April 2 - RISE EVENT - AHS Interact Spaghetti Feed at the Bayside Grange
April 8 - RISE EVENT - Arcata Chamber Mixer at Mad River Adult Day Health (Mad River Hospital) 5:30-7:00 pm
April 8-9 - District Training Assembly - Ukiah Fairgrounds
April 16 - RISE EVENT - Wine & Food Festival at HSU, presented by the Lost Coast Rotaract Club and the HSU Rotaract Club
May 6-8 - District 5130 Conference - Marriott Napa Valley Resort & Spa
May 29-June 1 - RI Conference in Seoul, South Korea
June 11 - RISE EVENT - Rotaract Color Run
June 18 - RISE EVENT - 26th Arcata Oyster Festival - provide beer to the thirsty
July 4 - RISE EVENT - Independence Day on the Plaza - volunteer at the RCAS Family Comfort Station
July 9 - RISE EVENT - Friends of the Dunes' Sand Sculpture Festival
RISE = Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone
- President Howard led us in a thank you to our server, Bianca, who takes care of us throughout the year.
- Although the exact number of travelers is still uncertain, a team of Sunrisers, Arcata Noon Rotarians, and North Bay Rotaractors will be traveling to Costa Rica in mid-May. They will be meeting with members of Club Rotario San Jose Noreste, our partners in the La Familia project.
- President Howard named his Unsung Rotarian for the month of March - Terri Clark! Terri serves the Club in so many ways. She organizes our Final Fridays, she is our Director of Club Service, she was our District Governor prior to becoming a Sunriser, and she is a mentor to us all. Congratulations!
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| Sophia and Julie |
She was (and will be) performing in the musical "Chicago", staged by the theater students in the Arcata Arts Institute program at Arcata High. Two performances remain - Friday April 1st and Saturday April 2nd, in the school's new Fine Arts Center.
Sophia also reported that she has moved in with her new host parents - Chris and Lisa Hemphill. And Julie Vaissade-Elcock gave her an Easter Basket!
Rotaractors on a Mission!
We had three of the four Rotaractors who participated in the recent District 5130 Rotaplast mission to Bangladesh. Joining us were Jamie Carroll and Carly Robbins of the Lost Coast Rotaract, and North Bay Rotaractor Cory Busher.
They said that Rotaplast is a Rotary Foundation program that started in the 1980s, and it helps children with deformities caused by cleft palate, cleft lip, or burn scarring. The project is active in 20 to 30 countries that are visited generally at least once a year.
The four Rotaractors (which included North Bay Rotaract's Royce Buell, who was unable to join us last Friday) were selected by a panel of District 5130 Rotarians from a number of applicants. Before traveling to Bangladesh, the group had to have several vaccinations. They drove to the Bay Area, and spent the night at the home of the District 5150 Rotaract representative. They had a 17 hour flight, followed by a six-hour drive before arriving at their destination of Chittagong.
Cory said that their hosts accommodated their "western culture" very well. However, the dishes they were served were sometimes "way too spicy, so they calmed it down a little". But the Rotaractors enjoyed the food, and their hosts even provided a cooking class, so they could prepare similar meals back home.
Carly said that her role was to transport patients, "so my job was to hang out with the children in the ward, pre- and post-surgery". She provided them with coloring books and other items to keep their minds off of the surgeries. She would stay with the children after the procedures and then take them back to the wards.
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| Jamie Carroll, Cory Busher, and Carly Robbins |
Jamie was assigned to the recovery unit, so when the patients' anesthesia wore off, "they woke up to me smiling at them". She said that it was "a trying experience, to be honest". She spent much of her time stroking the children's faces and heads to soothe them and to be a "warm and comfortable presence to them".
Royce's job was to sterilize the equipment before use. He had to learn to set up the trays for each type of surgery. Since the team was limited in the amount of equipment they could bring, implements were reused frequently, so he was kept quite busy.
The schedule was very full, from the pre-clinic assessments to the daily surgeries. The Rotaractors were invited to observe the procedures, which they found very interesting.
The 23-member team was in Chittagong for two weeks, and they only had one day off. The city is on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, and it is apparently where "ships come to die". There is a business that cuts apart derelict vessels, and sells the pieces of scrap metal for reuse. They also visited several shops and they were even able to attend a local Rotaract meeting.
The Rotaractors thanked the Clubs of District 5130 for their financial support. They also thanked DG Erin Dunn (who was at our meeting) for being so passionate about including Rotaractors in the mission - the first time that has happened in the history of the Rotaplast program.
Final Friday Foundation Auction
Here are the results from last week's Final Friday Auction:
- Former Sunriser and Past President Wendy Nelson contributed two items to last week's auction. The first was a bottle of Boldt Clear Whiskey (crafted by former Sunriser Amy Bohner), which was purchased by Lori Breyer. The other was another local spirit - Blue Lake Vodka, which was won by Ceva Courtemanche, who immediately gifted it to Bryan Reeser!
- Steve McHaney donated a pair of amethyst earrings, and Ceva bought those too! They'll make a lovely gift for her mother, but don't spill the beans ...
- Four bottles of a 1990 vintage Hermitage wine were provided by Scott Heller. The winners were Bob Johnson, Lori Breyer, Julie Vaissade-Elcock, and Joyce Hinrichs.
- Matt Babich presented the "Breakfast of Champions". It wasn't a box of Wheaties, though. His BOC included vodka, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and V-8, among other goodies. Terri Clark won the right to enjoy this power meal.
- A case (or maybe two) of Mad River Stout, and a tour of the brewery where they were made was donated by Ray Noggle. The winning bidder was Chris Hemphill.
- John Gullam brought in a "Kenmore Classic" sewing machine. The eco-friendly device does not require a connection to the internet, nor to the power grid. Nay, it is operated by a knee treadle, if I heard correctly. A winning bid was proffered by Terri Clark.
- Janice Newman donated a large indoor/outdoor lantern, which was purchased by John Gullam.
- Randy Mendosa offered two pies from "A Slice of Humboldt". The blueberry version was won by Brandi Easter, while the pecan pie was purchased by Scott Heller.
- Six months of flowers were donated by Lynda Moore. Jeff Stebbins will enjoy the fresh scents for the next half year.
- Ian Schatz's photo of Wedding Rock and his rendition of "The House of the Rising Sun" were on the block, and guest A.J. Gonzales was the highest bidder.
- Bryan Plumley contributed two bottles of fine gin - Junipero Gin and Old Raj - to the cause. Ceva Courtemanche won those, perhaps for herself this time.
- The final item, donated by Charlie Jordan, was an Italian cooking package, which included terracotta cookware, organic pasta, and more. Ed Christians was our high bidder for this - molto bene!
