President Iain Scott called the meeting to order with the land acknowledgement and the singing of O’Canada.

Rotary Moment: Reaching out. President Iain reported that on his return from Toronto yesterday, he and Caroline met Lealand Muller, a Canadian Athlete who attended the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf and was returning from the event. He must have been tired after travelling from Europe. With his permission, Iain took some photos of his shirt and he proudly showed his tattoo commemorating the games.

When the seatbelt signs had gone off, Iain asked Lealand if he would speak at our meeting about his experience. He said yes right away and arrangements were made. He will be our guest on October 16th. It will be fascinating to hear about his involvement in the Invictus Games.

Rotary and the existence of all clubs depends upon us having a conversation and inviting those with a story - which is everyone to come to our meetings. President Iain left all with a challenge. Who are you going to invite?

Sarge Lyle Miller introduced guests David Soper (friend of Peter) and Avis Penner & Carell Jakimin and guest speaker to be introduced on Zoom.

Chair announcements:

Iain would like to remind all members of the Christmas dinner on December 18th. Keep the date available! Tickets will be available in the coming months.

Nancy Hansen sent updates from the satellite club:

• September is Basic Education and Literacy Month in Rotary. Literacy helps improve health, promotes lifelong learning and builds skills, promotes gender equality and a whole host of other benefits. In 1820, only 12% of people in the world could read and write. Today, only 14% of the world population remains unable to read or write.
• Peter Tonge has been travelling around the District in his role as District Governor Elect, and preparing for Rotary Leadership Training in Toronto later this month.
• Safe travels to Martin and Eira across the pond! If you have access to Facebook they are currently in Paris.
• There was lively discussion from the club on various ways organisations and people are trying to show the world they have tools and equipment to help people sense what it’s like to live with a disability. It seems 21st century techniques fail at the same rate as 20th century ones, if not faster.
• For those of our members in Manitoba, remember to vote in the upcoming provincial election on October 3.

Jack Wilson, Chair, Forest Committee - received a query about canisters in the Forest. Following some detective work, it turns out this is a research project being conducted by biology students at the University of Manitoba. “We are interested in sampling terrestrial snails and slugs in Assiniboine Forest to determine if snails and slugs are infected with nematode parasites”.

Cathy added that she is seeking volunteers in the Forest. Please contact her to take a shift. Connect with Iain for bags, and handouts.

Ukraine Project - Mandy was happy to announce that the furniture drive will commence again this Saturday. They’ll fine tune the delivery process to 10-12 families. The goal is to empty the storage unit and move to CMU. Visit www.bridgeofhopeukraine.com to register as a volunteer.

Guest speaker Mike Hatfield has worked in stove design, production, and dissemination since 1998 with Aprovecho Research Center. He has coordinated stove technology and testing trainings throughout Central America, South America, Africa, and Asia. He is co-designer of the popular “Justa” griddle stove that has been disseminated throughout Central and South America in the hundreds of thousands. Mike’s design and testing skills have benefited hundreds of agencies and organisations worldwide, including Asia regional Cookstove Program, CARE, Development Alternatives, Enterprise Works, the Shell Foundation, Trees, Water & People, US Environmental Protection Agency, USAID, and the World Health Organization. Mike worked in India in the development of the first mass produced single pot rocket stove that has been now mass manufactured in the hundreds of thousands. Mike received his BS undergraduate from Willamette University and quickly entered into the Appropriate Technology and stove field which has now become his life’s work.

Stove Team International would not exist without Rotary and support from RI, Districts, Clubs and individuals. Two of the founders of Stove Team are Rotarians. Mike spoke about the world wide use of open fires in homes.

Stove Team does most of its work in Central America, where the need is great. The issue affects women and children the most. Open fires and the use of firewood also contribute to stresses to the environment and global warming. Collecting firewood is very time consuming, keeping children from attending school. Stove Team supplies and installs locally made/ maintained stoves that remove smoke from the home. In some instances, a larger stove is installed for use in the community. They also train locals to install and maintain stoves. 81,000 stoves have been installed to date. There has been a lot of growth in the past couple of years. Cost of stoves $60 - $200 U.S. range. Families contribute to the cost.

The Rotary Club of Charleswood contributes to StoveTeam each year and appreciates the update. For more information, visit https://www.stoveteam.org/

Happy Bucks

• Rod and Dory enjoyed a trip to Spruce Woods where the fall colours were beautiful.
• Cathy was excited to have been invited to Perch Bay (near Kenora) to spend the weekend with her niece, her husband, and their 2-year-old. Hoping that some child care duties will be part of the package.
• Ed Thompson was relieved to have mailed off the Foundation's charitable return.
• Mandy was happy for Artem, who found out that he can get school credit for his volunteer hours. And she was also happy that there are enough volunteers to be able to resume the Bridge of Hope furniture project this Saturday.
• Len reported that his friend Candee, who is in Mexico for two months, has been attending Rotary meetings while there.

There were no birthdays or anniversaries.

Next week - Our speaker for next week, Gill Tyrell— certified mediator. Communication in Conflict or mediation.