Dental Shenanigans - March 19, 2013 Meeting

Tav's back!

Reported by Eugen Bannerman ~ Pics by Tricia T and David S.

A lot of easy-going social buzz as we arrived and were greeted by Tom Croft and Jack Petrie. The room was set up by Pablo Diemecke, with Rotary banners on the walls, and club banners from around the world on our tables. On my table were banners brought to our club from Monkspath, England; Cuernavaca, Mexico; Osnabruck-Mitte, Deutschland; and Rotenburg, Wumme, Germany. Collector of the General Revenue (also addressed as Chancellor of the Exchequer) for March was Joan Firkins, and the 50/50 Chance Man was Peter Lawrie.

President Joan Peggs called the meeting to order at 12:15, announced the monthly theme of Literacy, and welcomed back to our club the following members: Peter Sou (from Hawaii and Calif.) Tav Mcpherson, Dr David Philip, and Lorna Curtis. After the national anthem was sung a capella, Jack Petrie read a carefully selected Grace, which ended with an African call to eat, “Born Up A Tree,” a variation of bon appetit. By the time we lined up for food, the Grace had metamorphosed into “More up a tree.”

Visitors

Tom Croft introduced Denis Pare, visiting from the Victoria Club, and Gianfranco Mosca, guest of Sabrina Corraini.

Special Presentations

Dr. Literacy Himself

In keeping with Literacy Month, David Sills informed us about “the vagaries and coincidences in the life of a book collector.”

1)    He had attended a TC book sale a few years ago where he acquired a book by an Anglican clergyman, Ven. Cecil Swanson, “The Days of my Sojourning,” a book about people in the frontier settlements of Canada (read, a century ago).

2)    At an Oak Bay Rotary meeting, David asked Wynn Taylor, our resident Anglican vicar, if he knew the author. He had not, but a voice behind him piped up, “I knew Cecil Swanson. He married us in Calgary.” It was Mary Canty. So David promised to get her a copy, which he found on the Internet.

3)    Today he presented the book “to the piper-upper,” Mary Canty, who was absolutely flushed with excitement.

4)    To David’s surprise, the Internet copy carried an inscription by Harry Moxam, who was a former Rotarian in Calgary, and who became a close friend in Victoria.

5)    “In reading the Preface, one learns that the book was sponsored by the Downtown Rotary Club of Calgary. Indeed, Cecil ends his preface with a Thank You to Rotary and the ideal of “Service Before Self.”

6)    Thank you, David, for sharing the vagaries of coincidence.

Perry, September and Dallas enjoying the amazing food at the Fireside

President Joan spoke about attending the recent “Fireside Chat” hosted by Jack Petrie. Pablo Diemecke had made the salad out of cactus plants! It was “delicious.” Joan presented Jack with a new Rotary decal for his car.

Pablo's famous Mexican cactus salad

Announcements

The Naval Military Dinner this year will be at the Union Club, Friday April 19, to which all Rotarians are invited. [Check your emails from Joan for details.]

Lorna Curtis told us only 30 tickets are left for the Tuscan Dinner on Saturday April 27. Vicki asked for more live auction items, and other donations, for our major annual fund-raiser.

Fines Master

Dallas Chapple continued her salubrious style of clanking loonies into the extended pots from a dozen people, especially from those not knowing the answer to such trivia questions as, “What two Canadian words have recently been added to the dictionary?” (“Bluenoser,” and “Smarties”). Happy/Sad dollars from Tricia, Lorna, David Philip “It’s good to be back” (and good to see you back), Vicki. Peter Lawrie won the 50/50 draw, but drew a black marble.

Introduction of Speaker, Dr Phil Neroutsos, by the Speaker!

Cap'n Dr. Phil

Dr Phil puts on a black cap and says, “I’ve known him for 77 years.” He tells us he’s practiced dentistry in Montreal for 20 years, and then 20 years in Victoria, before retiring. He wrote an outline for his speech, but his wife, Ruth, revised it and gave him a more detailed speech, in case he forgot what to say.

A summary of Ruth’s notes:

1. Career as a dentist: Montreal, 18 years, McGill University, Children’s Hospital, Victoria, 22 years. Demonstrate Oral Hygiene.

