Club Bulletin - No 1153 (May 25, 2020)

Rod Delisle
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)

Zoom Meeting, June 8th, 2020

Jun 08, 2020 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

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Bulletin 1153 - 25 May 2020

Members - Please indicate if you'll be attending our next meeting by responding to the invite e-mail when sent to you.

Meeting Report

Posted by Doug McKenzie on May 25, 2020

President Mandy Kwasnica opened the meeting with a thought that we should be singing ‘O Canada’ to open our Zoom meetings. President Mandy then offered up this video instead of our singing (click to view).

We had two guests tonight: a fellow Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Guelph, Mahmud Hassain and Dan Sutton, District Governor Elect.

Rotary Moments

President Mandy had a few comments:

The District 5550 conference was held online recently and our R.C. of Charleswood received 5 awards and recognitions. This includes:

Polio+
Westgrove School running shoe district grant
Covid-19 Impact district grant
Shelterbox – Bronze award
Ripple Effect donation
Zone literacy award – given to clubs with 6 or more literacy projects

These are all very big awards and highlights for a club.

Jim Forestell thought that the online edition of a district conference was done very well. It is great to see Rotary embrace technology. Rotary could use this type of tech to save money in the future. This would seem like a great way to present training courses in the future.
Nancy Morris felt that the guest speakers responded very well to the medium. Barry Rassin (R.I. President 2018/2019) was taking part from his home in Bahamas. The organizers planned well timed breaks in the schedule enabling participants to get up and stretch.
Rod Delisle was interested to hear Jeffry Cadorette advise that R.I. can meet once a month now to actually get more done with online meetings.
Dave Morris wondered if R.I. had considered reducing annual fees due to reduced expenses on their end.
Dan Sutton (District 555 D.G. Elect) advised that will not happen.
Glenn Campbell questioned if breakout groups for further discussion on topics could be worked into these online meetings?
Dan Sutton (D.G. Elect) advised that the Rotary International online convention will have breakout discussion groups. Also, the R.I. Online Convention 2019/2020 appears to be FREE to register.
Al Roberts said that the cottage association he belongs to uses Zoom meetings for $30/month. They have 30 to 40 people online at one time for those meetings.
Peter Tonge has been in meetings with 70 people in breakout groups.
President Mandy expressed that she found the speakers to be incredibly good. She could have listened to Kevin Lamoureux for another hour.

Dan Sutton advised that the R.I. Convention will be held online June 20^th, 2020 to June 26^th, 2020. Go to www.RIconvention.org to view the schedule. The convention is FREE!

Paul Brault – Westgrove Family Centre food hampers information. The next hamper delivery will be on Thursday. The question is now ‘where from here?’ The situation has changed over the last couple months. There is not an immediate critical shortage of food and supplies. In discussion with Val at the Westgrove Family Centre, it is believed that a working group should be setup with all stakeholders to determine the best way to move the program forward. The district grant has been approved. The Costco purchase is usually $700 to $750 per shop. Paul thanked the club members for their support of the program and for the program exposure in the recent R.C. of Charleswood video submitted to the District 5550 conference.

Jim Forestell wanted to ask for the club board’s support in a vote prior to presenting a motion at the AGM for District 5550 on Tuesday night, May 26^th. The motion involved the nuclear threat in the world today and into the future; also involved word definitions of ‘positive peace and negative peace’. This consensus was gained by a show of hands by club board members present online tonight; passed.

Al Roberts reported on the Assiniboine Forest. The application for grant support of the Green Team has been submitted. The candidates for the Green Team have been selected. One week ago, the funding from the province was approved. There will be $6,000 in funding from the province. The club usually adds $800 to $900 to this. There is $3,800 in the bank for the Assiniboine Forest. This amount is about $900 less than usual. There is an interest from the R.C.C.C.F. to improve the signage for the forest. Al will have more information on this next week (design ideas / costs?).

Iain Scott knows an individual from the Manitoba Landscape Association. Could speak to them about the forest.
Al Roberts advised that it would be nice to know what plans they may have for the Assiniboine Forest.
Paul Brault advised that the provincial government has announced an increase in the amount budgeted for Green Teams this summer. This is a goal to increase the number of students that get employment, not to pay more to existing programs.
Al advised that the Green Team works in conjunction with the Hart Trail Green Team. Together they can achieve quite a bit. They would be working with a foreman.
Ed Thompson asked Al if there was any possibility of developing i.) a Frisbee golf field or ii.) an exercise route with stations to work-out placed at specific distances, in the main entrance field area. Al stated that it would be worth asking the question to the City of Winnipeg.

Doug McKenzie (President -Elect) asked if Al was interested in continuing as the club chair / lead for the Assiniboine Forest. Doug would be asking a couple other club Rotarians to become committee members to help Al with the task. Al stated that he would continue but does request some assistance.

VE Day Remembered

Posted by Doug McKenzie on May 25, 2020

VE Day | Canadian Veterans Celebrated in The Netherlands (click to view)

Think Like a Historian: The Liberation of the Netherlands in Photographs - Marshall Chow (click to view)

Nancy Morris discussed why the two videos were selected to be shown tonight. May 6^th, 2020 was the 75^th Anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. Canadian soldiers were the liberators. They fought their way in and gained the admiration and love of the people of the Netherlands to this day. The soldiers are so highly regarded that local children today still care for the soldier’s graves that fell during the battle for their country’s freedom. May 8^th, 1945 is Victory in Europe Day (V.E. Day).

