Christmas Luncheon at the new Oak Bay Beach Hotel

Sounds like a good time was had by all, judging by John Edgell's photos. You can view them here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/103332526951451444133/albums/5824098668139083025
Here are a couple to start you off:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meeting of December 11, 2012

Reported by Wynn Taylor

President Joan reminded us that this is Family month and that Rotary is a family over a million strong. After the singing of O Canada, Anne Sims said Grace.

David Westler introduced our one guest, our Guest Speaker, who is also a Rotarian: Rosalind Scott

Mary Canty reported on the Health of the Club: Cards were circulated for Doug McDougall, a former member, who passed away recently, and whose Service is at the Cadboro Bay United Church, Saturday the 15th at 1:00 p.m.; Hans Ockermueller has not been feeling well, and is having blood tests. Myrna Wright, a good friend of Rotary, had an unfortunately bad fall and is in an induced coma in hospital. Please keep this vibrant woman in your thoughts and prayers.

Announcements:

Heather Aked reminded us of our Christmas Luncheon next Tuesday at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel in the David Foster Auditorium. Cost is $20 and guests are most welcome. Please contact Heather to sign in if you have not already done so. The Luncheon will be preceded by a brief Annual General Meeting. There will be no meetings Christmas Day or New Years Day... the next regular meeting will be January 8, 2013. Parking is available in the underground parking lot at the hotel.

President Joan reported that we had sold 282 poinsettias for a profit of $1,370.08.

John Jordan announced an opportunity to give a gift to the widows and orphans in Rwanda on behalf of a family member or friend. Some suggested donations would be a goat or a Rwandan Hot-Point Stove at $20. John will provide cards informing recipients of your gift in their name.

Rod Sim said that there has been a good response to the Salvation Army Kettle program and that there are a few holes for this Friday and Saturday. Check your email from Rod and contact him if you can fill a hole.

Sergeant-at-Arms Will Carter, being a history buff, challenged us with a 'this week in history' quiz. In this week in history Edward the What abdicated from the British Throne. The members had to put up the number of fingers indicating which Edward he was. All those not displaying 8 fingers were fined. In a similar vein: how many times did the Wright Brothers’ Kitty Hawk fly on her maiden day of flight? The correct answer was 4. As sweaters are not normal apparel for Victoria, those wearing sweaters had to pay for their sartorial choice. Be warned that next week's theme will be red and green. Tom Croft was fined for having his green map of Oak Bay in the local paper. Rod and Brenda Sim are celebrating their 13th Anniversary.

Happy and Sad Dollars:

Joan Firkins made a mistake in the Duty Roster and needs greeters but she also received a cheque for $150 from a member of her Oak Bay Lawn Bowling Club towards the purchase of a Rotary Smart Board. Tav McPherson is going on a three month search for dry golf courses in New Zealand. Heather Aked shared Alexander's amusing wish-list letter to Santa. John Edgell is returning to Mexico for three months in January.

Peter Sou won the draw, but drew a black marble.

September Smith introduced our Guest Speaker, Rosalind Scott, the Executive Director of the Vancouver Island Chapter of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Rosalind's Topic was The Top Ten Scams of 2012.

That old French adage that the more things change the more they stay the same seems to hold true for the world of scamming. A hundred years ago the number one scam was door-to-door magazine salesmen; in 2012 the number one scam remains the door-to-door salesperson who has widened their offering of wares.

To deal with this individual we should first of all not let them in our house and then not make any decision to purchase on the spot. Take their proposal and say you will get back to them.

The second most common scam relies upon the new technology of the Internet.

If you receive an email from your bank saying that they are in need of information from you, this a sure sign that it is NOT your bank. People pretend to be someone you trust, even the BBB, in order to get information useful for Identity Theft. This is the Trojan Horse scam. You should have malware on your computer to screen most of these scams out and if you receive any suspicious e-mails, you should read them carefully. Scams will often make detectable mistakes. Regrettably there is no legislation currently on the books in Canada to protect us from these forms of phishing, so we should be alert.

