Rotary Club of Oak Bay Social Lunch 30 August 2016 - Victoria Lawn Bowling Club

Reporter and Photographer: Bob Schelle

The Oak Bay Rotary Club held a social lunch on August 30 at the Victoria Lawn Bowling Club. This was arranged by Wendy.  Everyone appeared to have a great time, with many varied bowling styles displayed. Jack and Brannan and Joan P. appeared to have previous knowledge of the game. 

Joan was sporting footwear which appeared to be a hybrid between slippers and gloves. 

Jenny left on her motorcycle to get prepared for her 5 week cycle trip to Texas via Yellowstone Park with her husband Lloyd.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 24 August 2016 - Mandy Pui on social media

Reporter: Lorna Curtis

President Lori opened the meeting with an upbeat version of Oh Canada from the Nylons!  She reminded everyone if you cannot do your roster duty it is YOUR responsibility to find a replacement!!!! 

Joan Firkins provided the Rotary Moment - she reminded everyone about the Centennial contribution to the Rotary Foundation: $35 CAD to commemorate all the good work the Foundation has done over the years.  So far 20 club members have contributed but still another 30 to go to get to the dollar goal of $1750. Different ways of contributing:

Rotary Direct: recurring gift to support the Rotary Foundation $10 and up per month on your credit card can be set up online or see Joan F.  

Benefactor is a minimum $1,000 contribution to the Rotary Foundation upon your death - you receive a recognition pin and certificate - do not need to do anything other than leave this information with your will.   See Joan F for more information.

Jean Dickinson who was inducted by District Governor Joanne at the bbq on Sunday, was presented with her new member Rotary package and was asked to say a few words - instead Lori and Jean sang about Rotary members to the tune ‘Summertime and the Living is Easy’.  

Announcements:

• September 13th and 27th no meeting at Oak Bay Beach Hotel meetings will be at Oak Bay Recreation Centre
• Lorna announced the Kitchen Party has been moved to Saturday, October 22nd so put that date in your calendar.  She reminded members that they should have one of the club business cards to give to a potential member to visit our club, discover Rotary and have a complimentary lunch.  The new rack card from the area PI Committee was circulated - the rack card advertises Rotary - where/when/times of Rotary Club meetings in Greater Victoria.
• Volunteer for "Remembering Our Canada" - bring stories and join artists at the Volunteer Orientation Session, August 24th, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Hillside Seniors Centre 1454 Hillside Avenue.
• Club in the Pub Penny Farthing this Thursday, August 25th 5pm
• John Jordan 178 Beach Drive - Plant Sale 10 - 3pm on Saturday, September 3rd, to raise money for his Rwanda project..

Celebrations Master - Wynn Taylor quizzed members about the art installations around Oak Bay - apparently there are a couple of nuts on the Oak Bay Municipal lawn and not a dead deer as suggested by Neil Rawnsley.  Thank goodness we did not have to know where the pianos are located!

Happy/Sad $.

Brian Lamb won the draw but also won last week so we drew again and Joan Peggs won.

Guest Speaker: 

Tom Croft introduced speaker Mandy Pui for her vocational talk.  

She spoke of Knowledge translation - how to get someone to remember something and use it.  Getting knowledge out to people so they can use it! Infographics - one page explanation about your organization, key messages. Go to nounproject.com to get images to use for infographics. Mandi works with many different non-profit organizations including the StemCell matching program to raise money and attract donors. When it comes to a cause it helps to attach a face.  

When to use # or @ on Facebook:

# is used for general topic and you want anyone to see your post

@ specific person or page

Ask each other why we joined Rotary and what are the causes you are interested in.  Once you have the answer to one of these questions and then post on your Facebook with a @ or #.  Everyone got busy on their mobile devices.

Mary Canty thanked the Mandy - even though she does not have a Facebook page!

The meeting ended with all of us singing a very bad version of Lori and Jean’s Summertime and the Living is Easy!

Rptary Club of Oak Bay Meeting of 17 August 2016 - Katie Coard, President Rotary Club of Downtown Victoria

Reporter: Dr. Jim Force, Past-president

Master of Ceremonies: President, Lori McLeod

Lori had a few last minute tickets to the Meet the District Governor BBQ in Sooke on Sunday. There are around 14 of our Club members and their friends planning to attend. Should be good fun.

Lori also mention a concern about low attendance at the luncheon meetings and invited folks to suggest “great speakers” that they may like to hear. Send suggestion to her or Bob.