2. Rotary. Father-in-law, Tom Kelly, longtime member of Oak Bay Rotary, persuaded me to join. Was member of Downtown Rotary when practicing dentistry. Upon retirement joined Saanich Club, but now am here with Oak Bay Club. Been in Rotary over 35 years. Highlight was Presidency of Saanich Club during 100 year anniversary for Rotary, so filled with exciting events.

3. Family – Three children, one volunteered to teach in Tanzania, in addition, engineered the Pat Vickery Water Project, with original outlay of $1735 from Saanich Club, plus matching funds, raised $10,000.

4. Travels. “Fortunate to say I have pretty well been everywhere I wish to see.” Many of these trips around the world were precipitated by my wife’s representation on the Canadian Seniors' Tennis Team.

5. In Retirement. I keep busy mainly trying to maintain fitness. I hike, swim, & enjoy painting when the mood occurs. I read avidly and am learning to play bridge “in an effort to slow Alzheimer’s setting in.”

6. My interest in joining Oak Bay Rotary Club was due to the International Committee. I felt I could make a small contribution to the Dental Project in Guatemala. I donated $1,000 worth of instruments.”

Dr Phil demonstrated some useful dental hygiene equipment.

Blatant advertising for Arm and Hammer Teeth Whitening! 

Tricia Timmermans (right) thanked Phil Neroutsos (left), and presented him with a Oak Bay Rotary Book Marker, and a donation to Polio Plus. The mystery Arm (without Hammer) is Visitor Denis Pare of the Victoria Rotary Club.

Rotary Paparazzi

After The Queen, we disbursed, and the Rec Centre soon returned to its usual functions.

March 12 Meeting at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel

Reported by Wendy Townsend: Monthly Theme: Literacy.  Photos by Tricia

President Joan Peggs called the meeting to order. Without the use of a piano several bold and steady voices led off the singing of O Canada. Lynne Murray provided the Invocation. Tom Lidkea introduced our guests: Henrik Jacobsen (guest of Renate Gibbs), Gianfranco Mosca (guest of Sabrina Corraini) and Samantha Lloyd (guest of Tom Croft).

Health of the Club

Mary Canty relayed news of a letter received from Patricia Marsh sharing gratitude for the warm thoughts of the club regarding the recent passing of Rotarian Cedric Marsh. Mary also reported that David Philip is doing alright, but his hemoglobin is too low to come to the club meetings. 

President Joan Peggs (left) talked about David Sills' catalogue of our Rotary Members and tested our group’s knowledge with a round of Name that Rotarian. After listening to a detailed outline of adventure, travel, relocations and years of service (joining Oak Bay Rotary in 1996) we finally had to be told the answer! No one correctly identified Heather Aked! [Editor's note: Tom Croft did, as well as a couple of others.] She just seemed way too young to have accomplished so much. Time for us all to do some reading if we don`t want to get caught like that again! 

Announcements

Wynn Taylor outlined a volunteering opportunity to help clear out the broom from the Chinese Cemetery. He requested that anyone interested should send him and email and show up Saturday March 16 at 1:00 pm for an invigorating cleansing of the noxious weed.

Jim Force told us all about Literacy Fireside, raising $1000 for the 1000 X 5 group. He encouraged us all to bring a book and take a book (by donation). There were a number of interesting reads on the book table and that is sure to grow as we become more engaged in this great idea. Thanks Jim!

Samantha Lloyd (left, of Rotaract) told us about a Murder Mystery event being held Saturday March 16 from 7 - 9 pm. The cost is $25 for an evening full of fun. There will be tapas, desserts and a silent auction. Each guest will receive a celebrity character to participate in the evening story. One of the characters has committed a murder; the fun is trying to figure out who committed the dastardly deed. All proceeds of the fundraiser will support the 1000 X 5. [Editor's Note: your mystery-loving editor guessed that Jimmy Hendrix did the ghastly deed and came home with a cool bottle of Pinot Gris. Three club members attended: Joan P., aka Ava Gardner, Jim F., aka George Burns, and I, as Dorothy Parker ... and a good time was had by all. Perhaps we could use this idea in our club as a way to get to know each other better. Within half an hour we were friends with quite a few Rotaracters and their hangers on - well ... we knew their intriguing, if shady, characters at least!]

End Polio Now Campaign - we are This Close!

A group photo was taken with us all showing how close our collective efforts are to eradicating polio: this close. And yes, we all looked good.

