Installation of 2009/10 Executive
Rotary President Sentenced to 1 Year Community Service!
By
June 17th, 2009 Port Coquitlam: The throng of well wishers, family and friends gathered for a fun evening were noticeably shocked when President Elect, Bob Frew, of the Rotary Club of Port Coquitlam Centennial was escorted into the decorated banquet room at POCO INN & SUITESwearing a black and white striped suit by none other than a real Mountie in Red Surge. What had he done! Constable Vellani had been sent by his superior, Sgt. Stewart of the Coquitlam RCMP Traffic Division to apprehend the scoudrel.
President Elect Bob Frew was hauled to the front of the room before a waiting crowd of well wishers and Rotarians. Then a quickly convened kangaroo court with Judge Binder presiding heard all charges (trumped up?) and it was quickly determined (as there was no time for evidence) that Bob (light Fingers) Frew, was guilty as charged! He was quickly sentenced to years of hard labour serving the community.
Fortunately, our outgoing President, Cheryl McKeever, our "Princess", showed mercy and commuted Bob's sentence to 1 year of community service as President of the Rotary Club of Port Coquitlam Centennial starting July 1st, 2009. The crowd roared it's approval!
The rest of the evening paled in comparison. The executive team, (the motley crew) serving with President Frew was sworn in to serve alongside him for the next year helping local citizens. The club has a sterling record for "Service Above Self." Since its inception, 4 1/2 years ago, the club has provided funds for such projects as "Kindness Kits" for middle schools, dictionaries for all grade 4 students in Port Coquitlam, scholarships to local High Schools, the Seniors Breakfast at their Award Program (Wilson Centre), assistance to the Terry Fox Home Town Run, The Hike For Hospice, and many other programs, both local and Internationally. The club has been awarded the Rotary International Presidential Citation from the Rotary International President himself for several years running - not an easy feat!
Rotary's Flagship program internationally is the elimination of POLIO from the planet. In 1985, when Rotary took on that task, there were 1,000 new polio cases daily - that's right - 365,000 new cases of polio annually. Last year, it was under 1,000 new cases for the YEAR. We are so close to eradicating polio. Rotary will have put over $800 Million of its own money into this fight before it ends. We have partnered with The World Health Organization, Centre for Disease Control, Unicef, and the Bill Gates Foundation to accomplish that goal.
Remember, the next case of polio you see may be getting off a plane in
President Frew and his motley crew are committed to working hard to look after local issues and will also continue to contribute to the global fight against polio. If you would like to join in the fight with us and join a great Rotary organization where we have fun doing great work, call Bob at 604-618-2352. We meet at 4:15PM Thursday afternoons.