O Canada: Led a cappella by Lori and Thuli

Invocation: Naida Hyde

Special Presentation: In acknowledgement of her dedication, courage and commitment to serving others, Jim Force, on the behalf of the Club, presented Thuli Kamokelo, with the tools of her trade, Littman stethoscope with carrying case, aneroid sphygmanometer (blood pressure cuff), and penlight with pupil gauge all wrapped in a beautiful hand-made gift bag.

Lunch Menu: Another great lunch – delicious and nutritious

              Caesar Salad

              Roasted Butternut Squash

              Beef Stroganoff with Garganelli Noodles

              Potato Bacan Soup

              A selection of delightful sweets

Introduction of Guests: Given that neither of our scheduled greeters were able to attend today, Lori introduced our guests: Visiting Rotarian and guest speaker, Katie Coard, president of the Rotary Club of Downtown Victoria. Visiting guests: Thuli Kamokelo guest of Naida, Dariusz Dziewanski, Rotary Scholar and guest of Vicky Pitt. Jean Dickson, soon to be a member of our Club, guest of Lori McLeod. Maya McIntye guest of Anne McIntyre.

Rotary Moment 1: Rotary Scholar Dari, a Ph.D. student at the University of London, England, who has received a Rotary Global Grand, talked about his doctorial research into the normalization of gang violence in Cape Town. Normalization means that the violence has become so much a part of people’s lives that it seems normal to them. Cape Town is one of the most dangerous cities in the world with a homicide rate of 65 / 100,000 people, compared to 1.5 / 100,000 in Victoria. He also mentioned the mentoring groups that are working to reduce the gang violence. He hopes to have the first draft of his dissertation completed by the end of November.

Rotary Moment 2: Jack inspired us with a most delightful, creative and inclusive Rotary Moment using a sport’s analogy in likening our club to a winning team. Here are a few quotes that highlight his message:

“Our rookies and veterans inspire us all to do more. . . . No superstars, just supporting team mates. . . . New players make a difference. . . .  Another important aspect of a Championship Team is Scouting. We are all officially scouts for our team. So find some rookies and invite them out. . . . And stay tuned for the ‘MOD Squad’ this year. It’s the ‘Membership Overture Department,’ a special team within a team that is dedicated to making the newcomers fell recognized and attracted to our club.”

Announcement: Wendy reminded us of the Lawn Bowling Social on Tuesday August 30^th at the Victoria Lawn Bowling Club in Beacon Hill Park. If you haven’t yet signed up contact Wendy or Bob.

Celebration Master: Wynn Taylor extracted money from the real estate folks who weren’t on a modern team such as Tom Croft’s in which he was pictured with two lovely young women. He then fired out numerous questions about past Olympics related to places, dates and events, which were surprisingly well answered – for the most part.

              Club Anniversaries: Lynne 16 years and Don 15 years.

              Birthdays: Corey and Don.

             

              Wedding Anniversaries: Sanjay (in a suit and tie) and Bill (in shorts) Both paid fines for anyone else dressed in a similar fashion.

              Happy Dollars: Alyx, Vicky, Lori, Wendy, and Perry all had something to be happy about, but were just to fast for me to record. Joan Peggs mentioned that she received a $66 donation from 49 Below: artisan ice cream. Check them out at http://www.49below.ca

              50/50 Draw: Maya pulled the ticket that belonged to Jenny, who unfortunately, drew a white marble, not the winning black marble.

Guest Speaker: Sanjay introduced Katie Coard, president of the Rotary Club of Downtown Victoria, Chair of the Area 6/7 Public Image Committee, and former member of the Vitoria Rotaract Club. Katie is originally from England and is a free-lance website developer, who is currently in the process of developing our web page.

The Area 6/7 PI Committee includes representatives from all 13 local Rotary Clubs and Rotaract Club. Joan Peggs is our club’s representative. Questions can be directed to her. One of the difficulties of marketing Rotary is that there is no singular specific client group. We market to everyone. Also Rotary is very complex in that it is involved in a wide variety of service activities. Thus, Rotary is not about selling a product but rather promoting and experience. As such, Katie has designed the new Greater Victoria web site in which three areas are highlighted: Join Leaders, Exchange Ideas and Take Action. The best way to get an appreciation of what the site offers is to visit it at http://rotaryvictoria.org Keep in mind that it is designed for folks who might be interested in joining Rotary more than for those already in Rotary. However, there is lots of valuable information for Rotarians who are introducing others to Rotary. So do check it out.