Fines Master

Dallas Chapple (right) started off the fine collections with some interesting trivia tests. What year did Les Mis open? (1986). What year did Hawaii become the 50^th state? (1959). What year was Deep Purple recorded? (1939). The room lost mostly on this, but the pot did very well! Fines were assessed and collected from Tom Croft (new glasses), Joan Firkins (new car), Peter Lawrie (having 2 names tags), to name a few.  

Happy and Sad Dollars - Heather Aked dropped $2 in the pot for her being late and also heading off for a holiday in Hawaii. Furthermore she promoted the Rink of Dreams – a fundraiser for the Help Build a Dream Foundation. The 1^st prize is a Canucks' package; there are lots of other great prizes. Joan Peggs talked about having lunch at Government House in celebration of Commonwealth Day.

Perry Bamji (left) talked about his lengthy, 32-hour return flight from India; Mary Canty pitched in for her much colder trip to the Caribou where there was lots of snow; and Tricia Timmermans reported that she survived floods, fire and extreme temperatures (46.5C one day) in Australia, though happily it was mostly very pleasant.

The lucky winner of the draw was Tricia Timmermans but not the pot this time. It was a nice welcome back though after her extended trip to Australia.

Today`s Theme – Club Assembly 

Administration – Heather Aked

Heather (right) spoke of all the administrative duties that must occur to ensure a smoothly-run meeting such as arranging speakers, room set up and take down, roster duties, etc. She advised that the Preferred Practices of our club are available in a binder at Oak Bay Rec Centre and also on the OB Rotary Website. It is important for us to be aware of the responsibilities that accompany each of the assigned duties. It is equally important to be present for your duties (as outlined in the 3-month roster provided by Joan Firkins). This information is also shared weekly by our attendance guru and Sergeant-at-Arms, Lynne Murray. There was some discussion about the difficulties that occur when members fail to contact Lynne regarding their attendance, so Heather reminded us to please remember to report our intentions by Monday prior to the meeting.

Treasurer – Anne Sims

Anne shared information about the due structure and provided an overview of where the money is directed.  Our annual dues are $220.00 and are distributed as shown in the graph below.

Membership – Barry Mutter

There are 61 members in the Oak Bay Rotary Club. The median age of our group is edging upwards so there is a drive to engage younger members. Sabrina (left) and Claire are working on this initiative.

Foundation – Neil Rawnsley

Neil provided some clarity to the different giving levels and explained recognition points. I have added some information from our website:

The Mission of The Rotary Foundation (TRF) is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education and the alleviation of poverty. There are various recognition levels recognizing the generosity of Rotarians and each person may access their own giving history on-line by entering their own security information. Examples of important recognition levels are:

• Paul Harris Fellow – Contribute US$1,000 on a cumulative basis.

• Benefactor – Committed US$1,000 to the Foundation from their estates.

• Sustaining Member – A Rotarian who contributes US$100 to the Foundation in a year.

The Rotary Foundation invites all Rotarians to make a donation through the Every Rotarian Every Year campaign.  No gift is too small (or too large) and the Rotary Club of Oak Bay has a history of being generous and supportive of The Rotary Foundation.

The meeting then drew to a close with God Save the Queen. Next week we are back at Oak Bay Rec Centre.

March 5, 2013. Meeting of the Rotary Club of Oak Bay

Meeting held at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre. Reported by Wynn Taylor. Photos by David Sills

President Joan Peggs, left, with Renate Gibbs, Lynne Murray, Heather Aked, Speaker David Hladik, and ever-faithful pianist Tom Lidkea

President Joan called the Meeting to order at 12:15 p.m. after which Tom Lidkea played for the singing of O Canada and Lynne Murray gave the Invocation. There was one guest, David Hladik, our speaker.

President Joan announced that John Jordan, presently in Rwanda, needs help for five children who appeared at their village. He needs $250 each to cover the cost of a year's schooling. If you are able to help please contact Brian Lamb. Donations are eligible for a tax receipt. Further information can be found at John's blog: www.rwandanvillage.blogspot.org To donate directly via Canada Helps, use this link, and choose "Rwanda" under the ICO Initiative menu. 

Our Meeting next week, March 12th, will be a Club Assembly at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. The cost is $20. Please let Heather Aked know if you are coming, and if you are bringing a guest, so that she can inform the Hotel of the numbers.

President Joan welcomed back Renate Gibbs.

