July 11, 2022

Past President Mindy Sehon was acting President, stepping in for President Jerry Reece who is recovering from an illness and hopes to be back in the near future. The theme for this Rotary year is Imagine Rotary.

The Flag Salute was led by Nancy Dean.  Ziggy was recognized on the 71^st Anniversary of his 21^st Birthday and received an enthusiastic round of applause.

CLUB BUSINESS

• Club Member, Rick Littlefield owner of Eureka Natural Foods, was featured in a press release for Rotary Club of Eureka in the Times-Standard. Eureka Natural Foods together with their customers recently raised $14,400 for Ukraine Refugee Relief.  The money was donated to the Rotary Foundation.
• Thursday 7/21 there will be a club social on the Madaket @ 5:30pm. Purchase your tickets online humboldtbaymaritimemuseum.com/madaket-cruises
• Sunday 7/24 plan to attend a Humboldt Crabs game and meet our new Rotary District Governor Jennifer Strong.
• Thursday 8/18 there will be an in-person Coast Guard Cook Your Own Steak Dinner at the Elk’s Lodge at 5:30pm. You can donate money to buy dinner for a Coast Guard employee, volunteer time and you can attend the dinner yourself.

GUESTS: Annalise introduced four guests and Scott Pesch was introduced as the new President of Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka.

Backpacks for Kids:  Fundraising is happening now.  Talk to Carly if you can help by buying a square in the Times-Standard to support the annual fundraising for this important program.

Raffle: Silver dollar winner, McDonald’s Gift Certificate- Jay Reed; $10 Jera Newland; Phatsy Kline Gift Certificate – Chuck Ellsworth (This is the 4^th or 5^th time he’s won this gift certificate!). Chuck opted to return it to the pot for the next raffle.  Gold Coin drawing – Tom Schallert drew a… 9 of diamonds!  Not a winner today.

SPEAKERS: The Humboldt Independent Practice Association School Based Wellness Program, Boys to Men with Jett Stebbins and Nicholas Benoit

The name of this program was recently changed from Boys to Men to the Young Men’s Council.

This is a male empowerment group that provides a number of wellness programs.  They have a contracted presence on a number of school campuses but they also handle referrals from various schools and meet with kids one on one.  They work in elementary, junior high and high schools.

Needs can range from hygiene to clothing and food needs.  They have a pride group a black student group and many more.  Groups are developed based on need.  They also refer students to other organizations when it is appropriate.

There are 6 staff members in the school-based wellness program now and they are hiring 2 more.  Their funding comes from a variety of sources like the State, Feds, Rotary (we’ve donated in the past), schools they’ve contracted with, etc. There are about 100 kids enrolled in their program at the current time.  For more information go to: humboldtipa.com.

June 27, 2022

Club President Klark Swan presided over the beginning of the meeting before she was debunked.

Flag Salute- Past District Governor, Michael Juric led the flag salute

Thought of the day: Carly Robbins talked about leadership.

Guests: There were so many guests today.  Including but not limited to President Klark’s mother and husband. A number of past district governors and Rotarians from other clubs.  The room was full.

End of year awards:  As one of her final Presidential moments Klark handed out awards to the following Rotary Club of Eureka members:

Increasing Impact: Alicia Cox; Expanding Reach: Rick Littlefield; Enhancing Engagements: Kate Witthaus; Most Likely to Be On Mute: Mike Martin; Most Adaptable: Steven Lafferty; Rotary Cheerleader: Annalise von Borstel; Most Likely to Be at All Things Rotary: Nancy Dean; Special Project, Youth Literacy: Anthony Stubbs; Special Project, Backpack for Kids: Mindy Sehon

ROTARIAN OF THE YEAR: Carly Robbins

LET THE DEBUNKING BEGIN!  Carly Robbins began the debunking by comparing Klark’s Rotary year to a tornado from the Wizard of Oz.  Then the costumes came out and Klark began her journey down the yellow brick road.  All along the way Klark was greeted by kind words and gracious appreciation of her many talents and leadership skills.

