Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 20 January 2015 - Tribute to Ted Harrison and Guest: Pat Grant, Rotary events auctioneer

Reporter: Sandy Currie

Photos and extract on Ted Harrison, courtesy of David Sills

MC (Steve Sharlow) opened the meeting and also set the stage for its “special theme” – A Tribute to the Life of Ted Harrison. Ted, passed away recently at the age of 88 and was an Honorary Member of the Oak Bay Rotary Club.  A photographic anthology of Ted’s life played on the screen in a continuous loop for the first part of the meeting. 
 

Conversations about Ted and his life continued at the tables while we ate. 

Guests: Steve introduced our guests from the UVic  Rotaract Club, Lauren Askew and ?  

  

Guest Speaker: 

David Phillip introduced our Guest Speaker, Auctioneer Pat Grant.  Pat is gregarious, funny and engaging with a large presence and a booming voice. 

However, he has not always been an auctioneer.  Pat was born in Canada and moved with his family to the United States.  After many years as a Chaplain, he was asked to fill-in for a no-show Auctioneer at one of his Church’s major funding raising events. At first he refused, saying he was comfortable performing any of the normal ministry functions – but he would not be the auctioneer. Finally, he relented and took on the role as a personal challenge. As they say, the rest is history. The next stop  for Pat was Billings, Montana to attend an auctioneer’s school, where he was the only one  who was not a "cowboy". It turns out he had a gift for speaking with the rapid-fire "patter" that is an essential part of being an auctioneer. It was a long haul moving through the stages of ‘earning his spurs’ until reaching the point where he is now an “Event Auctioneer” and in high demand. He is currently on contract to five Rotary Clubs (all in the United States) as ‘the Clubs’ Auctioneer’. Although he is on the road most of the year, he still retains his membership in the Rotary Club of Nanaimo, and provides them with his talents as an Event Auctioneer.

In a spontaneous burst of enthusiasm, Pat led us in an Event Auction to raise funds for up-coming social events. He asked club members to volunteer donations that he could auction off. The end result was as follows: Steve Sharlow offered to host a dinner at the Union Club; Jack Petrie said he would host a Tuscan Dinner. 

"Oops" says Jack to President Jim, "does that say 60 instead of 6 for a Tuscan dinner?"

Heather Aked provided a bottle of wine; and President Jim Force offered to host a Club in the Pub dinner.  The ensuing bidding frenzy had some of these volunteers upping their original offers with the end result being significant donations to the club for future events.

Don O’Conner thanked the speaker with a great quip: "Pat, most people see the light and get into the Ministry; not the other way around", and presented him with a Rotary Mug.

President Jim Force then presented Pablo Diemecke and Don O’Coffey with Light Up Rotary Pins.

 

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 13 January 2015 - Sno'uyutth Totem Pole at Oak Bay Highschool

Reporter: Janette Nation

Photos: Steve Sharlow

Meeting commenced at 12.30.

MC: Lorna Curtis

Lorna had a running projection of her photos from previous trips to Australia and announced she would be going to Australia again for the 6^th time, shortly. Lorna read out some thoughts for the day with the theme of being thankful for all the positive elements of her life, as opposed to focusing on the negative elements, and ended with the statement that we can choose what kind of day we have.

Lori said grace.

Guests and Visitors: Gordon introduced the guests and visiting Rotarians: Gabriel Lopez from the Rotary Club of Victoria; Ryan Gisler and Tinicia Komers, guests of Janna Gisler; Clara Bradley from Rotaract,

Guest speakers: Gail Price-Douglas and Joe Blake

Health of the Club: Mary Canty reported on David and Batya’s son’s  health.

Family Membership: Lorna asked President Jim to report  on our new “Family” membership. This is where two or more people from the same family share a membership with 75% attendance (min of 25% by one member and the second member paying half of the normal dues). The first of our "family" members are Janna and her husband, Ryan, a new member.

New inductee: Janna introduced Ryan Gisler, her husband. Ryan was raised on a cattle ranch, moved to Victoria in 2001, did a degree in mechanical engineering and now specializes in specialty wiring applications such as those used with gondolas and zip lines. They are co-owners of "Fired Up" and Ryan owns a business called "Emergent Access". Ryan was inducted in the category of mechanical engineering.

Ryan Gisler with President Jim Force

Announcements:

• Clara, from Rotaract, announced the Burger and Beer Night Fundraiser on Thursday, January 22 at Maud Hunter’s Pub from  6 pm. $15 for a burger and beer (with vegetarian and non-alcoholic drink substitutes available).  $5 goes to their Book Recycling Children's Literacy Project.

Clara announcing the Burger and Beer Fundraiser with Lorna and Barry

• Joan Peggs: Reported that  $500 for a scholarship  to an Oak Bay High School student, is donated by the Rotary Foundation each year. Oak Bay High had not been asking for this money in past years but this year they did. Joan also mentioned that Rotary Areas 6 and 7 (we are Area 6) are celebrating their 110 year anniversary on 23 February. Areas 6 and 7 are negotiating with the Empress Hotel to project the End Polio Now logo on a wall of the  Empress in February 2015 plus an evening dinner at the hotel! Thanks Joan.

