“Live from Timms” featured John, Nora, Wayne, Rudy, Byron, Anthony and guests Merle Fisher and Eli Hacker appearing in person, with Allan, Brendan and Bob tuning in via zoom. Allan, having tested positive for COVID after returning home from holidays, could not be present to chair the meeting, so PDG Wayne again stood behind the lectern.
The Foundry Donor Celebration will be held next Thursday from 5-7 p.m. and Rotarians are invited. Please RSVP to Wayne if you wish to attend. On a sad note, Sonia Gill advised us that she will be leaving the club. She is caring for her terminally ill husband and feels that she is not able to contribute to our club in a meaningful way at this time nor in the near future. We hope she will rejoin us once her personal situation allows.
Rotary Moment with Wayne
Wayne shared Rotary information about the Rotary year and our official slogans.
Why the Rotary year begins 1 July?
Ever wonder why 1 July is the beginning of the Rotary year? Initially, our conventions played a key role in determining the start date of our fiscal and administrative year.
Rotary’s first fiscal year began the day after the first convention ended, on 18 August 1910. The 1911-12 fiscal year also related to the convention, beginning with the first day of the 1911 convention on 21 August.
The next August, the Board of Directors ordered an audit of the International Association of Rotary Clubs’ finances. The auditors recommended that the organization end its fiscal year on 30 June to give the secretary and treasurer time to prepare a financial statement for the convention and board, and to determine the proper number of club delegates to the convention.
The executive committee agreed and, in April 1913, designated 30 June as the end of the fiscal year. This also allowed for changes to the schedule for reporting club membership and payments. Even The Rotarian changed its volume numbering system to correspond to the fiscal year (beginning with Volume 5, No. 1, in July 1914).
Rotary continued to hold its annual conventions in July or August until 1917. Delegates to the 1916 event in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, approved a resolution to hold future conventions in June, mainly because of the heat in cities where most of them occurred. The next one was held 17-21 June in Atlanta, Georgia.
The term “Rotary year” has been used to signify Rotary's annual administrative period since at least 1913. An article in The Rotarian that July noted, “The Rotary year that is rapidly drawing to a close has been signalized by several highly successful joint meetings of Clubs that are so situated as to assemble together easily and conveniently.”
Since the executive committee’s decision in 1913, the end of the Rotary year has remained 30 June.
Do you know our official Rotary slogan?
At the 1950 Rotary International Convention in Detroit, Michigan, USA, two slogans were formally approved as the official mottoes of Rotary: He Profits Most Who Serves Best and Service Above Self. The 1989 Council on Legislation established Service Above Self as the principal motto of Rotary because it best conveys the philosophy of unselfish volunteer service. He Profits Most Who Serves Best was modified to They Profit Most Who Serve Best in 2004 and to its current wording, One Profits Most Who Serves Best, in 2010.
Medical Update by Dr. John
Dr. John Brynjolfson provided a medical update, talking about long-COVID, the symptoms and possible causes. Five photos of the tv screen help convey the information he shared, and these are available from Wayne upon request. John was thanked for his great synopsis and helpful presentation.
Scholarship Update
We then heard from our guest speaker, Eli Hacker, who told us a little about himself and his goals. Eli is very well spoken and he certainly held our interest during his presentation. Here is the information he wished to share with the club.
“As a child, I was a member of Scouts Canada. In my time as a member, I learned about service to the community and the natural world. Through this work, I was inspired to set goals and work hard while gaining passion for the environment and the community.
In High School, I continued on my journey and got involved in initiatives and activities that aligned with my passions. In my final years at Walnut Grove, I had the opportunity to be a leader on many projects and initiatives, including leading the school breakfast program. I took over in the fall of 2020, as school was coming back into session after the pandemic closures. For me, it was crucial to continue the sense of community our space offered, even in the face of distance measures. With the help of amazing community volunteers, we kept the program running through the year. In grade 12, we were able to return to our traditional setting and offer breakfast to over 100 students each morning.
To pursue my own passions of the environment and accessible education, I created a bilingual curriculum for intermediate students and classrooms. The curriculum offers opportunities to learn through presentations and comprehension activities, and a chance to apply the learning through a final leadership project. I worked along with university professors at Simon Fraser and Trinity Western, as well as community stakeholders from LEPS and staff at my school to ensure my material was factually comprehensive in an accessible way. I was really happy with the final result, because it incorporated my biggest passions while helping the community.
Now, I’m just starting on a new journey at SFU. I chose their Resource and Environmental Management (REM) program because of its interdisciplinary approach to issues as well as the depth and breadth of courses available in this program. Eventually, I hope to work for the Federal Government with Parks Canada as a public servant, where I can work for local people, the planet and all of the beautiful places we enjoy.
I’m incredibly grateful for your group’s support and I hope to provide you with updates as they come. Please feel free to reach out to me whenever!
It is with great sadness that we at Rotary World Help announce that we have lost one of the founders of our organization.
Ralph Towsley passed away on September 26, 2022.
Ralph was one of the original visionaries who, in 1992, saw the international need for medical equipment and organized the first shipment of medical supplies to the Ukraine.
Out of this vision Rotary World Help was born.
As recently as last year Ralph could be seen at the warehouse, overseeing a loading, encouraging all of us to continue in this worthwhile volunteer work.
He will be dearly missed and our condolences go out to his family and friends.
Bridget
We will now be loading the container heading to Guatemala on October 8, 2022 instead of October 1, 2022.
Other updates
Seven members pledged happy or sad dollars for: a hospital stay in Limerick (sad) and good news from a rental agent in Hawaii which will lead to another vacation in Hawaii (very happy); John’s presentation; Eli’s obvious passion coming through in his talk; a Rotarian who intends to quit Rotary so his grandson may qualify for a Rotary scholarship; our two presenters and for Russian non-violent protesters; Eli’s environmental studies interest; and Merle’s attendance and interest in our club.
We toasted Canada and wished each other a good evening. We will continue with hybrid meetings and hope more members will be able to attend in person again.
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