District Governor Dustin Littlefield spoke via Zoom, Past District Governors Kathy Flamson and Jim Flamson drove from Calistoga to be here to greet Klark in person.  A guest from Germany chimed in via Zoom.  Past District Governor Terri Clark added her accolades, also in person. Flying monkeys flew from the promenade down into the crowd adding a few screams of excitement into the mix.  There were many other presentations by others throughout Klark’s stroll down the yellow brick road.

The presentation culminated with the presentation of an honorary Paul Harris Fellow purchased through donations by the Board of Directors.  Amidst a standing ovation and a few tears, Klark gave her thanks and appreciation to all.  Clicking her heels together 3X and uttering the words, “There’s no place like the Inn at 2^nd & C Streets,” the meeting came to an end.  Champagne and sparkling apple cider were served to celebrate the end of this Rotary year and the beginning of a new year.

June 20, 2022

Club President Klark Swan presided over the meeting.

Thought of the day: With summer solstice nearly upon us, President Klark sang the praises of summertime for our thought of the day.

Guests: Many guests joined us today, including Kelsie of Lost Coast Rotaract, Molly of Arcata Main Street, Domingo, an exchange student, and former member Kathy Gardiner.  We also enjoyed the company of a gaggle of young future Rotarians enjoying their summer break.

Local Events: Arcata Main Street announced that Oyster Festival is this weekend, Thursday-Saturday, June 23-25.  Oyster Fest celebrates Humboldt County’s wonderful Aquaculture, Beverage Makers, and Culinary Artistry!  Arcata Main Street is seeking volunteers to help with the event, primarily on Saturday the 25^th.  Do volunteers get paid in oysters?  We forgot to ask…

Rotary Socials: save the date for two upcoming Rotary socials!

• On Thursday July 21^st, join our club for a ride on the Madaket at 5:30 pm. for tickets, visit: https://humboldtbaymaritimemuseum.com/madaketmainpage.html
• A District Social will be held on Saturday, July 23^rd. Stay tuned for details!

Rotary International: Nancy Dean described her recent visit to Houston for the Rotary International Convention.  She described the event as a fun and valuable opportunity to meet people from around the world, share ideas, and learn about all the diverse projects that Rotary clubs are involved in.  Most of all, she reiterated just how much Rotarians like to party!

Rotary projects, now and then:  Tom Schallert reminded the club that about 10 years ago, we partnered with Safe Blood Africa, our local Blood Bank, and other blood banks across the State of California to provide training and equipment, including 3 bloodmobiles.  The goal of the project was to support local blood collectors as they implemented programs to improve the safety of Nigeria’s blood supply.  Fast forward to a decade later: those bloodmobiles are still in use today!

 “Why I joined Rotary” Past President Mindy Sehon shared how she fell in love with Rotary.  It began with a passion for volunteering.  When she joined Rotary, she immediately got involved with the Backpacks for Kids program, helping to address food insecurity among our county’s schoolchildren. She eventually took charge of that program and has been running it successfully for almost 10 years now.  What a big job! Thank you Mindy for sharing your story.

The story of Bali: Past President Gregg Gardiner shared with us about his recent trip to Bali, Indonesia with his wife Kathy. Bali is a beautiful place full of warm, friendly people.  It is also a still-developing 3^rd world country.  While there, Gregg and Kathy noticed that grade school and high school is very expensive for the average family, and that schools tend to be very far away from many homes.  For these reasons, sending children for an education is difficult for many.  Gregg and Kathy are interested in establishing a foundation dedicated to funding education for schoolchildren in Bali, and shared their ideas for how to make it self-sustaining and smoothly administered.  We look forward to learning more about how our club can help make that vision a reality.

June 13, 2022

Club President Klark Swan presided over the meeting.

Flag Salute: By our newest member, James “Danny” White.

Thought of the day: Greg Williston.  Greg talked about the rewards of getting involved in Rotary such as becoming a host family.  He just went to the wedding of a former student he hosted and was introduced as the American Mom and Dad these many years later.

Guests: There were 3 guests from Arcata Sunrise Rotary including Past District Governor Terri Clark!

Recent Events and Announcements:

Social Event- on 6/10 seven Rotarians attended the social event at Old Town Coffee & Chocolates.  They had a great time.