Katie noted some of the new promotional material that the PI Committee has put together. It includes a new rack card, membership packets, flyers and an upcoming video that should be available this fall. Of course there is also the Greater Victoria Rotary Newsletter that all local Rotarians receive. If you have something you’d like included in the Newsletter contact either Katie or Joan Peggs.

Wynn, thanked Katie and presented her with one of our Club mugs.

Lori closed the meeting with a bang on the bell.

PS: After the meeting Thuli used her new stethoscope to listen to the heart beat of Janna’s yet to be born baby.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 10 August 2016 - Thuli from Lesotho

Reporter: Tom Croft

Membership Development Month!

With Ryan on cash and Lynne M on 50/50, the Garron was kept entertained and Ryan balanced, good work Garron.

Lorna Curtis filled in for President Lori who is vacationing.  She opened the meeting at 12:20 sharp!  Lorna is asking us “Why did you join Rotary”?

O’ Canada was sung a capella and led by Neil Rawnsley.

Grace was provided by Janna “Small acts performed by millions of people can transform the world!”

Neil Rawnsley, Tav MacPherson, Tom Croft, Mary Canty, Perry Bamji, and Victoria Pitt all provided their varied reasons for joining Rotary.

Lorna handed out business cards, “The First Lunch is on Us”.  Membership packages were also left on the tables to encourage us to invite more friends and prospective Rotarians for lunch. All Rotary Clubs will have the information packages by the end of September.

Visitors were introduced by Tav; Jean Dickson, Colleen Force, Donna Chow, and Thuli Kamohelo our guest speaker.

Announcements:

• Pub Crawl for Polio; eradicating polio one step at a time is August 27^th, 2016.  Get tickets on line at ride.c/pubcrawl.  Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Downtown Victoria.
• District Governor Salmon BBQ, August 20^th, last call for tickets.
• Joan Peggs, Youth Services Committee, thanked everyone for donating $650 for sponsoring lunches for Rotaract and Interact.
• Mary Canty: Pablo coming up from Mexico, to perform with his quartet and is looking for billets from Sept 5 to 9^th.
• Janna, baby pool 50/50 for Rotary
• Anne Mac, Westjet raffle tickets $20 for anywhere they fly, draw is Sept 10 proceeds of Soap for Hope.
• Wendy, Social Committee 5^th meeting dates, this month will be a surprise at the Victoria Lawn Bowling Club, (do we have to wear our Whites?)
• Janna announced a new Fireup Bell project. 

The Rotary Moment for today was provided by Lorna, on changes to the legislation of Rotary. The governing body meets every 3 years to go over and update Rotary governance.  Recent changes:

.     Rule of 85, combined years of membership plus age, with a 20 years minimum membership .

.     Club flexibility to change meeting schedules, must meet twice a month.

.     In person, on line or both; check out E-Club of Canada One.

Lorna Curtis thanked the Oak Bay Collector Car show volunteers, it was a great success again.

Celebrations Master/Sargent at Arms, duties were performed by Joan Firkins. Canada’s first medal? Rotary’s other motto? “Those who serve first serves best”, Who wrote the President’s message? the President John Germ.

Birthdays: Ryan Gisler.

Anniversaries: Wynne and Sanjay.  Club membership: Lynne and Don 16 and 17 years respectively.

Happy Sad Dollar: Dallas thanks for taking over as CM, Lorna Happy for granddaughter’s 6^th Birthday and Disneyland; Tav – women’s Rugby, Heather – finally a CFP, Lynne 100% attendance over the 16 years. Vicky happy because her niece was called to the bar. Draw was won by Brian.

Guest Speaker:

Nadia introduced our speaker Thuli Kamohelo whom she met in Lesotho.  Thuli began with a song called “This is my story, this is my song”, “I am praising my saviour all the day long”.

She told us the story of her very difficult life, her father and mother died at a young age, she became the head of her household. Nadia and Helga helped her by providing emotional support during her struggles to find herself and raise her siblings. She won an award for being one of the top 10 students in the whole country received a scholarship to attend University which she has just graduated from in Nursing. She will be returning to Lesotho in September, but even though she is a qualified nurse she will not have a job when she returns there.

Thuli is motivated to help her women of Lesotho gain access to health services and be there for them. Her life experiences have given her wisdom to realize there are many girls who like her, need help to get through school. "I want to be role model for change in my country"!

Neil Rawnsley provided a very thoughtful thank you on behalf of the Club. Expressing many of our feelings that we are so fortunate to have had Thuli visit us and tell us her story.

Lorna closed the meeting with a Rotary minute, “How did you get started in Rotary”.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting of 2 August 2016 - Joey Vaesen, Co-President of the Rotaract Club of Victoria

Reporter: Dr. Jim Force, Past-president

Photos: Jack Petrie and Bob Schelle

Master of Ceremonies: Assistant District Governor for Area 6, Lorna Curtis.

Kick Off: Lorna started the meeting by informing the group that August is Membership Month (by the way Lorna is our club Membership Director this year). From there she asked the question, “What does Rotary do”? Part of the answer is a two-page handout that describes what our club does. This handout will be made available to speakers and guests as part of this year’s campaign to promote Rotary. She also asked us to check out the new look of the Greater Victoria Rotary website at http://rotaryvictoria.org

Mustard Seed Donations: Given the low number of members in attendance (23), the amount of food donated was staggering – over a dozen, filled to the brim, shopping bags. Way to go Rotarians!

Invocation: Don O’Coffey

Lunch: As usual the lunch was fantastic – best Rotary meal in Victoria, in this reporter’s humble opinion:

Panzanella Salad

Gnocci with Asparagus

Mixed Veggies

Roasted Chicken pieces

Chilled Melon Soup  - a real hit for those who tried it

And of course a selection of desserts – my favourites are the chocolate ones

Visiting Guests: Alyx Valdal introduced our three guests: speaker Joey Vaesen, Co-President of the Rotaract Club of Victoria, fellow Rotaractor, Paul Henderson, and former club member Kathryn Duncan visiting form Ontario. Note about Kathryn. When I joined the club, she was a great mentor and played a big part in getting me integrated into the club – thanks Kathryn.

Rotary Moment: Treasurer, Victoria Pitt, presented the club’s budget for this Rotary year, which was passed by the members present. Total expected revenue $61,350. Total expected expenditures $66,693. Again this year the budget expenditures are greater than the revenues. However, that was the case last year and it all worked out even in the end. It is expected this year will be the same. For copies of the full financial report, contact Vicky.

Announcements: 

• President Lori, who is taking a play from my presidential play book, was present but not serving as master of ceremonies. Rather, she was connecting with folks and enjoying herself. She did announce that we are invited to participate in the Canada 150 Mosaic Project. The project will consist of 600 4”x4” tiles. The tile painting will occur on August 12^th and 13^th. For more details contact either Lori or Lorna.
• Joan Firkins, our club’s Rotary Foundation Director, announced that 14 members contributed to The Rotary Foundation today. If you haven’t yet made a contribution this year, please make sure you take an opportunity to do so at one of the next couple of meetings. 

Celebrations Master:  Joan Firkins collected a variety of fines by asking a number of individuals questions ranging from how many Rotary Clubs in Area 6 and 7 – (This is a bit of a trick question in that two clubs are in the process of merging and is Rotaract considered one of the clubs. As such it is my opinion that the number is yet to be confirmed), how many folks attended the RI Conference in Korea – 44,607, how many countries were represented at the conference – 160, and finally some thing about some ball player for the Blue Jays, who are battling for first place in the AL East race. Mandy was fined for not mentioning Rotary in any of her numerous posts about Alan’s bike accident – We wish Alan a speedy recovery.  

Club Anniversaries: Janette N – 2 years and Pete L – 9 years. 

Happy Dollars: Alyx was happy to celebrate her wedding anniversary. Vicky was happy for a windy sailing on a 49ft yacht. Kathryn was happy to have a 5-day visit in Victoria. And Jim F was happy to have a Madison, Wisconsin Rotarian join Club-in-a-Pub. He was also happy that Colleen has made sour-dough bread from wild yeast – that’s not "wild geese" as some heard – collected from their back yard.

50/50 Draw:  Today was the big draw, one marble left, winner takes all - $247 and change. Such being the case you’d think we’d have had a packed house, but such was not the case. Kathryn drew the winning ticket that was held by Ron Cooley. 

Guest Speaker: Perry introduced our guest speaker Joey Vaesen, co-president of the Victoria Rotaract Club. Joey, a former Interact student, is a 4^th year Bachelor of Commerce student at UVic specializing in service management and entrepreneurship. Joey chose business because it allowed for great diversity in career options. He has a passion for service and enjoys time spent assisting others. The quote that captures life’s meaning for him is “the people who think they’re crazy enough to change the world, are the ones who do.

