We held our first meeting in November at Timms with Wayne, Rudy, Bob, Merle, Nav, Victoria, Brendan, Nora, Leon, Anthony, Yvonne, and John present along with guests Aria Zahrabi and Anna Kin Toledo. Following the land acknowledgement, opening remarks and the singing of O Canada, Rudy officially welcomed our guests.
We started a few minutes late, but as Les was not here to remind us about the time, it was not a problem. Yvonne was back after dealing with a flood at New Directions due to heavy rainfall. They needed te basement pumped out. Wayne reported on the COL meeting he attended, and gave an update of Group of Five payments. Nora shared the ESRAG newsletter with all members via email. She will be looking after the details for our December 21 pot luck Christmas celebration at RIC. The District 5050 Grants Seminar will be held on January 27 and we need one more member to attend with Wayne. Five members have signed up to attend the Low Entropy fundraiser in Port Moody on November 18, and Merle has reserved the seats.
Smart Dolphins
Our guest speaker, Aria Zahrabi, informed us about Smart Dolphins IT Solutions Inc. While the company is new to Vancouver, it has been in business for 23 years on Vancouver Island. Aria says they partner with the people who use their services and calls them partners rather than clients or customers. His company offers IT support so the receiving company need not hire an IT manager, thus saving it money. He says there is no technology question they can’t address. Everything is backed up and checked regularly. Partners receive quarterly interactions, which could be more frequent if difficulties arise. Aria answered questions and showed a couple video clips. Contact Wayne if you’d like copies of the screenshots.
Our other guest, Anna Kin Toledo, spoke briefly about herself and her desire to get to know her new country. Because she was part of the back office for the Rotary Club of Manila (her description), she sought out a Rotary club here to make connections. We hope to hear more from her at future meetings.
Rotary Moment with Wayne
WHAT IS EVERY ROTARIAN, EVERY YEAR?
This initiative encourages ever Rotary member to:
Participate every year in a Rotary Foundation program that makes a difference in the world
Contribute every year to the Foundation’s Annual Fund at a sustainable amount.
The Foundation recognizes a club as an Every Rotarian, Every Year Club if its giving reaches US$100 per capita or more and all dues-paying members give $25 in a year.
Today, about one-third of Rotarians participate in this initiative. Thanks in part to the generosity of these donors, the Foundation awarded more than 1199 global grants in 2021-22 for large-scale, sustainable projects. Think about how much more Rotary could accomplish if every member gave at least $25 to the Annual Fund.
Thank you for supporting the Every Rotarian, Every Year initiative.
The Light Touch
Wayne followed this with The Light Touch:
So I rung up Verizon and said, “I want to report a nuisance caller.”
He said, “Not you again.”
I was walking down the street the other day and I saw this ad in the window that said,” Television for sale, $1, volume stuck on full.”
I thought to myself, “I can’t turn that down.”
Other updates
Donations were made for: a new management company saving the strata $1300; John and Bob; our evening’s presentation; Rebecca Darnell being named business person of the year; taking his wife to her reunion at McGill; Boston enjoying an indigenous summer; granddaughter thrilled that Taylor Swift is coming to Vancouver; Aria and Anna; and seeing his son happier than he’s been in years.
We closed with a toast to Canada. Next week we’re again at Timms and an executive meeting will follow the regular meeting. Hope to see you there!
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