RoteNotes 19 August 2021

  Claudia Lemay, with her husband Peter, moved to Langley from south Surrey.  Claudia attended the same Macdonald College as John’s wife, Elizabeth, though they have met (or not, I’m not sure) at pharmaceutical dinners.  Jenny said she was Claudia’s official sidekick and was here as her cheerleader.  Jim See sent his regrets, as he recovers from surgery. 

     Tonight it was President Leon’s turn to make note of the time, stating, “I’m aware of the time, but I couldn’t start the meeting without Les.”  Right on cue, Les appeared onscreen as his daughter Barbara adjusted the computer.  President Leon immediately called the meeting to order and played a version of O Canada sung by The Tenors.  We were able to sing along or watch and listen, our choice, but the singers could not match some of the high notes they shared with us. See below for some of the screenshots of their amazing performance.

 

     Announcements:  Serve to Change Lives; thank you again to Wayne for writing the weekly RoteNotes which are circulated by Leon on Tuesdays, along with any announcements or reminders; we could help LEPS with environmental clean-ups on August 21^st (meet at the parking lot just off 203 Street); our Mega Draw sold out and the grand winner was Lilian Fuller, who is a past guest speaker at our club; and ShelterBox is seeking help for those in Haiti suffering from the earthquake.

      PDG Wayne read the Rotary Foundation Thought for the Week.

 

A Rotary Foundation Sustaining Member is an individual who personally contributes US$100 or more each Rotary year to the Annual Fund. These contributions also count toward Paul

Harris Fellow, Multiple Paul Harris Fellow, Paul Harris Society, Every Rotarian Every Year, Major Donor, and club recognition.  Use the Club Foundation Banner Report to see your club’s Rotary Foundation Sustaining Members.

 

 

     Claudia Lemay was our guest speaker, telling us about Stargold’s Nutrition Foundation.  After working as a dietician, she can now devote her time to charity work and let her husband, an ophthalmologist, earn the family income.  Claudia was a most energetic and enthusiastic speaker as she told us of their work in Gabon, trying to add more iron and protein to the diets (which are mostly carbohydrates) of the residents.  They make bean pancakes and have discovered that white beans from Cameroon are the highest in protein.  She told of troubles constructing the house in Gabon, where corruption is prevalent from government and workers.  They help people grow their own food, and are looking for funding to sustain their efforts as they seek charitable foundation status.  Claudia says she sucks at numbers, thinking, “The more money you spend, the more money you (must) have.” I believe Jenny is the only paid staff member, and they rely heavily on volunteers to help them do good in our world.  See below for some screenshots of Claudia’s presentation.  Following her screen sharing, we had a Q&A session and then thanked our guests for their great work in bringing positive change to the lives of others.   

     Leon advised club members that we actually had another hiccup, as the scheduled speaker did not show up.  Neither did a prospective new member who planned to join us.  Fortunately, Claudia, who had been invited to speak to the club during Veronica’s year, was able to join us and give a wonderful presentation. Leon asked for input about the Rotary Club information cards proposed to be printed.

     Happy and sad dollars were pledged and recorded for our enthusiastic speakers (repeatedly); a member happy he had insisted on seeing another doctor in person as he then had fast medical attention; seeing a son for the first time in a long while due to COVID restrictions; spotting two beavers and two horned owls in Jackman Park;  after not wanting to have his photo taken with a group in front of a tobacco baron’s mansion, one of our doctors found that when the photo was circulated, everyone had a number in front of them and his was covering his face; for a funeral for a WWII veteran, complete with the coffin carried on a funeral gun and men wearing their WWII uniforms; and for Veronica’s hair moving about in front of her photo backdrop, much as we’d had with Anthony’s son and his disappearing head.

     To close the meeting we raised our glasses and toasted Canada.  Cheers!