May 22, 2012 Bulletin - Club Assembly

NOTICE of New Member Proposals:

Mr. Peter Sou, retired, a current member of the Rotary Club of Sidney, has applied to transfer to The Rotary Club of Oak Bay. Peter is a 2 x Paul Harris Fellow.

Ms. Wendy Townsend, Program Manager, Correctional Service Canada, has been proposed by  Anne Sims.

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The meeting today started brightly with the singing of O Canada, accompanied by the brilliantly talented Mr. Tom Lidkea.  Grace was said by Anne Sims before we sat down to a fish'n'chips meal, probably not the healthiest fare on earth but it tasted good. In keeping with the "what the heck" health attitude, we finished it off with Nanaimo Bars loaded with chocolate, and healthy enough mandarins.

Jerry McLean introduced the Guests and Visiting Rotarians:

Rotarians: Janet Power, Victoria Club; Wayne Evans, Kelowna Sunrise; and Peter Sou, Sidney.

Guests: Eileen Eby and Patricia Jutras were hosted by the club, Julie Evans by Wayne, Maureen Madsen by her father, Neil, Jim's wife Colleen was there, and Wendy Townsend was hosted by Anne Sims.

A Banner Presentation was made by Wayne Evans of Peachland. He presented a "collector's item" - the old Kelowna Sunrise banner, which has now been replaced. He also had pins for Joan and secretary Leslie. We will probably see more of Wayne, as he and Julie have a new grandson in Victoria, just a couple of blocks from the Recreation Centre.

Mark Bedford spoke on his wife Josephine's condition. She is in hospital and hopes to be out soon. 

Jim Force introduced the key people involved in the Start Early Literacy Awareness and Fundraiser. This was an initiative of the Rotary Clubs of Greater Victoria Literacy Roundtable. Nine Area 4A and 4B Rotary Clubs and the UVic Rotaract Club participated in the project; they were able to raise $3,550 and collect 180 children's books. Patricia Jutras, owner of Cadboro Bay Book Company, supported the campaign by distributing Start Early Bookmarks and inviting her customers to donate their "book points" to the cause. She was also able to obtain discounted prices on 745 board books (for babies) which she passed on to us. She took nothing for her efforts. The retail price of the 745 books was $6,453. The books were presented to Eileen Eby, project leader for 1000x5 Children's Book Recycling Project. The books will be distributed to local families through the Strong Start programs located in various elementary schools. A beautiful display of children's books was put together for our enjoyment.

Dallas had information on the District 5020 Conference - there are only 32 Days to go. The Home Hospitality program is looking for hosts. It's a great way to make new friends from afar. If you can help, please contact the Fellowship Chair, Judith Bowen, at jkbowen@shaw.ca, or 250 652 1672, or  Jinny Hambly, who is co-ordinating Home Hospitality at  jhambly@shaw.ca

Heather had a successful scoop with her "malaria net" (looked more like something you might catch a fish in, to me - or perhaps a really big mosquito), raising $156 - that's about 15 nets' worth. Thanks were received by email today from PDG, Ross White, for our contribution. Ross is collecting $ for  mosquito nets for a group from Sunyani in Ghana. The group will be coming to Nanaimo in June, and also attending the District Conference, where a cheque presentation will be made.

Fines' Master, Will, collected for all who hadn't signed up for the Tea Party roster, or didn't shake a visitor's hand, and/or whoever didn't know his This Day in History questions. One about the 1893 (who was round then anyway?) Stanley Cup prompted Phil to get up and speak about a relative of his who was on the winning Montreal team, a certain Billy Barlow.  Renate had a birthday, and Jim and Colleen had their 22nd anniversary.

Tom Croft had a $ or so to speak of the 5th Annual Bowker Creek Community Event to be held on Saturday June 9, from 11-3 at Fireman's Park. Events for the whole family are planned.

Joan P. had a sad dollar, as we had missed her 5th anniversary of joining Rotary (May 9, 2007). Wayne from Peachland had a happy dollar - he thanked Tom C. for loaning him money for lunch - he was sure we would have Visa or Mastercard here (and why don't we?). Heather had a saddie - her car got "smoked" in her cul-de-sac at home by a teenage driver.  She also apologised for missing Joan's 5th!

Tricia had some Happy $s in celebration of retrieving original typewritten minutes from 1974 (our Charter year) to 1976. They had been sitting in storage somewhere in the bowels of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. New hotel owner, and son of Charter Member, Bruce Walker, Kevin Walker, had unearthed them. Mindful of last week's presentation on Women in Rotary by PDG Joan Firkins, she read a moderately-politically-correct entry by Brian, "reluctantly" typed on May 19, 1976, on the differences between male and female administrators. Look for copies of these minutes, starting with the very first (August 6, 1974) today, in future bulletins.  They will also be attached to the history page of our website shortly.

Tom C. won the money (that's what you get for being a sport with your wallet!) but chose the unlucky black marble.

Perry told of a bright idea Pete Lawrie had to fundraise, cashing in on the pennies that will soon be disappearing from Canadian wallets (and the innards of washing machines). Pete's idea is called: Pennies to Heaven: The Final Journey (steal this name at your peril). It costs the government $130M a year to keep them in circulation, so it's about time they went. And what better way than into Rotary funds. Perry handed out paper rolls to be filled in the hope of raising $3,000. That's 300,000 pennies if I have the math right. Perhaps put a notice up in your condo to spread the word. Hand your rolls in to Jim Force, Jim Laing, Peter Lawrie or Perry Bamji.

CLUB ASSEMBLY:

Treasurer, Brian Lamb, gave a brief summary of the financials. We've done well in unsolicited donations. The Tuscan Dinner is still being calculated, awaiting the Municipality to determine the credit card charges but it looks like it will be in the $19,000 vicinity. All of the International budget has been spent, and most of the Community Services budget is spoken for.

Barry Mutter spoke on retaining Membership - we are at 56, down from 65 in 2007. Work is being done to get back to this number, and to decrease the mean age. Two new members have been proposed this month - Wendy Townsend and Peter Sou.

Perry Bamji explained that David Westler is taking over the International Committee in July. He's very pleased to have spent all the IC money. He gave a brief outline of the five International projects, commending those who had spent personal time on the projects which were held in Mexico (Washrooms in Kindergarten); Guatemala (Mobile Dental Unit); Rwanda (John Jordan's stoves and more); South India (Mark's toilets); and the Malawi Girls' School. Our club has given $18,000 to this last project over five years.

Heather spoke on Administration. The bulletin notes are to be sent to Tricia directly. Lynne needs to know if members will not be attending meetings, or if you are bringing guests. It makes it much easier for the Rec Centre if they know how many are coming.

Jim Force spoke on behalf of Peter Lawrie. Youth was the emphasis for the Community Service Committee. Wynn Taylor will be next year's Director. See Peter's PowerPoint for details. CSC Assembly Update May 22,2012-DW

A reminder to all Directors to send updated reports to Tricia for inclusion on the web site. Here are the links to the various pages so you can check if they need updating:

Community;  Foundation; Administration; Membership; Public Relations; International.

The singing of God Save the Queen brought the meeting to an end but not before Perry waved Joan's chamber pot around one more time :). If you're wondering, the pot is to collect the pennies in!

Reporter and Blogger:
Tricia Timmermans

Rotary Meeting August 6, 1974