April 30 2013 Meeting at Odd Fellows Hall on Douglas Street.

Reporter:  Bob Schelle

Today’s meeting was a social event since it was the 5^th Tuesday of the month. It was held at the Odd Fellows Hall, upstairs at 1315 Douglas Street.  The invitation for us to hold our meeting here was facilitated by Claire Helm, who is a member of the Rebekahs, an arm of the Odd Fellows.

Scott Aitchison

Scott Aitchison, Grand Master, provided us with a tour of the club rooms including the dining room, the lounge, the billiards room and the grand hall, the existence and grandiose nature of which was quite a surprise to most of our Rotary Club members. Scott provided a question and (some) answer period at the end of the tour. A fairly detailed description of the Odd Fellows is provided at this link.

Being a social event there were none of the regular luncheon agenda items performed. Although Joan Firkins did rise to thank everyone for the success of the Tuscany Dinner and to follow up on the whereabouts  of a silent auction item. Apparently Jim Force had it! Mary Canty provided up-to-date information on the health of Hans Ockermueller, currently at the Royal Jubilee Hospital.

The lunch, arranged by President Joan and supplied by Thrifty’s, consisted of an assortment of sandwiches, cookies and a humongous platter of fruit.

The meeting unofficially ended around 1:15pm. More photos below. 

Photos: Tricia Timmermans

April 23, 2013 Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting

Bulletin report by David Maxwell

Greeters were Sabrina Corraini and Claire Helm, and grace was said by Sabrina. Tom L. accompanied the large group in singing O Canada.

There were no visitors!

Health of the Club: Mary Canty-Mary sent around a card for Hans who had surgery but is doing well.  

Announcements:

1.     The Tuscan Dinner evening is coming up this Saturday so please have all items to Lorna or Leslie at the Monterey Centre ASAP. One wonderful live Auction item is a Tug Boat Tour for 8 courtesy of Vicky Pitt!

2.    Our next major fundraiser is the Canada Flag Program. On the weekend Jim L. and David W. on one team, and Peter L. and Batya on a second team sold 7 subscriptions in just few hours. Next blitz is on May 4^th starting at Jim Force's house followed by one on May 11 starting at Don O’Coffey's house (at 9:30AM).    To date we have sold $1,250 worth of flags so we have another 70 or so flags to sell to the community. Please ask your neighbours.

3.     First weekend in June is the Oak Bay Tea Party. Stay tuned with info about signing up from Wynne.

4.    Next week's meeting is at the Odd Fellow's Hall at 1315 Douglas. Pay $15 to David Sills. 

5.   Jim Force asked us to recognize the various Rotarians who had done International projects: Included was John J., John S., John E., Mark, Jacqueline, Tricia.

As Fines Master, Jim Force played Heads and Tails for a bottle of wine which was won by Wynne who was left with two hands on his head!

Happy and Sad: Leslie, Tom L, Renata, Mary, Lorna and Peter.

Birthday wishes to Tricia and Batya, who both surrendered cheques equalling their years ...  and Phil had his 2^nd club member anniversary.

Councillor, Pam Copley being thanked by Don O'Coffey

Phil Neroutsos introduced Speaker, Pam Copley. Pam has served 3 terms as an Oak Bay Councillor and is currently chairing the Land Use Committee as well as being Chair of the Committee for the revision to the OCP  or the Official Community Plan, which is why she was talking to us. The Oak Bay OCP has not been renewed in 30 years, although it has been updated. The new Mayor made it his priority to spearhead this renewal. The OCP addresses so many important components of our community that we often take for granted such as land use management, climate change footprint, housing policies for rentals, seniors, and multi-family; roads, parks, green space, farmland, transportation, and zoning bylaws to name a few.

Pam and her team are in the process of setting up a visioning and planning process which will include focus groups, questionnaires, a web presence, meetings, surveys, etc., to help gauge community input in this review. Ten visioning sessions are planned for the end of May. The objective is to complete the full review by June 2014.

Stay tuned; our input is requested!!!

Don O'Coffey thanked speaker Pam Copley.

April 16 meeting at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel

Reported by Vicky Pitt

With only the ghost of a piano in the room, even though Tom Lidkea was present, the national anthem was sung a cappella. Leslie Cobus and Alexa from Oak Bay Recreation made an announcement about Oak Bay Eco Week which is from April 29th to May 4th. While Tom nipped out of the room to get the visitor’s list, Mary reported on the health of the club. No one is sick that she knows of. (Yeah!).

Tom introduced our one and only visitor, Cameron Ross, who was a guest of John Edgell.

Neil Rawnsley continued with the presentations from last week. Heather Aked received both her Paul Harris +5 and her Paul Harris +6 (which as Neil pointed out do not equal a Paul Harris +11) and Vicky Pitt received her Paul Harris +8.

Dallas informed the group that that she has someone from Bowen Island who is interested in doing a house swap. Please contact Dallas directly.

Lorna reminded everyone to sign up if they are not already signed up on the volunteer list for the Tuscan dinner. There are 8 spots left, so if you have not signed up yet please do so now. Lorna also reminded everyone that all the silent auction items need to be delivered to Leslie Cobus at Monterey Center by no later than 4 PM on Tuesday April 23 [that’s next week!].

