Past President Cathy took the chair this evening. She opened the meeting with our Land Acknowledgement and the singing of O Canada.
Chair Announcements
The first pillar of the Rotary action plan that DG Wayne shared with us last week is ADAPT. And that starts now. Our guest speaker and President David both called in sick. ‘Tis the season for colds and flu.’
The most important thing for us all to remember is that next Monday is our Christmas party. Same time, same place, extra fun. Please remember to bring a pack of socks for Westgrove School and/or Siloam Mission. There will be door prizes, and if you want to donate one, talk to Chuck or LeeAnn.
The nominating committee will be meeting on Wednesday morning. If you have an interest in being club president-elect, let Cathy know. That means a commitment to becoming the president on July 1, 2027. And attending the District Learning Seminar March 27-29, 2026. Cathy will be there too!
D5550 has made the decision to return to the Assistant Governor model. For the past few years we have had a District Leadership Team, but that model has resulted in less engagement with clubs. AG’s will be eligible to serve for up to three consecutive one year terms. It is a significant time commitment, but you would learn all about district goings-on. Let Cathy know if you’re interested in that and she can share more information. You do have to have served at least one full year as a club president to qualify.
A reminder that Glenn and Cathy prepared a one pager about our club that Cathy handed out at her apartment building’s bake and craft sale. There are leftovers, and if you would like one, or some, just ask Cathy. They can be posted in your building, or workplace, or given to people that you would like to invite into our club. Cathy is happy to talk to anyone who is interested in knowing more.
This evening we had table service. A delicious lasagna.
On Saturday Cathy had the wonderful privilege of attending a meeting of the Global Online Club. DG Wayne Jacobsen, PDG Fred Wright, PDG Peter Tonge and her were on hand to celebrate the occasion of them receiving their club charter.
They started by singing the national anthems. Keep in mind, their name is Global Club, and they lived up to that. They sang (thankfully most of us remembered to mute our audio) the anthems for each of the nations represented: Canada, Nigeria, the USA, the UK and China. They were in a few different time zones.
Global Online is part of District 5550, and their home base is Winnipeg. Jude Chigbo is president and there are four members in Winnipeg.
Their meeting involved almost everyone. Different members took on different duties.
They began by taking attendance. Then they introduced the guests (Cathy, Wayne, Peter and Fred), and then a member read the 4-way test. Cathy noticed that they addressed one another as Rotarian ____.
There were 14 members in attendance and 4 visiting members of the governors’ line.
DG Wayne presented the club’s charter and inducted the new board. Then three new members were inducted into Rotary. At the end of the meeting they have Celebration Time. The Sargeant-at-Arms celebrated the induction of members, receiving the charter, and the support that they are getting from District. Jude noted that the new members recently had to pay their annual dues, so other members were invited to offer to celebrate them. Jude started off with the donation of USD100 to the Rotary Foundation. Others followed, most donating Naira. Cathy was stunned when one member donated 100,000 Naira. She looked it up and the exchange rate is one Naira for .00095 $CDN. Not as much as she thought, but still a lot of money. Others donated 25,000, 30,000, 50,000 while Jude said ‘nobody should be left out’ and ‘who are we missing?’ He managed to get donations out of pretty much every member.
The meeting ended with a toast to new members, and a toast to the club and D5550. The meeting was at noon in Winnipeg so Cathy didn’t have a drink to toast with, but others had wine. And throughout the meeting many emojis floated about. They are more formal than we are so the meeting concluded with a motion to do so, made by the newest and youngest member.
If you ever want a make-up meeting, or just want to check out their club, please get in touch with Jude and ask for a Zoom invitation. They are a lovely group of Rotarians. rotaryeglobal@gmail.com
She started by asking: How many of you have visited the Rotary Learning Centre?: A few hands were raised. Taken an online course on it?: fewer hands were raised. How many even knew that it exists? Still more hands down than up. (To find it just search Rotary Learning Centre)
Well, it does exist, and it’s available to all members. You just sign in with your username and password. Now, I don’t actually remember my password, but I saved it so I just got popped right in. It’s a great way to learn about the history of Rotary, and what is involved in the many roles that you can play. And it’s included in your membership dues. And you get credit. If you don’t have an account talk to Glenn. He will get you set up. But do it soon, before he’s off travelling again.
So tonight we had a look at what is there. And since we’re using Cathy's account, she gets the credit: A win-win!…
Lyle was happy because it looks like a Hallmark movie outdoors.
Rod was happy for snow because "winter is pointless without snow!".
Ed Thompson made three trips to the Salvation Army.
LeeAnn substituted in a grade 2 class today and had a good time.
John had an unhappy buck. His fur hat received in 1966 disappeared when he was at the mall. We all were unhappy.
Iain was happy to have heard on the news that the government is hoping to accept 5,000 new doctors.
Cathy was at MTYP yesterday with her granddaughter. She is happy that Medusa was beheaded, making the earth a much safer place for humans. And demi-gods.
Chuck had a good time ringing the kettle bell at Polo Park. He noticed a tissue a distance from the escalator. He considered picking it up but decided that there were people being paid to do that. Gradually the tissue made its way to the escalator and then Chuck watched it go up the escalator. And then he watched it come down the down escalator. Fascinating.
Ed Toew’s church had its annual Christmas choir performance yesterday. There were over 100 people in the choir, and over 1,200 in the congregation. It was wonderful.
50/50
Ed Toews had the lucky ticket but no blue marble.
Next meeting:
Our next meeting will be our Christmas party. Don’t leave without getting your tickets. Tonight is the deadline. Then we have two weeks off for Christmas and New Year’s week, and we will return on January 5th, 2026. The days will slowly be getting a little longer then, and we will all be doing great at our new year resolutions.
We are working on getting the program organized, but remember that everyone is welcome to suggest speakers. If you have someone in mind, let Glenn know. Don’t promise someone a date without checking our website: charleswoodrotary.org to make sure that the date is open. Or you can ask Glenn.
Next Meeting: January 5th, 2026 - Dwayne Till, Tillwell Cremation and Funeral Services. Dwayne will present a continuation to his talk a few weeks ago about aquamation. Aquamation is a more economical and more environmentally friendly alternative to cremation or burial. Tillwell provides services to both people and pets. Consider inviting partners or other family members to join you at the January 5th meeting so that they will understand what is involved.