Gold-buying scams entice us to sell our jewellery for their gold content. Unfortunately, as pure gold is a soft metal and jewellery gold is a mixture, there is not as much gold in jewellery as we may think and the scammers are often after the precious gems set into the jewellery.  If you are in doubt about the reliability of a purchaser, call the BBB.

In the Microsoft Scam someone pretending to be from Microsoft says that something is wrong with your computer and that they need some information to fix the problem. If this request is unsolicited it is usually a red flag and someone is seeking personal information on your computer.

Charities can be scams; often the percentage of donations, which goes to administration, is very high - the actual money going to the designated charities is very low. The BBB has a list of reliable and unreliable charities.

Financial Elder Abuse is very common here on Vancouver Island. This is where a caregiver or family member takes advantage of a senior. Look for unpaid bills and missing things - were they broken or taken? The BBB has a TV program, Scam Watch, which highlights this problem.

Group Coupon Buying can be a scam if you don't know what coupon you are buying. Read the fine print regards expiry date and other restrictive conditions or you may find that “great deal” forever elusive. It is amazing how many people sign contracts without reading them.

Reverse Mortgages usually target seniors. The TV ads promoting them usually come from the USA, which has a different banking system than ours. If you own your home, a line of credit is better than a reverse mortgage. They say: If the bank won't give you credit, we will; but you will have to pay dearly for it.

Phone fraud often targets business with multiple lines. If you have phones accessible to many individuals you should consider protecting them with passwords.

Credit and debit card frauds often try to take small monthly amounts from your account, hoping that the small amount will be below the radar and that you won't notice.  Read your monthly statements, and if there is something you don't understand...ask!

More information on scams is available at vi.bbb.org.

After an animated question period, Wendy Townsend thanked Rosalind. Our meeting ended with the singing of God Save the Queen.

Meeting of December 4

Monthly Theme: Family. To view the photos of our recent Oak Bay Rotary Family event, go to The Rotary Club of Oak Bay Facebook Event page.

Bulletin Reporter: Rod Sim

Greeters on duty: Don O’Coffey and Jessica Van der Veen

Grace: Jessica Van der Veen 

Guests and Visiting Rotarians were introduced by Leslie Rogers-Warnock:
1. Jeff Dallin (Inovative Fitness; Oak Bay Merrython Admirer and donor); guest of the Club

2. Dave Henry (Merrython participant)

3. Dave Cowan (General Manager, Butchart Gardens and the Guest Speaker)

Health of the Club: Mary Canty says everyone is just fine!

Announcements

 

Poinsettias  

Special thanks to Don O’Coffey and others who helped deliver, and to all who purchased the lovely poinsettias.

More than 200 plants were sold.

Oak Bay Merrython: Thanks to the committee who all helped on the day: Rotarians on the committee were: Organizers Heather Aked and Leslie Rogers-Warnock (receiving a special thank-you from President Joan at right), as well as Jim Force, Ron Cooley, Tricia Timmermans, Jessica Van der Veen, and Lynne Murray. Thanks also to Peter Johannecht, Brian Lamb, Tom Croft, Claire Helm, and Mary Canty who helped out in various ways, and to those who walked or ran (Anne Sims and Joan Peggs - and her doggies).  John Jordan and David Westler helped in the International Committee display area - they also talked to people at the Community Service display area. Special thanks to all, who, along with staff at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre, put Oak Bay Rotary on the map in the Community last Sunday. The adult winner was “Oliver”, a Scandinavian student currently billeted with Leslie. And the Kids Race winner was Heather's son, Alexander, and that's him below being greeted by Sparky, as he hits the finish line. 

Socks for Our Place

Apparently Oak Bay coughed up more than 250 pairs (but no hairballs). This rates as a stellar performance; thanks to all.

Christmas Lunch at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel in the David Foster Foundation Theatre is on Tuesday December 18. Tickets are $20; guests are welcome. Heather has a sign-up sheet. 

Tuscan Dinner

Message from Joan Firkins: Don’t forget to buy that bottle of Italian wine during your Christmas shopping. Avoid the unpleasant rush of buying and donating at the end. It is scheduled for April 27, 2013. The Fundraising goal is $25,000. Last year’s achievement was over $20,000. This is another of those MJH events; please don’t miss it.

