Bulletin for January 16, 2020
There was a small but noisy turnout for our club’s second Holiday Inn Breakfast Buffet, with our noble leader David Roscoe at the helm. We switched rooms, which gave everyone a bit more leg room and added nicely to the ambience. This week we had our own private buffet with lots of fresh fruit, creamy eggs, cooked (not raw but not too crisp) bacon, sausage, and decent coffee. Catherine Brady snubbed the table and insisted on getting her sustenance elsewhere, but everyone else seemed properly satiated. The anthem was terrible and still had some “sons”, but that is not new. Perhaps next week we can all make Mae proud!
Social dinners: The last Thursday of every month will be a social evening at one of our Lakeside supporter restaurants. A way to enjoy the company of your fellow Rotarians AND support our gracious partners from Lakeside.
Offsite breakfasts: Every other month we will have a meeting at a new and exciting location. Coming up next month will be The Joseph Brant Museum (hosted by Elaine Scrivener I believe). Suggestions for other locations should be forwarded to Catherine.
International project: We are coming closer to an off-shore project that will excite and motivate us all. Details to come.
Get on a committee: The board will be encouraging all of us to bring our individual strengths to bear on one of the many Rotary Club committees. You do not need to lead, but everyone has something to give and some fellowship to receive.
Partnership Golf Tournament: It has been getting tougher to raise funds through the tournament, and many of the current committee members are old and very grumpy. The committee needs some younger blood! And more women! But the concept still works and has helped us to raise over a MILLION DOLLARS over the past years. Please consider joining the committee, recommending a partner, RECOMMENDING A PARTNER, RECOMMENDING A PARTNER
Speakers: David Roscoe has been handling the speakers but is starting to run short on leads. He is asking for some volunteers for a Speakers Committee. Please let him know if you are interested in joining this or if you have a super idea for someone to come and talk to us.
Food subsidy: Joe Watson and his committee have been holding raffles to raise funds. On Sunday Bruce, Rod, Glenn, Yahel and their partners attended a wonderful dinner and got to look at a 97 Amarone bottle. Hopefully someone gave Yahel a small taste of what I am sure was an incredible bottle. Joe is asking us to consider providing something that he can auction off next month. The use of your cottage in the Haliburton Highlands? Piano lessons from David? Painting and wine drinking evening with Catherine? Painting lessons and bad jokes evening with Rod Collard? Scotch and Irish Whiskey sampling at Beckett’s? Think outside the box and give Joe a call.
Breakfast with Eric event: Eric was looking for, and seemed to quickly find, 8 volunteers. If you are one of them please make sure Eric knows who you are and do not forget to attend.
Clothes for the Street Ministry in Hamilton: Catherine Brady reminds us to please scour your closets for good quality clothing and winter coats that can be handed out to needy neighbours in Hamilton.
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Rod is fantastic as always in his role of early morning comedian. He fined Allan Ramsay for something, presented us with a wonderful Robbie Burns day quiz (even though it is not Robbie Burns day), coerced Owen McElhinney into speaking loudly in his wonderful Scottish brogue, and collected a large assortment of happy and sad dollars. And then of course there were these little known facts.
What is the Selkirk Grace
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.
Haggis is banned in the US? Check it out.
Christmas was banned in Scotland from 1640 to 1958. Really?
Harry and Meghan are moving to Victoria.
Mohanad Al-Gazi and Yahel were our morning guests.
Our speakers today were our own Joe Watson (Director of Corporate Developments and a get the deal guy) and Keith Williams (actually works and does costing and budgeting on multi-billion dollar projects) from PCL. PCL began operations in 1906 as Martin and Poole Construction, founded by James Martin and Ernest Edward Poole in Stoughton Saskatchewan. Poole and Martin both returned to their homes in PEI for the winter of 1906-07, and Martin decided to remain and retire. Poole continued the company upon his return to Saskatchewan in spring 1907, and he changed the company name to E.E. Poole Contractors. Ernest Poole's sons, John Edward (1917–2007) and George Ernest (1921–1997), sold the company in 1977 to their 25 senior managers. It continues to be owned by its employees today.
In 1913, Poole renamed the company to Poole Construction Company Limited. In 1932, the company was moved to its current corporate headquarters in Edmonton, Alberta. From these humble beginnings it has grown into a firm with over 9 billion dollars of annual revenues.
In its storied 113 year history, Edmonton’s PCL has built numerous major buildings and projects in this region, from gorgeous Rogers Place to gaudy West Edmonton Mall, from gas plants, pipelines and upgraders to the new Stantec Tower, as well as dozens of huge projects around the world. Joe showed us dozens of pictures. Keith showed us some of the numbers. They both seemed really happy about the new project at the corner of Front Street and University in Toronto. The construction has just started right across from the former offices of Campbell Sharp Nash and Fields, an internationally well know training ground for friendly Canadian Accountants.
Keith thanked us for listening to their story and said a special thank you to all the hard working people on his team at PCL.
And in a small world moment, Joe Chalkin thanked our speakers for their presentation and for the pleasure (?) of working with PCL and Joe Watson many years ago on a joint project.
Thanks guys. A very entertaining and informative talk.