The Sunrise Spirit

The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise

Volume VII, Issue 13 — October 3, 2007

Club President 2007-2008: Lori Breyer

Editor: Dick Johnson

editor@arcatasunrise.org

 

Business Spotlight

Create an international incident! Or at least visit Tere Hicks at Internews Network's World Headquarters on 7th Street in Arcata.

Internews is one of those "best kept secrets" of our community - a local nonprofit corporation with a truly global reach. The organization seeks to facilitate access to information "by fostering independent media sources and promoting open communication policies". As Tere says, "We do a lot of stuff." Click on the logo to your right to visit the Internews website. You'll see that Tere's right!

 

Visit Internews at

876 7th Street in Arcata

(between H and I Streets)

 
 
Notes From Our Last Meeting
Jon Sapper was our guest speaker two weeks ago, and last Friday, he made a return trip to re-invite us to the oyster feed that took place the next day. He also introduced us to his "old math teacher from Fortuna High", Ron Hanson. Ron took issue with that description. "I think," he said, "that I would prefer to be called your former math teacher, not your old math teacher." Ron has been serving as a missionary in Africa for over 31 years, and he said that he is grateful for the commitment that our local Rotary Clubs have made to increasing access to clean water in Africa and Asia. "The greatest need in Africa is {safe] water," Ron said.

Our "Guest" Speaker next week will be our Exchange Student from Italy, Jessica Bono. Last Friday, she reported that she had experienced our town's North Country Fair, and then survived three tests at school. She also found time to visit "the mall with my friends".

This Saturday, John Wesa will once again be using his artistic powers in the service of goodness and niceness as he creates the Arcata Sunrise Rotary entry for Pastels on the Plaza. He plans to use the current theme graphics as the basis for the panel, but he is open to suggestions for embellishments, and he could use some assistance on Saturday morning. Check with John this Friday if you want to be involved.

The Taste of the Holidays is only six weeks away, and you will be involved. Tickets will be distributed this Friday, and subcommittee chairs are ready to begin recruiting. You should be thinking about the raffle prize you will be providing (valued between $25 to $35 and up), so you can put it on Kathy Moxon's list, if not in her office. Michael Boreing is heading up the decorating crew, so be sure to see him for some donut lifting.

A little closer on the horizon is the Foundation Dinner North, which will be held in Crescent City on October 20th. Terri Clark has tickets available. She also has raffle tickets at $20 each, or 6 for $100. The amount you spend on raffle tickets is applied directly to your Paul Harris Sustaining Fellowship account, and you get the chance to win great prizes.

According to Fellowship Chair (and Past-President) Sir Charles of Giannini, about 45 Sunrisers and others were planning to head up to the Steelhead Lodge last Friday for an evening of fellowship. I hope that one or more of the attendees will give us a report via the Sunrise Rotary Blog. (Hint, hint!)
 
Special Daze
The only birthday President Lori had available was Tere Hicks, who said, "I turned 36 ... oh, I guess I shouldn't say that!" Tere also said that she "just had dinner", but under intense cross-examination admitted that her son sang "Happy Birthday" to her - all day long!
 

Three GSE Team Members Visit

In April of this year, a Group Study Exchange Team representing our District 5130 traveled to Mexico. Three of the five team members served as our guest speakers last week. They were: Jimmy Sierra, a nurse from Healdsburg; Maria Perez, a health services worker from Sonoma County; and Megan Blodgett, senior produce buyer and merchandiser from Arcata. They said that they visited four states in Mexico - Sinaloa, Nayarit, Colima, and Jalisco. Their journey involved "a lot of bus tours and driving".

Unlike many previous Group Study Exchanges, there was not a single focus area. Jimmy concentrated on health care issues, Maria looked at social services, and Megan explored the area's agriculture and food production.

Jimmy said that the group visited the Pediatric Hospital in Culiacan, Sinaloa. This facility serves as a regional oncology center, and also as a shelter for families. It receives support from the Sebastopol Sunrise Rotary Club. He also noted that in Sinaloa and Tepic, the Cruz Roja Mexicana (Red Cross) provides urgent and non-urgent care. The organization is funded entirely by donations. Guadalajara's Fray Antonio Alcalde Hospital, a "civil hospital", is the region's center for liver transplants. The group also visited the clinic at the Universidad Autonomica de Guadalajara.

Megan took up the narrative as the topic shifted to agriculture. In Tepic, Nayarit, the group stopped at a 50 acre organic avocado farm. She noted that the farm went organic before it was popular - their motive for eschewing chemicals was concern for their workers' health. The group also went to a 2,000 acre mango ranch in Mazatlan, an organic fertilizer company in Tepic, and the Department of Food Science and Research at Tepic University. The group also stopped at Chirsteros Tequila Distillery in Tepatitlan, Jalisco and a raspberry farm in Jocotepec.

Maria said that they visited APAC in Culiacan, Sinaloa. This center assists children with cerebral palsy as well as those suffering from traumatic brain injuries. The center receives wheelchairs from the Wheelchair Foundation, which our Club supports. While in Culiacan, the group was able to participate in the Day of the Children celebration. In Jocotepec, they went to an orphanage founded by a Canadian woman.

The three travelers agreed that most of the Rotary Clubs they visited consisted mostly of men, and that most were smaller than their District 5130 counterparts. For more information on the GSE Teams adventures, visit their website.