Meeting of the Rotary Club of Eureka
March 24, 2014
Nick Bertell led the pledge and Dan Price gave the invocation.
It was then Ziggy realized that the microphone was not working. He compensated for it by yelling.
Dan the exchange student reported on his recent activities. He just finished reading “The Grapes Of Wrath.” He didn’t understand it.
John Bradley spoke for Backpacks for Kids. The program started in 2007 as a joint effort with Food For People and is now a multi-club effort that packs 114 bags a week at a cost of $6 a bag. The food goes to needy kids so they have enough to eat on weekends. They’re having a fundraiser Barbeque and Dance on April 25th.
Carol Rische and the small grant committee presented a check for $700 to Jeff Smoller of Making Headway, a non-profit that supports people with brain injuries. They give out 400-600 helmets a year to help prevent trauma.
Fred Sundquist introduced a new member, Jason Ganz, COO of City Ambulance. Kim Bauriedel gave the Past President’s talk.
President Ziggy reminded everyone that the January-June 2014 dues need to be paid, or else. The “else” is Ziggy calling you up at 5am.
Then there was a little recognition. Ziggy awarded T-shirts to Rick Littlefield and Hank Ingham because their teams lost during March Madness. As if losing wasn’t enough, Ziggy then announced that there would be a River Project on the Mad River on April 19th for which he needed a work crew. Said crew would be able to refresh themselves after work at the Mad River Brewery.
Jill MacDonald and Sue Bosch won the Spengler Science Fair drawing.
Program
Our program was Cliff Victorine, who heads Eel River Organic Grass Fed Beef. They started direct marketing over 10 years ago and now are one of the largest purveyors of Organic Grass Fed Beef in the U.S. Their marketing area is from Alaska to San Diego and east to Idaho. Locally, Eureka Natural Foods sells a lot of his product.
Conventional beef comes from cattle that start in pastures but in the last 90-120 days are fed corn in feedlots. This fattens them up in a hurry, but it’s not their natural food. Organic Grass Fed Animals are inspected to be antibiotic free and raised on organic pastures where they eat only hay and grass. In addition the Animal Welfare Program monitors the farms to make sure the animals are sheltered and not mistreated. His meat company has created jobs in Humboldt County and brought in revenue. There’s much at steak here and we must not be cowed by those who herd corn fed beef is better. For moo information visit www.eelriverorganicbeef.com.
Respectfully submitted by Hank Ingham
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