Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting of 27 September 2016 - John Spry of the Rotary Club of Jaltemba Bay, Mexico

Reporter: Janette Nation

Venue: Oak Bay Recreation Centre

The meeting opened by singing O Canada a capella.

Visiting Rotarians:

John Spry - Guest Speaker (Jaltemba Bay Club, Mexico); Helma and Gaylord Stewart  (Jaltemba Bay Club, Mexico); Ed McLean (St. Boniface - St. Vital, Winnipeg); Bruce Willis (Laguna Beach, California).

Rotaract: Nalin Dhillon (Rotaract Club of Victoria)

Guests: Mike Stevenson (Tav McPheron); Alaleh Rohani (Lorna)

Rotary Moment: Trudy Penner from Memory Cafe was to provide the Rotary Moment but Interact members are joining us on October 24 so her presentation on Youth Services has been postponed for a few weeks.

Announcements:

• Jim Force: Club in the Pub will be held, as it always is, on the last Thursday of every month, at the Penny Farthing Pub on Oak Bay Avenue. Do make a point of being there this Thursday at 5 pm, and  apart from a fun couple of hours, it qualifies for a make-up session. 
• Lorna: The East Coast Kitchen Party is being held at Bob Schelle's home, on October 23rd. We need 40 people for the event to go ahead and so far we have just 31, so please see Lorna about signing up. It will be lots of fun with good food and music!
• Joan Peggs:  The Gospel Choir concert at the Dave Dunnet theatre, at Oak Bay High on 8 October, needs a photographer. President Lori has generously offered a ticket, to the event, to anyone who will be photographer for the evening.
• The flag program for 2017 with 3 flags installed on your property for 3 weekends, on Victoria Day, Canada Day and Labour Day costs $50. If you haven't paid yet, please do and please try and recruit friends and neighbours, as this is a major fund raiser for the club.

Celebrations Master: Jim L.

He stumped us all yet again with his "Jeopardy" style questions. based on the Rotarian magazine and others, that we were mostly not able to answer. It all meant more fines in the pot though. 

Happy/Sad : Joan P was sad because she learned the Royals drove right past her house but she was out; Heather was happy because Alexander attended an Interact meeting; Wendy was happy as she was retiring at the end of the week; John Jordan was happy because he was heading to Europe to close up his mother-in-law's apartment, and his mother-in-law has committed to staying.  

Dallas won the 50/50 and also drew the black marble but it has been a slow recovery since Ron C won the jackpot. 

Guest Speaker: John Spry of the Rotary Club of Jaltemba Bay - La Penita, Mexico

Joan P. introduced the speaker. She informed us that he, and Gaylord and Helma Stewart were originally from Nanaimo, and were here from the Jaltemba Bay Club, Mexico, to speak about their "All Schools Project". The Club was initiated in 2008 and received official status in March 2009, It is a Spanish/English bilingual club with all proceedings translated on the spot. The club has 28 members with about half from North America including 4-5 expats from the U.S. There is a lot of social activity, music and food, and their breakfast meeting costs just $6, with enough to last the day! John has in fact provided hands on Mexican cooking lessons to Americans.  There are many beaches that stretch for several kilometres and there are regular markets as well as warm, sunny weather. The Berkeley Rotary Club in California has supported the club.

The goal of the Club is to establish a shared working relationship with clubs in Canada and the U.S., and work together on projects and youth exchanges. The All Schools Project aims to provide the basic necessities to enable school children to learn in a safe and comfortable environment. Some of the achievements so far are the replacement of student desks; rewiring for fans to cool the classrooms; provide shade outside, over concrete tables and benches; and washroom upgrades. The students and parents are expected to commit to helping in completing the improvements. The government builds the schools but the maintenance is left to the parents, who have very few financial resources.

The areas concentrated upon right now are La Penita, Los Ayala, La Colonia, Lima de Abajo, and Rincon de Guayabitos. The philosophy of the Club is that all school facilities should be up to a common standard of functionality, with working equipment.

Sanjay thanked the speaker with a Rotary Mug.

