November 2, 2020

President Mindy Sehon opened the meeting at noon.

  • We first broke into small groups for table talk time- Question of the day… what are your Day of the Dead traditions?
  • Larry Oetker from the Humboldt Bay Harbor District will be our speaker.
  • Brad Mettam – provided our inspirational thought of the day.

Annalise von Borstel gave a presentation on a founding member of Rotary Club of Eureka, Hugh Graham. Mr. Graham was the first person to hold the office of treasurer in our club.  According to the Humboldt Times he was one of Eureka’s most widely respected citizens.  He was the head of Mercer Fraser Company.  Graham came to Eureka in 1901. He was club treasurer from 1925-26.  He was also active with the Masons, was a Director of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce and sat on many boards.  He unexpectedly died in 1940 of a stroke at the age of 59.  He is our newest Paul Harris Fellow

Mad River Rotary will be holding a fundraising online auction November 5th – 7th.  Please check it out and consider supporting their auction.

Birthdays – Kate Witthaus and Anthony Stubbs will both celebrate a birthday on November 4th.

Recognitions: 

  • Jaison Chand.  Recently went on a vacation.  Jaison chose an isolated area without a lot of people and flew into the Whitmore International Airport. Their accommodations were covered wagons. They also visited the Grand Canyon.
  • Tom Schallert won an award for catching the biggest fish in Humboldt Area Saltwater Anglers. recent contest.  He caught a 29 lb King Salmon.  His prize was an Accurate reel that was donated by Coast Central Credit Union.
  • We enjoyed a picture of Kate Witthaus’s dog dressed up as a UPS man and a photograph of Brad Mettam’s candy delivery system. A touch-free way to get candy to trick or treaters.

 

Presenter Larry Oetker Humboldt Bay Harbor District

Larry said the Harbor District’s goal is to re-establish Humboldt Bay as a port of regional and national significance. We have a bigger port than San Diego. The core question is do we want to go in this direction?

The infrastructure has deteriorated. Right now there is attention being given to public Infrastructure repairs & modernization including a 22 month port strategy, sewer mainline, etc.

  • The town of Samoa is currently being rebuilt, the wastewater treatment plant being built for Samoa is a huge bonus for port development.
  • The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District is working with Nordic Aqua Farms to provide Industrial water supply. Nordic is building a 600,000 sq ft recirculating aquaculture facility. This is a significant investment of over ½ a billion.
  • The Humboldt Bay Harbor District has 18 tenants at the pulp mill site and there will be growing interest as infrastructure is improved.
  • There are broadband infrastructure opportunities happening. Main transmission lines that can help with high tech job opportunities are going to be installed.  This project is already funded so it’s happening.
  • Offshore Wind site is being built 30 miles offshore. The Harbor District has coordinated with current landlords in the are who have all agreed they want to be involved with the development of this project. They’ve received a grant from Headwaters to research and gather data.

Larry said they see future Opportunities for Humboldt Bay with wood products, aquaculture, broadband and offshore wind.  A new modern dock will open up other opportunities. The meeting was adjourned @1pm.