Wynne Taylor made an announcement about  “Camas Day”, when invasive species will be removed  from Uplands Park. Meet at the parking lot on Sunday, May 5 from 12:30 to 3 PM if you can help. Click on the link for loads more information.

Jim Laing (to everyone’s great amusement), announced that he was very excited and aroused about the Canada Flag project. [Link to Registration information]. Everyone has now received the flag brochure and we are looking for club members to rent or find renters for the flags. There are 500 flags that we would like to find subscribers for over the next 3 years for the three holidays each year starting with Victoria Day in May. Many hands make light work so please help out, and who knows,  maybe you can get excited and aroused too!

Please remember to bring money for the April 30 meeting (at OddFellows Hall) to next week's meeting at the Rec Centre.

Fines Master, Jim Force, with the able assistance of Rod and Tav collected fines from everyone for such things as: anyone sitting down before the start of the meeting (tsk!); Heather, Tom, David, and  Batya for not signing in; Pete’s table - anyone who did not notice that Peter was wearing a fake Rotary name tag; Rod and Claire for being late; anyone who has not yet signed up as a volunteer or provided a silent auction item for the Tuscan Dinner. Several fines were levied for lack of knowledge (during Rotary magazine month): Perry’s and Bob's tables for not knowing how many awards the magazine received in November (the answer was 10); Lynn’s table for not knowing that the March 12 edition received a gold medal from Folio Magazine for best cover; Wendy’s table for not knowing that Scott Dudley, an amazing Rotarian, has a Rotary wheel tattooed above his heart. [Editor's note - there's a certain Victoria Rotarian who has a gigantic one on his calf - and we're not talking about his pet calf.] 

Birthdays:  Phil on the 7^th, Leslie on the 9^th, Claire on the 10^th, TAV on the 11^th, Hans on the 14^th, Ted Chambers on the 18^th. Anniversaries: Mark and Joe 5 years. Club anniversaries: Claire one year on the 17^th; John Jordan 2 years on the 20^th.

Happy and sad dollars: Joan Peggs reported that a she sent a letter to CHEK TV which resulted in part in a comment to gently convey to her that several people deleted her email because it was addressed to “Dear Sirs”; Joan has apologized for this and noted that it was a case of the era in which she was educated.  Renata - immediately after receiving her Paul Harris, she came down with acute labyrinthitis [that’s an inner ear virus apparently] but it turned out it was not related to her new pin.

Rod - his daughter has now been accepted to Concordia University for her PhD and because she was born in Québec, she has the cheapest tuition in North America.

Lorna - because Pres. Joan did such an amazing job as the chair of the DLTA and also because she keeps finding more items for the auction [there’s leadership in action!]

Tav - in accordance with an old tradition of the club,  he provided a cheque for $67 to the foundation because he is now - guess how old?

The winning ticket was number 981 held by Bill Burns. But he didn’t get the white marble so that’s another $14 in the pot.

Tav then introduced Jim Force (what?  didn’t he just do the fines' master’s job?). Jim was born in Seattle and has dual citizenship. He is married to Colleen, has 4 kids and 6 grandchildren. He has a PhD in Education from Calgary and he is dedicated to education. In the early 1970s he taught elementary school. He has taught all levels including Leadership at Royal Roads University. He is passionate about literacy; he is the co-chair of our flag program; he is a board member, and an all-around great contributor to the club. He’s also a past Rotarian of Year. He is a gentleman and a scholar.

After that great introduction, Jim spoke about Literacy Roundtable and introduced the Royal Oak Club’s new video called “Teachings from the Half Boy”. This video is in the form of a DVD based around the ancient story of the half boy blended with interviews of several leaders in the aboriginal community, including the Honourable Stephen Pointe, talking about the importance of culture to individuals, and of how knowledge of culture affects literacy and the ability of individuals to move forward successfully in education and in life.

Jim then thanked us for allowing him to go over time so that the video could be shown in full. Unfortunately there was no time for questions. The meeting ended with “God Save the Queen”.

As no photos have come forward, here's one provided by Vicky which was taken at the Lieutenant Governor's House during the making of the video "Teachings from the Half Boy: A Cultural Homecoming". [Editor's note: this link will take you to a 2.5 minute sampling of the video.]

Need2 Prevent Suicide - Meeting of April 9, 2013

Reported by Tricia T. Photos by John E. and Tricia.
NOTE: The meeting on April 16 is at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel.

President Joan began the meeting at 12.12, bringing attention to the diverse ads that can be found in the Rotary Magazine. Cracker Jack pianist, Tom L., accompanied us in the singing of O Canada, and Lynne said Grace. We hopped into the pork and potatoes, while Barry M. introduced three guests: Lance Shaver and Emily McLean from Rotaract, and speaker, Chris Holt.

Announcements:

Lorna urged us to get Tuscan Dinner theme basket items to David Maxwell by April 13 (Saturday) and auction items to Lesley Cobus (at Monterey Centre) by April 23 at 4PM; she asked all to sign up to volunteer in some way. This is our big fundraiser, so please help if you can.