Joey began his brief, but informative, talk by thanking our club for the support we give to Rotaract. The purpose of Rotaract is for young folks ages 18 to 30 to get their hands dirty in the service of others and to develop themselves both professionally and personally. The Victoria Rotaract club is the largest in Canada with 48 registered members in June 2016. During the summer, they meet bi-weekly, with 10 active members, as many members are away from the university. During the 2015-16 Rotary year, they raised over $11,000 through various fundraising projects.

This year, their focus is on membership. As the District Rotaract representative, Joey is involved in developing a District Rotaract Committee. This came about from his attending the Bid West Rotaract Conference that included Rotaract clubs from zones 25 and 26. 

An important part of Joey’s talk was related to the mutual benefits to Rotaract and to the Rotary clubs that sponsor Rotaract. There is a sharing of ideas and projects as well as mentoring that works both for the Rotarian and the Rotaractor.

Jack, in his thank you to Joey, mentioned that now that Rotaractors can belong to a Rotary club while being in Rotaract, he nominates Joey as our president-elect for 2017-18. 

Closing Video: Lorna closed the meeting by showing the Come Join Us in Rotary Video, which can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7AGVYDSEao

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting of 26 July, 2016 - Rebecca McKee from Valentus Clinics

Reporter: Sabrina 

Kicking off the Meeting

Sandy Currie said the Invocation

Wolf Schopper introduced Guests and Visiting Rotarians

• Bruce Willats – Laguna Beach Club
• Jean Dickson – guest of Lori McLeod
• Donna Chow – guest of Lori McLeod
• Rebecca McKee (speaker) – guest of Bob Schelle

Rotary Moment

RI Foundation Director, Joan Firkins, spoke about the club’s fund raising goals for the foundation this Rotary year:

• Annual fund goal $21,000
• Polio Plus goal $2,500
• 5 new Benefactors
• 3 new members of the Bequest Society
• 2 Major Gifts
• 25 members sign on for Rotary Direct (monthly billing for donations)
• $16/month will get it done!
• 5 new Paul Harris Society members

She played an inspiring Video: http://video.rotary.org/mhDR/a-century-of-doing-good-in-the-world/

Announcements

• President Lori reminded us all of the District Governor Salmon BBQ for all the local clubs in Sooke on August 21^st – cost is $40 per person.  If you don’t like salmon, there’s a chicken option. 
• The East Coast Kitchen Party (club social) at Bob Schelle’s house has been postponed due to insufficient names for August 6th. Many people will be out of town.  Another date  will be set, so stay tuned!
• Joan Peggs is collecting $20 from those interested in treating a Rotaract/Interact student ot lunch sometime this Rotary year.  See her if you want to donate!

Health of the Club

• Brian L saw David S last week and David said he was leaving the hospital within the next couple of days.  He should be home now and is looking a lot better than a week earlier.  Send him notes or stop by for a visit if you can.

Celebrations Master

Joan Firkins was our celebrations master today.  After handing out some fun fines, she mentioned the Mustard Seed is in dire straits because of people on holidays, and their food shelves are almost empty. Go help them out if you can!

Happy/Sad Dollars

• Anne McIntyre gave a happy dollar because the Soap for Hope van in the Ladysmith parade this weekend for the first time.
• Mandy Pui gave a happy dollar because she offered tickets to George Jay students to attend a Harbour Cats game and 145 families took advantage of the tickets.  Also, she has a Cambodian project fundraiser happening in Vancouver at the end of August – it’s a Cambodian-themed BBQ.  Tickets are $20 – ask Mandy for details if you’re interested in attending.
• Joan Peggs gave a happy dollar because she had such a great birthday over the weekend.

