January 22, 2013 Bulletin

Reported by Tom Croft; Photos by David Sills

Opening:

President Joan opened meeting at 12:15 - right on time. We were treated to a humorous Rotary awareness video provided by Joan Firkins. Tom Lidkea led us in O Canada - what a change from the a cappella version we have been tolerating of late. Grace was provided by Ron Cooley.

Visitors and Guests:
Lorna Curtis introduced the visiting Rotarians and Guests: 

• John Samsom, Rotarian
• Brian Price, Speaker 
• Sabrina Corraini, Guest 
• Moira Hall and Anna Young of the Oak Bay High School Interact Club

Health of the Club:

Mary Canty reported that David Philip is back in hospital and Donna Chow is home after the birth of her child.

Paul Harris

Neil Rawnsley presented Lorna Curtis with her Paul Harris recognition

Announcements:

·      Jack Petrie: there will be a Fireside at Jack's house on March 13 - details to follow.

·      Laurie McLeod introduced a process to determine whether the Club meetings will continue to be held at the Rec Centre or relocate back to the Oak Bay Beach Hotel

·      Brian Lamb reminded that there is a sign-up sheet circulating for lunch at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel on January 29

·      Leslie Rogers-Warnock provided a summary of the Merrython Fun Run: $3,200 was raised. She offered big thanks for all the support

·      Notice was given of a Membership Proposal for Sabrina Corrainia; membership has been accepted by the Board. Her bio follows:

I have been in the financial services business since 2002, beginning on the banking side while I completed my bachelor's degree in English Literature at the University of Victoria, and then transitioning to wealth management after my graduation in 2006. I have since earned my Canadian Investment Manager designation through the Canadian Securities Institute in 2010. 

I work with individuals and business owners to identify their financial goals and then develop a personalised plan to ensure those goals are achieved. I believe in a comprehensive approach to wealth management, focussing not only on your investments but also on your insurance (life, disability, critical illness), tax-planning, and estate-planning needs.

Though originally from Red Deer, Alberta, I have spent most of my life here in Victoria, BC. Outside of the office I am active in community sports such as fastball and curling. I also love to travel and have seen much of Europe and North America. I am a classically trained pianist, and I enjoy sitting down to play from time to time. 

Moira and Anna presented a cheque for $2,000 on behalf of the Interact Club for the Rwanda Sustainable Households project and the Malawi Girls’ School.

Fines' Master Neil Rawnsley: Wynne paid for being last in; Ron Beyer was late again; Lorna Curtis was late to do her Greeter duty; Ron Cooley made an RRSP gaff during Grace.

Club Anniversaries: 11 years for Anne Sims, and it was David Maxwell's anniversary too;
Holidays: Anne Sims, Joan Firkins, Leslie Rogers-Warnock.

Birthdays: Jack Petrie, David Westler.

Neil was also fined - for finding the Fines Master kit.

Happy Sad $: Leslie is happy to go on holidays, but sad for David's mini - you can’t see it!

Joan Peggs: can run, but why? Renate is off to Kenya; Joan Firkins is off to Rotary training in San Francisco, and is happy to announce the new Rotary slogan for 2013/2014: Engage Rotary; Change Lives; Jessica Van Der Veen and Tom Lidkea are sad not to be in Maui; Lorna is going away to down under; Jim is sad for the closure of the Caddie Bay bookstore.

Ron Cooley: “Similarities between the Leafs and Whiskey?”  “They are both good till they hit the ice”.

 The Draw, Lori wins $19 - one marble left.

GUEST SPEAKER:

Brian Lamb introduced the speaker, Brian Price (above with President Joan), the coxswain for the Canadian Men's Eight rowing team; he as 16 medals to his credit including Gold in Beijing and Silver in London. 

Five months ago Brian was in London for the final race of the men’s eights. There were over 30,000 fans waiting to cheer for Britain. Brian was most nervous and asked himself why he was making a comeback after winning gold in Beijing?  He realized he was facing a great divide in his life: win another medal and he would then have a future as a motivational speaker;  come fourth and at least he has his family in Victoria to come back to.  Imagine - three times to the Olympics and only 45 minutes to go before the start!  In the pre-race speech, the coach said nobody cares if you don’t medal, push yourself further, imagine what is possible; there will be fight all the way to the end. Never stop fighting!

