Rotary Club of Eureka, California

Meeting of the Rotary Club of Eureka
March 10, 2014 

Bruce Rupp led the flag salute. Gregg Williston quoted from the Bible-saying essentially that we should give until it hurt, and do so joyfully. This was particularly apt, considering that our guest speaker was Joan Firkins, Zone 25 coordinator for the Rotary Foundation. And if anyone needed a reminder of the Almighty’s power, there was the earthquake that happened Sunday night. 

There were lots of visiting Rotarians and guests, including Gary Barker, who had taken a break from being retired to come visit while someone pruned his vines. 

Dan, our foreign exchange student, came to the podium to announce that this was his second earthquake (6.9 on 3/09) and he had only been here 4 months. He was shaken, but not stirred. 

Carlton Nielsen announced that a fundraiser for Winship Middle School would be held Saturday March 15th at 6pm at the Eureka Inn. 14,000 oysters would be served along with barbequed tri-tip and small plates from 15 participating restaurants. You can get all that food plus beer and wine for only $40, or $75 per couple. 

Mindy Bussman then revealed the theme of this year’s Rotary Raffle – “The Great Gatsby.” It will be held at the Ingomar Club on May 31st - $150 a couple includes the raffle ticket. 

Continuing in the fund raising vein, Christian Hill reminded us that the March Madness is coming to our Rotary meeting on Monday the 17th. The four top seeds in each bracket will be auctioned off and then the remaining teams will be packaged for quick sale. Everybody is a winner, except for 63 of the 64 teams. 

Four women from Lost Coast Rotaract celebrated the anniversary on March 13th of Rotaract and said they would be at the door selling cake pops after the meeting – so far we were up to four fundraisers, and that didn’t count the Rotary Foundation. 

We now have two more Rotarians. Kim Bauriedel introduced Tom Strickland, Boy Scout Executive, and Murl Harpham followed with Andy Mills, the new Police Chief. Past president Dennis Hunter wrapped it up by asking everyone to stand and turn out their pockets if they had given money to anyone. 

President Ziggy eschewed recognitions and called on Gregg Gardiner to introduce our speaker, Joan Firkins, Regional Coordinator of Zone 25 of the Rotary Foundation. Her theme was “Engaged Rotarians Change Lives.” Rotary Foundation allows you to make a difference around the world. 50% of annual fund contributions come back to the district after three year’s time in the form of grants to district projects. Three years ago our district gave $342,228 to the Foundation, so this year we get back $171,000 to use on our projects. 

 

There are three kinds of grants: Global Grants which are matching, District Grants that include group study exchange, Package grants that involve partnerships with Mercy Ships and other providers, and Bottled Grants, which is a brand of Scotch. Oh, wait. That’s one too many. The Foundation channels its money to peace and conflict resolution, disease prevention, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education, and something else that begins with the letter “e”. They also support Polio Plus and six Peace Centers where you can get a Masters. 

Joan got involved in the Foundation when she went to the international Rotary convention in Melbourne. Then she visited Uganda where she witnessed extreme poverty. She participated in Rotary Health Days, a series of traveling clinics in Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa. She showed slides of the clinics, and then we ran out of time. 

Visiting Rotarians and District Leadership

 You can contribute to the foundation by automatic withdrawals every month. $10 a month, you won’t miss it. Our District Representative can arrange it.

Penned by Hank Ingham, with extra credit for using the word “eschewed”.