Monday, 18 March 2013

March 12 Meeting at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel


Reported by Wendy Townsend: Monthly ThemeLiteracy.  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 50th 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 1st 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.

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