Brian leads us through the race.  The warmup is just as important as the start.  He starts with the four bow rowers taking 10 sharp strokes; the stern then knows everyone in the bow is ready. Then 10 more sharp strokes from the 4 stern rows, this sets the rhythm. All 8 rowers are ready to go.

The buildup to a 15-minute race is unbelievable; make sure that the last 25 strokes before the start are smooth. Review the countdown to make sure you are set and ready. Stay on focus; everyone is very nervous for the right reasons. What does Brian do? Well he doesn’t beat on a drum nor sing “Row-Row-Row” your boat. He tells the crew what to do: keep the boat straight, execute the race plan, and motivate the crew.

Brian looks down the course. There is the roll call, and then they go. They get into the race right away at 50 strokes a minute. At 45 seconds, the lactic acid cuts in, drive through it, then saw wood for 1,000 meters; at 750 meters it really hurts; at 1,500 meters Brian asked the crew what medal do you want, they flick the on switch on; at 250 meters out there are just 24 strokes to go: 7, 7, 10.  The crew finishes in second for an Olympic Silver medal.  He said as they crossed the line “Better be proud of that”!  He then played a two-minute video of the race.

Brian felt that this medal was a family medal. The expressive smiles on faces of the crew indicated that they all had achieved a dream.  Everyone in the room felt the exhaustion of winning that medal!

Jim Force thanked the speaker and noted that the presentation was a metaphor for “Service Above Self”.  We all felt exhilarated by the win!

Joan and Perry

The meeting was closed with Tom Lidkea on the piano leading us in God Save the Queen.

January 15, 2013 Meeting

Meeting of January 15, 2013, reported by September Smith; photos by David Sills

Guests:

Sabrina Corraini,  guest of Barry Mutter

Kate Carpenter, guest of Lorna Curtis,

Speaker:  Curtis Grad, Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, seen above with reporter September Smith, and President, Joan Peggs.

President’s comment of the day:

President Joan reminded us, that in addition to all the projects in the community that we have recently contributed to – the King George Terrace outlook; Back Porch; the Carnarvon Waterpark, and most recently the bicycle racks, a look into our past shows just how wide our support of the community has been. Referencing a wealth of archive material that David Sills has harvested from his research into old club minutes, she cited other contributions such as $3,000 to Oak Bay Volunteer Services; $8,400 to Hospice; $6,000 to Garry Oak Sea Scouts; $2,000 to Queen Alexandra Hospital; $3,000 to Oak Bay for the RYOK telephone system; $5,000 to Habitat for Humanity; $3,500 towards a van for the Geriatric Centre; $8,000 to George Pearkes playground; and more.

In thanks and recognition, David was awarded a lanyard.

Health of the Club:

Mary Canty reported that she has a card for Donna Chow to congratulate her on the birth of her baby on New Years day that was signed by attending members.

Announcements:

Lorna Curtis spoke about the Tuscan Dinner at the Monterey Center to be held Saturday, April 27^th. The $45 tickets are available. The committee is working on some new fundraising events.  So far, through the Tuscan Dinner event, $16,000 has been raised for the Teen Area of the NLC.  Lorna reminded us that it is down to us, the club members, to sell the tickets and to find items for the Live Auction.

Heather Aked reminded us to sign up for the 5^th Tuesday luncheon at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel; cost per person is $20. Heather also told us that, as of now, a binder of Preferred Practices will be available at meetings at the sign-in table for anyone who needs to refer to it.

Perry Bamji wrapped up the Pennies from Heaven campaign, announcing that, as of this morning, we had collected 108,300 pennies, exceeding our goal of $1,000. With all the available matching, this will allow the purchase of over 10,000 polio vaccines! 

Fines Master:

Neil Rawnsley was in ‘fine’ form today, most notably leveling a penalty of a dollar on Heather Aked for transmissions of “Serious Misinformation Emails”. Perry Bamji and Ann Sims were rewarded with a fine for their excellent job on the Penny campaign. 

Perry recognized Jim Forces’ Penny raising efforts (over $200 in pennies!) with a happy dollar.

Speaker:

Corey Burger introduced our guest speaker, Curtis Grad of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, who gave an interesting talk entitled “Past, Present and Future of the Victoria Harbour Authority”, giving lots of interesting facts and figures about landmarks here in Victoria that are all such a huge part of the city’s identity – Ogden Point, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Steamship Terminal and more.  Click for an online version of Curtis’ presentation deck. It takes about 5 – 10 seconds to load.

