It’s not quite the same as being back in the saddle again, but here I am writing RoteNotes after a two week hiatus. This evening Wayne, Rudy, Allan, Nav, Victoria, Gertrude, Brendan and Anthony were present along with guests Andrea Woo, Brielle Ball and Assis John. Regrets were received from Leon, Nora, Merle and Yvonne. Following the land acknowledgement, opening remarks and the singing of O Canada (“Thank you very much”) Rudy officially welcomed our guests.
Rudy had a birthday on Oct. 6 and Nora celebrated hers on Oct. 14. Wayne and Rudy will be presenting the cheque to Langley Care Society the week after next. Cameron Reeve was wondering if we would like to attend more Bandits games, and several indicated that they would like to attend another Rotary night at a Bandits game next season. The Aldergrove Rotary Club is having a pasta party fundraiser at St. Dunstan’s Church on November 17th. World Polio Day will be here on October 24th. Rudy reminded us to fill in a Rotary survey online. Our Christmas Pot Luck will be held on December 21 at RIC, and Rudy is asking for someone to organize this event. Anthony advised that Timms is not available on Dec. 28, and we may decide to cancel our meeting that week.
Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation Update
Our guest speaker, Andrea, shared information about Langley Memorial Hospital and the LMH Foundation. She serves as Donor Advisor for LMHF. LMH has grown from a 35 bed facility to having 468 beds, including a new emergency ward. Last year LMHF was able to raise $1.8 million for equipment and improvements at the hospital. The main focus right now is improving cardiac care and Andrea reported they are over half way to their campaign goal of $650 000. They plan to add four new cardiac beds and each costs $15 000 plus change. She was hoping the four Rotary clubs in Langley would again contribute to the cause.
Because her children were waiting in the car, Andrea had to leave right after her presentation. However, she received a big surprise when President Rudy gave her a cheque for $10 000 from the club. Her shock and joy were so apparent on her face as she hugged Rudy and happily accepted our donation. Call Wayne to see the full set of her slides.
Rotary Moment with Wayne
WHAT IS POLIOPLUS?
Ending polio is Rotary’s main humanitarian goal, and PolioPlus is the program that supports these efforts. It was launched in 1985 with help from Dr. Albert Sabin, the developer of the oral polio vaccine, as a worldwide program to protect children from the paralyzing consequences of polio. Rotary later became a founding member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Since then, the incidence of wild polio cases has decreased by 99.9% and the wild poliovirus remains endemic in just two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The processes Rotary helped build to fight polio have also been used to protect communities from COVID-19 and other diseases. This illustrates the Plus in PolioPlus.
But polio anywhere is a threat to children everywhere. Only global eradication will ensure that no child suffers its devastating effects ever again.
Learn more about Rotary’s efforts to eradicate this disease at endpolio.org
Wayne followed this with The Light Touch, featuring two items.,
Thanks for teaching me the meaning of plethora. It means a lot.
You already know that Dr. John has many famous clients, including sports stars. You my not have realized that he has famous singers as well. One day when he was treating Jerry Lee Lewis he asked, “So you say she shakes your nerves? And rattles your brain? Goodness gracious.” Jerry interjected, “Oh, yeah, that reminds me. There’s something else you need to see.”
Other updates
We are optimistic that our request for a district grant will be successful so we can purchase many more books for Nicomekl School. There was a bit of a problem at RIC on Saturday when the Girl Guides didn’t lock the door or return the key to its proper place.
Donations were made for: our program this evening; the fun seeing Andrea’s face when she was told about the cheque; sad for the suffering in the middle east; and back from a holiday on which he was able to visit his PDG friend in Quebec City.
We closed with a toast to Canada. Next week we’re again at Timms so should be able to offer a hybrid meeting. Hope to see you there!
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