Meeting of November 26, 2013 - Be Proactive – Retain Your Driving License

Reported by Joan Peggs.

A very vocal gathering (familiar faces, non familiar faces – they must be visitors!) welcomed luncheon attendees as they entered the David Foster Foundation Theatre. David Westler  and Jessica Van der Veen were the Greeters; David Sills was distributing the new roster (if you were not at the meeting you need to ask David for one); George took our lunch money; Lynne took the gamble money!

The meeting began punctually with Assistant President (PP) Brian Lamb at the microphone. He passed on words of wisdom from President Peter Lawrie (who is unfortunately ill) with regards to Foundation month, reminding us that the first donation to the Foundation was $26.20. If each member makes this small contribution for the year, Oak Bay Rotary Club would qualify for EREY (Every Rotarian Every Year). And if you think you cannot afford it, remember there are no meetings on December 24^th and 30th; your Lunch Money totals more than the first donation to The Rotary Foundation.

All members use their talents, time and treasures (great alliteration!!) to make a difference.

Fortunately the piano was accessible, enabling Tom Lidkea to play O Canada – what a difference in the singing with a good pianist and piano!  Always appreciate it when you are there Tom!

David Westler said the blessing which ended with a heart full of grace (yes, we all should have a heart full of grace and blessings).

Guests filed to the head of the line with members filing in behind. A great lunch awaited us; salads, lightly steamed seasonal vegetables (yellow beets especially for PDG Joan!) and a sausage pasta.

The delectable desserts (mouth sized morsels) were set off to the side.

Guests were introduced by Jessica Van der Veen

Visiting Rotarians:

Gabriel Lopez – Victoria Club (owner of Himulco Shoes)

Catherine Woodland – Rotary Club of Albuquerque

Steve Wallace - Victoria Club ( guest speaker)

Mary Coward – Victoria Club, Harbourside

Guests:

Ronnnie Lee, guest of Joan Firkins

Derek Delves, guest of Tom Croft (Derek is a former member of the club)

Joan Wallace, wife of, and guest of the guest speaker

Ann Davenport, guest of Leslie Rogers-Warnock

Ruth Neroutsos, guest of her husband and club member, Phil Neroutsos

Announcements:

1. Rod Sim detailed the distributed information sheet on the Salvation Army Kettle schedule. More information will be arriving via ClubRunner. Please sign up for many shifts!!

2.     Leslie Rogers-Warnock reminded all members of the 34^th Annual Merrython, on December 1^st, at the Henderson Recreation Centre (that's this Sunday in case you did not realize it is now the end of November!!) Qualifies for attendance!!

3.     President-Elect Jim Force had three announcements:

a: Paul Harris Fellow Dinner – on Thursday, March 6^th, 2014 – the purpose is to honour deserving citizens; deadline for nominations is Tuesday December 17^th; nomination forms will be circulated by Perry Bamji. Put the date in your calendars!

b: Club in A Pub – Thursday November 28^th at 5 pm. Upstairs in The Penny Farthing Pub; celebrate American Thanksgiving. This gathering is also a credit for attendance!!

c: CAT experience - Saturday November 30^th between 10 am and 1 pm. Uplands Park. Meet at the Northwest Park entrance on the Midland Road cul-de-sac. Another event that qualifies for attendance!

4.     John Jordan reminded us of the possibility of including Rwanda in your Christmas list.

5.     Mary Coward – President of the Victoria Club, Harbourside, is selling Christmas cakes – they're full of fruit, soaked in brandy. A major fundraiser for her club. They make great Christmas gifts. $25

Fines Guru for November – PP Ron Cooley: he listed them fast and furiously (difficult to keep up!)

no pin, no name tag - $1; if you have your Christmas decorations in place - $1; $1 to be paid by Dallas for a newspaper clipping of many years ago; and another $ as she has not aged!

Happy and Sad $$$$  - they all appeared to be happy $s:

Neil R – Happy $5 – John Snively was not able to make a donation to the Foundation as it did not register his Guatemala address. He ventured out to the end of his dock and successfully made the correct connection to enable him to make a donation

Peter J – Happy $10; just returned from Germany where the family celebrated (and celebrated and celebrated!!) his brother's 50^th birthday; returning home via San Francisco enabled him to celebrate his Mother-in-Law's 70^th birthday.

Dallas – a birthday celebration profited Nordstroms; Dallas made a $100 to Shelterbox as a birthday donation

Corey - $10 – has missed a lot of meetings and thus no fines. "Here's to the fines I missed!!"

Derek Delves - great to be back visiting the club

Lucky draw – Peter J (helped with the trip expenses!). Unfortunately Peter drew a black marble.

