President Iain opened the meeting with a land acknowledgment and we sang O'Canada.

Rotary Moment

President Iain was pleased to report that the club is preparing a cheque for $6000 for Rossbrook House. Congratulations to all who were involved in planning the fundraising dinner.

Sarge Mike welcomed our guest speaker, Tracy Mowdy.

Chair Announcements

President Iain was away last week. He thanked Cathy Skene for handling the meeting at short notice. It is very much appreciated.

Iain attended a meeting of District Presidents hosted by Peter Tonge. It led him to look at other club websites in the district. He was surprised to learn that other clubs do not publish their speakers on their sites. He believes it serves us well to publish this information to encourage attendance by members and the public. Please continue to reach those you know who can attend as a speaker.

Request for help - President Iain summarized an email he received from Cyndy Jones, a member of the Winnipeg-Assiniboine Club. She teaches at Royal School and has many refugees but one family, in particular, is facing very challenging times at present. The family left Ukraine and arrived in Winnipeg via Germany and France. This really unsettled the three children – the boy in particular. The children all attended Royal School last year but the eldest now attends Charleswood – the twins remaining here in Grade 4. When the family arrived, the school was able to help them with furniture etc: this being the first time the family had been ‘settled’ since they left Ukraine. As a school, they are helping the family to access support for one of the children who has not coped with all the change. In addition, family members are still in Ukraine – there is no need for me to explain the added stress this causes. The family have been given notice by their landlord: everything was done ‘to the book’ so they will have to leave. They have been told that the landlord wishes to complete renovations that are needed. They need accomodation fast. Please contact Iain or Cyndy at: cyjones@pembinatrails.ca

Bridge of Hope Ukraine - Mandy and Anya reported.

Thank you to everyone who took part in our Furniture drive yesterday. At estimate we had around 20+ volunteers. In total we supported 10 families with furniture and household items. Once again we had a very efficient day with our families all completing their shopping by 11:00 am and delivery trucks out by 1pm after a quick pizza lunch. Our store is a bit empty as our families took a lot of items this time which is fantastic! We are now needing to fill our store backup and are in need of couches, kitchen tables, kitchen chairs, arm chairs, and desks before our next furniture drive. With yesterday’s drive complete, we have now supported a total of 230 Families since starting in October 2022! Our wait list currently has about 50 families in need of furniture. We know there are more families in need, so please spread the word to any Ukrainian refugee families in need. Our families we supported yesterday were very appreciative of the support. Some recently arrived while others have been here for about a year and still in need. Thank you also to our volunteers collecting donations. You did a great job of bringing in some fantastic good quality items following our motto of “We give with dignity”. Thank you!

Board Meeting - the next Board meeting will be on Thursday, 4:30 pm.

A request came regarding RYLA. The club will consider the possibility of sending a young person recommended by Rossbrook House. RYLA demonstrates Rotary’s respect and concern for youth. Rotary clubs around the world are dedicated to helping young people develop their leadership skills to the fullest. The cost is $550.00 plus transportation cost if required per participant and this would be covered by the club.

JUNIOR RYLA
July 29 – August 3, Youth ages 12-14

SENIOR RYLA
August 5 – August 10, 2024 Youth ages 15-17

Registration opens April 1 and closes June 15th
Cost is $550 per participant. Transportation (if needed) $115

District Conference - The agenda for the District Conference has been sent out to all.

1. The District Conference Committee is asking that each club provide a silent auction item/basket worth about $50.00 for the conference in May.
2. Please have your photographer/members send pictures of your meetings, activities, or gatherings during March plus any that were missed in the last district newsletter. The newsletter is meant to highlight the clubs and there has been considerable interest in the photos.

With the theme “Hope and Mental Wellness”, the conference has garnered press articles which will be included in the bulletin from The Moose Jaw Today and Discover Moose Jaw.
https://www.moosejawtoday.com/local-news/rotary-members-excited-to-host-first-major-conference-in-over-20-years-8384203
https://discovermoosejaw.com/articles/rotarians-will-gather-in-moose-jaw-to-speak-on-hope-and-mental-wellness

Friday, May 10:
Breakfast on your own
8:00 am - 1:00 pm - registration in conference room
10:45 am – 12:00 pm - opening ceremonies, introductions and welcome
12:00 - 1:00 pm – lunch
1:00 - 5:00 pm - afternoon program
5:30 - 9:30 pm - Western Development Museum tours and entertainment
6:00 - 7:30 pm - dinner at WDM

Saturday, May 11:
Breakfast on your own
8:00 - 9:00 am - annual meeting
9:00 am – 12:00 pm - morning program
12:00 - 1:00 pm – lunch
1:00 - 4:00 pm - afternoon program
5:30 - 9:30 pm - evening at Moose Jaw Exhibition Co. Convention Centre
6:15 - 7:45 pm - dinner, followed by District Governor’s Program & social

Dress for the conference is business casual.