Pennies from Heaven

Message from Perry Bamji:

Pretty high finances for such a lowly denomination. Imagine if we had done “C-notes”? Time to close the campaign. Matching dollars from CIDA and The Gates Foundation. Well done and thanks to all.

Rotary Christmas Kettles

Message from Rod Sim: Bell ringers needed for Dec 7-8; Dec 14-15; Dec 18-22; and Dec 24.

Mostly 1-5 PM in front of Oak Bay Pharmasave. We raised $3,000+ last year while having fun.

Foundation Auction ReCap

Message from Tom Croft: Thanks to all who participated. There is still a chance to donate.

Contact Tom C or Neil R for more information.

Tricia Timmermans introduced the Guest Speaker, Dave Cowan (right), General Manager of The Butchart Gardens. This 100+ year-old business just keeps becoming more famous. Dave explained through a PowerPoint presentation, along with some beautiful floral images, how Jenny Butchart's vision and legacy is being upheld. The site was a quarry for three years before its beautiful transformation. Not only is it a garden, it offers a one hundred year old tradition of hospitality, where a strong work ethic is maintained. Customers are attracted the old fashioned way: through good service and word-of-mouth. It's not just a garden, it's an experience, where 600+ staff, including many with world-class horticultural expertise, keep TBG faithful to its historical vision. John Edgell thanked the Speaker on behalf of the Club.

Fines Master (Better Late Than Never) Will Carter was assisted by a pair of John’s (E & J).

This day in History included the 1891 start of the Montreal YMCA, which, according to Will, bears no relation to the Village People. 

Happy/Sad Dollars: Lorna C was happy to be back, and had a story about “Cayoo” (sp?) and her granddaughter (that’s hard to believe). Tricia T said “bye-bye”; she is leaving for parts warmer and populated with family. Guest Jeff Dallin won the “Draw” but because of a black marble not the big pot. Very well-behaved guest donated winnings back to Club with “Thanks”. Will says only 4 more black marbles to go!

God Save the Queen (sung with gusto) and that was a WRAP.

See you all next Tuesday.

Reported by Rod Sim (all errors and omissions are mine).

November 27 Meeting

Reporter:  Bob Schelle

Attendees to the November 27, 2012 meeting were greeted by Brian Lamb and Peter Lawrie who were hopefully at their posts by 11:50am. Giles Bixler did the room setup. John Edgell handled cash duties and 50/50 tickets were sold by Claire Helm.  At 12:15pm President Joan Peggs called the meeting to order reminding the throng that the monthly theme was the Rotary Foundation. Following the singing of the National Anthem, Brian Lamb offered Grace.

President Joan announced that lunch was ready, reminding all that visiting Rotarians and Guests of the Club were to be at the head of the line. The very tasty lunch consisted of coleslaw, potato and yam fries, onion rings and fish with cookies and pastry for desert.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests of the Club

Peter Lawrie introduced Geoff Stokes, IT Consultant, from the Saanich Rotary Club and Rotaract member Samantha Lloyd, who was the guest of Neil Madsen.

Health of the Club:

Mary Canty advised that Donna Chow was proceeding well with her pregnancy with no major problems.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday was sung in recognition of Pablo’s upcoming birthday.

Presentation

President Joan presented a cheque of $2,300 from PUC (Project Unity Committee, Victoria) to John Jordon (centre) and Perry Bamji to be applied towards John’s Rwanda project. Perry, who was applauded for his great PR effort in obtaining the grant, said it was all due to John’s persuasive talk with the committee.

AGM

President Joan reminded the group about the upcoming AGM on Tuesday December 18^th. She was hoping for a short meeting followed by the Christmas Luncheon. She invited comments from Peter Lawrie and Heather Aked.

Peter: Co-Presidents Elect, Peter Lawrie and Brian Lamb, have come up with a slate for the next year’s club administrative positions but there are still some holes in it, particularly, the president-elect. They are encouraging the concept of sharing the responsibilities of the positions between two members to make the duties more doable. Joan Firkins reminded the club that to apply for grants, there must be a president-elect available to sign off on the next year’s commitments. Peter invited any members who may be considering filling a position to contact himself or Brian to discuss it and the idea of sharing the position.

Heather: The AGM and Christmas luncheon will be at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, David Foster Foundation Theatre, on December 18 at 12:15p and guests are welcome, as usual. Cost will be $20 per person. A sign up list was circulated at the meeting and will be circulated again next meeting.

Announcements:

Heather Aked reminded everyone that the Merrython will be held this coming Sunday, December 2, starting at 9:45am. She thanked all the volunteers and people who will be participating in the event. In order for this event to generate the maximum revenue for all of the effort put into it, it is expected that all club members not attending the event, either as participants or volunteers, will contribute $20 per person to the event. Cheques can be made out to the Rotary Club of Oak Bay.

Jim Force advised that Club-In-A-Pub will be held this coming Thursday at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel’s Snug at 5:00pm. Please give Jim an indication if you plan to attend so a suitable table(s) can be reserved.

Samantha Lloyd, the Rotaract guest, gave an account of the Rotaract 2^nd annual Sock Drive for “Our place”. The Rotaract members canvassed 400 houses in Oak Bay and collected over 700 pairs of slightly used or new socks. Club members were invited to bring in any similar pairs of socks (washed!) for next week’s meeting when another Rotaract member will collect them. Jack Petrie suggested the drive be called “Sox in the City” but no vote was taken. Samantha would like to encourage any young people who are interested in doing fun and worthwhile activities to join Rotaract. They do not have to be UVic students. Samantha provided the following Rotaract contacts:

·      WEBSITE: sites.google.com/site/rotaractuvic

·      EMAIL:  rotaractvictoria@gmail.com

·      Rotaractclub of Victoria (UVic) on Facebook

·      Rotaract_Vic on Twitter

Perry Bamji advised that there would be a short PR meeting following the regular meeting to discuss Social Media.

Pablo Diemecke offered to pay $5.00 to the Club from every ticket purchased by an Oak Bay Rotary Club member for his concert series. The next of the DieMahler Chamber Music Series 2012 is on December 8 at 7:00pm at St. Mary the Virgin Church in Oak Bay (Elgin Street) with the theme: Traditional Christmas Favourites.

Treasurer Anne Sims was happy to collect the cheques

Peter Sou told the group about a letter he received from the Bank of Dalian, which was a scam. If you receive it you should just throw it away (as with all kinds of scams).

Fines master:

Jessica van der Veen as Fines Master somehow made giving away money seem like a fun thing. Although she had a ticket for the 50/50 draw she still insisted on drawing the winning ticket, which belonged to Peter Lawrie. Unfortunately, for Peter, he did not pick the white ball for the big jackpot but went back to his seat $16 richer.

Tax Auction:

Tom Croft performed very well as a quick and humourous auctioneer for the Club’s annual Tax Auction. When all of the bids were tallied, the total of the auction was $8125 plus $3000 from 50-50s and fines.

God Save The Queen

President Joan led the singing of the God Save the Queen and adjourned the meeting.

OK Tom, hand it over. Great job as Auctioneer today! 

District Governor's Visit - November 20, 2012

Reporter: Joan Firkins

The meeting was called to order by President Joan at 12:10 pm.

Introduction of special guests: DG Judy Byron, DGE Pete Taylor, DGN Michael Procter, AG Area 4 Hugh Robertson and the parents of Logan Graham, John Graham and Pam Sherwin.

Via teleconference, Logan Graham received a Paul Harris Fellow from the club in recognition of his efforts with the Interact club, the fundraiser Rabbits for Rwanda and generally his association with our Rotary club. Incoming club President Pete Lawrie gave a dissertation on Logan's achievement, much to the delight of his parents!

Our national anthem was sung, accompanied by pianist Tom Lidkea, and in deference to the visit of the District Governor, the national anthem of the United States was sung as well. Our District is an international District between Canada and the United States.

Grace was offered by Greeter Barry Mutter.

After a lunch of samosas, rice and caesar salad, Wolf Schopper introduced the visiting Rotarians and guests:

 Visiting Rotarians:

   Michael Procter - Qualicum Beach

   Jason Davies - Qualicum Beach

   Pete Taylor - Tacoma 8

   Hugh Robertson - Westshore

   Judy Byron - Sidney

 Guests of the club:

   John Graham and Pam Sherwin

Zone 25 Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator, Joan Firkins, assisted by DG Judy Byron, presented Tav Macpherson with his Level 1 Major Donor diamond pin. PDG Joan thanked Tav for his commitment to our Foundation and noted that the good that is done in the world by contributing to the Foundation has obviously touched Tav's heart in a meaningful way. Congratulations Tav.

For the Rotary year 2011-12, our club was #1 in the District for per capita giving to the Annual Fund at $349.46. An award and recognition banner was presented  by DG Judy to Neil Rawnsley (below) who received it on behalf of the club.

Mary Canty advised John Edgell was well enough to attend our meeting today - welcome back John!

Announcements:

- Poinsettia sales are still open until this Friday - this is an annual fundraiser so if you haven't got your order in please get it in to President Joan asap.

- Heather advised the Merrython event is ramping up nicely - club members are asked to come out and support the run on Sunday, December 2nd or in fact, take part in the run! Warm up at 9:45 am with the run starting at 10:00 am.

- Jack Petrie advised he had 5 tickets for sale to the Gospel concert on Dec. 8th, benefitting the Mustard Seed. The event is sold out at 800!

Celebrations' Master (which in reality is the Fines' Master I might add):

 Standing in for CM Jessica was Corey Burger who extracted a number of fines from the members and guests. The Happy Dollars outdid the fines today - Pete Lawrie has a new granddaughter; Tom Lidkea is just starting to understand his wife; Mary Canty's son's health is improving; John Edgell is thankful the Jubilee Hospital staff know how to do an appendectomy; Tav is happy to be home from 3 weeks of golf, the Getty Museum and cruising in an Aston Martin in California; Joan P. was alerted by crows to an owl on her walk; Batya and David are happy to be back from their trip to Israel and thanked everyone for their thoughts during this current crisis; Pete Taylor is happy to announce President Joan will be the District Leadership Training Assembly Chair next March.

Past President Vicky Pitt introduced Assistant Governor Hugh Robertson to the club, who in turn introduced DG Judy Byron.

District 5020 Governor, Judy Byron

DG Judy discussed the many aspects of 'peace' in relation to President Tanaka's theme "Peace through Service". She then talked about her personal Rotary journey, her life with her husband and family and her life as a uniformed Corrections' Officer for 23 years working with violent and young offenders; and then finally as a Program Officer with Corrections' Services Canada until her retirement.

DG Judy believes that our actions as Rotarians make a difference and that we all become true Rotarians when we understand the power of service. Interestingly, Judy's Rotary moment came before she had the opportunity to join Rotary, as she led a GSE Team to India and participated in an NID while on the exchange.

She has held most offices in her local club, including being President in 2003-04, was an Assistant Governor, Chair of the DLTA, Chair of the District Council and now is the second female District Governor in the history of District 5020. She reminded us that the District is here to support the clubs and its activities and that club members are the power of Rotary, not the District. The District is a service provider only.

She advised there are some new databases online at the District website: The Events calendar which allows clubs to view events in the District so as not to conflict with other fundraisers etc; the Service Treasure Chest which is useful for those looking for partners in service, including international partners; the District Newsletter in now incorporated into the website as well. District 5020 activities can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

Events of note: District Leadership Training Assembly, Grand Pacific Hotel, March 23-24, 2013; District Conference, Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney, May 31-June 2, 2013 with a number of interesting speakers including Dr. Sylvia Whitlock, the first woman club president in Rotary.

DG Judy invited everyone to attend the RI Convention in Lisbon, Portugal next June and advised the District will be holding a reception for its members - contact AG Hugh Robertson for further details.

President Joan Peggs and Neil Rawnsley accepting the District Award for Per Capita Giving 

Lori McLeod ably thanked DG Judy for her message and the meeting was closed with the singing of God Save the Queen.

Meeting of November 13, 2012

At Monday's Memorial Day Ceremony, President Joan laid a wreath on behalf of Oak Bay Rotary.

President Joan Peggs started the meeting with a presentation about the Foundation donations. To become a Sustaining Member, one donates $100 during the Rotary year. Every Rotarian Every Year (EREY) is when every club member donates a minimum of $100 each year. To attain a Paul Harris Fellow (PHF), a donation of $1000 is made. A member of the Paul Harris Society is one who commits to donating $1000 every year. A Benefactor donates $1000 to the Permanent Fund or in one's Will. A Major Donor is a PHF who has donated more than $10,000. A Bequest Society donor is one who includes a donation of $10,000 to the Foundation in one's Will. The Arch Klump Society donor is one who donates $250,000.

Tom Lidkea led us with O Canada and George Pritchard said the Grace. Neil Rawnsley introduced our guests: David King, guest of Don O’Coffey and Warren Brown, our guest speaker.

We had a small crowd today - only 20 members and 2 guests!

Health of the Club

Mary Canty announced that John Edgell had been ill; a card was sent around, and tha Peter Lawrie would  be back next week.

Announcements

Joan Peggs reminded us that next week our District Governor, Judy Byron, will be at our meeting which will start at 12:10 rather than 12:15.  Please add that fact to your calendars.

Fines' Master

Next week Jessica Van der Veen will be fining those who were not at this week’s meeting! Jessica read an article in the latest Rotarian magazine about fresh water. She asked those who wanted to vocalize their ideas on what they would do if in charge of water, to have their say and contribute a loonie to the pot. Mary Canty said she would conserve; Joan Peggs told of her experience in Hong Kong where water was rationed to 4 hours every 4 days; Joan Firkins talked about a Rotary project regarding waterborne diseases; and Bill Burns has a "rain shower" and he stays for ½ hour in the shower.

Tom Croft won the draw. We sang Happy Birthday to Bill Burns. Rod Sims gave a sad dollar in honour of a past member's (Gordon Fowler) wife, who recently passed away. Phil Neroutsos gave a happy dollar as he just came back from Croatia where he played tennis where he won 7 out of 13 matches. Joan Firkins just returned from Squaw Creek in Lake Tahoe, California where she organized a Foundation conference.  She announced that our District (5020) won the following awards: First place for PolioPlus Challenge ($187,637) and First Place in total contributions ($1,017,962) for Zone 25.

Guest Speaker

Lynn Murray introduced our speaker, Warren Brown, the President of the Procura Group of Companies. Procura is a Victoria-based company established in 1989 that provides home care and hospice software. Warren has led Procura since 1995. The company operates in Canada, Australia and the United States.

Warren spoke about the Health Care situation in Canada and suggested that if you want to know more to read the book “Chronic Condition: Why Canada’s Health Care System Needs to be Dragged into the 21^st Century by Jeffrey Simpson.

The Current State: We are generally proud of our health care system which is provincially mandated. However, the cost is 11.4% of GDP. The cost in 2012 was $207 billion; this increases 6% annually.  The factors that increase the costs are labour, new tests and inefficiencies. The evidence is mounting that our health care system needs some repair. It is not the best health care system in the world as many Canadians still incorrectly believe. Funding from governments is facing serious constraints, service delivery is fragmented and uneven within provinces and across the country, and demand pressure will only grow with the rise of chronic diseases and an aging population.

The Conference Board of Canada held a Summit on Sustainable Health and Health Care. The five key priorities for reform emerged:

• 1.     Fix the gateway to the health care system. Interdisciplinary family care teams should be the standard model for primary care.
• 2.     Invest in and use technology more in the health care system.
• 3.     Change health professional compensation. The compensation model for physicians and other health professionals should be linked more to patient outcomes, not to activities like treatment or consultation, within a clear accountability structure.
• 4.     Build an appropriate support system to care for the elderly. Few older Canadians want to be hospitalized for chronic conditions. They want to be cared for and healed where they live - in their homes and communities.
• 5.     Improve the state of Canadians’ overall health and wellness. A healthier population would slow the growth in chronic diseases and in health care demand.

Overall Warren’s objective of his presentation today was for all of us to think about our health care system.

Phil Neroutsos thanked our speaker and we ended the meeting with God Save the Queen.

REPORTER: ANNE SIMS