation to our Club:
As part of her presentation, Erin awarded the Shining Star Award to a very deserving Sunriser - Claire Ajina. She joined our Club in March, and she has had a big impact since then. Congratulations, Claire!!!
