Sat and Sun Program Highlights at District Conference

 

 BREAKFAST GUEST SPEAKER - WALI SHAH 

Selected as one of Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 in 2014, Wali is a spoken word poet and public speaker.  He’s given TED talks, worked on voice overs for the Canadian Football League, created and performed custom poetry for corporate groups and spoken at hundreds of schools across North America.  He currently serves as the Poet Laureate of his hometown, Mississauga, Ontario.  From partnering with Microsoft and performing for tens of thousands at venues such as the Air Canada Centre, to conducting poetry workshops in classrooms for youth as a tool for self-expression, Wali uses story-telling and art to empower audiences and inspire them to empower others.  An enigmatic speaker, Wali combines social issues, personal stories, comedy and his south Asian and Muslim background to bring his work to life.  He is currently a student at the University of Toronto and advocates for social change through his work.  He is an ambassador for Crime Stoppers, Bell Let’s Talk and has helped in raising over one million dollars for United Way Ontario.

 

 

LUNCH GUEST SPEAKER - KEVIN TUERFF – Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11 

When Kevin Tuerff and his partner began their flight from France to New York City on September 11th, 2001, they had no idea that the world , and their lives, was about to change forever.  As US airspace closed in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, Kevin, who was experiencing doubts about organized religion, found himself in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland in Canada with thousands of other refugees or “come from aways” that were stranded on 38 airplanes.  Yet, when all seemed dark, the people of Gander rallied and the “plane people” experienced boundless acts of kindness and generosity over the next several days.  In Channel of Peace, Kevin tells the story of how Gander’s compassion, then and now, has ignited a spirit of kindness that renewed Kevin’s spirituality and has inspired a new tradition of an annual “giving back” day at Kevin’s company that has since spread.  Kevin’s story has been told as part of the musical, “Come From Away” on Broadway.

 

Celebrating their 20th year of providing quality entertainment to locals and “come from aways”, Spirit of Newfoundland Productions is a local company which operates out of its own theatre in downtown St. John’s.  Yearly they produce a number of high energy musical shows in a dinner theatre which is consistently sold out.  A home for a wealth of talented musicians and actors, Spirit showcases home-grown Newfoundland wit and music and encourages audiences to “come aboard” and enjoy an evening of music, laughter and camaraderie.   Led by Rotary Alumni, Peter Halley, Spirit is pleased to be hosting our Governor’s Gala Dinner Theatre on Saturday, May 26th, 2018.  It’s going to be a full and exciting evening of music and friends – not to be missed!

 

9 am A Celebration of Rotary Service 

Named after a beautiful and rugged region in Terra Nova National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador, Newman Sound was formed in 2005.  A true community choir Newman Sound is made up of more than forty experienced singers representing the professions of music, teaching, engineering, law, civil service, marketing, information technology and journalism.  Newman Sound has realized an ever-growing loyal audience, a high local and national reputation and a very bright future having established an exciting and eclectic repertoire across the genres of classical, pop and folk including some outstanding arrangements and original compositions by several of the singers within the choir.  Newman Sound received a 2012 ECMA nomination and won MusicNL's 2011 Classical Album of the Year award for their debut CD, "The Green and Salty Days," a collection of traditional music from Newfoundland and Labrador, including specially-commissioned works by Stephen Hatfield and Kathleen Allan. Newman Sound has performed many times each year and has been broadcast provincially and nationally on CBC radio and locally on Rogers Television in St. John's. In the 2006 National CBC Choral Competition, the choir earned the Galaxie Rising Star award for Most Promising New Choir in Canada and lived up to that promise by making it to the finals of the 2008 CBC Choral Competition. In 2016 Newman Sound placed second in the Equal-Voice Male Choir Category (now run by Choral Canada).  Newman Sound was honoured as MusicNL Classical Artist of the Year in 2011 for our debut CD and was named Champion Male Chamber Choir at the 2012 World Choir Games in Cincinnati.   The choir is also very active in the community with its support of charity events and its own annual and very popular Love Songs for Seniors held at various local seniors' homes.