This evening Wayne, Nora, John, Rudy, Anthony and Stephen sang O Canada at Timms, along with guests Quinn Zaniol, Alice Kim, and Clary Lee. It is possible that Gertrude, Kadonah and Veronica were singing at their homes, but we could not hear them. “An excellent rendition,” was the declared assessment.
We presented scholarship cheques to Quinn and Clary (see photos) and now have only one scholarship recipient to meet. We will hold our AGM next week within our regular meeting, and Stephen will try to get a copy of our agreement with the Township about using the RIC. We hope to hold a meeting there in October. We have heard no update about Ribfest but are optimistic that the financial news will be good.
Update from Alice Kim
Alice Kim, our global grant scholar who just completed her year in London, was our guest speaker. Alice entitled her talk How a year changed my life. Before she left Langley she was unsure about who she was and uneasy about her mother’s health. Should she stay to be with her mother or should she pursue her educational goals? When she arrived in London she was in a constant cycle of feeling happy to be away from her responsibilities of taking care of her mom but sad to be away and feeling guilty for feeling happy.
Things turned around for her when she realized she was at her dream school and learning from professors who were working in the field. She woud see them in classes and then on the local news. She was overjoyed when she applied successfully to secure a job in her dreqm field: infectious disease consulting at Charles River Associates (British citizenship in progress). With British citizenship she feels she would be able to work anywhere in the world (Note; I thought we could do that with Canadian citizenship). She regularly attended Rotary meetings and was invited to join the Rotary Club of Kensington and Chelsea. Officially she is their youngest member. Unofficially, she is their youngest and best looking member. Alice has enjoyed meeting Rotary friends and other scholars, and spending her summer in Korea completing her thesis at the esteemed International Vaccine Institute.
What has the global grant done for her? “I thought going to London would open doors to the UK and potentially Europe, but through this experience, the whole world has opened up and I was presented with opportunities I never thought I would have.” She concluded with applying the 4-Way Test to her scholarship experience.
Is it true? Yes
Is it fair? Yes (hard for me to accept but now I can wholeheartedly say yes)
Will it build goodwill and friendships? (Yes, friends for a lifetime)
Will it be beneficial? (Extremely)
Medical Update from Dr John
Dr. John gave a medical report about overdoses and addictions. Deep brain stimulation may be a possible new area for treatment of addiction. John is not in favour of allowing pharmacists to prescribe drugs as they don’t have the training to recognize all the different possible causes of ailments and could prescribe medication that is not required nor helpful. He fears a conflict of interest with prescribing and dispensing drugs.
Rotary Moment with Wayne
Wayne shared Rotary information reading Rotary’s Position on COVID-19 Vaccines.
“As the first organization to envision a polio-free world through mass immunization of children, Rotary believes the decision to vaccinate is a humanitarian imperative. The Rotary International Board of Directors and Rotary Foundation Trustees believe that:
Global vaccination is the path to ending the pandemic, and we strongly encourage vaccination for all individuals, including our members.
Misinformation hinders the fight against COVID-19, and we are committed to providing our members with science-based information.
Rotary is engaged in assuring equity in vaccine access to all people. Through joint efforts with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance we are leveraging our frontline experience with polio to facilitate vaccine delivery.
Rotary salutes health care workers everywhere as they continue to provide lifesaving services. We encourage clubs to offer recognition and encouragement to these heroes.
Rotary and Rotaract clubs are encouraged to redouble their efforts to support COVID-19 prevention and vaccination efforts.
As one of the greatest advances of modern medicine, vaccines are safe, effective and save millions of lives each year. They have eliminated or controlled numerous diseases such as polio, smallpox, measles, and Ebola, and now, there is the opportunity to end the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccination.
The eradication of polio remains the goal of the highest order for Rotary. We can continue to apply the lessons we have learned in fighting polio to COVID-19 response efforts.”
Other updates
Happy and sad dollars were donated for: Gorbachev leading Russia out of the dark ages (though Putin has returned the country to autocratic rule) and remembering Professor Pat McGeer; a granddaughter successfully registering for Kindergarten in the school closest to her home; hosting a Ukrainian family and assisting their adjustment to life in Canada; the arboretum getting $10 000 from the Aldergrove legion; for the West Creek Wetlands, though their attempt at a wasabi farm was unsuccessful; and for Alice’s excellent presentation.
Next week we will hold our AGM and our guest speaker will by our newest member, Byron Cooke. On September 15th our guest speaker will be our second-newest member, Gertrude Munyi, so we will have an opportunity to learn more about these two individuals. Wayne will be chairing the meetings for two weeks while both Stephen and Allan are away.
We closed with a toast to Canada and wished each other a good evening. We will continue with hybrid meetings and encourage more members to attend in person again.
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