March 19, 2012
Lunch: Tri Tip and mashed potatoes
Weather: cold and overcast
S&P: 1413
President Pierson called the meeting to order.
Pledge of Allegiance led by Sue Bosch.
Invocation given by Steve Justus in a faux brogue. Faith and begorrah that was rough!
No visiting Rotarians.
Guests of Rotarians
Eric Bergel brought Ron Perry of Eureka High.
Diane Cipperley brought Chris Whitt of HAF.
Chuck Ellsworth brought Steve Moser.
Tim Jones brought his father Mike.
Mike Cunningham brought Bruce Smith of Premier Financial.
Student guests were Katherine McGibben, Tess Armstrong and Erin Knight of Eureka High.
President Greg’s cell phone rang…$10!
Announcements
Hank Ingham reported on Mardi-Go-Braugh. It was rad. The club netted over $20,000! And, the slide show was hysterical, as usual. Checks were handed out to raffle winners. Tepid applause.
Birthdays and Anniversaries are in the book. Congratulations to all!
Ted Loring is desperate for volunteers for “Much Ado About Nothing” and for selling tickets. So, buy some…please!
The District Assembly is March 31st. The District Conference is in Fortuna in June.
India is now Polio free, in large part to Rotarians like yourself. Please make a contribution.
President Elect Nancy Dean awarded the Doris Niles Science Fair winner for Humboldt County. Our club has given over $100,000 to the Science Fair. Very nice!
Fireside meets are coming quick. Be sure to sign up so you can tell Nancy what Greg did wrong this year.
Eric Bergel introduced Ron Perry of Eureka High, who told us that students at Eureka High will start coming to our meetings for 4-5 weeks at a time to get more involved with our club. They will also help award small grants to senior projects. Katherine and Erin said they used to think Rotary was just old men, but now that we are giving them money to spend, they are pretending we are young, diverse and good looking.
Fred Griffith announced the payouts for March Madness. I had San Diego State, so I get nothing.
Greg Siler gave his craft talk. Hasn’t Greg been in the club for years? Local, two kids under 4, deep roots in our community. Financial advisor, rugby player, outdoorsman and father. Berkeley undergrad and MBA, proud member of our club. Welcome, Greg. And craft talks are scheduled for TWO minutes…..
Greg Foster introduced our program. He is trying to get a new airline to fly into Humboldt county from LA and is now a banker. It’s looking good. Somehow this cost Gregg $125.
Program
Patrick Cleary and John Matthews of Lost Coast Communications.
Lost Coast Communications owns and operates KHUM, KWPT, KSLG and KXGO.
They have award winning journalists and Lost Coast Outpost, a local news blog.
They have produced a documentary on the marijuana industry in Humboldt County, the Humboldt Chronicles. I see what you did there.
Patrick contends there’s an economic disequilibrium due to illegal marijuana.
High real estate prices, lack of qualified employees due to underground work, lack of entrepreneurial talent, and environmental damage, are all impacts of the illegal marijuana industry.
Since passage of Proposition 215, Humboldt energy usage has gone up 50%.
Patrick continues that our tax base is severely limited due to the underground nature of the marijuana industry, our international reputation is harmed, and organized crime is on the upswing.
Patrick believes the business community needs to get involved to address the issue in a practical manner.
A gift was given to our guests and the meeting ended on time.
Respectfully submitted,
John Harper
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| Jim and President-Elect-Elect Ziggy tabulate the earnings of our weekly Spengler Raffle. The Spengler Raffle funds are donated by our club to help fund the Doris Niles Science Fair through the Humboldt County Office of Education. |
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