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.