Birthdays

• Tom Croft gave $69 to the foundation for his 69 years
• Ron Cooley gave $100 to the foundation and told us to guess how old he is
• Giles Bixler (not in attendance)

50/50 Winner

Pete Lawrie won, but he didn't get the black marble.  Double-down next week, as it’s only the black marble left in the bag!  He said he now has a sad dollar…

Speaker – Rebecca McKee from Valentus Clinics (www.valentusclinics.com)

Jim Laing introduced Rebecca: Having been fascinated with human behavior and relationships her entire life, Rebecca went on to obtain her Bachelor’s degree in Social work at the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, BC.  From there, she went on to work in the non-profit sector, focusing mainly on work with at risk youth.  After years of providing counseling and talk therapy, she realized that there was an element missing in her practice.  After her own personal struggles she became enamoured with “alternative” therapies and discovered Brainwave Optimization, which she believes to be one of the missing links in traditional therapy. She has very much enjoyed being part of the amazing team at Valentus Clinics and helping many people over the last 4 years, and is looking forward to helping many more. It would be her dream to create and get funding for a charity where people who need it can access the remarkable powers of alternative therapies.

Topic of discussion: "Neurofeedback and the brain. The presentation will begin with a fun introduction to the brain, followed by an introduction to brainwaves – what are they and what do they do? The presentation will cover the topic of a newer concept in brain science called neuroplasticity. We will talk about how neuroplasticity affects the brain, and finally, how neurofeedback can be used as an intervention for brain based challenges, followed by a few of our success stories."

Tom Croft thanked Rebecca

Meeting Adjournment

****Lorna Curtis will be emcee next week and asked us all to bring a non-perishable food item (or three) for Mustard Seed.****

President Lori closed the meeting with a cover of the Johnny Cash song “Ring of Fire.”

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 19 July 20, 2016 - Dr. Perry Bamji on Goofy Patents

Reporter: Sabrina

Introduction to the Meeting

President Lori McLeod talked about harmony to open the meeting

We sang “O Canada” to a new YouTube version (Karaoke)

Tav McPherson did the invocation

Peter Lawrie and Wendy Townsend were pinned for being incoming board members

Sandy Currie introduced our guests and visiting Rotarians:

• Marlene Oliver – visiting from the Victoria club
• Jean Dickson – guest of Lori McLeod
• Maya McIntyre – guest (and daughter) of Anne McIntyre
• Thuly Kamohelo – guest (and daughter) of Naida Hyde
• Donna Carrigan Chow – guest of Alyx Valdal and past member of our club

Rotary Moment

Neil Rawnsley presented a “Rotary Moment” providing the story of the origin of the 4-way test

If anyone wants a copy of the story, email Neil and ask him – very interesting!

Announcements

Lorna Curtis made 2 announcements:

• District Governor is visiting on Sunday, August 21^st from 3-6 PM at a traditional Salmon BBQ for all our local clubs at once.  The BBQ will take place at 2895 Sooke River Rd, cost is $40 per person.  No host bar.
• Oak Bay Rotary is having a social on August 6^th at Bob Schelle’s house.  It’s an “East Coast Kitchen Party” with the best donairs you’ve ever tasted, and lots of live music.  The cost is $30 per person.  Members from the newly chartered downtown club are attending.

Celebrations Master

Peter Lawrie completed his duties quickly so that Perry would have time for his presentation.

Fines: members were fined if they haven’t yet brought a guest to a meeting in this Rotary year.

Birthdays: Lorna Curtis and Joan Peggs both celebrated their birthdays at today’s meeting.

Happy/Sad dollars: Wendy Townsend is retiring on September 30^th

50/50 draw: Naida won the draw but didn’t pick the magic marble!

Health of the Club

Lynne Murray mentioned she’d gone to see David Sills .  He might be sent home later this week and is doing well.

Speaker

Naida introduced our very own Dr. Perry Bamji as our speaker, who has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Bombay and  Masters and Ph.D.in Electrical Engineering  from the University of Bradford in England. Perry was employed by Alcan International as a junior research engineer and worked his way up to being a Director with Alcan in England, Japan and Canada.  On his retirement from Alcan he was invited to join Queen’s University School of Business as an Associate Professor and Director of Small Business Consulting.

Perry’s life motto: “The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of anything.” – Author Unknown

Perry holds 12 patents and has published several technical publications in Journals of Learned Societies.

Perry spoke today about “Goofy Patents: An Extravaganza of Eccentric Ingenuity!”  Among the inventions he discussed were the following:

• Alarm clocks from the early 1800s
• Transportation devices and travel aids
• Dining implements
• Beauty, grooming, and dental aids
• Golfing and fishing aids
• How cardboard can get patented, showing a cardboard cat figure to deter mice

Peter Lawrie thanked Perry for his presentation which everyone found highly entertaining, as Perry had a few of them actually constructed and on display.

Meeting was adjourned by President Lori with another song about harmony.