Meeting of the Rotary Club of Eureka
September 9, 2013
Today’s menu: Meat (rumored to be beef) in brown gravy,
chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad bar and chocolate cake with
marshmallow frosting for dessert.
Dennis Hunter led the pledge of allegiance.
Dan Heinen told the story of 40 marines who saved a roomful
of infants and toddlers by carrying them outside during the 911 attack on the
Pentagon. He then asked for a prayer for our servicemen.
President Ziggy called up our exchange student from Russia, Dan,
who presented the club with a book about Владивосток and a Russian Flag. Ziggy pronounced his last name as “Smith”
because he had trouble with hard to spell names.
Announcements
Carlton Nielson came to the podium to give a brief history
of the Sign Smith Fund and announced a firm deadline for applications of
October 1st, close of business. Requests
must be for capital expenditures, not for salaries or other expenses.
Then, in a stunning turn of events Stacy Lane was awarded her Blue
Badge. Odds-makers were aghast, having
placed bets of 10 to one against.
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| Steve Beckman and his son, who was in town for a visit. |
Carol Rische discussed the rules of the small grants
committee. Emphasis would be placed on
lasting value, and focus would be on youth, seniors, community, health, and
literacy. Deadlines for grants are
9/30/13, 1/31/14, and 5/31/14.
Dave Dillon came up to recognize a mystery Rotarian who was
leaving the area. This person had
graduated from Pacific University with a degree in Optometry, served in the
army in Ft. Lewis Washington as an optometrist, moved to Eureka and took over Dr. Bartlett’s
practice. He joined Rotary in 1969 and
was president in 1978-9. If you guessed Tim Gallagher, you’re 20-20. Tim is moving to Boulder Colorado
to be with his 3 children and 8 grandchildren.
He received a “standing O”.
Recognitions
Dennis Hunter was recognized for winning 2nd prize at the
Backpacks for Kids Raffle. It was a $500
gift certificate to Pierson’s. He
happily paid $150 for a Rotary T shirt. Ok, maybe not so happily. That was it for “Recognition”.
Guest Speaker
After the Spengler Raffle drawing Mathew Owen introduced
developer Kurt Kramer. Kurt grew up in Eureka and built his
first house in Field’s Landing when he was 20.
After accumulating some capital as a contractor, he formed an investment
company.
His current holdings include
the Healy Building,
the Professional Building,
the Vance Hotel,
200 units of apartments in Arcata, the Meadows Retirement
Building, and a new
office building on Myrtle. He is the
contractor for the Betty
Kwan Chin
Day Center
on 7th street. He emphasized what a great project this was,
and how it would help the homeless.
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| McKay Ranch, surrounding Cutten's Redwood Fields. |
He’s also involved in plans for a subdivision in the McKay
tract in Cutten. It will be a 15 year
project. He said he enjoys the challenge
of renovating old buildings and being able to work with his hands. For a more lengthy and nuanced version of the
meeting, show up next time.
Submitted by Hank Ingham
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