Rotary Rumours…
The Rotary Club of Burlington Central has been nominated for a Juno Award in the category of ”Worst rendition of the National Anthem ever”. Congratulations to all those who helped with this accomplishment. Does anyone have a pitch-pipe for next week perhaps? Luckily no notable visitors were in attendance, except our wonderful Yahel and Nathan, son of Wayne and driver extraordinaire.
Repeated soft binging instead of one loud bong works better on ADHD Rotarians. President David had a new bell that actually seemed to work very well at gradually getting the rowdy crowd to quiet down.
Allan Ramsay, a city planner, knows how to use Google Maps much more efficiently than Dave Beckett.
The FIFTH ANNUAL SPEAKER SERIES presentation on April 28 at 6 pm at 540 Lakeshore Road West in Oakville is selling out quickly. Hurry to get your tickets (rotaryclubofoakville.ca) to see the Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin, P.C.
Sheila Welham is incredibly excited about the upcoming Roteract Trivia event on March 15th from 1 pm to 4 pm at the Black Bull Pub. Owen will be there as well, and a handful of Rotary know-it-alls.
RYLA is on again on April 26 to May 1st . This is a fantastic opportunity for young people aged 18 to 26 to expand their leadership skills. Karmel again asked us to let him know of any potential candidate.
Sean, our outbound exchange student, will be returning from Peru tomorrow. It was his decision to return early.
Joe Watson is spearheading a Friday concert with THE DREAMBOATS to be held before the Lakeside event. Approval has now been given by the City of Burlington pooh-bahs so let’s all get behind Joe and help promote the event.
Yahel had a less busy week last week. She could not attend a cottage retreat due to the weather so went to Niagara Falls to a water park instead. It was very crowded with long slow lines. She has just relocated to Sheila’s home for her next hosting adventure. This week will include a night spent sleeping out-doors.
Rotary Rides is Our next major Fund Raiser! Friday April 17th.
The site is fully operational – check it out, sign up or donate.
We now have 32 riders on 13 registered teams. Join up…Sponsor…Donate…have FUN!
Rod was back! He presented us with a flurry of insightful notions about Saudi Arabia. Beheadings versus firing squads….traffic fatalities versus allowing women to drive...Nellie McClung and the right to vote….Lingerie sales and Joe Watson’s intimate knowledge of sales techniques. Albert seemed to get a few questions correct but not many other people did.
Happy dollars came from Nancy Penney for Dr Ford-Jone’s help with her granddaughter; Andrew Gaydon for growing a beard and going to the Rugby Sevens; Keith Williams for knowing so many well travelled club members.
Sad dollars came from Gerry Willard who did not get to go away on holidays (hope he is taking care of himself now!), Rob who spent time looking through foggy ski goggles
Speakers Corner
It is common practice to expect new Rotarians to give a talk to their fellows about themselves, their early life, their training and the job that they do. This is called a "Classification Talk”. Later in Rotary life the Rotarian is sometimes expected to fill the speaker diary by giving a talk which is NOT connected with their work. A hobby such as bird watching or holiday travels would be examples. Peter Thoem’s classification talk was fantastic (although given quite a long time ago and my memory may be a little fuzzy) and was about his life in England, his agriculture schooling, and about working in commercial real estate. He has entertained us on other occasions with discussions about Owls, Kenya, and Rotary conferences.
For his presentation this time Peter brought us up to date about his continuing passion for nature and wildlife. He once again helped out on a Biosphere Exhibition, this time in Saudi Arabia at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve.
https://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/
Peter was one of 12 (paying) volunteers who had the privilege of sleeping in a tent, using outdoor showers and toilets, trapping and counting the local animals, and speeding about the desert in a Mitsubishi 4 x 4.
The reserve is totally fenced in, devoid of tourists (except some who attend a very luxurious retreat for over a $1,000 a night) and populated with an assortment of Oryx, Gazelles, gerbils, Fennec foxes, Gordon’s wildcats, and scorpions. The object of the stay is to count the various fauna to assist with maintaining the population of these animals. There seemed to be an over abundance of sand and 4 wheel drive vehicles close by the animals. Kathleen was very intrigued by the Gordon’s Wildcat, which I thought looked very cute and cuddly. She gave a very interesting insight into the history of this pet.
Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve
There were a lot of questions from the members about the expedition and why Peter does what he does. Another great presentation. Thanks Peter.