Neil R. introduced the guest speaker – Steve Wallace

Steve has had a very varied career: a teacher, Mayor of Quesnel, a renowned athlete (many years ago), on many boards, and he's the owner of Wallace Driving School. To date Steve has instructed 20,000 students at the driving school. Here are his tips:

Be Proactive – Retain Your Driving License.

1. Beware – after the age of 80 you might be tested – opt for the ICBC means of testing, not the one named  DriveAble (this one seems to be set up to automatically fail older drivers).

2.   Prepare – if you are called into the doctor's office have all documents at the ready

3.   Don't Despair – some solutions for some tricky tests:

a.   make certain you always proceed into the intersection while waiting to make a left hand turn (look for the sensors) 

b.   stop signs – stop before the natural path of the pedestrian (there might be no stop sign, no stop line) 

c.   shoulder check – do not do this too early or too late – this might be tricky! 

d.   use your headlights – much easier to determine the position of the vehicle 

e.   vigorously observe playground and school zone speeds 

f.   do not tailgate – 4 way flashers can be used to alert a driver if you feel they are tailgating you. Always give yourself a space cushion - a means of escape if necessary 

g.   do not speed up when you are being overtaken 

New Rules of the Road

1.   using hand held electronic devices – automatic $167 fine and 3 demerit points. Honk 3 times if you are beside a driver who is using their device. 

2.   move over if there is an emergency vehicle behind you or you approach one – fine of $173 and 3 demerit points if you do not. 

3.     in roundabouts signal when you are exiting the circle.   

The above information was presented in a very humorous, lighthearted fashion but all members got the message.

Steve was appropriately thanked by Tom Lidkea. Brian presented Steve with the Rotary mug.

The meeting closed in the nick of time with the singing of God Save The Queen.

Rotary Bulletin November 19, 2013 - Annual Tax Auction: $14,000 raised

Report by Lorna Curtis.

President Peter welcomed everyone and reminded us of the tax auction today - as opposed to the tax audit.

Visiting guests:  Hazel Braithwaite - guest of Lorna

Janice and Raymond Martin - guest of John Jordan
Deborah Michaels - Rotaractor

Visiting Rotarians: Paul and Elizabeth Johnson - Langley Rotary Club

Joan Peggs asked for Poinsettia orders by Friday, November 22nd. 

Please support Rotaractors to decorate a Christmas tree at the Empress - they are looking for toys to bribe the judges. If you have any toys to donate contact Joan Peggs.

Heather Aked reminded members about Thrifty Smile Card program and urged all to participate - you can get a card from Heather.

Sunday, December 1st is the Merrython Fun Run - please come out and participate or volunteer. Contact Leslie for details of how you can help.

Bob Schelle asked Directors to please let Tricia know of the dates and venues for committee meetings, so she can place the information on the EVENTS PAGE of the club's website. This will help avoid any conflicts in committee meeting schedules.

Philippine Relief Fund: members can donate to Disaster Aid Canada and the Canadian government will match the donation. 

John Jordan spoke about a literacy project in Rwanda which the Langley Club is involved with; he is hoping at some point the Oak Bay and Langley Clubs can work together on a joint Rwanda Project. 

Ron Cooley, Fines Master, fined seniors who have taken advantage of the free ferry rides, as well as Football fans; Lorna was fined for being appointed to the Oak Bay Kiwanis Pavilion Board which involved a second dollar as there was no mention of Rotary in the newspaper article. Happy Anniversary to Jessica Van der Veen. Lots of happy and sad dollars.  Mike Hodges won the draw. 

As it is Foundation Month Tav MacPherson acknowledged those club members who make significant contributions to the Foundation and are Paul Harris Society Members: Heather Aked, Jack Petrie, Joan Peggs, Joan Firkins, Lynne Murray, Renata Gibbs, Perry Bamji, and Tav MacPherson,

Tav presented Jack Petrie with his Paul Harris Society wings.

Tom Croft (left - photo by Neil Rawnsley) conducted the annual Tax Auction. $14,000 was raised - just like that!

CONGRATULATIONS to all who contributed.

Club Bulletin For 12 November 2013 - Joan Firkins - EREY

Bulletin Reporter: Jim Force

President Pete opened the meeting at 12:40.

Wynn introduced our guests: 

Dennis Sutton of the Harbourside Club and David Newberry of the Victoria Club.

Announcements:

Jim F: Flag Committee Meeting in the Hotel Library directly after our luncheon meeting

Joan P (wearing her Santa hat): Orders for Poinsettias are due by Friday November 22^nd. Flowers will be ready for pick up and delivery on Wednesday November 27^th.

Dennis Sutton: Christmas Fruit Cakes are available for $25 or $45 from the Harbourside Club. They will be delivered on Tuesday December 3^rd. [Editor's note: They're amazing - tried some today!]

