August 6, 2012
The sixth
meeting of the year was opened by our illustrious President, Nancy Dean, with
her ascension to the podium and her ring of the bell. Her height at the podium
suggested some manner of portable assist, but we felt it unseemly to
investigate and document the matter more fully. Richard Whitaker, a Paul Harris
Fellow, led us in the pledge to the flag, while Eric Bergel shared the
invocation with us.
There were no
student guests announced this time around, but with summer quickly closing, it
was noted that new exchange students Franco and Larissa would be arriving soon.
As for guests,
Lisa Stack introduced her daughter Erica Slack and her friend from school Emily
Buck, both of whom are JV cheerleaders in football and basketball, rallying the Loggers of Eureka High School this fall. Rick Littlefield introduced guest Barbara
Groom from the Lost Coast Brewery, while Justin Golik invited Steven Pepper,
who is with Humboldt Maritime Logistics and Omni International.
Several birthdays were noted on Monday. First we had
the properly seated front table birthday boys of Kurt Barthel (8/2) and Pat Folkins (8/8), who
graciously accepted our acknowledgments.
And then we had the firebrand Steve Justus, who in response to his fine
of $10 for not sitting up front, put up a spirited defense and call to all
freedom lovers that "sitting where he wants" was his God given right
-- which promptly resulted in our beloved new President fining him $10 more.
While we did not
have any membership anniversaries this week, we had a very nice group of
wedding anniversaries to note. Chuck Edward
and wife Jennifer had their anniversary on the 7th. Christine Witt, who declared "Every
anniversary is special", had her anniversary with hubby Michael on the
8th. Our illustrious Sgt. at Arms -
Chair, Anthony Antonville, enjoyed his anniversary with bride Anne on the
9th. We were all happy to learn that
Greg Williston and his lovely wife Laura celebrated their 27th anniversary on
the 10th. Matthew Owen, who was in DC this
week, celebrates his anniversary with wife Supervisor Virginia Bass this Sunday
on the 12th. Finally, of special note,
we learned that Pat Folkins celebrated his 53rd year of bliss with his lovely
Sheila on the 6th.
Mindy Bussman
gave us the final announcement, with sign-up sheets on the tables, on the BBQ
and Horseracing at the county fair on August 15th. Contact Mindy Bussman by this Friday August
10th if you are interested in going. You can send her an email at: mbussman@gpins.com or call her at (707)442-2971. Post time
for the racing is at 1:30pm.
Mindy also
reminded us of the whitewater rafting trip coming up on August 18th. We are calling on all water cannons and other
water warfare tools. The gauntlet has
been thrown down by the SW Eureka Rotary chapter, and our honor demands a good
turnout. Be prepared to get wet and have
a lots of fun!!
President Dean
also announced that Lost Coast Rotaract is sponsoring a Softball Tournament on
Sept. 1, and we need some players. In
addition she reminded us that the Foundation Dinner North is being held at the
River Lodge in Fortuna on Saturday, October 13th. Finally, Dean shared a warm thank you sent to
us by District Governor Michael Juric, who visited the previous week --
"Thank you for what you are doing to strengthen the community, locally and
internationally. I'm in awe of the
leadership your club provides and look forward to working together to build a
stronger district! Yours in Rotary Service, Michael"
With the Olympic
season upon us, President Dean shared that many Rotarians have participated and
supported these games for decades. One she mentioned in particular was one Bob
Izon, who in 1958 ran the mile in world-record time in the under-16 category,
becoming the English schools champion.
Bob's story as a founding member of the Hereford Wye Valley Rotary Club
in England, as an Olympic torch bearer, and as one who has remained active
despite Parkinson's was moving and inspiring.
With Olympics on
our minds, and President Dean wanting to energetically inject some good old fashioned FUN
into the meeting, she tossed out a woof ball to each table, challenging each
table to toss the ball around the table to find the Gold Medal and Silver Medal
winners at each table. At our table,
what started as soft looping tosses quickly escalated to woof missiles being
tossed back and forth, and the room filled with "Ooohs" and
"Ahhas".