District Talk Show - It's not too late to register for our next District Talk Show, happening on Thursday, March 14, at 6:30 pm (Saskatchewan) / 7:30 pm (Manitoba and NW Ontario). Dan Doherty, from Zone 28’s Leadership Team, will be speaking about “Bringing Our Action Plan to Life: Lessons from the 2023 North America Growing Club Study." There is a link for the event at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpcu2sqz8iGNN4dZcb-zgXMegP5yO-cc8_

Ichelle Katrine Essien-Ngasso - We had a request from a student of U of M regarding joining our club. As she does not have a car, Iain suggested we arrange to pick her up and enable her to come as a guest. Her parents are both in Rotary in Nigeria and she would like very much to be involved. I have connected her with Nancy and explained how Rotaract would be a closer fit for her.

We had a request from the office of MLA Kathleen Cook to have a Friends of the Forest Decal for their office window. Iain had brought some to the meeting for anyone else that would like to engage with a business owner or individual to display our fabulous forest decals.

Iain shared - "I was going to tell a time travelling joke, but you all did not enjoy it".

This evening we were delighted to have Tracy Mowdy, Community Engagement Officer of Stars Winnipeg.

Tracy told us that STARS is a not-For-Profit organization which is funded by individual groups, service clubs, corporate donors and health authorities. STARS is governed by a volunteer board of directors and has approximately 500 staff across the provinces with roughly 60 at the Manitoba base. STARS operates across four provinces: Alberta, BC, Sask and MB. STARS originated in 1985 when founder Dr. Powell had a vision. The first base was opened in Calgary and was originally called the Lions Air Ambulance Service. It was later rebranded as the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service, or STARS. The Edmonton base followed in 1991 and the Grande Prairie base in 2006. The Winnipeg base opened in 2011 while the Regina and Saskatoon bases followed in 2012. Between all bases, they receive up to 100 critical care requests daily which results in an average of 9 missions flown by STARS each day across the provinces consisting of a mix of scene and interfacility missions.

They pride themselves on educating, consulting, and sharing expertise with others who can benefit as they seek to shape the future of critical care. The mobile training program provides specialized critical care skills training to STARS crews and other emergency care providers. This is the first mobile program of its kind in North America. It features a human patient simulator which replicates complex medical and traumatic problems over and over again. It offers medical personnel the opportunity to test and practice their reactions and skills, leading to a high degree of familiarity and confidence.

The mannequin speaks and breathes, blinks and has reactive pupil, has a heartbeat and a pulse, accurately mirrors human responses to such procedures as CPR, intravenous medication, intubation, ventilation and catheterization. The mannequins have been installed in four motorhomes, creating large mobile emergency rooms. Due to its complete versatility, STARS is able to bring training to health care workers who may be faced with barriers of distance and the inability to leave the community at regular intervals to train.

The Landing Zone Training program facilitates the exchange of information between STARS and the organizations we serve, ensuring the most effective patient care and transport possible. Topics covered during this training session include: how to access STARS, landing zone preparation and helicopter safety and preparing a patient for air medical transport.

STARS is fortunate to have an exceptional team of nurses, paramedics, physicians and pilots all working together to provide the best possible chance at survival for the critically ill and injured. The Helicopter is essentially a flying intensive care unit that brings high level care to the scene. STARS is an extension of the local emergency response team. Their innovations also extend to the aviation side. STARS was the first civilian organization licensed to use night vision goggles for flying night missions. Donations help pay for specialIzed items like this. STARS is a charitable non-for-profit organization that operates on a community-partnered model that consists of government funding, municipal support, community fundraising, individual donations, corporate support and of course events.

Tracy was excited to share that STARS is hosting a "Night with STARS Gala", their one and only internal fundraising event of the year, This year, it will be held at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg in September. If you would like more info you can view on the website at STARS.ca or contact Tracy personally.

President Iain thanked Tracy with "We are fortunate to have your organisation in Manitoba. I am sure we have all noticed the red helicopters flying over Winnipeg and understand the importance of each flight". President Iain invited Community Services Chair, Chuck Crocker to come forward who presented a cheque from the club for $1500 in support of STARS.

Happy Dollars:

• Jim was happy to be back in Winnipeg!
• Sharon was happy both to be getting her first hearing aids tomorrow, and grateful for the kindness of our club members (and we're grateful for having Sharon).
• Alan had a great trip visiting family and friends.
• Mandy had such an incredible time in Antigua that she threw in $2. She said that they were treated like royalty there.
• Len is happy that his dad is testing out a new mobility scooter.
• Jack D. was pleased that a student that they hosted in 1995, and haven't heard from in awhile, sent a letter sharing that she is now hosting a student. And understanding what a challenge that can be.
• Jack W. is happy to see that the geese are back at the lake.
• Lyle was happy that he was not Sarge tonight.

Sarge Mike had no fines.

Nancy Morris had her raffle ticket drawn, but she was unable to retrieve the blue marble. The pot continues to grow.

President Iain said, "I'm thinking I should do lunges to stay in shape. That would be a big step forward".

Our speaker next week is Peter Correia, Mulvey School.

Tonight's guest speaker took a group photo of all those at the meeting: