Posted by Jim Saundersen
Dr. Ross Wein:  Rotary Club of Edmonton 2020 Recipient
RWein01Edmonton area Rotary Clubs have been presenting Integrity Awards to non-Rotarians who live the Four-Way Test since 1994.  The Edmonton Rotary Club is taking the lead organizing this annual event in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Each participating club selects a recipient to be honoured.
In 2020, the Edmonton Rotary Club selected Dr. Ross Wein as its recipient.  A University of Alberta professor, author, and researcher in 1998, Ross and Eleanor Wein’s son Danny suffered a serious motor accident in South America and emerged with grave physical impairments. 
Danny, however, retained an active and outdoor-oriented mind.  Ross immediately retired and focused his energies on Danny and the many others coping with similar circumstances. Ross has worked tirelessly to establish the not-for-profit Alberta Abilities Lodges Society (AALS) and to create a fully accessible outdoor lodge suitable for the 400,000 Albertans living with physical or cognitive impairment.  In 2017 the AALS purchased 195 hectares of a defunct rural prison site in the rolling aspen parklands east of Leduc. The Coyote Lake Lodge was born!  Moose, deer, coyotes, and ospreys are common visitors.  The lodge is a full-access, full-service, all-season set of lodging for up to 30 guests with both private and common areas, rooms overlooking a lake, and all less than an hour’s drive from Edmonton Centre.  Truly a life of service above self!
The COVID 19 pandemic forced the last-minute cancellation of the banquet planned for March 18 and hopes that in-person meetings could resume quickly have been dashed.  Please join our club’s ZOOM meeting on September 21 to recognize Dr. Wein’s contribution and hear his story and that of the AALS.
Planning for the 2021 Integrity Awards will begin shortly…and the Pandemic is still with us.  Some creativity and flexibility will be required!  If you would like to contribute to the planning and organizing this Edmonton area Rotary initiative, including identifying the downtown club’s 2021 recipient please let Jim Saunderson know, and let's show Edmonton that COVID can’t stop Rotary! (Jim can be reached at jim.saunderson@hotmail.ca)