Chris Causton wants all to know that there will be an All-Candidates Meeting at 7PM on Thursday April 18 at the Oak Bay United Church at 1355 Mitchell (by Granite Street).

There are three events coming up to promote Rotary Community Awareness: The Island Farms Victoria Day Parade on May 20th (let President Joan know if you would like to purchase a Rotary t-shirt for $10 to wear at the event); on May 25 there's the Rotary Fair in Centennial Square downtown; and on May 31, June 1-2 the District 5020 Conference will be held in Sidney. Follow this link to find out more about the conference.

Paul Harris Fellowships. Foundation Chair Neil Rawnsley spoke briefly on the Foundation and then presented PHFs to Renate Gibbs, Bill Burns, Perry Bamji, Peter Lawrie, Bill Burns, and Tricia Timmermans.

Neil, Joan, Bill, Tricia, Renate, Peter and Perry

Emily, Lance, Jim and Leslie

Leslie R-W and Jim F. thanked Rotaractors Lance Shaver (incoming President) and Emily McLean (Treasurer) for the big part they played in the Merrython. They then presented $500 of the Merrython funds to Rotaract, part of which will be used for a breakfast at "Our Place". Several of the Rotaractors helped at the recent "DLTA 2013".

Fines Master Jim Force easily filled the pot with questions regarding the website - many blank faces - those faces probably aren't reading this right now :). They were fairly simple questions: How do you access the bulletin from the website? What nickname was given to last week's reporter? And a few more stumpers. Happy and sad dollars were offered by Dallas (sold two flags for the flag program); Peter Lawrie for attending the Gold Medal match in Curling on the weekend (we lost!); and Lorna for being overjoyed at being fines exempt this month! Our speaker, Chris Holt, was just happy to be here; and Jim is happy that his grandchildren and family have been visiting. Joan F. (just back from Sacramento) drew the winning ticket, but scored only a black marble.

Chris Holt

Jim Laing, fresh back from warmer climes, introduced speaker, Chris Holt. Chris is Executive Co-Director of Need2 - Suicide Prevention Education & Support. Need2 works to prevent deaths by suicide and to remove the stigma that surrounds suicide. It provides support to those impacted by suicide and crisis by providing emotional support to youth online, through support groups, and community programming. It is primarily a volunteer organization that wants a world free of suicide. Every forty seconds somewhere in the world there is a suicide.  Chris got involved last July, and has a history in the non-profit sphere in Victoria. One million people a year die by suicide around the world. In Canada there are about 4,000 suicides a year. In youth aged from 10 to 30 it is the second leading cause of death, the statistic being about 11 suicides per 100,000. Monday is the worst day. Suicides occur less frequently at Christmas time, possibly because that's a time when people talk to each other. Suicide produces enormous trauma on family members and friends and has both humanitarian and economic consequences. Chris's PowerPoint helped describe the various types of suicide:  Societal; medical; cultural and interpersonal, all associated with feelings of loss - relationships, money, abuse, neglect, isolation, abandonment.

In Victoria's CRD, about 12% of youth have serious thoughts about suicide. These are youth who actually think that suicide is an option to a problem. This stat is a self-disclosed figure by students. Five percent attempt it. Aboriginal youth are more than twice as likely to commit or attempt to commit suicide. One youth in the CRD every day needs medical intervention due to a suicide attempt. 

NEED2 goes into the schools in the CRD to talk to youth, and are the only group that does this. The goal is to break the stigma about suicide - it's OK to talk about it. Friends of youth at risk need to understand that they have the "go ahead"to intervene. At least every class has at least one child who needs help. They are encouraged to write their names down, and then NEED2 will follow up afterwards. The moniker is: TALK: Tell, Ask, Listen, KeepSafe. NEED2 encourages interveners to listen to what they are saying as "you may be the first person they have ever told". A plan must be made to KEEP THEM SAFE. If necessary, even, to take them to Emergency. Chris described a national chat line, YouthSpace.ca that is available nightly from 6 to 11. The counsellors manning this chat line have 50 hours of crisis intervention training. Three volunteers work every night chatting with kids across Canada, where, according to the website, "no issue is too big, or too small". "Chatting" is done via text. On November 23, NEED2 aims to stage "Turn It Up" where they hope to produce a million minutes of noise. Money raised will go to programs.

A lively question and answer period followed Chris's talk. Brian Lamb thanked Chris Holt for his presentation. 

To get involved with NEED2 check out http://need2.ca/get-involved/volunteering/ or to donate visit: http://need2.ca/get-involved/donations/.  A fundraiser, TURN IT UP for Hillary's Ride will be held on May 7 at the Alix Goolden Hall. For more information, check here: http://need2.ca/tiu-4-hillarys-ride/ Further Information on NEED2 can be found online at: Need2 Video www.need2.ca

A Canada Flag Program meeting was held following the meeting. So far 12 subscriptions have been sold. Club members will learn more about the program, and will be encouraged to become subscribers at our club meeting at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel on April 16. In order to be ahead of the game, please read the brochure here .