The meeting began with the singing of O'Canada and the Land Acknowledgement.

Chair Announcements

District Conference - Assiniboine Rotary Club is planning a watch party for the virtual district conference on May 9 and 10. District conference this year coincides with Assiniboine's annual fundraising dinner and Winnipeg West's Chickenfest.To prevent missing out on anything, they have suggested:

• May 9 - Watch party from 12 noon - 3:45 pm. Assiniboine's dinner at 6. Tickets are $75. This is a great party and Cathy made sure to get her ticket early so as not to miss out.
• May 10 - Watch party from 9 am - 4:30 pm. and Winnipeg West Rotary Club will arrange a chicken lunch delivery directly to the venue. As well as an exciting group of presenters, there will also be a virtual House of Friendship. We are working on a couple of entries from our club. More information is available on the District 5550 website.

The Watch Party is open to all Rotary Clubs in Winnipeg and surrounding areas. Assiniboine needs to get a rough estimate of numbers to choose a venue, etc. This will take place at the Holiday Inn on Portage Avenue. The price to be $50 for the watch party. That is the same price as registering to watch the conference from home and will add the benefits of fellowship and coffee. Cathy will be circulating a sign-up sheet at a meeting soon.

We will include a link in the bulletin to the information about the conference: 2025 5550 District Conference | Rotary District 5550

40th Anniversary Dinner - a reminder about our anniversary dinner on April 28th. Guests are welcome. Let's pack the room. Tickets will be $60, and are available now online. Rod and Nick are hard at work on a video reminiscence. Ask your family, friends and neighbours to save the date. This would be a great opportunity to introduce new people to our club. Some raffle prizes have already been offered, and more would be welcome.

And while you are at it, mention Lobsterfest on June 13th, and the Golf Tournament on September 10th to them. Let's break some sales records.

RI 120th Anniversary - Those of you who asked to be invited to the RI 120th anniversary event at Government House should have received your invitation in the mail. Be sure to phone in your RSVP. It goes straight to email so just leave your response that way. Closer to the date Cathy will send an email to everyone that is going in case you want to arrange some car pools. All 120 spots were filled, including two by UM Rotaractors.

District Leadership Training - held last weekend in beautiful Russell, Manitoba. Cathy called on President-elect David Soper to tell us about it.

David reported that the training included a presentation from Sonia Dangerfield, who recommended ways to recruit and retain members. Those attending also considered 'how to embrace change', formalizing the onboarding process for new members, updates to Clubrunner, and expanding our social media presence. There was also line dancing that David passed on.

The Charleswood Club is doing better than others, with good examples of member engagement. David thinks there is potential with corporate memberships, which offers flexibility to business leaders and the benefit to the club from corporate involvement and support.

Bridge of Hope Ukraine - Mandy spoke about the upcoming social for Ukrainian families. She expects 200 plus family members and 20-30 volunteers. The bursary program is off to a great start, with 6 applications already.

John Inglis was introduced by President Cathy. John was the first president of the club, 40 years ago. He spoke about how he was introduced to Rotary in The Pas, MB, when he was stationed there in 1981. He told a story about their lobster dinner fundraiser, when the lobster was not delivered as planned. John borrowed a RCMP van and drove overnight to pick up the lobster and return to The Pas. The van smelled a bit off, until it was properly cleaned.

In 1984, John was stationed in Winnipeg and he considered joining the Assiniboine Club. The District Governor at the time, forbade him from doing so, recommending a new club in Charleswood. John and other founding members began the work of establishing a new club.

They moved around meeting at a Legion, the Wellington, and a basement. The move to Breezy Bend was a huge improvement and has led to a long-standing relationship.

He's proud of what the Charleswood Club has become. In his view, it's the best club in Winnipeg, with 5 District Governors in our mix. New members should know that the Charleswood Rotary Club is the place to be.

Sarge Mike Dudar had no guests to introduce and asked for Happy Dollars.

• Al Roberts is returning to Canmore, AB for a month. They are expecting a new grandchild any day. Lots of babysitting and quality family time.
• Cathy Skene shared that one of the elevators at her condo was not working for some time. She took a chance, riding the newly repaired elevator. Thankfully, it worked!
• David Soper discovered there is no premium gas for sale in Russel, despite signage to the contrary. He found it elsewhere and returned home safely.
• Bernard Akinyemi has had health issues that affected his taste and smell. It took a long time to have it assessed by a specialist. Following treatment, including a quantity of medications, he is now back to good health.
• Ed Toews was happy that at a recent car show, his granddaughter won 2 awards, showing a 1967 Acadian. Her recognition was well deserved.
• Jagdish Khatter - the Spring weather is making him happy.
• Lloyd Talbot's wife just returned from 3 weeks in Calgary. He's very happy to have her home.
• Chuck Crocker spent a nice weekend at the cabin with his 13 year old granddaughter. The annual Falcon Ridge Slush Cup was a lot of fun. Also enjoyed a bluegrass band from Halifax.
• Nick Kobysh and friends enjoyed bowling even though their scores would look better in reverse.

Raffle - Mandy drew the ticket, but did not find the blue marble. Sarge Mike said that the blue marble is on its own, guaranteeing a winner next week.

Next Week - Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson of the International Red River Watershed Board