July 26, 2021

The Rotary Club of Eureka meeting was called to order by President Klark Swan at 12:18pm.

  • The flag salute was led by Klark Swan
  • Thought of the day was led by Arny King
  • Guests of Rotarians: Mark (Linda Wise); Eric Smith (speaker). Cindy Denbo (South West, Eureka)

BIRTHDAYS

Tom Schallert’s birthday is today!  Klark recognized him but let him off the hook since he just contributed $250 donation to the Foundation.  Klark said Rotary Club of Eureka is nearing becoming a 1 million dollar club contributor to the foundation. More info to follow later.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • We are planning on having a social meeting soon depending on what happens with COVID-19 regulations. They will announce a date and time next week.
  • Ted Loring talked about the Golf Tournament that is coming up to benefit Rotary Youth Exchange. The money raised will go to benefit students who are exchange students. This is a district wide event.  Ours will be happening September 25th.  You can sponsor a hole or have a sign.  Contact Ted for information.
  • Cindy Denbo talked about the North Coast Ethics and Business Reward. You can nominate a deserving business. Nominations close 7/31/21.  northcoastethics.com Awards luncheon will be October 8th in Santa Rosa.
  • The annual Coast Guard Cook Your Own Steak Dinner is coming up on 8/26. Cost is $30.   Pay at the door.  Please consider sponsoring a dinner for a Coastie.  All three Eureka clubs are participating.
  • Kate Witthaus – The Small Grant committee had 12 applicants this year. We also had a little extra funding this year as there were no awards given last year.  The award winners were: North Coast Dance – scholarships for students. Priority Care project – helping middle school students develop leadership skills and more.  Betty Chinn homeless project – we are helping to fund the women’s shelter called the Annex.  Vincent De Paul – helping to construct a tiny shelter to house homeless. This will be a temporary shelter to help people who need a temporary place to stay. Total awards were $7,900 (about $2,000 each).
  • Olympics blind pool – There are still 50 squares left. Just $5 per square.  You can win money!  Email or talk to Arny. You can pay online at Rotary1.org or in person.

ROTARY MOMENT

This moment was an email from our most recent inbound exchange student, Sandy. Klark read an email from Sandy talking about the wonderful year she had here.  Despite being quarantined here and having to leave early because of COVID-19 it was a wonderful experience.

RAFFLE TIME

Klark’s 9 year old daughter, Charlie is here to help with the raffle.  The prizes included: a silver dollar, McDonalds gift certificate, $10 cash, Chalet gift certificate, and a bottle of mystery wine. The final potential prize was a Gold piece worth $450.  Neal Carnum had the winning ticket to try for this prize.  He had to pull a joker from a deck of card. But… not a winner today.

RECOGNITIONS

  • Destination wedding in Florida
  • Dennis Hunter – Elks Lodge District leader visited and the local Elks Lodge hosted him.
  • Jill Mcdonald- youngest son just graduated with his Coast Guard license.

SPEAKER

Our speaker was Eric Smith, president of Old Town Rotary Eureka.  Eric was with the fire district for 25 years, retiring as Eureka’s Fire Chief, facilitating the formation of Humboldt Bay Fire.  He talked about the revitalization of Carson Park. Community Parks are very important to community life.    Old Town Rotary moved the Rhodie parade awards to Carson Park from Henderson Center in order to provide more options for the event. The Bathrooms were outdated with no ADA facilities.  The park and playground area are old and antiquated. They met with the city and discussed partnering to raise money to improve the park. They first fundraised to redo the bathrooms, partnering with other clubs and raised over $5,000.  They’ve improved the tables and made other improvements. They are now working with others to raise money for the playground. They are also focusing on improving the picnic area and building. This will be a Rotarian identified project.  They are looking to partner with Rotary Club of Eureka if we are interested. They are not looking for a monetary commitment.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:18pm.