Mary Canty thanked Curtis for his very interesting presentation, presenting him with a Rotary bookmark.

Renate closed out the meeting with a “Rotary Minute” on how we can keep Rotary relevant to younger members – she suggested maybe technology and social networking was something that may keep us relevant.

Money counters, Ron and Anne!

Meeting of January 9, 2013

Meeting of January 9, 2013

Reported by Dallas Chapple

Guests:

Visiting Rotarian and Speaker: Dennis Sutton (Harbourside)

Stephanie Shulman (Rotaract Club of Victoria), guest of Vicky Pitt.                                             

David King, guest of Don O’Coffey

Peter Pollen,  guest of Peter Sou

Health of the Club:

Mary Canty reported that Donna Chow had a little girl (Aila) and her picture was circulated (very cute!) Hans is waiting for surgery and was missed at the meeting.

Announcements:

Pablo donated $50 to the club from the proceeds of his concert.

Perry said that we have one more week for the Pennies from Heaven campaign. If we reach $1000, CIDA and the Bill Gates Foundation will increase it to $6000 which will buy 10,000 vaccines!

Fines Master:

Neil Rawnsley extracted money from almost everyone. He fined people for having their Xmas decorations still up, for not wearing Rotary pins and for many questions from the Rotary magazine to which we didn’t know the answers. We sang Happy Birthday to Lynne (Jan. 6), Perry (Jan. 1) and Joan F. (Jan. 10). Happy Birthday to you!

Speaker:

Mark Bedford introduced our guest speaker, Dennis Sutton from the Harbourside Club, who is the Secretary of District 5020 and who gave us an overview of how the District works. To wit:

A District is created by the Board of Rotary International, which designates the clubs to form the District. Our District, 5020, is registered as a non-profit organization both in WA and in B.C. There are 88 clubs in our District: 54 in the U.S. and 34 in Canada. Ours is the largest district in North America and the 10^th largest in the world. There are 16 areas with their own District Governors (the DG is the only officer of RI in the District.) Under the DG are several groups: the Continuity Group, the District Council and District committees.  To be a District Governor one has to:  

• be an ex-president with at least 7 years experience, 
• selected by nomination committees, 
• have 2.5 years of training, 
• visit each club in the district at least one time, 
• be responsible for youth programs, 
• attend RI meetings and international conventions.

What does the District do for the clubs and zone meetings? 

• PE training, 
• provide liability insurance, 
• training, 
• District Conferences, 
• Foundation—local fund/allocation, 
• New Generations, 
• Youth Exchange, 
• CRCID (Canadian Rotary and CIDA), 
• Friendship Exchange. 

Fifty percent of funds to the Foundation come back to the District. The District provides assistance with: 

• membership, 
• PR, 
• friendship exchanges, 
• grant applications, 
• literacy 
• and visioning.

Dennis was thanked for his very useful presentation by Tom Croft.

Christmas Luncheon at the new Oak Bay Beach Hotel

Sounds like a good time was had by all, judging by John Edgell's photos. You can view them here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/103332526951451444133/albums/5824098668139083025
Here are a couple to start you off:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meeting of December 11, 2012

Reported by Wynn Taylor

President Joan reminded us that this is Family month and that Rotary is a family over a million strong. After the singing of O Canada, Anne Sims said Grace.

David Westler introduced our one guest, our Guest Speaker, who is also a Rotarian: Rosalind Scott

Mary Canty reported on the Health of the Club: Cards were circulated for Doug McDougall, a former member, who passed away recently, and whose Service is at the Cadboro Bay United Church, Saturday the 15th at 1:00 p.m.; Hans Ockermueller has not been feeling well, and is having blood tests. Myrna Wright, a good friend of Rotary, had an unfortunately bad fall and is in an induced coma in hospital. Please keep this vibrant woman in your thoughts and prayers.

Announcements:

Heather Aked reminded us of our Christmas Luncheon next Tuesday at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel in the David Foster Auditorium. Cost is $20 and guests are most welcome. Please contact Heather to sign in if you have not already done so. The Luncheon will be preceded by a brief Annual General Meeting. There will be no meetings Christmas Day or New Years Day... the next regular meeting will be January 8, 2013. Parking is available in the underground parking lot at the hotel.

President Joan reported that we had sold 282 poinsettias for a profit of $1,370.08.

John Jordan announced an opportunity to give a gift to the widows and orphans in Rwanda on behalf of a family member or friend. Some suggested donations would be a goat or a Rwandan Hot-Point Stove at $20. John will provide cards informing recipients of your gift in their name.