(If you would like to contact the Club and help in kind, visit or make a donation, contact Vern Porter through the Club:  http://pvangels.com/charities/106/rotary-club-of-la-penita )

In view of the Royal visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, we sang God Save the Queen.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting - 20 September 2016 - Hudson Mack

Reporter:  Sanjay Uppal

Photographer: Jack Petrie

Tom introduced guests including:

• Hudson Mack (speaker and guest of club)
• David Weir (guest of Wynn Taylor)
• Edith Stuart (guest of Lori McLeod)
• Laura Medors (visiting Rotaractor)

Jack’s Rotary Moment:

• Thanksgiving concert featuring the Victoria Soul Gospel Choir
• Tickets for sale at $25 (see Jack)
• October 8, starting at 7:30 pm

Announcements:

• Lorna: sign up sheet going around for East Coast Kitchen Party for the Rotary Club Social at Bob Schelle’s house on October 22^nd
• Next club meeting is on September 27  at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre, not at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel

Birthdays: Mandy on September 17th. Happy birthday Mandy!

Anniversary: Tom and his wife are celebrating their 44^th wedding anniversary this week; congratulations!!

Guest Speaker:

• Helen introduced guest speaker Hudson Mack
• Hudson has had a long career in television broadcasting, winning multiple awards, is a former Rotarian, and published author. He brought copies of his autobiogaphy and $5 from each book sale went to the Rotary Club of Oak Bay
• Michelle thanked Hudson

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting - 13 September 13, 2016 - Arts Calibre Academy

Reporter: Alyx Valdal

The Meeting was held at the Victoria Golf Club. 

President Lori led us in our best a capella rendition of the anthem yet!

Invocation: Tav

Newest member Finton Gisler joined us today!

Introduction of Guests by Ryan Gisler: Thuli Kamohelo (her last day!), Dr. Helga Jacobson (Naida); Michelle Edgar (Anne McIntyre); Caroline Yeend (Jean Dickson); Auntie Kara Gisler (The Gisler family); Guest Speaker Sandra Walton. 

Announcements:

• Jack: Tickets for October concert are already ¼ sold. There are only 425 seats and they are going to sell out. Let’s have a strong Rotary presence.
• Tav: District foundation seminar on Oct 1^st in Nanaimo. Please attend as you can be certified to be able to apply for grants. 

Celebration Master: Jim Laing with “Rotary Jeopardy” involving lots of sports questions. Sunday the 18^th is the Terry Fox Run (as well as many other events!)

Happy Dollars: 

Naida: Thank you to Rod Sims and everyone who is doing Pianorama and to Thuli for spending the summer with us.

Jim: Went to a meeting on which social media platform we can connect with fellow Rotarians. In the old days, meetings were where communications were made.

Jack: He was watching a Youtube video and told us a Johnny Carson joke (chicken teriyaki – last kamikaze pilot…I missed it!).

Jean: Boss was away at a conference last week; her and her co-workers played.

Janette: Happy after returning from her 5-week vacation in France

Sandy: Sandy and Barb went to Iceland.

Mandy: The BBQ in Vancouver as a Cambodian fundraiser was successful and raised $1300! Mandy is off to Cambodia, India, Thailand, Hong Kong in the next couple weeks.

Jim: Put $20 in for fundraising, topping up the pot.

Happy Anniversaries to: Tom and Jill Croft; Tom and Margaret Lidkea

Guest speaker: Sandra Walton – “Next Generation Motivation” was introduced by Bob Schelle.

Ms. Walton is the Executive Director and founder of Arts Calibre Academy, an arts-based preschool and elementary school in Gordon Head. She has her Bachelor and Masters of Education and her Early Childhood Education Certification. She has taught music, dance, drama, leadership, and career and personal planning in both the Edmonton and Greater Victoria Public School Districts. Ms. Walton’s two children were her inspiration for creating ArtsCalibre.

Ms. Walton started off by donating 10 happy dollars for each kindergarten student who just enrolled. She is celebrating the 5 year anniversary for Arts Calibre (which started as a preschool). It is now K-6 with 51 children. 

