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This evening we had two speakers: Joyce and Jack DeCorby. If you read your bulletin, you’re probably thinking, hey, what happened to Caroline Wild? Wasn’t she scheduled? Well, yes she was, but it turns out she also has a birthday this week, and Iain has whisked her away for a romantic getaway to celebrate. Cathy's suspicious nature thinks that they just wanted to avoid listening to us singing Happy Birthday. So she would suggest that the next meeting that Caroline is at, we sing it to her, whether she wants us to or not. And now, on to Jack and Joyce. Jack and Joyce recently attended our club as guests of Iain, and soon decided to join. We are delighted to have them! Tonight they will present their vocational talk, and tell us something about themselves. Welcome, Joyce and Jack! Jack spoke first starting his life on a farm in western Manitoba near the SK border and after his education, he was hired by the Dept. of Transport, Air Services Branch, and whisked off to eastern Canada for training. In Winnipeg in 1967, he met and married Joyce. They spent some time here and then in Saskatoon for 2 years followed by 5 years in Churchill, MB and finally to Sudbury, ON. Jack applied for and won the role of Officer in Charge of the Sudbury Weather Office. He spent 36 years in management roles and disseminating weather information to the public, pilots, and more. They even had a broadcast booth set up in their office by the CBC. Jack was well known for his weather reports. In Rotary, another member joked that 'he had a good face for radio'. During his time with the weather office, he developed a number of new services such as the UV Index, and a voice recognition system (still in use today). The office was closed in 1999, but Jack was kept on for project work including the writing of a book on boat safety in the Great Lakes. He was very active in the Sudbury volunteer community. He's earned recognition from a variety of service organizations and served on numerous boards including the United Way, the School of Medicine and organizers of the 2010 Canada Summer Games. Later on, he and Joyce became part owners of a sailboat business and became active with the local sailing group. It was a busy time for them. When it was time to fully retire, it made sense to move to Winnipeg, closer to family. He is looking forward to continuing a life of service here, including as a member of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg, Charleswood. Joyce was also born in SW Manitoba and met Jack after a year's working holiday in New Zealand and Australia. As she and Jack moved with transfers, Joyce decided to enroll in an accounting program and graduated as an accountant. She worked for Inco, a resource company in Sudbury, retiring in 2000. Joyce was then recruited to lead a special project involving a group of experts and stakeholders. Through a contact at work, Joyce became aware of clean water needs in Haiti. A Rotary project was established and she was active as an organizer and donor. When the project was wrapped up in 2018, 259 wells and many more latrines were constructed. Joyce also contributed to an earthquake fund and was presented with 2 Paul Harris awards. She was also very active in a church group, the YMCA and hosting youth exchanges through Rotary and other international programs. Following retirement, Joyce and Jack travelled more and she pursued photography as an active hobby. She continues to be impressed by the effectiveness of Rotary and is looking forward to her membership in the Charleswood club. Cathy Skene thanked Joyce and Jack for their impressive/ excellent presentations. We are fortunate to have them as new members of our club. |
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