Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 19 May 2015 - Pamela Bendal:sailor extraordinaire

Reporter:  Tav Macpherson

Photgrapher: Steve Sharlow

Master of Ceremonies, Bill Burns opened the meeting promptly at 12:15 pm and reminded us that Rotary International is amongst the most significant fundraising organizations in the world.  The positive impact in the world is international and makes a real difference to many people.  Bill further reminded us of the current Rotary Car Raffle, the beneficiaries of which are our neighbors who use the local food banks.  Please sell your tickets and sign up for shifts.

O’Canada was sung and John Jordan delivered the invocation.

Guests:

President, Jim Force welcomed our guests.  Jarrod Clayton, (Edmonton-Strathcona) was our sole visiting Rotarian.  Visitors to Rotary were Haley Tarnow, Eileen Lavigne, Jenny Hildebrand, Pamela Bendall, Maya McIntyre, Julie De Melo, Margret Mots and Alexander Ewanchuk.

Health of the Club:  Mary Canty indicated that Neil Rawnsley is having surgery next week and he was wished well by all present.  Tav Macpherson circulated a card to be sent to

Terry Toone (Victoria Club) who has been ailing. Terry and Joan Toone have been great ambassadors in Rotary’s fight for Polio Eradication.

Announcements:  

• Heather Aked made an announcement about something that the dim-witted reporter forgot to record.  
• Joan Firkins reported on her Rotary visit to Washington, DC and Minneapolis (see Facebook for her comments and photos).  
• Brian Lamb indicated that the accounting process is underway for the Mardi Gras dinner and he will report back in a couple of weeks.  
• Anne McIntyre has Car Raffle tickets for everyone to sell.

25/75

Celebrations Master, Jim Laing was assisted by guests Alexander and Maya who collected funds – great to see young people participating in our meetings.  Thank you both.  Jim first launched a vicious attack on his old buddy, Tav and his golfing ability despite the fact that the two of them have not played together for about six years.  Rod Sim was fined for sending out too many confusing emails and Bob Schelle apparently failed to sing O’Canada. General fines were for those that had not subscribed to the flag program, had not sold any raffle tickets, had not brought a guest to Rotary and were not wearing name tags and pins.  David Maxwell was celebrating a birthday while Wolf and Elise Schopperwere celebrating their 19^th wedding anniversary.  Various Happy and Sad dollars were collected.  Victoria Pitt won the 50/50 draw.

Guest Speaker: Tom Lidkea introduced guest speaker, Pamela Bendall who asked the question, “What was I thinking?” 

 

Pamela is an accomplished sailor having voyaged over 100,000 miles on the world’s oceans, many of them solo. 

She has visited over 100 of the world’s countries and sailed from Canada to New Zealand as well as Alaska to South America.  She has a Master’s degree in communications from Royal Roads University and has worked in real estate, investments and as a radio columnist for CBC.  She has two adult children and two grand-children.

Pamela first outlined her early sailing career.  She and her then-husband left Oak Bay in the early 1980’s with their two children, aged four and 10.  Their goal was to reach New Zealand and their adventures took them to many of the South Pacific Islands.  Along the way, she met our friend and great Rotarian, Tricia Timmermans, also an ocean globetrotter.  Pamela loved the wide expanses of ocean and also the variety of coral village cultures.  In 1989, she completed a cruise through the Pacific to Japan.  She noted that in those days there were none of the advances in technology that currently aid navigation and communication.  Celestial navigation and radio were the norm.

In 2005, Pamela realized that she was happiest when she was on her boat.  Having divorced and with two independent children, she decided to sail off-shore single handed.  She outfitted her 47 foot boat, Precious Metal, accordingly.  It had a 100 horsepower Isuzu engine and 500 gallons of fuel with enough capacity to range 2,500 miles.  The Boat includes a workshop, a washer and drier and a bathtub.

Pamela talked of her time as a charter operator based in Port Hardy.  Having obtained her Captain’s Certificate, she hosted many clients up and down the Pacific Coast.  The responsibility to her clients took her seamanship to a new high level and she survived severe weather conditions as well as the occasional unattractive customers.  She gained a great appreciation of the beauty and serenity of our coastline.

She left in 2008 on a voyage to San Diego.  Early in the voyage, she experienced a “shake-down” storm which damaged Precious Metal mechanically, electronically and structurally and left her physically and emotionally drained.  She refitted in San Diego and once again learned from her experiences.  Knowledge is power and Pamela learned with the help of others how to build and fix everything on a boat.  She continued her voyage down to Mexico when she became part of a group of sailors that raised over $100,000 used to improve the education facilities for local impoverished children. 

