Outgoing club President Mandy Kwasnica
Mandy was delighted at having been given the opportunity to be the club president for two years. She appreciated the mentoring, guidance, kindness, care and understanding offered by club members. She learned more about Rotary, increased her experience as a Rotarian and grew professionally. At work, she credits Rotary for her leadership, organization, and public speaking skills.
Highlights of her two years include the Handbags of Hope project at the District Conference in 2018, Westgrove School projects (Community Garden, educational projects, book give-aways, clothing, knit winter items, and running shoe program for all the students), strengthened relationships with STARS (Shock, Trauma, Air Rescue Service) Air Ambulance and Urban Stable, meetings held out in the community (like at Assiniboine Forest, Hydro Museum, Stars Air Ambulance facility), and the recent food drive to feed Westgrove families in need.
Mandy reviewed the goals she had set at the start of her two-year stint as Rotary Club President;
- Involve members in a meaningful way (using a survey to determine member interests)
- Make meetings accessible to all members (using Zoom and live streaming)
- Increase public awareness of the Rotary club and its activities through an active Public Relations committee, social media, updating the website and working on a Rotary podcast project
- Have a balance of local community and international projects (more can be done)
- Increase membership by 5 new net members (turns out to be +1 – but at least not a loss!)
Mandy concluded her summary of the past two years as club President by passing on the Rotary club gavel to Doug McKenzie.
Incoming President Doug McKenzie
After receiving the Rotary club gavel from now Past President Mandy, club President Doug thanked Mandy, on behalf of the club members, for having guided the club flawlessly – providing new contacts, new programs, and continuing to hold meetings using Zoom during the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Doug then indicated that he is looking to learn from everyone and counting on Nancy Morris to continue finding speakers in the year ahead. He also mentioned that the new District Governor is Gailmarie Anderson from the Rotary Club of Melfort (her theme is “Family of Rotary’); our new Assistant Governor is Leonard Klassen from the Rotary Club of South Eastman; the new Rotary International President is Holger Knaack from Germany, whose theme is “Rotary Opens Opportunities” and whose goal is to increase membership since new members bring new ideas and existing members can learn from them. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no in-person club visits by the DG until at least January 2021.
President Doug prefers in-person meetings, but there is likely to be more Zoom used for members unable to physically attend the various meetings. His goals include focussing on public relations and social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), Westgrove School, Urban Stable, STARS Ambulance, youth services and programs. Doug would like to have increased support (through the club’s foundation RCCCF) for the Assiniboine Forest, as well as several smaller fundraisers to replace the cancelled Lobster Dinner.
Doug shared his “Life and Times” PowerPoint presentation with the members present (live and online). Born and raised in the St James area of Winnipeg, his family summers included time spent in rented cabins along the shores of Lake Winnipeg and eventually, in 1972, in a family cottage built in the Kenora area. Family winter activities focussed on down-hill skiing on local hills (Manitoba and NW Ontario) as well as an annual family trip to the Rockies during spring break. Ski trips are a feature of Doug and Sandie’s family as well.
Doug studied Science and Dentistry at the University of Manitoba. After graduation, Doug practised dentistry under contract in First Nations located in northern Manitoba and in the Northwest Territories area now known as Nunavut. This was followed by a contract to provide dental services to the inmates of Stoney Mountain Penitentiary and then to work as the Clinical Supervising Dentist with the Manitoba Children’s Dental Program until it was defunded in 1993. At this point, Doug and Sandie purchased the dental practice in Gimli, which they operated for ten years, with Sandie working as the Hygienist and Office Manager. During those ten years in Gimli, Doug became a Rotarian.
In December 2003, Doug’s genetic kidney condition called Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney disease (inherited from his father) threw him a curve ball which resulted in the removal of both his kidneys. This was followed by 8 years of dialysis in Winnipeg where the family had to move to since there was no dialysis centre in Gimli at the time. A successful cadaveric kidney transplant in September 2011 put an end to the dialysis treatments that had taken up three days of every week during those 8 years. This allowed Doug and his family to resume living a more normal life.
Doug and Sandie raised two children in Gimli - Krystyn (now a music / band Teacher in Richer Manitoba, married and living in Winnipeg) and Kenny (a member of the Canadian Armed forces, trained as an Airborne Combat Engineer, based in Petawawa, Ontario, but currently in Winnipeg for on-the-job training, as part of a job transfer to military police. He is engaged to a long-time girlfriend.
Grateful for the successful transplant, Doug re-joined Rotary in the summer of 2014 at the invitation of Ed Thompson and encourages individuals to discuss organ donation – The Gift of Life – with their families and friends.
He ended by cautioning members that if he appears to ignore you when you speak into his left ear – it’s only because that ear is deaf.
