January 30, 2012
Richard Borough led us in the pledge of allegiance, while Tom McMurray gave the invocation.
Student guests included Erin Knight, our outbound exchange student who recently found out she will be traveling to Brazil next year, and Catherine McGibbon, ASB President at Eureka High School.
Visiting Rotarians
Liana Simpson from Old Town Rotary.
Guest of Rotarians
Jason Eads brought Emanuel Rose from Strategic eMarketing, Dan Price brought Alan Campbell, Greg Williston brought his wife Laura, Eric Bergel brought is wife Kim and Dale Warmuth brought Mindy Bussman of George Petersen Insurance.
There were no birthdays this week, however, the Priors will be celebrating their anniversary on February 3rd.
Craig Hansen gave a very nice introduction of our newest Rotarian, Rob McLaughlin of Eureka Ready Mix. His company has been in his family since it was founded by his grandfather with a horse and cart in the 1920s. Family involvement has included 5 generations of McLaughlins, including his grandchildren who are rumored to enjoy playing with their toys in grandpa’s office. Rob is also an avid golfer. Welcome to the Club, Rob!
Dave Dillon gave a nice summary for new members, with a recap of the 1923 Committee started for newer club members during Jim Davis’ year. For those new members, make sure you participate in 1923 club activities such as community service days and the annual raffle on March 10th.
President Greg and Secretary Heinen then explained the process for the important election today for the 2014-2015 District Governor from District 5130. The election was held by individual written ballot and Secretary Heinen’s team counted the votes.
Hank Ingham reminded us that “Mardi-Go-Braugh” will be held at Baywood on March 10th. Ryan Fray and Greg Seiler will be requiring encouraging club members to purchase tickets for this annual fundraiser. In true Hank style, he left us with the following joke: Question: What do they call a fake stone in Ireland? Answer: A sham rock!
Recognitions
Due to the number of items assessed against Nick Bertell today, we only had time to recognize two members for their recent activities. Nick has been busy the past few months. He and partner Steve Suttell renamed their business Redwood Coast Financial Partners. Ask him the story about the sign outside their office sometime. They are located at 923 3rd Street in Eureka and actively participate in Arts Alive. This coming Saturday they will be hosting an exhibit of Aviation in Humboldt. It will feature a unique collection of historical photographs from Humboldt’s aviation history. Nick also traveled recently to New York City for the Value Investing Conference and to visit his wife’s family in the Philippines. While on vacation, he enjoyed one of his favorite pastimes, surfing, and even did a zip line between the 40th & 35th floors of two office buildings in the capital of Cebu. Nick, are you crazy? To cap off the tape-measure-earning recognition session, President Greg mentioned that Nick had recently been named Worshipful Master of Humboldt Lodge #79 in Eureka for 2012, and said he wanted to be worshipful too. Nick then reminded us that now he will be called worshipful for the rest of his life!
Joe Marks was recognized his full tape-measure fine for the opening of the beautiful new tower at St Joseph’sHospital in Eureka. Foundation Board members at the meeting included Liana Simpson and our own Chris Freeman. Joe stated the new building will welcome it’s first patients on the 21st of April. In the spirit of celebration, he then offered to arrange a special tour for our Club before the opening. One long-time member sitting near me was very excited for a “field trip” stating it’s been a long time since the Club has had one. Thanks Joe for the great opportunity and St. Joseph’s commitment to providing continued quality care for our community.
Jeff Leonard gave a very nice introduction of today’s guest speaker, none other than our own exchange student, Tonje. Tonje hails from Kapp, Norway and is currently attending Eureka High. She first lived with George Owren’s family and is now living with Eric Bergel’s family. She has a final host home scheduled for the end of her stay, but would love to squeeze another in, if possible. Jeff said Tonje has had a lot of fun so far, but had a wish list of things she’d still like to do before the year is over. If you are interested in taking Tonje to any of the following, please let her know: Eureka Symphony, ALO concert at HumBrews on February 5th, Clam Beach Run, Fern Canyon/Prairie Creek or to a San JoseSharks game.
Tonje lives in Kapp, Norway, in a white house on the edge of a scenic lake. She lives with her Mom, Dad, younger brother and black dog, Nicky. Her town is approximately the size of Eureka, but, as she says, it is more spread out. She will attend her final year of high school when she returns to Norway later this year. Her high school is three years old and has specific educational tracts students can take to prepare for college and employment after graduation. Tonje is taking classes focusing on media and communications, hoping someday to work in the movies or TV. She said career counseling is part of the program during the last year of school, so she’ll be learning more about her future opportunities when she returns home.
Tonje is very musical, playing such instruments as the trumpet, bass and guitar. She plays the base and sings in an all-girl band called “The Deccas.” They are on a break since she is in the States, but plan to reunite when she returns home. She stated that the lyrics to all their songs are in English, which is quite popular in Norway, musically speaking. She also plays the trumpet in the KBN Skolekorps, her high school’s marching band. Overall, she is enjoying her experiences in the States, but said one of the things she misses most of all about home is her mom’s homemade pizza!
She then gave the group a beautiful pictorial overview of various locations throughout Norway. The country as a whole has a population just shy of 5 million people. The government is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy, led by King Harald V and Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg. Founded as an independent country in 1814, it was briefly occupied by Germany during WWII, before restoring their independent status in May of 1945. The biggest national holiday is celebrated on May 17th, honoring the signing of their constitution in 1814. Oslo, in the south, is the capital, with approximately five million residents. Norway is a beautiful country, approximately 1100 miles long from the top, within the Arctic Circle, to the bottom on the North Sea. With a west coast pitted with gorgeous fjords and the quaint town of Bergen, the total coastline of Norway is over 15,626 miles! It shares an eastern border with Sweden and is connected in the far north to Finland.
Tonje concluded her presentation with a few more personal facts and questions from the audience. Overall, what a great presentation!
President Greg then closed the meeting, reminding us that next week we will hear from Eureka City Schools Interim Superintendent, Lee Ann Lanning, followed the next week by Humboldt County District Attorney, Paul Gallegos.
Respectfully submitted,
Stacy Lane