Rod Sim said that there has been a good response to the Salvation Army Kettle program and that there are a few holes for this Friday and Saturday. Check your email from Rod and contact him if you can fill a hole.

Sergeant-at-Arms Will Carter, being a history buff, challenged us with a 'this week in history' quiz. In this week in history Edward the What abdicated from the British Throne. The members had to put up the number of fingers indicating which Edward he was. All those not displaying 8 fingers were fined. In a similar vein: how many times did the Wright Brothers’ Kitty Hawk fly on her maiden day of flight? The correct answer was 4. As sweaters are not normal apparel for Victoria, those wearing sweaters had to pay for their sartorial choice. Be warned that next week's theme will be red and green. Tom Croft was fined for having his green map of Oak Bay in the local paper. Rod and Brenda Sim are celebrating their 13th Anniversary.

Happy and Sad Dollars:

Joan Firkins made a mistake in the Duty Roster and needs greeters but she also received a cheque for $150 from a member of her Oak Bay Lawn Bowling Club towards the purchase of a Rotary Smart Board. Tav McPherson is going on a three month search for dry golf courses in New Zealand. Heather Aked shared Alexander's amusing wish-list letter to Santa. John Edgell is returning to Mexico for three months in January.

Peter Sou won the draw, but drew a black marble.

September Smith introduced our Guest Speaker, Rosalind Scott, the Executive Director of the Vancouver Island Chapter of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Rosalind's Topic was The Top Ten Scams of 2012.

That old French adage that the more things change the more they stay the same seems to hold true for the world of scamming. A hundred years ago the number one scam was door-to-door magazine salesmen; in 2012 the number one scam remains the door-to-door salesperson who has widened their offering of wares.

To deal with this individual we should first of all not let them in our house and then not make any decision to purchase on the spot. Take their proposal and say you will get back to them.

The second most common scam relies upon the new technology of the Internet.

If you receive an email from your bank saying that they are in need of information from you, this a sure sign that it is NOT your bank. People pretend to be someone you trust, even the BBB, in order to get information useful for Identity Theft. This is the Trojan Horse scam. You should have malware on your computer to screen most of these scams out and if you receive any suspicious e-mails, you should read them carefully. Scams will often make detectable mistakes. Regrettably there is no legislation currently on the books in Canada to protect us from these forms of phishing, so we should be alert.

Gold-buying scams entice us to sell our jewellery for their gold content. Unfortunately, as pure gold is a soft metal and jewellery gold is a mixture, there is not as much gold in jewellery as we may think and the scammers are often after the precious gems set into the jewellery.  If you are in doubt about the reliability of a purchaser, call the BBB.

In the Microsoft Scam someone pretending to be from Microsoft says that something is wrong with your computer and that they need some information to fix the problem. If this request is unsolicited it is usually a red flag and someone is seeking personal information on your computer.

Charities can be scams; often the percentage of donations, which goes to administration, is very high - the actual money going to the designated charities is very low. The BBB has a list of reliable and unreliable charities.

Financial Elder Abuse is very common here on Vancouver Island. This is where a caregiver or family member takes advantage of a senior. Look for unpaid bills and missing things - were they broken or taken? The BBB has a TV program, Scam Watch, which highlights this problem.

Group Coupon Buying can be a scam if you don't know what coupon you are buying. Read the fine print regards expiry date and other restrictive conditions or you may find that “great deal” forever elusive. It is amazing how many people sign contracts without reading them.

Reverse Mortgages usually target seniors. The TV ads promoting them usually come from the USA, which has a different banking system than ours. If you own your home, a line of credit is better than a reverse mortgage. They say: If the bank won't give you credit, we will; but you will have to pay dearly for it.

Phone fraud often targets business with multiple lines. If you have phones accessible to many individuals you should consider protecting them with passwords.

Credit and debit card frauds often try to take small monthly amounts from your account, hoping that the small amount will be below the radar and that you won't notice.  Read your monthly statements, and if there is something you don't understand...ask!

More information on scams is available at vi.bbb.org.

After an animated question period, Wendy Townsend thanked Rosalind. Our meeting ended with the singing of God Save the Queen.

Meeting of December 4

Monthly Theme: Family. To view the photos of our recent Oak Bay Rotary Family event, go to The Rotary Club of Oak Bay Facebook Event page.