One of the pillars of the school is based on Stephen Covey’s (author of The 7 habits of highly effective people) The leader in Me. The teachers are all trained in the 7 habits and the program is an effective way to prevent bullying and get in touch with one’s moral compass.

The first 3 habits are about self; next 3 on independences; and finally interdependence. Be proactive, begin with the end, first things first. Seek to understand, think win/win, synergize. Sharpen the saw (look after self and those around you – community, building culture). The school seeks to unleash potential and help students find their genius.

The arts are incorporated into the BC curriculum that is taught. There are dance “brain breaks” as well as dance classes at the school. 

ArtsCalibre is a fully accredited BC school. It started at Emmanuel Baptist and is now in a larger space at Gordon Head United Church. Tuition is $550/mo (no additional fees for school supplies, materials). Includes swimming, piano lessons, and this year, ukele/recorder (last year violin). Nature-based learning through Friday outdoor education and there is an outdoor classroom. North/South/East/West multi-age groupings for classrooms (instead of grades 1, 2, 3…).

As an Independent BC school ArtsCalibre receives 50% funding.

A question is how students perform in public schools (after leaving ArtsCalibre)? So far very well academically and socially.

Janette thanked Sandra for her vision and inspiration.

Rotary Moment: Lori presented Thuli with a Rotary pin to make her an honourary Oak Bay Rotarian. Mandy gave Thuli the envelope with almost $1000 of our donations to help her back home. Thuli thanked us for welcoming her.

Next Tuesday back at the OBBH.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 6 September 201 - Trudy Pauluth-Penner - UVIC

Reporter: Alyx Valdal

Master of Ceremonies: Jim Force

Jim started us off with a reading from “Oh, the places we’ll go” as part of September’s “Basic Education and Literacy” theme and we sang “O Canada” along with a funky new beat that threw Jack off a bit.

Invocation: Pablo is thankful for the musicians and other guests who joined us today.

Introduction of Guests: Dallas introduced Tom, our visiting Rotarian today, and guests: Thuli Kamohelo (Naida); Edilberto Vela, Alejandro Bernal, Hector Ocampo (Pablo); Ben Anderson (Brian); and Michael Stevenson (Tav).

Rotary Moment: Today we inducted Donna Chow into the club (welcome back!). She will be mentoring with Tav and helping to develop the new mentorship program within our club.

Announcements: 

• Janna, Ryan and Garon welcomed our newest and youngest Rotary member: a baby boy born Sept 2nd.
• Vicky spoke about scholarships – Rotary is one of the largest grantors of scholarships in the world. Our distrIct has given out $400,000 in scholarship money through the District, Global and Peace Fellows programs (Peace Fellows being a full scholarship). Rotary invests $15, 000-60,000 in students and young people through these programs and the return is amazing. If you know of anyone who is interested in doing master’s studies, who is involved in the community and has the promise to go further, please let Vicky know.
• Lorna has rescheduled the kitchen party. $30/ticket and we need a minimum 40 people to make this the best kitchen party of the fall! New date is October 22nd at Bob Schelle’s house. 6-7pm social, 7-8pm delicious donairs, 8-9:30pm live music and even livelier dancing.
• Jack serenaded us with a few beats of Motown to get us excited about the Thanksgiving concert coming up October 8th at The Dave Dunnet Community Theatre. The Gospel choir’s usual $2,000 fee has been donated and we’re on our way to makeing $10K that will go towards youth programs. $25/ticket and Jack’s keen to see who will sell the most! The silent auction is being organized by Joan Peggs; please get in touch with her if you have a donation or know a business that can donate.
• Bob Schelle asks that all flags are returned (dry) to the hotel storage room so inventory can be done.
• Peter pointed out the brochure for the concert Pablo and his musician colleagues are putting on at St. Mary’s as a fundraiser Sept 7th. It is the first in the fall/winter concert series raising money for literacy and Syrian Refugees. The upcoming dates are Oct. 22nd, Nov. 19th and Dec. 10th.

Celebration Master: Edwin Taylor celebrated with fines, including fun children’s literature trivia (we ran out of time for the French literature questions!). One notable question was about James Matthew Barrie’s “The Adventures of Peter Pan” as the Rotary Water Park at Carnarvon was originally called “Peter Pan Waterpark”. 