The next social will be on 7/21 @5:30pm on the Madaket.  Buy your own ticket online if you plan to attend! 

Book Delivery: Anthony Stubbs and his team delivered books to Humboldt County 3^rd graders. Anthony said it was a lot of fun.

Awards- Klark passed out a form for everyone to fill out nominating people for various end of the year awards.  The winners will be announced at the next meeting.

Polio- Unfortunately, two new polio cases were recently identified in Pakistan.  It’s a reminder to us all to remember to keep contributing to eradicate polio.

Backpacks for Kids- Carly said that Backpacks for Kids wrapped up for the year last week.  She gave a shout out to head organizer Mindy Sehon for all of her hard work and thanked the volunteers from Rotary Club of Eureka who have donated their time to help pack the bags.  Over 600 kids were served each week in this school year.  The Times-Standard has agreed to again publish a sponsor ad.  More information will follow but you can become a sponsor and together these funds pay for the food to pack the bags with.

Board Meeting- Klark noted that the last board meeting of this Rotary year will be on 6/22 on Zoom.  Everyone is invited to attend.  Her debunking will be on Monday 6/27.

The winners of the raffle were: Silver Dollar – Anthony Stubbs, Value meal- Rick Littlefield, $10 cash- Phil Nicklas, $20 Phatsy Kline gift certificate- Rick Littlefield, Chance to win the gold coin worth $461.00- Jeremy.

SPEAKER

Our Speaker was Bill Prescott, General Manager/Sales Manager of Lost Coast Communications (LCC). KHUM, KSLG, KWPT, KLGE, LOCO and Wild Rivers Outpost are all under the LCC umbrella.

He talked about the advantages a locally owned media company provide vs one owned out of the area.  Primarily responsive to local needs including during emergencies. He talked about the importance of radio including during emergencies such as earthquakes.  Most people have a hand cranked radio in their earthquake supplies.  LCC has 30 employees – 20 full time and 10 part time.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:07pm

May 23, 2022

Club President Klark Swan presided over the meeting.

Flag Salute: Wayne Wilson

Thought of the day: Kate Witthaus “One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.”

Guests: Jeremy Campbell, Executive Director of Waterfront Recovery and James Danny White were introduced. They have both recently applied for membership.  Kate Witthaus introduced guest, Jaimie Carroll who is also our guest speaker today.

Recent Events and Announcements:

• There was a social event at Humboldt Provisions recently. It was a small turnout but a lot of fun.  The next one will be in June at Old Town Coffee and Chocolates.  Stay tuned for more information.
• Kate Witthaus recently put together two press releases on our Small Grant recipients- Redwood Discovery Museum and Humboldt Family Service Center. They have been running in local media and on Facebook. Please share on social media so we can encourage people to apply for small grants.
• We will be voting for awards in our club for various categories. Klark will be sending more information soon.
• Carly talked about a walk-a-thon happening on June 4^th to benefit Food for People. All are welcome.
• District Conference was in Fortuna last weekend. Klark said the Rotary Club of Eureka won an award for enhancing the experience of Rotarians and inspiring enthusiastic participation especially among our younger members.

Book Delivery: Anthony Stubbs announced that books will be delivered to Humboldt County 3^rd graders.  On June 10^th @9:30am they will be delivering to Alice Birney and at 1:30pm on the same date to Grant School. Contact Anthony if you can help with the delivery. It’s a lot of fun.

The winners of the raffle were: Silver Dollar – Lynn Dugaw, Value meal- Matthew Owen, $10 donated back to the Foundation, Phatsy Kline gift certificate- Jaimie Carroll, Chance to win the gold coin worth $451.00- Steve Lafferty – Sorry Steve- not a winner today.

