Meeting of Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Held at Recreation Oak Bay - Reported by Rod Sim - Meeting photos by Bob Schelle.

The “theme” for the month of May is “COMMUNITY”.

Greeters Anne Sims and Peter Sou were there on time to welcome you.

So, what does “community” mean? It means many things and we were reminded many times during the meeting. And we are reminded by the photo above: Rotarians Wynn, John, Joan, Don with Chris Hyde-Lay of Oak Bay Parks, were hard at it at the Carnarvon Rotary Water Park last weekend, getting it ready for the kids for summer. 

President Joan read a letter from one of Don O’Coffey’s neighbours. The letter expressed appreciation for Don’s neighbourly invitation to join Rotary to celebrate and demonstrate pride in the ROTARY CANADA FLAG PROGRAM. The letter went on to explain the writer’s life-long association with and admiration for Rotary’s involvement in community life both local and international. The letter was a spectacular reminder of how one small gesture by one Rotarian can produce an amazing result that we can all be proud of. Thank you Don and . . . Way to go!!! Above photo has Bob, Jim, Vicky and Brian out selling flag subscriptions last weekend. Thanks to Joan P for the photos. 

No piano, or more accurately, no Tom Lidkea to play ‘same’. Pretty good “O Canada” at the beginning and fair “God Save the Queen” at the end. Guess we could survive without our long-time pianist, but I missed him anyway.

Anne Sims welcomed “Grace” to the meeting and Peter Sou introduced the other Guests and Visiting Rotarian:

1. Joan Takenaka from Rotary Club of Chemainus;
2. Peter Pollen, former Rotarian and guest of Peter Sou;
3. Maureen Madsen, daughter and guest of Neil Madsen. 

Hans Ockermueller is resting at home and recovering from his recent visit to the hospital; we send him our “Best Wishes”. 

Neil Rawnsley (left) reported that 37 members have already cast their ballot for a decision between Recreation Oak Bay and Oak Bay Beach Hotel as the regular meeting place for the Rotary Club of Oak Bay for the next three (?) years. All members are encouraged to assist the Club with this important decision.

Jim Force talked about “Peace Arch News” and the SELL-OUT (almost) of the Rotary Canada Flag Program. A total of 100 Canadian flags a-top individual flag-poles will appear on lawns and gardens from Oak Bay to Brentwood Bay  to Duncan (yup; I said Duncan and I meant Duncan) on three summer week-ends: Victoria Day; Canada Day; and Labour Day. If you missed out on this proud community event and if you would like to participate then just call Jim Force or Joan Peggs and we will try to fit you in. Oh by the way, the rental cost for a Canada Flag on its own pole for three summer weekends is only $50 for the year.

Wynn Taylor made a plea for volunteers for the Oak Bay Tea Party which is only two weekends away (Saturday, June 1st and Sunday, June 2nd at Willows Beach). Please contact Wynn or Will if you can help. Some of the jobs that need to be done are set up and take down, cleaning equipment, making cotton candy, popping corn, and just having a ton of fun.

Lori McLeod is Mistress Fines; I mean Lori is the Fines Mistress for the month (a whole month?) of May.

So, there is Community Awareness Month. And there is ALS Awareness Month. And there is Asthma Awareness Month. And, if you can believe Mistress Lori, there are many more “themes” being celebrated this month.

An important milestone in the life of a famous couple. I have listened to Will Carter’s proud and celebratory comments about his “famous” parents for many years. This time he is (appropriately) bragging about their 70^th (that’s right; more than 69 years) wedding anniversary. That is an amazing accomplishment that shows perseverance and determination. Maybe we should invite Will’s parent’s to a (not too distant) future meeting to share their strategies and tactics for a long a happy life.

Happy Birthday to David Maxwell et al who are celebrating birthdays this week. Once again Tom was missing in action but we managed to do pretty well without him.

Lori and Lynne!

So, the lovely and exceedingly lucky Lynne Murray held the winning ticket for the 50/50 draw. Number ‘198’ allowed her the opportunity to try for the ‘magic’ marble and, true to form, she was a WINNER. She won the whole enchilada. Not that anybody could tell us how much that was. But I imagine that she is now comfortably well off. I certainly hope that CRA doe not find out about this new-found wealth.

Wendy Townsend (no relation to Peter Townsend) introduced the Guest Speaker. Our Guest came a very great distance to be with us; all the way from Guatemala (and Victoria) to tell us about a spectacular international project supported by Vancouver Island Rotary Clubs and Rotarians. Our Guest Speaker (our very own) Jacqueline Mealing has bee travelling back and forth to Guatemala for 20+ years. She started with a description of a little girl’s family and home 20 years ago: a house with the princely dimensions of 8 feet by 4 feet; a widowed grandma, a widowed mother, and a little girl and her brother all sleeping in a single bed. Fast forward 20 years. Add education and teachers and motivated volunteers from Vancouver Island and you get sustainable improvement. What have they done. Well, they built latrines. They combated infection. They planned and executed better nutrition. They built energy-efficient stoves. They renovated broken-down homes. They replaced the bucket of water with a crude shower. They offered dental hygiene. They cared for disabled children and their adult caregivers. They supported traditional weaving and found new retail market to exploit. They taught women and men, young and not so young about family planning and responsibility. They helped to teach and feed a proud but mal-nourished local population. In short, they have been all about “Bringing Hope to Guatemala”.

So, what could we do to help? Probably a lot. Even a little help, like subsidizing the rent for a local community centre for women (at $600 per year) would be greatly appreciated by local Rotary volunteers and make a tangible difference in the life of the local population. I am sure that all members in attendance would like to thank Jacqueline for her presentation and for the contribution that she has been making for so many years. Just another example of what “community” is all about. Did you notice that the story bore a striking resemblance to John Jordan’s stories from Africa? Did you notice that with a little Rotary Ingenuity that a little money can go a long way to making a better community “there” and “here”. Giles Bixler (above) thanked the Guest Speaker on behalf of the Club and that’s the end of our report.