2014 projection on wall of the McPherson Theatre

• Heather Aked - cheque presentation from Gabriel Lopez. For the last 4 years, Heather has been involved in the  Merrython in conjunction with the Oak Bay Recreation Centre. The Merrython is an annual run for adults and children. In 2014, there was a wonderful turnout of 165 registrants plus 20 kids participating in the children's section.  Both Rotaract and Interact are involved plus sponsors, one of which was Himulco Shoes, owned by Gabriel Lopez, from the Victoria Rotary Club.  Gabriel presented a cheque for $200. 

• 

  Heather Aked and Gabriel Lopez

  
  
  The Merrython grossed $5,400 with a net of   about $3,800. Heather Aked is looking for someone to Chair the Merrython Committee. She needs to hand over responsibilities as she has President duties this year. 
• Heather also reminded the meeting of the Thriftys "Smile Card" program. 5% of the amount loaded onto the card, up to $1,500 in total annually, goes to Rotary. Last year the money went to the George Jay music program. See Heather Aked about these "Smile Cards". (You could pre-load one up with $ and they would make a useful gift).
• Janna & Ryan are doing a fundraiser called Baby Pool in honour of their impending first child. $2 a play with a password, go to a website to guess details such as weight, colour of hair etc. 50% goes to the person who guesses correctly and 50% goes to Rotary. See Janna for details.

50/50: Tom Lidkea was fined $100 for not signing in (this may have been a joke otherwise George, who won the whole pot by pulling out the white marble, did very well and Tom may not be back for a while). Questions like "How many women in rotary worldwide?" managed to raise a lot of $.

Finance report: Brian Lamb, the Treasurer, provided copies of the Oak Bay Rotary Finance Report to the Board. The  New Orleans Dinner, Car Raffle and Canada Flags raised the most in 2013/2014. Thanks to all those who tirelessly devoted their time to these and other projects.

President Jim's address: President Jim announced he had been thinking about what makes a Rotarian and he came up with: try to live as best you can by the 4 way test and see your life as one of service.

Work  not only to make money, he suggested,  but to provide service. He pointed out that there is a difference in being a member of the Rotary club and  being a Rotarian as part of one's life, even if not an actual member. He stressed the importance of not only being a club member but also helping the club function.  He reminded us that coming up are fund raisers such as the annual dinner, the car raffle etc. and we should think about which fund raiser we  want to be a part of. Members can also help with other duties. President Jim then handed out Light Up Rotary badges to those who help in various duties of the Club behind the scenes:. George, David, Anne and Brian work on the audit; Joan Peggs seems to do a myriad of things as well as Canada flags and poinsettias. The following people also received badges:

Club Foundation Board: Dave Maxwell and Rod Sim
Rotary Foundation: Neil Rawnsley
Merrython Committee: Heather Aked and Jessica van der Veen
MC of Christmas Party: Lorna Curtis
Administration: Mary Canty: health of the club; Lynne Murray: Sergeant at Arms; Janette Nation: bulletin; Bob Schelle: speakers; Steve Sharlow: Facebook;
Duty Roster: George Pritchard
Membership Roster: David Sills
Ordering of Club Supplies: Anne Sims
Club Treasurer: Brian Lamb

President Jim then talked about putting a face to Rotary. What is your rotary passion and how do you put it in a word or two. If anyone wants to be highlighted ask Steve Sharlow  to take a photo.

Guest Speakers: Gail Douglas, from the Oak Bay Community Association spoke about the Sno'uyutth Totem Pole Project, which is raising money to erect a totem pole  at the new Oak Bay high school. So far, 22K has been raised and $77K is needed.  The aim of the project is to provide a First Nations public art work in perpetuity at the high school, educate students about the cultural heritage of Oak Bay through the carving process, on site at the school and, promote cross cultural understanding. The Community Association has contracted the artists Butch Dick, and his son Clarence, to design and carve the welcome pole. The installation is expected to be completed in October of 2015.

Joe Blake then described the  significance of the Sno’uyutth Pole and the carvings depicted such as Bowker Creek, salmon, Camas flower, Mother Earth, blue heron, sea otter, a frog, white people reaching out in friendship and eagle. He also  described the history of the pole.  There will be Fund raisers  for the pole in the Oaks, Oak Bay Beach Hotel on Saturday evenings, the first one being a concert on January 31 with  further concerts held in March and April 2015. For details of the concerts go to the Community Association's Facebook page by clicking here.  Donations can be made to The Rotary Club of Oak Bay Foundation and mailed to the Community Association of Oak Bay: 138/2017A Cadboro Bay Rd., Victoria, BC, V8R 5G4 or donate by credit card at telephone: 250 - 5951500.  Special thanks extended to Rod Sim and Joan Peggs who have worked hard to create an MOU with the Rotary Club of Oak Bay, so that  tax receipts  can be provided through  the Rotary Foundation, for donations over $50. 