Speaker: Our speaker was Jaimie Carroll.  Jaimie now lives in Seattle, WA. She was born in Eureka in 1990. Until she was 7 years old she was homeless. Her mother had schizophrenia and as a result was a drug addict/homeless, etc. When she was in 2^nd grade her teacher approached her and was able to send her to foster care.  She’d never known her father, bus social services found him when she was 8 years old and after he had attended parenting classes she ended up living with him at the Greyhound Hotel for 5 years until he died of cirrhosis of the liver.  She attended high school, moving around some, and was planning to enlist in the Army until she found out about Rotary Youth Exchange.  She ended up being the Rotary Club of Eureka’s outbound exchange student to Brazil.  It was a great experience and when she came back she joined Rotaract, eventually going to Bangladesh on a Rotoract trip, and knew her goal in life was to help others.

Rotary Club of Eureka was welcoming, caring and supportive and Jaimie feels was an important part of her life.  She received a college degree in international development from HSU in 2019 and moved to Seattle.  She is now employed by a private foundation called Roots & Wings Foundation who funds non-profits working to bring people out of poverty.  Jaimie is excited about her job and the people she can help.  After some questions and answers the meeting was adjourned at 1:30pm.

November 29, 2021

President Klark Swan presided over the meeting.

BUSINESS

The club meeting location for the next several weeks will be at the Inn @ 2^nd & C Streets in Eureka.

113 turkeys were given to the Eureka Rescue Mission this year. Thanks to all who helped out.

Kim Bauriedel brought a guest all the way from Russia.

Linda Wise received a Paul Harris to a standing ovation. The award was presented by Keith Crossley.

Linda Wise is donating a gift basket once a month to be raffled off to a GUEST of a Rotarian! Bring a guest the first Monday of the month and they can win a prize!

Kate Witthaus spoke about the small grants awarded this round

PROGRAM

Bertha De La Cruz from the School Based Wellness Center came to present on their Girls Empowerment Groups. (

• The importance of this group is higher now more than ever as teens come back to school and ACEs (adverse childhood expedites) are at an all time high.
• Their goal is to create spaces for girls to talk and be heard
• These programs are showing a huge success and are in extremely high demand. Our club granted them a small grant earlier this year for snacks. Snacks are a great way to entice kids to attend the meetings.

April 4, 2022

Club President Klark Swan presided over the meeting.

Thought of the day: Tom Schallert shared a quote from Rotary founder Paul Harris: “It has been the way of Rotary to focus thought upon matters in which members are in agreement, rather than upon matters in which they are in disagreement.”

Remembering Rotarians: Kim Bauriedel thanked the club for exceeding their $3500 fundraising goal to honor the memory of club member Dave Dillon by making him a Major Donor.  Dave’s family invites his fellow Rotarians to his memorial service, which will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday April 23, 2022 at the First Presbyterian Church, 819 15th Street, Eureka.

“Why I joined Rotary” Rick Littlefield shared his Rotary story, which included a hair-raising story about the hazards of river rafting.  Rick describes our club as “like family”, and appreciates watching the group’s transition to include a youthful and diverse membership. Thank you Rick for sharing your story.

Rotary Exchange: Outbound exchange student Naomi brought cookies, which club members were happy to purchase, ostensibly in support of her fundraising goal (but really because they were absolutely delicious).

District Assembly: Klark recounted her experience at the district assembly, which was held in Ukiah on April 2^nd.  One topic of the assembly was how Rotary is evolving and changing, and discussions were had around how Rotary can be an organization that is accessible to a wider group of people.  Four members represented our club at the assembly – thank you Jerry, Nancy, Annalise and Klark.

Local Events: A number of exciting local events were announced, too many for this slow scribe to note down.  A few include:

• A compost giveaway hosted by Food For People and Recology will be held on April 23^rd at Recology, 555 Vance Ave, Samoa. Linda Wise assured us that this would be “the most incredible event we had ever attended!” and we believe her!
• Phillip Nicklas announced that Swing dancing is back at the Arcata Veterans Hall, the last Friday of every month.

Small Grants: Stephanie Carter, Executive Director of the Redwood Discovery Museum, spoke about the programs our Small Grant funds will support.  The museum offers hands-on exhibits, thematic programs, and a summer camp that has been in operation for 71 years.  Our grant funds will be used to offer free and discounted access to the museum and events for underserved children and families in Humboldt County.  Stephanie invited all of us to join her at their fun annual fundraising event, the Perilous Plunge on April 16^th.

