President Glenn called the meeting to order with the land acknowledgement and the singing of O'Canada

Sarge Mike Dudar introduced guest speaker Kirsten Wurmann, Sharon Jasper, and Anya.

Club Business Announcements:

New Pop-Up banner - Thank you to Iain Scott and a small committee for approving and supplying a new pop-up banner for the club. The banner can be used in a variety of ways, including at our weekly meetings. Well done!!

Montreal Pledge - the Rotary Club of Winnipeg-Charleswood, as stewards of the Assiniboine Forest was asked to join a coalition of groups to encourage the City of Winnipeg to become the 12th Canadian City to sign the 'Montreal Pledge' for Cities United in Action for Biodiversity. We did so by way of a letter to City Council. A motion to adopt the pledge was unanimously approved by the Executive Policy Committee and subsequently passed by City Council on April 27. The Public Works department now has 90 days to report back on implementation. https://montreal.ca/en/articles/montreal-pledge-call-cop15-launched-to-worlds-cities-39529

Last Call - Rotary Club of Winnipeg Assiniboine on Friday, May 5. Rotary Club of Winnipeg West, Chicken Fest. Visit the club's website to determine if tickets are still available.

Ukraine Bridge of Hope - Mandy reported that Saturday's furniture drive went very well. A highlight was a gift of food from Horst, who furnished his apartment through our program. He stayed to help. Donations of furniture was temporarily closed to reduce the amount in storage. The next furniture drive will be on Saturday, May 13.

Lobsterfest - Cathy Skene had tickets for members to sell. Tickets can be picked up at weekly meetings or contact Cathy at cathy.skene@gmail.com. Online registration on the club website is an option.

DEI Survey - Rotarians are asked to take a few minutes to share your unique experience in our DEI survey which is designed to help Rotary identify current strengths and areas of opportunity for DEI. We value your voice, and we hope you will share your honest thoughts and opinions. The findings from this survey will help inform the DEI strategy being developed and the next steps in the organization's journey. https://rotary.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3xg59vg6HFIdGYu

Honorary Membership - Jim Forestell was very pleased to recognize Sharon Jasper, who is well known in the club. Jim proposed a motion to the Club's Board of Directors that Sharon be named an Honorary member and the motion was approved unanimously. Sharon has taken an active role in the planning of Lobsterfest and wants to help in other ways. We look forward to having her as a member. President Glenn inducted Sharon presenting her with a certificate of membership. Sharon thanked the club for the honour. She spoke about Rotary's impact on Darvin and their family. She reminded all that the 4-way test is what guides us. Members welcomed Sharon with a hearty round of applause.

Guest Speaker Kirsten Wurmann, Chair of the Prison Libraries Committee, MB Library Association. Kirsten is a librarian, an art lover, a walker, and a former hostel owner. She is passionate about social justice and creating access to information for all. To that end, she has volunteered inside carceral institutions for 15 years.

Kirsten listed the institutions with a book program in Manitoba: Headingly Correctional Centre, Women's Correctional Centre, Milner Ridge Correctional Centre, The Pas Correctional Centre and The Winnipeg Remand Centre.

She began by speaking to the following quote:

"Canadian prisons must acknowledge their key role within a social and political system of ongoing colonialism. Indigenous peoples make up a percentage of the incarcerated population far higher than their proportion of Canada's general population - and the numbers of Indigenous peoples who are incarcerated continues to grow. Within this context, and at the request of Indigenous inmates, prison libraries have a responsibility to provide access to resources on Indigenous histories, cultures and languages, to books by Indigenous authors, and to materials about the impacts and related healing processes of colonialism."

Programming for the committee includes accepting donations of books directly or via an Amazon wishlist. They also accept cash donations. The committee also offer writing workshops, book clubs, email reference service and author talks. The type of books offered in the prison program is quite varied, with a good proportion focusing on indigenous practices and culture. She said that those on the prison committee believe that education, literacy and fostering a sense of belonging do more to build healthier communities than isolation and punishment.

During the month of May, the committee is holding its annual book drive, seeking donations of gently used books. See the link below for more information about the book drive. Most of the books will be sold to raise funds for programming at a public book sale, June 17, 11 am Ð 4 pm, West End Commons , 641 St. Matthews Ave.

Following several questions, Kirsten noted that she may be contacted at prison.library@mla.mb.ca. The website for the prison library committee is https://mla.mb.ca/about/committees/prison-libraries-committee/

Elaine Thompson thanked Kirsten on behalf of the Club.

President Glenn was fined for forgetting Sarge in the early part of the meeting.

Happy Bucks

• Elaine was happy to have received a four-page letter from her second cousin in Ukraine.
• Jim was happy that the lobsterfest tickets are printed and ready to distribute and sell.
• Nancy M was happy to have had Judy and Tommy for celebrations last week, and also three cousins who came from Vancouver.
• Cathy Skene was happy that she dropped in at Bookmates this morning, and they were so pleased with Nancy Hansen's most recent gift of books.
• Chuck will be making a road trip to Tampa with his son, daughter and grandson. While they are there, they will visit Gabby, a former exchange student, in Miami.
• Len was pleased to have had two visitors, a male and a female duck that have taken up residence in his yard. Their labyrinth is dry enough to walk, and the frog symphony is great. We are welcome to drop in and enjoy.
• Lloyd was delighted with his most recent visit to the MB Opera, which staged Cosi fan Tutte. (A Canadianized version of Mozart's masterpiece. Picture the two heroes being two Mounties from Saskatchewan!)

There were no birthdays or anniversaries.

50/50

Anya had the winning raffle ticket, but did not pull the blue marble.

Upcoming meeting - May 8, 2023

Dean Rohrs, Rotary International Trustee 2020-23
Rotary Club of Langley Central, B.C.

What's New - Rotary International Foundation??

Dean Rohrs has been a Rotarian since 1989 and has served RI as vice president, director, Rotary coordinator, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, and district governor. She is a Rotary Foundation Benefactor, Major Donor, and Bequest Society member. She and her husband, Reinhold, are Paul Harris Fellows.