Happy Dollars: We had many dollars collected for Happy/Sad dollar announcements.

Jack – happy $2 for Bob Schelle’s superb organization on meeting locations and other changes. 

Dallas – $5, which is all she has left after the $62CAD  G&T she enjoyed in Zurich, after her river cruise.

Joan Peggs- $2 as a thank you for whomever put the room away two meetings ago.

Joan Firkins – Many dollars as she’s happy she’s headed to Edmonton for a Rotary meeting then a European cruise. Sad because she’s missing the next 3 weeks of Rotary.

Pablo – Happy $10 for being back in Victoria and having his fellow musicians here.

Heather – Happy dollars that Alexander is back at school (but she’s not sure when it actually starts as he there only 2 hours today and dragon boating as well this week).

Rod - $50 for his 20th year of Rotary. Happy that his daughter has also attended some meetings (first time when she was 2.5 months old).

Wendy – Thanks everyone for coming out to lawn bowling last week! Let’s do it again!

Eugen – Happy he’s back from a month in the Alps where he went paragliding.  He recommends everyone experience jumping off the top of a mountain and soaring over Lake Geneva.

Jack won the 50/50 and picked a clear marble. Better luck next week!

Guest Speaker: Wendy introduced our speaker, Trudy Pauluth-Penner. Trudy is currently a doctoral candidate in the University of Victoria’s interdisciplinary Social Dimensions of Health program combining narrative gerontology and applied theatre (fun fact: she is also a performing puppeteer!).

The ‘Memory Café - Remembering Our Canada’ project is an intergenerational mentorship program spearheaded by the Eldercare Foundation. This program is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program and receives collaboration from many different groups.

Sept 6th is the start of phase 3 – “Remembering Our Canada” at Oak Bay Lodge. Interact club members and Rotaract from OBH are still involved and will play a critical role. The Memory Café format is a tea room at the lodge where older and younger individuals will be paired up and Trudy will facilitate with questions, such as “When I think about Canada, I think/feel/wish”. Some actors will be there who can spontaneously act out various stories.

Phase 4 will be in Jan/Feb 2017, developing theatre & art exhibitions; followed by an exhibition and performances in March at The Dave Dunnet Theatre as well as Oak Bay Lodge. Theatre, visual arts, photography, music (composing and recording; Daniel Lapp and others are involved), literature, intergenerational dance evening, documentary video. Reminiscing is vital to healthy aging as is Life Review and this project will help seniors and the community on many levels.

Heather thanked Trudy with a brand spanking new (it was even wrapped in plastic still!) Rotary mug.

Lori was eager to get back on the mic and shared Dwayne Reed’s Welcome to the 4th Grade” as a back-to-school tribute.

Reminder! Next Tuesday’s meeting (13th) will be at the Victoria Golf Course. Arrive early to ensure parking.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Social Lunch 30 August 2016 - Victoria Lawn Bowling Club

Reporter and Photographer: Bob Schelle

The Oak Bay Rotary Club held a social lunch on August 30 at the Victoria Lawn Bowling Club. This was arranged by Wendy.  Everyone appeared to have a great time, with many varied bowling styles displayed. Jack and Brannan and Joan P. appeared to have previous knowledge of the game. 

Joan was sporting footwear which appeared to be a hybrid between slippers and gloves. 

Jenny left on her motorcycle to get prepared for her 5 week cycle trip to Texas via Yellowstone Park with her husband Lloyd.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 24 August 2016 - Mandy Pui on social media

Reporter: Lorna Curtis

President Lori opened the meeting with an upbeat version of Oh Canada from the Nylons!  She reminded everyone if you cannot do your roster duty it is YOUR responsibility to find a replacement!!!! 

Joan Firkins provided the Rotary Moment - she reminded everyone about the Centennial contribution to the Rotary Foundation: $35 CAD to commemorate all the good work the Foundation has done over the years.  So far 20 club members have contributed but still another 30 to go to get to the dollar goal of $1750. Different ways of contributing:

Rotary Direct: recurring gift to support the Rotary Foundation $10 and up per month on your credit card can be set up online or see Joan F.  