Discussion regarding VE video;

Jim Forestell stated that Lorraine’s father was there during the time discussed in the videos. Jim and Lorraine traveled to the Netherlands in 1978 and just the mention of being Canadian brought out the love of Canada in the local people. That was 33 years after the liberation.

Mahmud Hassain told of his travels through Netherlands in 1988. He had gone home to Libya and was travelling back to Canada on a Libyan passport. Mahmud had a stopover in Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam and the border agent was looking at his Libyan passport and talking to Mahmud. When he asked where he was going, Mahmud said Canada. Suddenly no more questions and his passport was stamped. Mahmud was allowed to proceed. Mahmud has a Canadian passport now as he is a Canadian citizen.

Discussion regarding Think Like a Historian video;

Jim Forestell told of a time during his military career. He was flying out of Comox with a Chinese navigator on board. Their flight path took them right over an internment camp for Canadian Chinese during the war. The navigator’s parents were taken there during WWII.

Nancy Morris advised that she has ordered a Paul Harris Fellowship award for local Charleswood resident Len Van Loon. He is a WWII veteran. All is closed now at R.I. we will have to wait to award the PH Fellowship. Perhaps there could be a gathering at the end of his driveway to award it.

D.G.E. Dan Sutton said that he and his wife were involved with a Youth Exchange group prior to his joining Rotary. They hosted a young girl from the Netherlands. She had chosen to come to Canada due to the stories told about the liberation of her country by Canadians. They even went to her wedding.

Mahmud Hassain is fiercely Canadian. Canadian to the bone! We have it all due to the sacrifices of past generations. He loves to travel to an area North East of Pine Falls when he gets a chance to visit Manitoba. He hopes to visit with us again.

Elaine Thompson advised that Eduardo da Costa and his wife, Cyntia, are now both Permanent Canadian Residents. They are both overjoyed about this. They are just one step away from being Canadian citizens.

Sarges Corner

Posted by Doug McKenzie on May 25, 2020

Sarge Mike Dudar was present to call for any Happy Bucks;

Happy Bucks

Nancy Morris was thrilled with a deer selecting the Morris back yard for a birthing room. Nancy was able to view the back-yard birth of twin fawns.
Iain Scott was pleased to have been able to get out of the house for a walk in Assiniboine Forest. He also is happy to have found and removed a tick on his new puppy; hopefully before any damage done.
Al Roberts was joyful to announce the birth of a grandchild. Al’s youngest daughter gave birth on May 12^th.
Jim Forestell was delighted to announce that his younger sister will be putting her house up for sale in the Toronto area. She retired a month ago and has been wanting to move back to New Brunswick. Looks like it is going to happen for her.
Rod Delisle was excited to see his ‘Polio Plus’ tulips growing in his yard (shown at right). They were purchased and given to him by Dory last year during the Rotary END POLIO NOW fundraiser.
Lloyd Talbot had a Happy Buck for his son giving roses to his mom on Mother’s Day. A Sad Buck followed with the deer eating all of them.
Mahmud Hassain had a Happy Buck related to his upcoming birthday. In honour of his birthday on May 28^th, he is donating 150 meals in his community.

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Mahmud Hassain has a birthday on May 28^th.
Lloyd Talbot has celebrated his 46^th wedding anniversary on May 11^th.

Additional Item Post Meeting

Lorraine Forestell received the following email from our guest tonight, Mahmud Hassain.

Subject: Re: Rotary Club of Charleswood

Thank you, Lorraine, for your timely response and to all of you for your warm welcome and fellowship.

My Club is The Rotary Club of Guelph. The hometown of Col. John McCrae. We are 125 members but a decade ago used to be over 160, partly because we now have 4 thriving and collaborative clubs in the city of 140,000 residents. We meet 12:30-13:30 EST every Friday and we are zooming now. I brag a lot about my first love of Canada: Winnipeg. No apologies!

We are celebrating our Rotary centennial year this year but Covid is trying ruining it. We are not quitting, as we plan to celebrate it with a gala in the Fall. We hope!!

For me, a member since the Spring of 2013. Served two 2-year terms on the board and was elected President 2021-2022. Although we are a "Service Above Self", Rotary has been so inspiring and rewarding for me. In 2018, I finished a master's degree in Leadership at the Lang School of Business, U of Guelph.

I invite any and all to join us any Friday via Zoom. If anyone interested, I shall forward the invite.

Be safe and stay healthy

Yours in Rotary!

Mahmud, M. A. Hassain

Master of Arts (Leadership)

[please contact Lorraine Forestell or P.E. Doug McKenzie for Mahmud’s contact info]

NOTE

There will be a R.C. of Charleswood board meeting next week before the general meeting. The board meeting starts at 4:30p.m. Monday, June 1^st, 2020. Same Zoom code and password.

President Mandy reminded all present that the AGM for District 5550 will be held online tomorrow night, May 26^th @ 8:00pm. All are invited to view. Only those that hold certificates can vote during the meeting. Please go to the District 5550 website for the Zoom information.