Bulletin Reporter: Rod Sim

Greeters on duty: Don O’Coffey and Jessica Van der Veen

Grace: Jessica Van der Veen 

Guests and Visiting Rotarians were introduced by Leslie Rogers-Warnock:
1. Jeff Dallin (Inovative Fitness; Oak Bay Merrython Admirer and donor); guest of the Club

2. Dave Henry (Merrython participant)

3. Dave Cowan (General Manager, Butchart Gardens and the Guest Speaker)

Health of the Club: Mary Canty says everyone is just fine!

Announcements

 

Poinsettias  

Special thanks to Don O’Coffey and others who helped deliver, and to all who purchased the lovely poinsettias.

More than 200 plants were sold.

Oak Bay Merrython: Thanks to the committee who all helped on the day: Rotarians on the committee were: Organizers Heather Aked and Leslie Rogers-Warnock (receiving a special thank-you from President Joan at right), as well as Jim Force, Ron Cooley, Tricia Timmermans, Jessica Van der Veen, and Lynne Murray. Thanks also to Peter Johannecht, Brian Lamb, Tom Croft, Claire Helm, and Mary Canty who helped out in various ways, and to those who walked or ran (Anne Sims and Joan Peggs - and her doggies).  John Jordan and David Westler helped in the International Committee display area - they also talked to people at the Community Service display area. Special thanks to all, who, along with staff at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre, put Oak Bay Rotary on the map in the Community last Sunday. The adult winner was “Oliver”, a Scandinavian student currently billeted with Leslie. And the Kids Race winner was Heather's son, Alexander, and that's him below being greeted by Sparky, as he hits the finish line. 

Socks for Our Place

Apparently Oak Bay coughed up more than 250 pairs (but no hairballs). This rates as a stellar performance; thanks to all.

Christmas Lunch at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel in the David Foster Foundation Theatre is on Tuesday December 18. Tickets are $20; guests are welcome. Heather has a sign-up sheet. 

Tuscan Dinner

Message from Joan Firkins: Don’t forget to buy that bottle of Italian wine during your Christmas shopping. Avoid the unpleasant rush of buying and donating at the end. It is scheduled for April 27, 2013. The Fundraising goal is $25,000. Last year’s achievement was over $20,000. This is another of those MJH events; please don’t miss it.

Pennies from Heaven

Message from Perry Bamji:

Pretty high finances for such a lowly denomination. Imagine if we had done “C-notes”? Time to close the campaign. Matching dollars from CIDA and The Gates Foundation. Well done and thanks to all.

Rotary Christmas Kettles

Message from Rod Sim: Bell ringers needed for Dec 7-8; Dec 14-15; Dec 18-22; and Dec 24.

Mostly 1-5 PM in front of Oak Bay Pharmasave. We raised $3,000+ last year while having fun.

Foundation Auction ReCap

Message from Tom Croft: Thanks to all who participated. There is still a chance to donate.

Contact Tom C or Neil R for more information.

Tricia Timmermans introduced the Guest Speaker, Dave Cowan (right), General Manager of The Butchart Gardens. This 100+ year-old business just keeps becoming more famous. Dave explained through a PowerPoint presentation, along with some beautiful floral images, how Jenny Butchart's vision and legacy is being upheld. The site was a quarry for three years before its beautiful transformation. Not only is it a garden, it offers a one hundred year old tradition of hospitality, where a strong work ethic is maintained. Customers are attracted the old fashioned way: through good service and word-of-mouth. It's not just a garden, it's an experience, where 600+ staff, including many with world-class horticultural expertise, keep TBG faithful to its historical vision. John Edgell thanked the Speaker on behalf of the Club.

Fines Master (Better Late Than Never) Will Carter was assisted by a pair of John’s (E & J).

This day in History included the 1891 start of the Montreal YMCA, which, according to Will, bears no relation to the Village People. 

Happy/Sad Dollars: Lorna C was happy to be back, and had a story about “Cayoo” (sp?) and her granddaughter (that’s hard to believe). Tricia T said “bye-bye”; she is leaving for parts warmer and populated with family. Guest Jeff Dallin won the “Draw” but because of a black marble not the big pot. Very well-behaved guest donated winnings back to Club with “Thanks”. Will says only 4 more black marbles to go!

God Save the Queen (sung with gusto) and that was a WRAP.

See you all next Tuesday.

Reported by Rod Sim (all errors and omissions are mine).