March 28, 2022

Club President Klark Swan presided over the meeting.

Thought of the day: In celebration of the changing seasons, Annalise Von Borstel shared a poem about the transition from winter to spring.

Visitors: Mike, who works with our local Grocery Outlet, was a visitor today.  Mike is evaluating local Rotary clubs as he looks for meaningful ways to get involved locally.  Klark commented that Grocery Outlet is a company that is very active in our community.  Our outbound exchange students were also in attendance at today’s meeting.

Rotary Exchange: Outbound exchange students Naomi and Benny visited our club.  Naomi will be going to Denmark.  She has a $10,000 fundraising goal, and is selling tamales to fundraise.  Benny will be going to Thailand, and plans to hold a fundraising auction.  We encouraged them both to keep us informed on their progress and ways we can contribute to their efforts.

Lunch!!! Next month’s lunch caterer will be Sammy’s BBQ

Ukraine Fundraising: The Rotary Foundation has created an official channel to contribute funds to relief efforts directed at the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.  More information can be found here: https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-foundation-creates-channel-direct-humanitarian-support-ukraine-region

District Assembly: The district assembly will be held in Ukiah on April 2^nd.  This session is going to be packed with incredible speakers, informative sessions and that all important opportunity to network with your fellow Rotarians.  Club members are encouraged to go to this conveniently located meeting, usually these Assemblies are hosted much farther away from Eureka.

District Conference: The District Conference will be held May 21-22 in Fortuna. The conference has a rockabilly theme this year, complete with live music!  An exciting agenda was shared with the club.

Remembering Rotarians: Kim Bauriedel notified the club that past District Governor Jack Volerga recently passed away.  He served as District Governor in the 1990s.  Klark reminded the club that we are fundraising to honor the memory of club member Dave Dillon by making him a Major Donor.

March Madness: Arny King gave an update on the March Madness teams.  Jim Cessna has made it into the final 4.  Jack, Rick, and Colby are also still in the running.  For the Blind Pool, Lynn, Steve, Wayne, Ted and Tom are still in the game.

We did not have a guest speaker at today’s meeting and adjourned early.

March 21, 2022

Club Past President Mindy Sehon presided over the meeting.

Dave Dillon: Mindy shared the news that long time club member Dave Dillon recently passed away.  Mindy shared the story of Dave’s life, his journey to Rotary, and his many contributions to our local club and regional Rotary District.  To honor Dave’s friendship and everything he has done for Rotary and the community as a whole, we are committed to commemorating Dave as a Major Donor, one who has made cumulative donations of $10,000.  We are about $400 away from this goal.

Speaker of the Day: Cassandra Hesseltine, Film Commissioner for the Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commission, presented about the Film Commission’s achievements and plans.  So, what does the Film Commission actually do?

• They assist filmmakers with location needs, and we offer production resources, trained personnel, affordable locations, and flexible permitting options.
• They recruit filmmakers to our area by promoting California’s film-friendly Redwood Coast.
• They promote film tourism by sharing great information about the over 100 productions that have been filmed in our area, including interactive maps for visitors.
• They bring millions of dollars of revenue into our communities.

To learn more, visit: https://hdnfc.org/

March 14, 2022

Club President Klark Swan presided over the meeting.

Thought of the Day: Kate Witthaus provided the Thought of the Day, which focused on the power and potential of young people.  Kate reminded us that “Everyone you admire was once a beginner”.

Visitors: John Fullerton, former club member, was a welcome visitor today.

Wings for a Cure: Jera Newland announced the upcoming Wings for a Cure event.  This event is a fundraiser for California Cancer Crushers, and will be held on Friday, March 25^th.  Enjoy all you can eat chicken wings, while contributing towards a lifesaving cause!

Club Socials:  The club discussed resuming club social events.  It was agreed that we would like to have in-person events beginning in April.

NCAA March Madness: Arny King emceed the March Madness auction.  Participants bid on Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship teams and packs.  Half of all money raised benefits the club, then the auction payout will be split between the final 4 teams.  There is also a blind pool with payouts of up to $200!  Games start Thursday, March 17^th.