Benefactor is a minimum $1,000 contribution to the Rotary Foundation upon your death - you receive a recognition pin and certificate - do not need to do anything other than leave this information with your will.   See Joan F for more information.

Jean Dickinson who was inducted by District Governor Joanne at the bbq on Sunday, was presented with her new member Rotary package and was asked to say a few words - instead Lori and Jean sang about Rotary members to the tune ‘Summertime and the Living is Easy’.  

Announcements:

• September 13th and 27th no meeting at Oak Bay Beach Hotel meetings will be at Oak Bay Recreation Centre
• Lorna announced the Kitchen Party has been moved to Saturday, October 22nd so put that date in your calendar.  She reminded members that they should have one of the club business cards to give to a potential member to visit our club, discover Rotary and have a complimentary lunch.  The new rack card from the area PI Committee was circulated - the rack card advertises Rotary - where/when/times of Rotary Club meetings in Greater Victoria.
• Volunteer for "Remembering Our Canada" - bring stories and join artists at the Volunteer Orientation Session, August 24th, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Hillside Seniors Centre 1454 Hillside Avenue.
• Club in the Pub Penny Farthing this Thursday, August 25th 5pm
• John Jordan 178 Beach Drive - Plant Sale 10 - 3pm on Saturday, September 3rd, to raise money for his Rwanda project..

Celebrations Master - Wynn Taylor quizzed members about the art installations around Oak Bay - apparently there are a couple of nuts on the Oak Bay Municipal lawn and not a dead deer as suggested by Neil Rawnsley.  Thank goodness we did not have to know where the pianos are located!

Happy/Sad $.

Brian Lamb won the draw but also won last week so we drew again and Joan Peggs won.

Guest Speaker: 

Tom Croft introduced speaker Mandy Pui for her vocational talk.  

She spoke of Knowledge translation - how to get someone to remember something and use it.  Getting knowledge out to people so they can use it! Infographics - one page explanation about your organization, key messages. Go to nounproject.com to get images to use for infographics. Mandi works with many different non-profit organizations including the StemCell matching program to raise money and attract donors. When it comes to a cause it helps to attach a face.  

When to use # or @ on Facebook:

# is used for general topic and you want anyone to see your post

@ specific person or page

Ask each other why we joined Rotary and what are the causes you are interested in.  Once you have the answer to one of these questions and then post on your Facebook with a @ or #.  Everyone got busy on their mobile devices.

Mary Canty thanked the Mandy - even though she does not have a Facebook page!

The meeting ended with all of us singing a very bad version of Lori and Jean’s Summertime and the Living is Easy!

Rptary Club of Oak Bay Meeting of 17 August 2016 - Katie Coard, President Rotary Club of Downtown Victoria

Reporter: Dr. Jim Force, Past-president

Master of Ceremonies: President, Lori McLeod

Lori had a few last minute tickets to the Meet the District Governor BBQ in Sooke on Sunday. There are around 14 of our Club members and their friends planning to attend. Should be good fun.

Lori also mention a concern about low attendance at the luncheon meetings and invited folks to suggest “great speakers” that they may like to hear. Send suggestion to her or Bob.

O Canada: Led a cappella by Lori and Thuli

Invocation: Naida Hyde

Special Presentation: In acknowledgement of her dedication, courage and commitment to serving others, Jim Force, on the behalf of the Club, presented Thuli Kamokelo, with the tools of her trade, Littman stethoscope with carrying case, aneroid sphygmanometer (blood pressure cuff), and penlight with pupil gauge all wrapped in a beautiful hand-made gift bag.

Lunch Menu: Another great lunch – delicious and nutritious

              Caesar Salad

              Roasted Butternut Squash

              Beef Stroganoff with Garganelli Noodles

              Potato Bacan Soup

              A selection of delightful sweets

Introduction of Guests: Given that neither of our scheduled greeters were able to attend today, Lori introduced our guests: Visiting Rotarian and guest speaker, Katie Coard, president of the Rotary Club of Downtown Victoria. Visiting guests: Thuli Kamokelo guest of Naida, Dariusz Dziewanski, Rotary Scholar and guest of Vicky Pitt. Jean Dickson, soon to be a member of our Club, guest of Lori McLeod. Maya McIntye guest of Anne McIntyre.

