Rotary Club of Regina
Club Meeting Report - October 6th, 2025
In-person - Delta Hotel - 12:00 Noon
1. Meeting Chair:
President Russ welcomed all, including members from the Eastview Club and those joining us via Zoom. He then delivered the treaty recognition which was followed by O Canada led by Allen Hillsden and Bob Terichow providing the Blessing/Moment of Contemplation.
Our club was chartered October 1st, 1917 - that’s 108 years of service!
2. Speaker’s Name & Presentation:
Our speaker today was Deputy Fire Chief Gord Hewitt, very fitting as this is Fire Prevention Week.
Chief Hewitt is a career fireman representing the third generation of firefighters in his family following both his father and grandfather in the profession. Chief Hewitt began his career as a firefighter in Moose Jaw in 1998, worked his way up through the ranks and started his role with the Regina Fire and Protection Services as an Assistant Chief in 2018. He is now one of two Deputy Chief’s in the RFS responsible for the broader scope of their work - much of which extends well beyond the traditional image of fire departments fighting fires. He has been instrumental in facilitating RFS initiatives such as Fire Accreditation and establishing the Fire Master Plan, leads the Department’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Health & Wellness Committee and the departments recruitment efforts.
The Regina Fire & Protection Services (RFS) was founded in 1884. Its motto is “Protection, Prevention and Professionalism”. Its mission is to protect lives, property and the environment. Since 2012 the RFS has achieved International Accreditation three times - a testament to its dedication to excellence and continuous improvement. This is a rigorous process that measures some 250 different criteria, validated by a third party, to ensure the RFS meets high standards in service delivery, planning and accountability.
One of the foundational pillars of its Department Master Plan is Community Safety and Wellbeing. These principals guide everything they do - from emergency response to protective outreach.
Fire Prevention Week - A week where they focus on prevention initiatives across North America. This year’s theme is “Charge into Fire Safety: Lithium-ion batteries in the home “.
RFS has a staff of 315 of which 303 are uniformed and 12 civilians. It operates out of 9 facilities – Headquarters, Education and Training Centre and 7 stations positioned throughout the city. Station 8, the first new station to be built since 2001 is under construction. Plans are underway for one more station to meet the growing city and demand for services. There were 13,006 incident response calls 2014. These covered an array of responses - structural fires, non-structural fires, monitoring and alarms, various rescues and hazmat calls.
RFS have 135 primary care paramedics and 5 advanced care paramedics which enables them to respond to emergent medical calls - often arriving before ambulance services. There is a mutual aid agreement with Saskatchewan Health Authority. The biggest changes to their departments role in the community is the epidemic of houselessness, opioid addiction and overdose deaths. RFS has established an Overdose Outreach Team which is playing a critical role in the opioid crises offering compassionate front-line support and connecting individuals with resources and care.
In summation Chief Hewitt stated “In short, Regina Fire & Protective Services is a modern, integrated emergency service consisting of paramedics, educators, inspectors and planners. RFS is proud to serve this city not only in moments of crises but every day - quietly and consistently - working to prevent emergencies and protect lives.”
A most interesting and informative presentation. After a warm round of applause President Russ presented Chief Hewitt with one of our speaker gifts.
3. Birthday and Anniversaries:
Birthdays: Gilda Treleaven-Graham, October 24th.
Anniversaries: Alison Greene - 27 years (7 years with Rotary South Club); Carole Bryant - 16 years; Katherine Bergman - 13 years; Mitch Zaba - 12 years.
4. Reports and Announcements
Service Project: our next monthly commitment at Soul’s Harbour is Thursday October 16th - 4:00 PM 6:00PM. 1632 Angus Street. 8 to 10 people required. Enter by the side door. We serve meals and coffee, collect used dishes and put away the tables. Our next date is November 20th.
Possible Service Project: The attendees at our last meeting expressed some interest supporting a paper shredding/recycling fund raiser. Our club executive is considering this idea further to determine if we should proceed and if it’s viable. Stay tuned.
