October 17, 2011
Pledge & Invocation
Clarke from Rotaract led the Pledge of Allegiance, while John Gierek Jr. said the invocation.
Visiting Rotarians
Visiting Rotarians today included Liana Simpson from Old Town Rotary, Linda Moore from Arcata Sunrise Rotary, Kathy Phelp from Fortuna Rotary and Bill Morrow from Southwest Eureka Rotary.
Guests of Rotarians
John Harper brought a guest, Barry Smith, owner of Barry Smith Construction.
Student Guests
Student guests today included our 2011-2012 exchange students Tonya & Marina. They recently returned from a trip to San Francisco with other students that included an all-important shopping excursion, a visit to the US Hornet, a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and a trip to a Raiders game. Marina also mentioned that she participates in the EHS Choir, who is holding a concert on October 20th at 7:15pm in the high school auditorium.
Birthday & Anniversary Celebrations
Birthdays this week include Nancy Dean and Jeff Leonard, while the Crossleys and Storres will be soon celebrating their anniversaries.
Announcements
Mary Johnson introduced our newest member, Lowell Maffia, and presented her with her red badge. Lowell is the Director of Sales for the Red Lion in Eureka and was formerly a member of the Rotary Club of Arcata before moving out of the area. She is a grandmother of five and enjoys gardening, traveling and adventures in her 27 foot long motor home. Someone thought it would be funny to have Hank Ingham give our new members some words of wisdom for success in Rotary and in life. A sample of Hank's sure-fire ice-breakers included, "If services before self is our motto, should I be serving myself lunch?" After reading his complete list, he ended with the advice to sit at a different table each week and enjoy your time in Rotary.
Clarke and Jennifer from Rotaract told the group about a spook-tacular fundraiser the Rotaract club is hosting on Halloween. It will be a Spirits & Spirits tour through Old Town, including a tour of a new speakeasy in Eureka! Please contact either Clarke or Jennifer if you are interested. Jennifer, also the newly installed District Governor for Rotaract, said she has been keeping busy with lots of planned travel to other clubs coming up soon.
President Greg told the club about the great time had by all at the Foundation Dinner held last weekend at the Blue Lake Casino. Former Rotary International President, Richard King, was the guest speaker. He showed a short Rotary International video, then asked that club members each try to donate an extra $100 to the Foundation this year, and an additional 20% to Polio Plus. Did you know that Polio is now 99% eradicated in the world? What an amazing thing to happen in our lifetime!
Recognitions
President Greg has some busy helpers. There were quite a lot of special recognitions this week.
Captain Hank, although with limited recollection, finally admitted he had a very successful recent elk hunt (a 6 pointer, was it, Hank?) Although he already has a coveted blue tape measure, he agreed to earn another for $145. He did specify that he would like that to go to the Foundation and Polio Plus as requested by President Greg.
Russ Harris also went on a recent hunting trip to North Eastern California. Although the hunting wasn’t so good, the trip was great! Thanks for the $25 Russ.
A Ken Stodder grandchild, surprise, surprise, had another good week in the newspaper. Granddaughter Ashley Stodder was selected as a Times-Standard “Super Student” of the week. She carries a 4.0 GPA, is a member of CSF, and has been class president all four years. Ken is a very proud grandfather, indeed.
Neil Carnham, previously fined for Winzler & Kelly’s new LEEDS Certified building in Old Town, was fined $50 more for their recent merger with GHD, an Australian engineering firm. The merger was a good one, now giving them more opportunities for global economic expansion. Eventually they will take on the GHD name, and augment the existing GHD East Coast USA operations. Click here to read the local announcement.
Hank Ingham, you’re fined $50 for “hiring a professional” to construct your new art studio. That “professional,” of course, was our own President Greg. If you don’t own an Ingham original, I strongly suggest you think about doing so. Hank is a pretty amazing artist!
CC Cree was fined $75 for her stay in an impressive Malibu home by the ocean on her way to a trade show in Las Vegas. If your friend ever needs more house guests, let us know!
Many thanks to Kathy Phelps for helping President Greg with a sneak attack on Gary Phelps! Kathy and Gary recently added a new Arizona-based granddaughter to their brood, updating the count to five sons, five grandsons and one new granddaughter. Congratulations to you both and thanks for the $145.
Raffle
Congratulations to our guest speaker, Bill Carvalho, and Doug Lanning, who won the raffle!
Presentation
Today’s presenter was Bill Carvalho, President & Founder of Wild Planet Foods. Headquartered near Bill’s McKinleyville home, they have offices throughout the US, including New York City, San Francisco and Colorado. In 1990 Bill started Carvalho Fisheries, which later transitioned and became Wild Planet Foods. The venture was partially funded by Sea Change Management, a private equity fund founded, in part, by the Packard Foundation, who, coincidentally, also founded the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Currently, Wild Planet Foods is in over 7,000 retail stores worldwide and is the fourth largest manufacturer of canned seafood in the United States. Way to go Bill and Wild Planet Foods!
Wild Planet Foods has taken a very unique approach to the way they operate and how they and their suppliers harvest their product from our oceans. Inspired by a family trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Bill took to heart the way in which traditional fishing historically treated the ocean and how he could expand on fishing practices that treat our oceans and their inhabitants differently. Sustainability has become the cornerstone of the Wild Planet Foods corporate philosophy. “Wild Planet Foods distributes seafood only from ecologically sound, sustainable fisheries. It is our hope that enlightened consumers will prefer these food sources.” Their website states that the company seeks to:
- Produce the finest wild seafood only from fisheries that are sustainable and free of wasteful by-catch and habitat destruction.
- Develop new standards of seafood safety that assure consumers protection from potentially harmful contaminants both natural and man-made.
- Supply consumers with quality enhanced products that provide greater essential nutrition, promoting superior health and wellness.
- Become an example to the seafood industry of finding sustainable balance in both the use and preservation of precious marine resources.
Aside from the sustainably harvested canned fish produced by the company, they also distribute live Dungeness crab throughout California and the US, not to mention a large overseas market in China. Male crabs are banded and chilled into a hyperdormacy for the shipping from San Francisco to China. Soon, in cooperation with the Eureka Redevelopment Agency, crab will also be shipped locally from the new Fisherman’s Terminal Building and C Street Market Square at the foot of C Street in Eureka. While large competitors have tried to imitate the practices of Wild Planet Foods, none can compare with their dedication to sustainable practices and the relationships Bill and his team have built with organizations such as Seafood Watch and Greenpeace. In fact, Greenpeace Canada listed Wild Planet Foods 1st in their 2011 ranking of the top canned tuna brands in Canada based on commitment to sustainable practices…30% higher than the 2nd place brand. Overall, Bill gave a really interesting presentation on an industry fundamental to this area and how Wild Planet Foods does their part to keep our ocean ecosystems healthy and productive. Wild Planet Foods can be found in major stores from Eureka Natural Foods locally, to national retailers such as Whole Foods.
Respectfully submitted,
Stacy Lane
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