Christine took the journey from Berlin to Edmonton to finally discover what "Service Above Self" meant.

 

Christine was born and raised in Gambach, Hesse, a small village close to Frankfurt, Germany. She moved to Berlin when she got married in 1981 and lived there with her family until 2002. She calls Berlin her true home where she raised her three beautiful, brilliant daughters, who are now committed to their own chosen careers -- Linnie, a children’s book author;  Kamala, an engineer in Bonn, Germany; and Rashmi, an independent midwife in Kamloops, British Columbia.

The family lived close to the Wall and the years Christine spent there while raising her children and husband Arya still in med school, was an opportunity for her to learn about poverty and the plight of the less fortunate in the City. She supported the neighbours' children by taking them in when they were not allowed home all day -- feeding them, washing their clothes, looking after them as she does with her own children. The family lived through the exciting times during the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and they witnessed the years thereafter that changed Berlin from a secluded Island in the midst of the East to the world-class City it is now in the reunited Germany.

In 2002, Christine’s husband accepted a Canada Research Chair at McMaster University which prompted them to move to Burlington, Ontario. Then, husband and wife founded AMS Medical Consulting and Christine became the Director of the Firm.

It wasn’t until their move to Edmonton, Alberta in 2007 that Christine was introduced to Rotary. A friend asked her to join and became the Secretary of the newly-chartered Club. Although Christine did not know much about Rotary at that time, she thought that being in a service club would be a great idea to continue her commitment to helping others. For her,  the learning curve was steep but when she attended her first District Conference in Jasper, her eyes were opened to the bigger picture of the Rotary Community.  “Service Above Self” has become her own motto from then on.

Christine is currently the President of the Club after serving as Secretary for five years. She participates in all of the Club’s community projects with the Thanksgiving Lunch at the Millbourne Laundromat as her favorite among these projects.