From there, she continued to the Galapagos and then to Peru.  Sadly, she reported that compared to her voyages 20 years earlier, she could see the increasing destruction of the oceans.  Contaminated ocean waters contain oil, effluent and garbage.  The worst environmental hazard is plastic which breaks down into minute particles which kill fish and wildlife.  The oceans currents concentrate these pollutants in certain areas of the open ocean and nothing can live in these massive dead zones.  Vast tracts of the world’s coastlines are also now classified as dead zones due to mankind’s careless and malicious activities.  She remarked that the oceans are the heart and lungs of the planet and that man is slowly suffocating the world.  Other problems for the oceans are over fishing and coral reef destruction.  With 170 billion tons of fish removed from the oceans annually, the balance of life is severely compromised.

Pamela concluded with an update of her new relationship and his boat, Rapscallion as well as her plans to sail the Central Columbian coast this winter.  We have only one precious life, she says, and we must all fulfill our dreams.  She answered questions from the audience. 

 Note that Pamela has written a book, “What Was I Thinking?” which she offered for sale ($20 – a real bargain) after the meeting.  Interested parties can gain an insight into this bright and adventurous woman’s experiences by reading this fascinating book.

John Jordan thanked Pamela and remarked that she has had a vision and realized her opportunities while living up to her responsibilities.

The meeting closed with God Save the Queen beautifully performed by our guest, Haley Tarnow.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 12 May 2015 - Mardi Gras Postscript and Car Raffle launch

Reporter: John Jordan

Photos: Steve Sharlow

Joan Peggs opened the meeting .

This being a Club Day there would be no invited speaker.

Tom Croft said grace and our three guests led us to lunch.

Guests: We welcomed visiting Rotarians:

Ronald Quigley, of The Boundary, Stanstead, and father of our own Gordon Quigley.

Delone Krueger, of Moses Lake, Wa. with whom we exchanged club banners.

Mandi Pui 

Jim Laing conducted himself assertively in collecting contributions – especially from those who had not been participating in recent club activities.  He also highlighted these laudable activities:

Jack and Brennan celebrated their 15 wedding anniversary

Vicky and Tim celebrated their 35 years anniversary

Niel Rawnsley will go in for surgery next week and we are all hoping for a great recovery.

Wendy is off to Paris next week.

Announcements:

President Jim made several announcements regarding upcoming schedule:

• Rotary will have a float in the Victoria Day parade next Monday and all Rotarians are encouraged to join the group marching the route.  The excitement and cameraderie will repay all investments of time.  Speak to Jim about the meet-up venue and time.
• June2 meeting will be at the Oak Bay Rec Center on Bee St.
• June 16 meeting will be at the Victoria Golf Club
• June 24 we will not meet for lunch and instead we will have the Induction Dinner.
• June 30 we will hold no meeting but members are encouraged to find each other at the Willows Beach evening concert.

Neil auctioned off some bottles of  wine which were eagerly pursued by bidding buyers: Janette won the first at $35. Wendy and Heather each got theirs for $40 and as the stock became rarer, the price went higher.  Lorrie got one for $45 and Jim Laing went to $55 for the last.

One Mystery Bag that went unclaimed at the New Orleans dinner was auctioned to Janette for $35.

Lorna was the speaker today:

Lorna provided a summary report of the outcome of the Mardi Gras dinner.

We raised $13,500 in our auctions; $6000 in other raffles; $2000 – $3000 on the dinner tickets.  This pushes our total funds raised by annual club dinners over the last  six years to over $100,000 worth of benefit projects to our home community.  The Oak Bay Teen Center has been the primary beneficiary.  The modular unit we sponsored years ago has now been retired and arrangements have been made to convert it to a library for a First Nations reserve.   Funds raised will outfit the new Teen Centre with equipment that will make it a dynamic and desirable place for youth to gather for fun and engagement.

The Thrifty Foods Car raffle:

The car raffle, which in the last two years has also provided the club with substantial funds for projects in our own community, has already unofficially begun its 3 month run.  The official launch is at Thrifty Foods on Cloverdale Avenue.  Members were encouraged to attend in a show of interest, especially for the benefit of the press and our Thrifty partners. 

