The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise
Volume VII, Issue 3 — July 25, 2007
Club President 2007-2008: Lori Breyer
Editor: Dick Johnson
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The Sunrise Spirit The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise Volume VII, Issue 3 — July 25, 2007 |
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Club President 2007-2008: Lori Breyer Editor: Dick Johnson |
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Special Announcement ... |
Julie Vaissade-Elcock passed on
the word that the HSU School of Business will be hosting a
dinner/auction on Thursday, September 20th, and a golf tournament on
Friday, September 21st. The events will be held at the exclusive
Bayside Golf and Country Club. Thursday's event will start at 6 pm,
while check-in for the tournament on Friday will begin at noon, with a 1
pm shotgun sta rt.
For more information, click on the golf ball at right. |
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Notes From Our Last Meeting |
| President Lori announced that this
week's business spotlight is on Schir NAPA Auto Parts / The Coffee
Depot, both located at the corner of Giuntoli Lane and Valley East
Boulevard. Sir Charles announced that those who stop by and sign in will
receive a drink at half price or they can get quart of oil free! Sondra Schaub of the Arcata Noon Rotary brought Sarah Scudder to our Club on Friday. Sarah will be the Nooners' Outbound Exchange Student to Argentina next school year. Her mother has been working on some quilts that will be raffled off on July 28th. The proceeds will help defray Sarah's expenses during her Exchange year. For more information or to purchase tickets, talk with a member of the Arcata Noon Club, or contact Your Editor - I'll put you in touch. |
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Special Daze |
| Sunday, June 17th started as a special day for Jason and Maggie White. It was their anniversary, and they were already on vacation. To celebrate, friends and family descended on a local Benihana for dinner. Before the meal was over, their son "started puking". Jason was up until 3 am with the poor guy, and the next day, it was fever time. Finally on Tuesday, the dreaded words, "It really hurts right here" were heard. They rushed the lad to the hospital, where it was determined that his appendix had ruptured. Fortunately, the rupture was encapsulated, so after a relatively quick operation, he was doing much better. Jason offered to cancel the remainder of the trip, but his son chose to march on. |
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Announcements |
| Bryan Plumley told us that on
Friday, August 3rd, the Crabs will enter their final weekend of the
season. Please plan to attend, because for only five dollars, you can
get into the park, watch the game, and have some chow.
Michael Boreing announced that this Sunday, July 29th, you are invited to attend a presentation on the Rotary Elementary School of Mongkol Borei, Cambodia. The event will feature the school's founder, Hans Eide, and it will take place from 2 to 4 pm at 1760 Golf Course Road. Our club has helped to support the school the past few years. On the same topic, Howard Stauffer reminded us that on October 1st, Hans will also be leading a group to Cambodia to visit the school. |
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The Calm Before the Storm? |
| The commandant of the Finemaster
Committee, Bob Johnson, paraded his Rat Pack before the assembled masses
last Friday. He wanted you to get to know each of us (oh, yes ... I'm
one of his evil minions ... hoo-hoo-hah-hah!) before we begin taking the
bacon from your shopping carts, the blush from your rose, and the Benz
from your Mercedes. His crew comprises Kathy Moxon, Matt Babich, Joyce Hinrichs, Jason White, Wendy Madsen, Bryan Plumley, Jessica McKnight, Dick Johnson, Julie Vaissade-Elcock, George Cavinta, Romi Hitchcock Tinseth, Rob McBeth, Ralph Altizer, and Orrin "O.P." Plocher. In his borderline charming way, Bob got us off to a good start by having each member of the Finemaster Committee sacrifice twenty bucks as "a good example". In a missive to the Sunrise Spirit this week, Bob solicits your help in the fundraising process:
To help matters along, I have placed the handy "Rat Box" on the right side of the Spirit, where it will stay indefinitely. All you have to do is click the box to have a Rat-O-Gram sent directly to the Chief Rat - Bob. |
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Dan Johnson Discusses the Future of the Town of Samoa |
| Our own Dan Johnson was our
"Guest" Speaker last week. Dan wears many hats - in addition to being
the CEO of the Danco Group, he is also a partner (with Lane DeVries and
two others from Holland) in the Samoa-Pacific Group. In 2001, the Town of Samoa came up for sale. At nearly the last minute, Lane contacted Dan and they agreed to make a bid on the property. Their offer was accepted, and the Samoa-Pacific Group found itself the owners of 99 houses, a hostelry (the Samoa Mansion), the Samoa Cookhouse, a gift shop, and many other historic structures. In the intervening six years, the company has developed a master plan, undertaken several environmental impact studies, and they have become pioneers in the field of tsunami studies. The Group knows that it possesses a property of great value - from almost every part of the town, one can see a beautiful maritime panorama. They intend to restore the sense of community and the livelihood that the area enjoyed in its heyday. During that time, the partners also learned that Samoa is one of the few examples of a "company town" remaining in California and in the country as a whole. This realization made them more aware of the need to retain most of the historically significant buildings in the town. Dan listed many of the town's assets, including its beautiful views, the proximity to the airport (only 22 miles away), the proximity of Eureka, and the excellent access to the town by road. The S-P Group is its own utility company - it owns and operates the town's sewer system, it purchases water from the Humboldt Bay Water District, it buys electricity from P.G.& E., and it plans to provide natural gas in the future. The property is currently zoned General Industrial and Coastal Industrial, which limits the ways that the land can be used. The Samoa-Pacific Group is working to change the zoning so they can proceed with their vision for the town. Their plan includes building an additional 265 single family homes; renovating the historic Samoa Block to include commercial and retail uses, offices, and community use; rebuilding the defunct gas station, and adding a convenience store; renovating and expanding the Post Office; and creating a Town Square. Other elements of the plan include adding a 15.4 acre business park, a recycling plant, and expanding recreational opportunities, including an indoor soccer arena. For information about the facilities currently available in the Town of Samoa, click here. |
