A successful hybrid meeting was held as Anthony, Wayne, Gertrude, John and Merle Fisher met at Timms and were joined by Lana, Brendan, Bob and Kadonah Davis via zoom. Regrets were received from Rudy and Byron. Sadly, the majority of our club members were elsewhere.
Casual conversations were light, including wondering where we could buy tea for the Keurig machine (we have lots of coffee), enjoying ice cream, and feeling sorry for those who are lactose intolerant.
Wayne read Truth Worth Reading which may or may not be a truthful story. However, it’s a good story and parallels the goals of the 4-Way Test.
In Ancient Greece, Socrates had a great reputation of wisdom. One day, someone came to find the great philosopher and said to him, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”
“A moment,” replied Socrates. “Before you tell me, I would like to test you with the three sieves.” “The three sieves?” asked the fellow.
“Yes,” continued Socrates. “Before telling anything about the others, it's good to take the time to filter what you mean. I call it the test of the three sieves. The first sieve is the TRUTH. Have you checked if what you're going to tell me is true?”
“No,” he replied, “I just heard it.” “Very good! So, you don't know if it's true. We continue with the second sieve, that of KINDNESS. What you want to tell me about my friend, is it good?”
“Oh, no! On the contrary.” “So,” questioned Socrates, “you want to tell me bad things about him and you're not even sure they're true? Maybe you can still pass the test of the third sieve, that of UTILITY. Is it useful that I know what you're going to tell me about this friend?”
“No, not really.” “So, concluded Socrates, what you were going to tell me is neither true, nor good, nor useful. Why, then, did you want to tell me this?”
Rotarians use the 4-Way Test as a guide to make their decisions . I think Socrates would be proud of us for doing so
Rotary Moment with Wayne
Instead of reading a Rotary moment, Wayne had a twelve-question quiz for members to possibly learn some obscure facts. While there was no prize for winning, both Bob and Merle scored 7 out of 12. Amazing!
On this quiz, If you get all twelve correct call yourself a “Paul Harris Historian.” 8-11 and you’re still a highly knowledgeable Rotarian. 4-7 and you know a lot about Rotary and its history. 1-3 and you’ve begun to show great interest in Rotary. “0” shows wonderful opportunity for enjoying this website.
This Rotary president first was a newspaper Reporter in Denver. Who was…?
Frank J. Devlyn?
Wilfrid J. Wilkinson?
Glenn E. Estess, Sr.?
Paul P. Harris?
23 February 1905. What was….?
The Charter Night Dinner for Rotary Club of Chicago?
Paul Harris’ Birthday?
The night four men decided to start an organization in Chicago?
The First Regular meeting of Rotary Club of Chicago?
A 1900 Walk after dinner by Paul Harris. What was…?
The Day Paul Harris’ Grandfather died?
The inspiration for Rotary?
Paul’s cure for irregularity?
A desperate attempt to find legal work?
Cowboy, Desk Clerk, Marble Salesman, Actor, Merchant Seaman, Fruit Picker. What were…?
The fifth through the tenth members of the first Rotary Club?
Classifications not included until after the convention of 1922?
Paul Harris’ jobs between 1891 and 1896?
Occupations not thought to be good material for Rotary membership?
This early Rotarian was secretary of Rotary International for 32 years. Who was…?
Paul Harris?
Chesley R. Perry?
Arch Klumph?
Herb Taylor?
This famous Rotarian was expelled from a university. Who was….?
Paul Harris?
Chesley Perry?
Arch Klumph?
Herb Taylor?
The First Club, in a community of less than 100,000 population. What is…?
Chicago?
Dallas?
San Antonio?
Pueblo?
$26.50 from Rotary Club of Kansas City in 1917. What started the…?
World War I relief fund
Rotary staff retirement program
First District conference budget
The Rotary Foundation
The First President of “Rotary.” Who was…?
Chesley Perry?
Paul Harris?
Harry Ruggles?
Sylvester Schiele?
Give service to your customers and you’ll make more money. What was the…?
Four Way Test?
The “Business Sharing” in early Rotary Clubs?
“Fred” Sheldon’s business philosophy?
A violation of the “Rotary Code of Ethics?”
Arch Klumph. Who was a…?
Manufacturer who donated shoes to victims of polio?
(the) First District Governor from the original district?
(is) a present RI Director?
Past RI President from Cleveland, credited with starting the Rotary Foundation
Ann Brunier and Ann Gundaker. Who were the first…?
Women members of Rotary International?
Women Presidents of Rotary Clubs?
Rotaryanns?
Woman District Governors?
You can call Wayne for the answers if you wish.
An Introduction to Gertrude Munyi
Saving the best for last, we then heard from our guest speaker, Gertrude Munyi, who told us a little about herself. Here, with just a little help from me, is the information she wished to share with the club.
“My name is Gertrude but everyone at home calls me Jackie. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya. I come from a family of 5 or 6 (read on): my dad, mum, sister, brother, and my cousin whose mother passed on in 2003, and me. I studied in Nairobi but then I went to a boarding school at age 11 till I turned 18. Then I went to university to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science where I graduated in 2014.
A little about my family. My dad is now retired but does farming at home and some small contract jobs if he finds any, and my mum has an organization that looks after children who are orphaned and infected with HIV and AIDS. She started the organization after her sister died of HIV/AIDS in 2003 and that's why my cousin came to live with us, and my mum swore that she would never see a person die of HIV again under her own eyes. My brother helps my mum in the organization since he studied environmental science majoring in Community Development. My sister is a microbiologist and my cousin lost his job last year. He has since been looking for another one.
I came to Canada after a man called David who worked for an organization that used to support my mum called Brightpoint for Children asked her, "Why don’t you take your child to Canada?" We only knew a little about Canada because we had volunteers that spoke about their country. I was jobless at that time and I was just helping my mum in her organization with a little IT support . I started googling and researching about Canada and found an organization that helped people to come to Canada. They helped me secure a college and my parents sold their piece of land so as I could pay my school fees . I just wanted to step out. I believed that if I only took a chance once I got to Canada I would work hard.
I came to Canada in 2017 on a study permit to Douglas College to pursue data analytics but I later changed to business and finished in August 2019. By that time I had a job and started working full time on a work permit. I recently got my permanent residency and I am now looking forward to a visit from my family.
Outside work I love volunteering and cooking. I love children and cats, and sleeping in my free time. I enjoy going on nature walks here in the Lower Mainland, and trying new food with my friends.
My long term career goal is to pursue a master’s degree in public policy and work for the government, and later on help my mum with her organization.
Please feel free to ask me any questions; I will be happy to answer. Thank you.”
Message from Rotary World Help
To any and all interested members,
This is a call for volunteers to help with the loading of the container on October 1, 2022.
This particular shipment is set to go to Guatemala.
Please let us know by return email if you are intending to join us.
Six members pledged happy or sad dollars for: being gout free (at the moment); visiting with Les at the arboretum yesterday; Wayne’s stellar attempt to amuse us and make us feel stupid; Gertrude’s information and for her being a member; scoring 7/12 (happy) and Roger Federer retiring (sad); our Prime Minister who never worked a day in his life letting us into his realm by giving us the day off on Monday; and missing many meetings while on holiday, Gertie’s presentation, and Mariana’s bravery in Russia.
We raised our glasses or mugs (or empty hands, pretending) in 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. Next week Eli Hacker, our final scholarship winner, will be joining us.
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