With a vision to create a much larger impact in the community, Rotary is partnering with the Food Share Network  of Victoria, comprising of 40 social service and food banks.   19,000 people visited community services for food last year in greater Victoria, 40% of them children.    While the plan is still in development, it seems clear that it will involve refrigerated collection and storage for centralized distribution of the vast quantity of food that is otherwise consistently lost.  Hence, the name for the Rotary fund raising effort: The Food Rescue Project.

In this expanded plan, 9 clubs have joined together to increase sales while lessening the burden of filling the schedule.  

The project has such high profile that Thrifty Foods has donated about $40,000 for the car and other prizes and the Victoria Foundation will match every dollar we bring in through our raffle up to $100,000 .  So, every time we sign up to sell tickets, we are building a highly leveraged capacity for our community.  Thanks for all the hard work Lorna!!

Ended with God Save the Queen

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 5 May 2015 - Carol Carman, Read Society

Reporter: John Edgell

Photos: Steve Sharlow

Joan Peggs acted as Master of Ceremonies

The meeting began with O Canada.

Joan P. mentioned that May will be labeled Community Service Month beginning in the 2015-2016 Rotary Year.  She cited two of our May Community events:

Rotary Water Park cleanup which was last Saturday. She showed some photos so everyone could appreciate the facility and underline the fun it provides families in our community.

Mardi Gras Dinner and Auction this coming Saturday May 9 at the Monterey Centre.  There were 18 tickets left. This is one event that raises funds which make a very tangible contribution to our community.

Will Carter provided a very “thankful” Grace.

Guests:

Dallas Chapple welcomed our Guests:

Eileen Lavigne guest of Steve Sharlow.

Jenny Hildebrand guest of Anne McIntyre

Madaline Larson guest of Lori McLeod

Announcements:

• Mary Canty was asked about health of the Club and as she had nothing to report she used her time to report that Guatemala Scarves were selling well at $20.  Wolf Schopper had taken the majority so Mary reported she will have more scarves available shortly. The money from these items goes to the Women’s Centre in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.
• Joan Firkins highlighted the Mardi Gras event on Saturday.  She needs more volunteers for the event. Brian Lamb has the unsold tickets.  All Silent Auction items should be at the Monterey Centre.
• Steve Sharlow reported that Lance Shaver, Rotaractor, won the “Shoe Challenge” on the Rotary Facebook page.  If you have not done so, log onto Facebook and see the great gallery of photos that are available.
• The Rotary Club of Downtown Victoria is in the process of being chartered.  
• A group of Rotaractors and friends have decided to have a “young” Club.
• John Jordan is having a Plant Sale at his home on Saturday and Sunday May 9-10,2015. I believe proceeds will be applied to the Rwanda project that John favours.
• John Edgell commented on the difficulties in Jalisco State in Mexico and gave a short update on the Global Grant Project La Prepa in Las Varas ,Nayarit State.  Please take a moment to follow the link: here to read more.
• Joan Peggs brought up the Club Flag Program.  She reported that Dallas Chapple had posted the program in her Strata Newsletter and that it immediately produced a new subscription.

Our President, Jim Force, was Celebration Master.  He began by auctioning a book on the Winnipeg Falcons, who were Canada’s first Olympic hockey team in 1920.  Interestingly, the whole team were Icelanders.  Heather paid $15 for the privilege of getting Alexander this nice hockey memorabilia book.  There were 4 or 5 “early leavers” but they were rattled off so quickly your scribe missed the names.

The Mardi Gras Committee members were asked to stand and tables without one of these members were fined $2 while the lucky tables with members in attendance, only paid $1.

Happy and Sad:

Lynne reports her diabetes is causing further problems

Vicky Pitt reported how happy she is that our Global Scholarship candidate, Khristine Foster, is off to the University of Queensland, Australia, and that next year’s applicant, Katy DeRosa, is in the process of being approved. (Katy spoke at a recent meeting on the plight of asylum seekers.)

Steve Sharlow had the winning “draw” ticket but could not find the “black” marble.

Our Guest Speaker, Carol Carman is Co-Chair , Board of Directors,  Read Society

Carol has a passion for literacy, and brings her professional communication skills to the Society. She spent 16 years struggling in the Government environment, as well as additional time in the private sector. She knows, in depth, the terrible toll that unemployment, disability, poverty, homelessness and substance abuse have on our community, and indeed, the communities throughout the world.  Literacy is the vehicle through which everyone can improve their situation from the youngest in a family to the illiterate senior.

The Read Society is committed to literacy, both in reading and numeracy. The Society depends on private donations and grants to fund its work.  There is no Provincial or Federal money involved.

