We enjoyed a video message from new RI President Gordon McInally as he introduced our theme for this year. Wayne, Nav, Bill, Rudy, John, Anthony, Nora and Micheal were joined by guest Victoria Biggs this evening.
We began the meeting with a land acknowledgement, some information about the club, and the singing of O Canada (“Good singing. Well done.”)
Announcements: 1. Arlene Wiebe celebrated her birthday on Wednesday with an ice cream sundae and was serenaded by Wayne. 2. Our 50/50 involvement for the coming weekend has Wayne working all day Saturday as well as Sunday morning. Merle will join him on Saturday morning at Save On Foods on 88th Avenue. (Note: Nora also joined him, and both worked longer than one shift.)
RI President Gordon McInally
Our guest speaker came to us from Scotland and stressed continuity, building upon what previous RIPs have started. Eradicating polio remains Rotary’s top corporate priority. We were encouraged to engage with others to carry out our action plan. “Peace is the soil where hope takes root” and our theme this year is “Create Hope in the World.” “We must wage peace persistently,” stated McInally, as he told stories about Rotary’s many involvements and his own experiences. We will be able to join virtual international exchanges – more information to come. The goal is to bring peace to the world and soothe those in conflict.
Another focus will be mental health, and he mentioned that it takes courage to ask for help. It is brave to be vulnerable and admit you don’t have all the answers.
New Member
Rudy announced that Micheal Bolu is now officially our newest club member and we welcomed him to the group. Next week at the Rotary Interpretive Centre we will have our first executive meeting and different executive responsibilities and club goals will be shared.
Rotary Moment with Wayne
Wayne read the Rotary Moment which he garnered from the Rotary website. Eliminating the barriers to ending polio (from the Convention in Melbourne this past May)
Speakers addressed Rotary’s progress toward ending polio and the necessity of combating misinformation and eliminating other barriers to eradication.
“In my work, I have heard people saying terrible lies about the polio vaccine, such as, ‘This is an international conspiracy,’ and ‘This vaccine causes infertility in male children,’” said Sana Ullah, a photographer who is a senior program officer at the National Geographic Society. “But I have also witnessed a father sobbing while looking at his son, who was just confirmed as a polio victim. This father … refused to get his son vaccinated because a cleric spread bad information about vaccines. Now his child will have to suffer with lifelong disability.”
Shahzad Baig, national coordinator of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, described how the initiative has deployed teams of motorcyclists to reach nomadic children in the mountainous terrain on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “The Rotarian spirit of Service Above Self lives on in the everyday work that happens in Pakistan,” he said.
The Light Touch
Wayne continued with The Light Touch with these Silly Joke offerings, which elicited groans as well as smiles and a little laughter.
What is the opposite of a croissant? A happy uncle.
Did you know that you can actually listen to the blood in your veins? You just have to listen varicosely.
Although I enjoy the sport, I would never date a tennis player. Love means nothing to them.
Other updates
Happy and sad dollars were pledged for: a credit card scam supposedly with the bank refusing a Telus payment; celebrating two birthdays in one week, and singing for the group on the fifth floor of Langley Lodge; empathy for Allan; 45 years in Rotary this month; having belonged to three Rotary clubs in Langley; the clement weather; enjoying a field trip and still being able to make it to our meeting on time; Allan didn’t get scammed by a dating service; a great talk by our RI President, a Firth of Forth dentist;, and snobbish golf courses in Scotland.
We closed with a toast to Canada. Next week we’re at RIC and our first executive meeting of the new Rotary year will follow the regular meeting.
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