Jessica: The shoe store on Cadboro Bay Rd across from Pure Vanilla will donate 5% of their November sales to the Merrython. Be sure to stop by to say hello, thank them for their donation and perhaps treat yourself to a new pair of shoes. [Editor's note: Jessica, please send me the name and I'll add it here]

President Pete: For those who would like to contribute to aiding the Philippines, consider donating to http://www.shelterboxcanada.org/

Good news: Our Peace Scholar candidate, Krystal Renschler, was selected by RI as a Peace Scholar for 2014. Here is a note she sent to Vicky today:

Good morning Victoria, Perry, Skip, and Bob,

I received very exciting news this morning from Rotary, informing me that I have been selected as a 2014 Peace Fellow. I am absolutely honoured and overwhelmed with gratitude.  

I wanted to send thanks to each of you for the support and assistance you have provided throughout the process. I look forward to the years ahead of working alongside Rotary and being a part of this phenomenal Fellowship program. 

With utmost thanks and best wishes,

Leslie: Presented a $56.25 check from the Oak Bay Cobs. We get 5% of purchases made by Club members. Don't forget to tell them at Cobs that you're with Oak Bay Rotary!

Celebrations Master: Ron Cooley awarded fines to the following:

            Lates – two unnamed new members

            Eugen – dereliction of duty as he missed being a greeter

            Joan P. – Her request for changes for the Merrython took all of Ron’s loose change

            New members warned that next week they will be fined if they don’t have their members sign-up sheets in hand.

            A buck from anyone who ate all their Halloween candy before Halloween

            A buck from anyone who missed attending our outing to Wave Adventure last Tuesday

            A buck from anyone who didn’t purchase a poppy for Remembrance Day

            Two bucks from anyone who hasn’t volunteered for the Merrython

Birthdays

            Bill Burns: November 16^th

Anniversaries

            Peter Sou & Debbie November 10^th

            Jim Laing & Mary November 14^th

            Lori McLeod & Doug November 15^th

Club Anniversaries

            Rod Sim: November 1^st, 19 tears

            Renate Gibbs: November 2^nd,  3 years

            Peter Sou: November 3^rd,  27 years

            Tom Croft: November 22^nd, 28 years

            George Pritchard: November 11^th, 35 years

           

Happy & Sad Dollars

            Perry thanked everyone who wished Annamarie well. She is on the mend.

            Joan F. thanked Janna for a great evening of bowl painting at Fired Up (for the Souper Bowls of Hope

            Tricia sad in regard to tragedy in the Philippines; happy to be off to Australia to visit kids and grandkids

            Mike happy to be a new member and no longer a visitor

            Bill happy to be having his grandchildren with him on his birthday

            Sandy happy to announce that it is his and Barbara’s anniversary today

            Eugen sad to be late and to have missed his duty, but happy to have attended the installation of the new President of UVic

50/50 Draw was won by our speaker, Joan F (below), but unfortunately she drew a black marble. 

Joan was introduced by Lorna (left):

Joan Firkins is currently one of only 41 Regional Rotary  Foundation Coordinators in the Rotary world.  She is responsible for Vancouver Island, Western Washington, Oregon, Northern California and Nevada.  Joan talk focused on The Rotary Foundation (TRF), as November is Foundation Month. She invited us to visit the TRF web site @ https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/rotary-foundation

She reminded us that TRF is “effective, ethical, global and transformational,” and that it has awarded over three billion dollars to projects around the world.

Funds raised in our district reside with RI for 3 years during which the earnings are used to operate TRF. After 3 years 50% of the funds are returned to the District and 50% of the funds go to the World Fund. In 2012-13 our district raised $652,285 for TRF. As such, in 2015-16 the District will receive $326,198.

In 2012-13 our Club raised $15,784. Our goal for 2013-14 is $11,000. We have raised $1507 to date, but expect to come close to meeting our goal with the tax auction later this month.

Joan encouraged everyone to contribute to TRF. One of our goals is to have 100% “Every Rotarian, Every Year - EREY.” Contributions can be as little as $10 or as much as one likes. For the Club to be awarded the EREY banner we need to have every member contribute and have a minimum contribution of US $100 per capita or just over $6,000 total.

To reach this goal of EREY we need to touch the wallets by first touching the hearts of our members. To this end Joan showed us several photos illustrating the good work of Rotary around the world.

Neil R. then gave details of the of the tax auction to be held next Tuesday (November 19). Below: Tav thanked Joan, presenting her with an Oak Bay Rotary mug, to add to her growing tea set.

Fired UP! Another CAT fun event

The CAT, composed of Robin Ashforth, Dallas, Joan F., Jim F., Janna M., Lisa and Kaitlin Maxwell, Lynne, Joan P., Sharon Stoose-Johannknecht, Tricia, and Diana Trust, spent Wednesday evening painting soup bowls for the 16th Annual Souper Bowls of Hope, which takes place Wednesday November 13th between 11 am and 1:30 pm @ the Inn at Laurel Point. 

Proceeds go to the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society's youth at risk programs. 

Tickets in advance are $25 from Ivy's Book Store on Oak Bay Ave or at the door for $30. 

A special thanks to Janna for all that she has done in providing the bowls and painting expertise that has made it possible for us to contribute to this worthy cause.

Adventure aboard the Wave Venture—November 5, 2013

A huge thank-you to Joan Peggs for organizing the "adventure" and for writing this report. 

Most members marshalled at Pier B for 11:20 am; we were introduced to Samantha Rosindell, Operations and Administrative Assistant of Ogden Point. Promptly following Samantha, we headed  over to Pier A, the beginning of our 'on water' experience. Captain Mark Nash met us inside the gate of Pier A, spoke briefly to us, and then directed us to the gangway. He very nimbly navigated it; some Rotarians were not so fortunate but soon acquired their 'sea legs'. The large group of Rotarians and guests were split into 2 groups; Kerri, 2^nd officer took one group, Alan, 3^rd officer took another group.

Wave Venture is owned by Global Marine, a British based company; the ship is registered in London but based in Victoria. A complement of 50 persons man the ship; approximately 30 are officer level (mostly British - one woman, with a few Filipinos and one Indian), the remainder being the operating crew (all Filipino). 

Second Officer Kerri and Captain Mark

Within the officer level there are:

•  the officers in charge of operating of the ship (marine background)
• the officers in charge of the cable repairs (engineering background)

This ship is responsible for the area spanning 'North to Alaska', south to Mexico and west to the International dateline. The ship usually has one call/per year; so far this year they have been called out 5 times. They need to be ready to depart within 6 hours; this limits their off-duty travel adventures! Officers are on watch duty on a three-day cycle – one day on, two days off; their contracts are on an eight week cycle; eight weeks on, eight weeks off – home for eight weeks! Crew have a contract of 8 or 9 months, then they go home to the Philipines; their name goes to the bottom of the list working its way up for the next opening. The crew stay with the same company; they know their way around the ships, and the company knows them.

    

The function of the cable ship is to repair broken/damaged communication cables (some were laid in the late 1800's). Breaks occur due to damage from anchors, earthquakes, or other weather related problems. Second officer Kerri explained the method by which the cable is brought onto the ship after the break/damaged area has been detected.

If the break is too deep, a remote-controlled submersible is lowered to locate the break, or an old-fashioned grapnel is used to lift the damaged cable to the surface – one end of the cable is secured to a buoy, the ship then goes in search of the other end. After locating it, the two ends are eventually joined by inserting a new section of cable; the repaired cable is tested on board ship and also by the respective owner prior to being 'laid to rest'.

     During the short visit in the engineering section of the ship we were given a demonstration of the repair of a cable. Cables used to be co-axial; all are now fiberoptic. The thickness of the cable is governed by the depth to which it is laid; those close to the surface have many layers of steel around them to protect the fibers.

   

Leading the way, Second Officer Kerri took us to the aft bridge where First officer Alex (above) explained the various computer screens; he noted that they always have paper backup.

And who uses the cables? We all do. All communications (telephone, fax, email, internet etc.) is transferred  through the cables. If there is a break in a company's cable they quickly negotiate with another company to re-route the communication. Obviously they pay for the re-routing. A group of companies team together to put out RFPs. Companies, such as Marine Global, bid on these contracts. Will the cable ship ever be out of business? Never, according to the First Officer; the use of satellites is no comparison – they are more difficult to repair, more costly to replace, and communication flow is not consistent. So next time any of you are on one of the local beaches, and you notice the huge sign CABLE, cast your memory back to the visit to the Wave Venture

Kerri's group ably followed her down the gangway; no missteps this time. After thanking her and bidding her a fond farewell we headed to Pier B 'lounge' where we enjoyed a tasty lunch of sandwich , vegetable, fruit and cookie platters made by Thrifty Foods Deli (using the smile card to support the club and in turn support Thrifty Foods). Starbucks coffee was also available.

Members mixed and mingled sharing their ship adventures. Before too many attendees began drifting back to work or other activities, Brian thanked Samantha for facilitating the visit to the ship.

A special thank you to Don and Pablo (no, not "above"!) for collecting the money on October29th; to Don for collecting the remainder yesterday, and for making certain the total balanced prior to passing it over to Anne.

Happy Guy Fawkes to everyone before the night is over (we were on a British ship)!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night