Driver to Tacoma needed for RYLA: Lorna closed the meeting by reminding members of RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) and a need for a volunteer to drive students to Tacoma, on February 26th returning March 1st.  If it is not possible to find someone to drive a van with 14 people, including all the students going from Victoria, then a volunteer to drive the 2 students from Oak Bay is needed. The cost of the ferry, gas, accommodation and meals will be paid by the Club.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 6 January 2015 - Ryan and Jana's electric car experience

Reporter: Peter Johannknecht
 

Greeters: Wynn Taylor and Kathleen Arnason.

MC: Lorna Curtis. Lorna pointed out that January is Rotary Awareness month and in good tradition of her own, she put on her ‘Happy New Year’ hat, as she had done during her presidency during which she wore a different hat each meeting. Lorna shared numerous pictures of her recent travels to exotic places.

Lorna in her dashing hat

 

Grace: Wynn Taylor, 

Everyone sang O Canada, enjoying beautiful images from all Provinces projected onto the screen.

Guests were supposed to be introduced by our new member Kathleen Arnason, but since the only guest in the room was Janna’s husband Ryan, no further introduction was necessary. Well done Kathleen!

Health of the Club: Barry Mutter had no news to report. In this case that is good news.

Announcements:

• Joan Firkins reminded everyone that next week the tickets for our big event of the year, the New Orleans Mardi Gras Madness, will be available. This fund raising dinner is on May 9^th and 200 tickets need to be sold. So please get started right away and ask your family, friends and neighbours to come to this outstanding event.
• Lynne Murray announced that she will undergo surgery  and hopes that everyone will cross their fingers for her. She hopes to be back next Tuesday. Good luck Lynne!
• Neil Rawnsley took the opportunity to acknowledge and honor our multiple Paul Harris Fellows. In particular he asked Dallas Chapple, Heather Aked, Bill Burns and Lorna Curtis to the front. Both Lorna and Dallas received the Paul Harris Multiple +3 pin; Bill, the Multiple +5 and Heather, the Multiple +8, which makes her now a major donor to the foundation. Thank you all so much for your continuous contributions and generous support. What an inspiration!!  

  

  Bill, Dallas, Heather, Lorna and Neil

Club Birthdays: Lynne Murray, Perry Bamji and Joan Firkins. Happy Birthday to all of you!

50/50: Fines Master Jack Petrie was welcomed by the club with an applause that most members probably missed, due to a lack of volume. As a result, everyone got fined who did not know what the theme of the month is. Jana and Ryan got away with praise since they had given a smooth answer to the question: “What does it mean to be a good Rotarian?” …. what was the answer again? Further fines were handed out to anyone who did not bring in a new member to the club last year. We need new members!

Happy $: Mary Canty is happy to have her new kitchen flooring after the burst hot water tank had caused a lot of damage;Heather Aked to celebrate the hockey gold our juniors won in Toronto against Russia. Some Poutine for Putin please. Dallas Chapple gave some happy $ in appreciation of her dad’s 97^th birthday. Lynne Murray gave away some $ since it is her birthday and she’s happy that she still has birthdays. That’s the spirit!

Jack wrapped up the ‘fine’ session by sharing with us his dog's new year’s resolution. She will try to start running when the hand actually let’s go of the stick. Jack, Jack, Jack …

Neil Rawnsley had the winning ticket for the 50/50 pot.

Guest Speaker: Janna Gisler introduced our guest speaker, Ryan Gisler, who happens to be her husband. Both told us their story on how they converted to an electric car from their previous fossil fuel dependent vehicle.

Jana and Ryan

Ryan had to travel on business to China in the spring of 2012 (I won’t even try to spell the city he went to). It was a 12 million megatropolis with constant, severe pollution. He could hardly see the city skyline from the hotel window.

Example of smog over a city in China

After spending over a week in these conditions, he noticed a change in breathing and the urge to actually spit to clear his respiratory system to some degree. The photos he showed of the smog during daylight tell the story. Our culture on this planet has to change and adapt to new ways. On his way back to Canada, he had a stopover in Hawaii for a few days. The rental car company had only an electric car available at the time, a Nissan Leaf, and it was the first time ever that he had driven one.



Nissan Leaf 



It was like an epiphany to him, after his time in China, and as soon he was back in Victoria he discussed his experience with Janna, who had some initial reservations towards an electric car. Further research was required to convince her that an E.V. is just like any other car, but without an exhaust and only minor restrictions when it comes to the travel distance.

It only costs them $20/month in electricity and they like the fact that the Nissan Leaf is the speed record holder in driving in reverse. (Don’t try this in the public please). Both Janna and Ryan are wonderful ambassadors of the E.V. movement, are  members of the local electric car club and educate everyone where they can, from the Home Depot salesperson who showed some opposition, to us Rotarians, by showing us a video on how Norway became a world leader in the E.V. market, through the implementation of vast endorsements to turn E.V.’s into money savers. You can watch this very interesting video by clicking here . Corey Burger thanked both Ryan and Janna for speaking to us. Very inspiring!

John Jordan going to Rwanda: Jim Force wished John good luck in his upcoming trip to Rwanda. He will return in mid April. Wonderful work John!

God Save the Queen was sung (as Lorna Curtis and her aunt are planning to attend one of the Queen's garden parties at Buckingham Palace, this summer). [To read about the Queen's garden parties, click on this website ]