Jim Force spoke about Literacy Month: We support the Start Early Literary Awareness Project. There is increasing evidence of the importance of reading to young children. Specifically we are fundraising for baby books for the 1,000 by 5 program. These books are to be distributed to families who would not normally get them. As used baby books are hard to find in good condition...they are often chewed...

we can rely on donations, but must fundraise to buy them. Jim drew our attention to the 'bring a book...buy a book program this month. Members are asked to bring some books and leave them and to buy some books by donation. Donations over $20 are tax receipt-able. Tonight there is a Literary Fireside at Berkwick, Royal Oak, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. It will feature the showing of the Aboriginal DVD on oral literacy - i.e. story telling. Bookmarks were left on our table courtesy of the Greater Victoria Rotary PR Committee.

Jack Petrie reminded us of the Club Fireside as his and Brannan's home on Wednesday, March 13th. at 6:30 pm. RSVP to jwpetrie@shaw.ca. If you have doubts about coming, you must be there for Dallas' baked brie. 

Fines Master, aka Sergeant at Arms, Dallas Chapple:

Several members were fined for 'stalking' the S@A this past week - crossing her path in undisclosed locations. David Sills had to buy back his name tag. If you haven't yet ordered Tuscan Dinner tickets or bought a bottle of wine...$1; Jessica was the last one in. Renate was fined for going to the wrong location last week. Eugen was fined for dressing like he was on his way to the Papal Conclave!

Birthdays: Ann Sims and Jacqueline Mealing; Wedding Anniversary: Will and Jackie Carter:

Club Anniversary: Brian Lamb

Happy and Sad Dollars:

Heather is looking for Hardy Boys books. Sadly her partner Kim is on leave of absence for medical reasons so she will be taking up the slack and thus will be very busy. Jack Petrie learned the hard way never to take your cell phone to Mexico and incurred mucho roaming charges. Vicki Pitt's husband Tim suffered transient global amnesia - i.e. temporary loss of short term memory. It was quite frightening, but fortunately he has recovered and the doctors say it is unlikely to reoccur. Joan Firkins had a happy $10 for being back from a great holiday in Hawaii. Bill Burns had a happy time playing with his 6-month-old grandson.

Draw: Neil Madsen drew the black marble.

Heather Aked introduced our Guest Speaker, David Hladik, founder of the Byte Camp programs  which her son Alexander attended.

Byte Camp is a lifestyle project based upon computer camps for youth. In 10 years, 10,000 children have come through the program, which asks: What is happening with the education of our youth and what skills should they be learning to succeed in life and in work. Byte Camp focuses upon obtaining digital literacy, teaching students to become literate masters of the language of their generation. What skills will young children (elementary age youth) need when they enter the work force 15-20 years from now?  The traditional task of reading, as most of us learned it, is cognitively difficult. By contrast, using much of the media is easy -  we have all seen pictures of preschoolers playing with iPads. Counterintuitively, overexposure to all-consuming media may lead to media illiteracy in the future. What needs to be taught is creativity, not just consumption. We don't want our children to be caught in the technological time warp of their early childhood. It is the ability to process rather than the availability of equipement which is the challenge. In teaching media-awareness literacy our youth have to learn what we already know. If you watch TV, somebody is probably trying to sell you something or persuade you to their point of view. Much of the media is full of stereotypes...we think immediately of sexual stereotypes. Youth have to learn how to filter these messages and take a critical attitude. Just as our generation was told that not everything you read is  true, not everything on social media is true. Children have to be taught personal safety when using social media. The Internet is an information highway. Would you allow your children to stand beside a real highway like the 401 if they didn't know the dangers? So too with the information highway. Being literate means being able to create...not just to consume; e.g. at Byte Camp children learn how to made videos...to edit, manipulate, communicate.  David showed us some amazing videos of what his students had created. Social media today are more influential than print media - living in this new world is a learned skill. An online first impression can be as important as a physical first impression; be careful what you post. David showed us a picture of a 3D printer and passed around a sample of an engine block which he had printed on his 3D printer. This is the new world of augmented reality. 

In the question period, David spoke of the difficulty of teaching media literacy in schools...part of the problem is that the young students know more than the teachers which changes the whole dynamic of the classroom. School budgets usually  pay for hardware, then software, then instructor training ... in that order. Check out some of the students' Byte Camp work by clicking on one of the links on this page.

Renate Gibbs thanked David. Tom Lidkea then led us in singing God Save the Queen.