World Polio Day - October 24th.
The eradication of Polio worldwide is Rotary International’s signature project.
We have requested a proclamation recognizing World Polio Day from the City of Regina, the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Minister of Health.
Our District is matching donations to the Polio Plus Fund until December 31st, with matching points for each dollar, all contributing to your Paul Harris recognition. Any questions? Contact Bob Durston, Foundation Chair, through the District website.
Eastview Club is holding an “End Polio Now” fundraiser on October 21st. Chinese food at Lee’s Chop Suey East, 200 Victoria Avenue. Gathering @ 5:45. Program @ 6:00. Dinner @ 6:30. Tickets only $50. with $20. Going to Polio Plus. Tickets available from Toshi Shinmura, Phone 306-545-0025.
Membership Awareness:
The District is providing a $100. rebate per each new member and a further $100. per net member increase as at July 1st, 2026.
Family memberships: The second member of a family who joins gets a 50% reduction in the cost of their membership.
Corporate Memberships: Second or subsequent members from the same company receive a discount on the cost of their membership.
Board Vacancies: Looking to get more involved in Rotary? We are still looking for individuals to fill the following positions: Vice President, President Elect, Membership, Service Projects, Social.
Adventures in Agriculture: This project was resurrected last year by our partner club Eastview to great success. Our club has two representatives on the organizing committee for this year, namely Katherine Bergman and George Carson. This year there will be need for billets for 13 young boys and girls coming to Regina over Nov. 25th to 30th. Doug Mortin of the Eastview club is organizing billets. We’ll be back to you about this but for now please consider providing billet accommodation. The students are typically fully engaged by the day and do not expect meals except perhaps breakfast to get them on their way.
Meeting Time: Our club has met at noon on Monday for many years. Perhaps reflecting our club’s traditional membership base from downtown business and workers. Rotary clubs are encouraged to consider whether its current meeting time continues to serve its needs, in particular to attract new and younger members. Each table had a survey page on this topic and was asked to complete the survey page and leave it at reception. This will provide to your executive an initial reaction to this topic. Stay tuned.
Possible social events: The executive is pursuing the organization of a wine tasting evening perhaps in November and a mini golf outing perhaps in January, both of which you indicated some interest a few meetings ago. More on this later. Any further ideas are always welcome so please approach anyone on the board or President Russ about them.
5. Other Newsworthy Items:
Charles Keple, a long-time, dedicated Rotarian passed away very unexpectedly August 8th, 2025. Charles had a distinguished career of some 38 years in the Canadian Armed Forces and was a tireless volunteer. He was an instructor at the YMCA for some 20 years. President Russ read the highlights from Charles obituary and we all took a moment of silence to remember Charles.
Thank you to all who assisted with today’s meeting: Organizer- Carole Bryant; System setup/take down - Ian Toms and Ian Yeates; Greeter - Mark Stefan; Attendance - Al Goudie; O Canada - Allen Hillsden; Blessing - Bob Terichow; 50/50 - Art Wakabayashi; Four Way Test - Doug Keam;
Recorder – Stewart Graham. These are the folks that make our meetings possible.
50/50 Draw: Art Wakabayashi ran today’s draw. The pot stood at $275.00. No winner.
Four Way Test: Doug Keam closed today’s meeting by leading us in the Four Way Test.
6. Attendance: Regina Club - 15; Eastview Club - 13; Zoom attendees - l; Guests: - 1 - our guest speaker Deputy Fire Chief, Gord Hewitt.
7. Next Meetings:
October 16th - Eastview Club - In-person - Delta Hotel - 12:00 Noon. Speaker Kaylea Lax, Lawyer
with Sheppard, Braun, Muma - estates, wills.
November 3rd - Regina Club - In-person - Delta Hotel - 12:00 Noon. Speaker CST Pascal Chagnon, RPS on elder fraud and AI
Meeting Reporter’s Name and Email: Stewart Graham; scg@myaccess.ca