Several of Carol’s key points:

1. The Read Society uses the UNESCO Standards to measure literacy.  It is a 5 level grid: one (1) no ability to use the written word;. (3) Can handle complex text “barely” and; (5) highly capable…
2. BC has the highest literacy rank in Canada and Victoria the highest in BC.
3. There are “pockets” of extremely low literacy in our area which is at least partially due to the “resource extraction” industry legacy, and our First Nations, where literacy has not been “culturally” important until very recently.
4. It seems incredible that 40% of adults on Vancouver Island are not capable (low literacy skills) of completing a typical job application.  
5. Even more startling is the fact that 75% of our prison population is illiterate.
6. One of the key reading programs offered by Read Society is called “Noisy Kids Reading Club”. Offered after school at several “low income area” schools, it focuses on busy activities as much as reading skills, and is very popular.
7. The “Tuition Assistance” program allows the Society to partner with students in paying for courses.
8. The “Read is on the Road” program focuses on First Nations.  The program is run in Band Office facilities and utilizes First Nation youth to mentor the young students.  The stress of this program is to remain “culturally sensitive“ and provide specialty books to achieve this objective.
9. The Society is currently operating a literacy program at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre on Wilkinson Road and is in need of teacher volunteers, as the demand is far more than the Society can provide.

In summary, Carol told us the Read Society goal is to make Vancouver Island "the most Literate and Numerate region in Canada”.

In question period, Jim Force noted that we were considering a “Joint Venture” between Rotary and  First Book Canada,  particularly aimed at low income families and schools, as well as First Nations people.  The need is to get new books to these families in June, before summer vacation, as it has been recognized that children lose their reading skills over the summer holidays if they do not read.

Brian thanked Carol and gave her the traditional Oak Bay Rotary coffee mug

We sang the Queen and everyone was encouraged to come out to Saturday night’s Mardi Gras fundraiser.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 28 April 2015 - Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner for BC

Reporter and Photos :  Steve Sharlow


The meeting was called to order by Dr. Peter Bamji promptly at 12.15. O Canada sung and invocation by Peter Johankaecht.

Guests were introduced, Eileen Lavigne (Steve Sharlow), John Herbert (Lorna Curtis) 
Jenny Hiblebrand, Eileen Eby and Melanie Jeffs (Jim Force)
Guest Rotarian was Jacqueline Mealing of Qualicum BC

Announcements:

• President Jim did a presentation of a chegue for $1000.00 to "Start Early" and showed a great display of the books that we were able to give to Eileen Eby. She made very gracious thanks to the club for their involvement. She read out a letter from a recipient of the program. 

• Janna reminded all of the Artist tour this Saturday and Sunday. She also pointed out that her group will be doing the centre pieces for the Mardi Gras on the 9th.
• Peter Lawrie noted that Pablo will be performing a concert this weekend in Oak Bay. and a presentation of a cheque of $750 was given to Disaster Aid Canada.
• Joan Firkins made a plea for more assistance for the up coming Mardi Gras. 
• Bob Schelle told us they are looking for some one to do the roster each month.

Lynn Murray won the 50/50.
David Maxwell was our Celebrations Master. He found us all wanting for knowledge and we paid accordingly.

Guest Speaker:
Sabrina Corraini introduced our guest speaker Hamish Flannigan.

Hamish is a lawyer in the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC. He had nice things to say about Rotary. His involvement has been somewhat limited but he has always found the members to be very open to sharing, accepting of new ideas and very friendly.

He stated that privacy is the New Frontier. We have gone from mounds of paper files to computerized data. This means that much more data on people can be stored on significantly little space, and that data can be accessed quickly and, unfortunately, by a wide body of people. He talked of the ease by which information on computers can be accessed and how one's location can be ascertained from the signals on smart phones, tablets and laptops as well as one's searching preferences. It can used for advertising purposes but also for more nefarious purposes. 

Examples of breaches of privacy were given regarding health files being accessed by employees who did not have the authority to access them. Other examples related to the hacking of the financial information of  large corporations, such as Target, which resulted in customers' financial information being compromised.

Hamish said that there are programs that help you block such incursions of your private data. He also advized  that one should adjust their wifi  settings so that it requires a password.

The Commission advocates Proactive Risk Management:. Privacy Natters. Consider the Risks.

Cory gave thanks to the speaker and Perry closed the meeting.

(For detailed information on the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, the applicable legislation and privacy related resources, go to this website .)