This led to some
recognitions being made before introducing our speaker.
We learned that
Lisa Slack has a hidden passion for motorcycles. She shared that as a teenager
she had first tried out motorcycles, unbeknownst to her parents. Unable to quench this hidden passion, her
rebellious biker spirit has re-emerged these last few years, and lately she has
migrated from a low seat bike that allowed her feet to touch to a more powerful cruising bike she absolutely
loves. We all thrilled and applauded her
when we learned she's planning a 3100 mile touring trip by motorcycle next year
in Europe. Go Lisa, go! This earned her a presidential rain stick
from Dean.
Greg Gardiner
then shared his trip from SF and Atlanta
that then progressed to an island
hopping tromp through the Caribbean, that included stops in Puerto Rico, the US
& British Virgin Islands, and more.
He was particularly proud of his stop at the "Soggy Dollar"
saloon which can only be reached by swimming to the island from your boat and
then back again. After a few drinks that
swim back to the boat was not as easy, and definitely earned him the rain stick
from President Dean.
Richard Whittaker
received his latest Paul Harris Fellowship award. As a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, this is not
new ground for Richard. Way to go Richard!
The final
recognition of the day went to Sue Bosch, who announced that she had just
completed her 56th year at Humboldt Land Title Company. She remembers starting there as a
teenager. We are all in awe Sue, good
job! This resulted in the final rain stick of the day being awarded to Sue.
Next came the
time for our speaker. We were introduced
to Jack Crider, CEO, Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation
District. Jack started by sharing some
of his history, which included his desire as a young man to go to school at
HSU. It was either that or Oregon State
University in Corvalis. For someone
interested in becoming a fish biologist, both schools offered great
programs. From Jack's point of view the
decision was pretty simple -- Humboldt State offered something OSU did not,
lots of pretty girls. Unfortunately his parents decided, "We are not
paying for out of state tuition", so OSU it was. Still, for all these
years Jack has had a deep hankering to get back to Humboldt Bay area.
Jack's current
role as the head of the Humboldt Bay Harbor is very broad in scope. He outlined the rich assets the bay holds,
from harbors at Woodley Island to Field's Landing, the various water trails in
the area, our new rescue vessel and fire boat, the Shelter Cover fish cleaning
station, and our place as the Oyster Capital of California.
Jack talked
about the income shortfall the harbor faces, our need to maximize income for
the harbor, and how at present we still rely on the tax base to subsidize the
operating losses the harbor faces. At
present we have 28 open slips, 18 slow pay slips, 4 free or discounted slips,
and over 50 confirmed applicants on the waiting lists. The Marina Tenant Agreement Amendment is
intended to address some of these financial issues, with the first reading of
the draft scheduled for August 9th.
Jack discussed
the new BMP (Boat Maintenance Protocols) that have been enacted across the
state. This requires facility
improvements so boat owners have a place to properly maintain their boats in an
environmentally sound fashion.
The scope of
Jack's duties also include responsibilities on the King Salmon Dunes, the King
Salmon channel entrance, the Water Trail Project in Samoa and the Arcata Marsh,
projects for cleaning Pelicans oiled by fish waste in Shelter Cove, developing
long-term sustainable dredging solutions for Humboldt Bay, and addressing climate
change vulnerability projects such as fill and beach reconstruction. One of the most important tasks is managing
the Collaborative Fisheries Project, which largely deals with the Humboldt Bay
Mariculture Industry (i.e. the Oyster Industry). With over 4000 certified
acres, 325 sustainable acres, providing over 56 jobs that generate annual sales
of $6 million, and provide $1.4 million in payroll, the long term viability of
this industry is vital to the Humboldt Bay.
The Rotary Club
was very grateful to hear from Jack, and his presentation generated a number of
questions, ranging from a wave generation project to the status of an east-west rail project. The club had Jack sign an appropriate book
for the library, "Project Seahorse".
Presented in
Rotary Service by Bruce Smith
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