The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise

Volume VII, Issue 23 — December 19, 2007

Club President 2007-2008: Lori Breyer

Editor: Dick Johnson

editor@arcatasunrise.org

Check the calendar to your right ... the Dictionary Project will be underway in mid-January. We will be distributing dictionaries to third-graders at Jacoby Creek School, Pacific Union School, and Arcata Elementary School. To be a part of this fun and worthwhile project, contact Bryan Reeser.

Notes From Our Last Meeting

Last Friday, Exchange Student Jessica Bono had a big smile on her face. She had been to Reno the previous weekend, although she was under the weather most of the time. She also changed host families, moving from the Frasers to her new family for the next few months - the Newmans.

Bob Robertson, better known at Arcata High School as "Coach Robbie", was at Friday's meeting. He thanked us for our sponsorship of the previous weekend's Jerry Paul Arcata Invitational Basketball Tournament (AIBT). Robbie said that he had three things to say to us. First was a reminder that the AIBT provides great financial benefit for the entire sports program at AHS - not just the boys' basketball team. Second, several other groups, including the Tigers, Inc. booster group and several campus organizations benefit from the tournament. Finally, he asked us to continue to sponsor the AIBT. The financial gain and the involvement of the community are hallmarks of the event. Coach Robbie said that someone told him that the AIBT is like "Homecoming, only without the band".

Romi Hitchcock Tinseth said that the previous Saturday's AIBT Pancake Breakfast was also a great success. This was the first year for the event, with the proceeds going to the AHS College and Career Center.

George Cavinta: The Finemaster Packs a Piece

Last Friday, George Cavinta served up the fines. For someone with a newborn interfering with his REM patterns, he was pretty sharp. Just ask Jenny Bowen - George said that something must be going on worth paying for, and he was right! Jenny said that she is looking forward to her "first Christmas with our new daughter". Of course, the whole family will be here for the holiday. That might have something to do with the aforementioned new daughter.

Barbara Browning admitted that she had recently given a talk to the Northcoast Employers Advisory Council. She said that it was "my biggest talk ever - there were over 90 people". She was very sick, with a terrible cold ... George fined her anyway. Before Barbara could sit down, Kathy Moxon asked for the floor. Kathy has been packing around unclaimed raffle prizes from the Taste of the Holidays since ... well, since the Taste of the Holidays. One of those was a prize won by Barbara's mother. Kathy was going to charge $5 per week since the event, which would have been $25 $200 $17.95 a whole lotta loot. But since Kathy also missed a meeting or two, the charge was a manageable $10.

Robert Goodman was asked to stand, since a close family member had been in the newspaper that week. George asked Delaney Goodman to stand also, but when he asked whether she had any money, she said, "No." So George had her sit back down. Bob told us that Delaney would be playing the role of Clara in the North Coast Dance production of The Nutcracker. "It's a family tradition," he said. "Her older sister played Clara in the past."

Charlie Jordan and her husband Mark Ritz were featured in a recent edition of the Times-Standard, which focused on their venture into the coffee business. Or maybe that should read the "koffee" business, since the name of their firm is Kinetic Koffee. Charlie said that they are now shipping the brew-to-be to over 40 states.

"Foster the Spirit" - Providing Gifts and More

This was the second year that we have provided gifts for older foster children in our community. It is also the second year that a group of former foster children came to share their stories and to ask us to do more to support teens in foster care.

Terri works in the County's Independent Living Skills Program (ILS), and as a former foster child, she said, "Thank you for your donations. Older youths are the hardest group [of foster children] to serve". They are more difficult to place than younger children.

Lucy said that she was in the foster care system from age 12 until she turned 18. She participated in an ILS program in San Joaquin County, and moved to Humboldt County to attend the College of the Redwoods. She works with CR's Bridgeway Program, which serves ILS students and other ad-risk youth.

Allan is another former foster child who is active in making improvements in the foster system. To that end, he works with California Youth Connection, which "promotes the participation of foster youth in policy development and legislative change to improve the foster care system [and] social work practice and child welfare policy.

Sarah attends CR, and is a "Student Ambassador" who works with former foster youths. She works in the EOPS office at the college, in Records and Admissions. Her role is to help her peers explore the benefits available to them.

Myrna Corder is a Foster Care Program Supervisor for Humboldt County, who has served in the child welfare field for over 40 years. Myrna also thanked us for the Foster the Spirit program, saying, "You really brighten up a lot of kids' lives and bring a lot of hope." She said that the foster care community recently had a big party at the Adorni Center, and suggested that we as individuals consider volunteering to help next year. "What you are doing," she said, "is very, very meaningful, and it will be cherished for a long time."