Rotary Moment 1: Rotary Scholar Dari, a Ph.D. student at the University of London, England, who has received a Rotary Global Grand, talked about his doctorial research into the normalization of gang violence in Cape Town. Normalization means that the violence has become so much a part of people’s lives that it seems normal to them. Cape Town is one of the most dangerous cities in the world with a homicide rate of 65 / 100,000 people, compared to 1.5 / 100,000 in Victoria. He also mentioned the mentoring groups that are working to reduce the gang violence. He hopes to have the first draft of his dissertation completed by the end of November.

Rotary Moment 2: Jack inspired us with a most delightful, creative and inclusive Rotary Moment using a sport’s analogy in likening our club to a winning team. Here are a few quotes that highlight his message:

“Our rookies and veterans inspire us all to do more. . . . No superstars, just supporting team mates. . . . New players make a difference. . . .  Another important aspect of a Championship Team is Scouting. We are all officially scouts for our team. So find some rookies and invite them out. . . . And stay tuned for the ‘MOD Squad’ this year. It’s the ‘Membership Overture Department,’ a special team within a team that is dedicated to making the newcomers fell recognized and attracted to our club.”

Announcement: Wendy reminded us of the Lawn Bowling Social on Tuesday August 30^th at the Victoria Lawn Bowling Club in Beacon Hill Park. If you haven’t yet signed up contact Wendy or Bob.

Celebration Master: Wynn Taylor extracted money from the real estate folks who weren’t on a modern team such as Tom Croft’s in which he was pictured with two lovely young women. He then fired out numerous questions about past Olympics related to places, dates and events, which were surprisingly well answered – for the most part.

              Club Anniversaries: Lynne 16 years and Don 15 years.

              Birthdays: Corey and Don.

             

              Wedding Anniversaries: Sanjay (in a suit and tie) and Bill (in shorts) Both paid fines for anyone else dressed in a similar fashion.

              Happy Dollars: Alyx, Vicky, Lori, Wendy, and Perry all had something to be happy about, but were just to fast for me to record. Joan Peggs mentioned that she received a $66 donation from 49 Below: artisan ice cream. Check them out at http://www.49below.ca

              50/50 Draw: Maya pulled the ticket that belonged to Jenny, who unfortunately, drew a white marble, not the winning black marble.

Guest Speaker: Sanjay introduced Katie Coard, president of the Rotary Club of Downtown Victoria, Chair of the Area 6/7 Public Image Committee, and former member of the Vitoria Rotaract Club. Katie is originally from England and is a free-lance website developer, who is currently in the process of developing our web page.

The Area 6/7 PI Committee includes representatives from all 13 local Rotary Clubs and Rotaract Club. Joan Peggs is our club’s representative. Questions can be directed to her. One of the difficulties of marketing Rotary is that there is no singular specific client group. We market to everyone. Also Rotary is very complex in that it is involved in a wide variety of service activities. Thus, Rotary is not about selling a product but rather promoting and experience. As such, Katie has designed the new Greater Victoria web site in which three areas are highlighted: Join Leaders, Exchange Ideas and Take Action. The best way to get an appreciation of what the site offers is to visit it at http://rotaryvictoria.org Keep in mind that it is designed for folks who might be interested in joining Rotary more than for those already in Rotary. However, there is lots of valuable information for Rotarians who are introducing others to Rotary. So do check it out.

Katie noted some of the new promotional material that the PI Committee has put together. It includes a new rack card, membership packets, flyers and an upcoming video that should be available this fall. Of course there is also the Greater Victoria Rotary Newsletter that all local Rotarians receive. If you have something you’d like included in the Newsletter contact either Katie or Joan Peggs.

Wynn, thanked Katie and presented her with one of our Club mugs.

Lori closed the meeting with a bang on the bell.

PS: After the meeting Thuli used her new stethoscope to listen to the heart beat of Janna’s yet to be born baby.