Jane Currie gave a lovely inspiration to start us off, and Susie Stephens introduced visiting Rotarians and Guests. We were pleased to have Dorien, our student from the Netherlands, with us once again. Dave Connolly introduced Bob Wall, a Rotarian from the Daybreak club, and builder of Eden Gardens in Nanaimo.
President Charles offered a warm welcome to all women in the room, for International Women’s Day. (See more below) and announced birthdays and anniversaries.
Member Birthdays: Mike Herold, March 2nd, Sean Martin, March 2nd, and John Salem, March 4th.
Spouse Birthdays: Doug Narver, March 11th
No wedding anniversaries!
Club anniversaries: Doug Anderson 11 years on March 14, Lucy Gosselin was missed last week, for 27 years on March 6th, and Frank Shoemaker, 21 years on March 6th.
Health of the club: Jane Currie was happy to report that although her husband’s hip replacement had a rocky moment (his leg was broken in the surgery) he is finally on the mend! He will not be present to help at the book sale, but he will be there buying books!
Club Business from President Charles;
Next week is a club assembly, to discuss book sale. All are encouraged to attend. Janeane will be present, and we will include 1 classification talk.
April 11th will be an all-Rotary meeting with Pennye Dixon as our speaker, and then we have 3 weeks of missed meetings, due to the book sale!
April 21st is a holiday weekend, and there will not be a meeting.
Everyone is encouraged to attend district conference in Victoria in May. The club will offer $200 towards your travel arrangements. We need more attendees!
Additional announcements:
Wendy Pratt proposed a Motion to give $4000 to Brechin Elementary for enrichment activies. This includes field trips, trips to the museum, the hatchery, healthy cooking activities, etc. Many of the participants in these programs come from low income families, and would not otherwise be able to attend. All were in favour.
Janeane offered a reminder that book sale shifts are ready for signup, any questions please email her or Ian, if you need to change a shift, please email them and they’ll get it all squared away. We also need a volunteer for pickups once a week, at North Ridge Mall and downtownand drop them at the backdoor.
From Joan: we are 1 week away from bowling night! Join us 6pm at Brechin lanes, 36 people have already signed up!
Also from Joan, please let Ian, Wayne or Joan about know about the all-Rotary meeting if you plan to attend April 11th at the Rotary field house, as seats are limited due to space in the room to 85 for all 3 clubs.
Denise told us that we’re moving ahead with silly boat team, looking for a committee, talk to Denise if you’re interested!
Sergeant-at-Arms, Brent Barootes:
Dawn Hankins was kind enough to pass around the bowl. Brent gave a $1 credit to Wayne, because he picked up slack for the missing greeters. The greeters were not in the bulletin notice! That was Brent’s job, and he didn’t remind us two weeks in a row. Oh well, he paid his fine.
Not wearing a pin? That’s a dollar for anyone in the room not wearing theirs… and because it’s International Women’s Day, any table in the room without at least 4 women seated must pay a $1 fine.
Bob and Keith were fined for talking while the President was talking. Bob insists he was also listening, but paid up just the same.
David, your phone rang during the meeting, that’s $1!
Question from the floor: is there a fine for the Sergeant-at-arms for not wearing his SAA badge? (That cost Brent $1.)
Happy/Sad Dollars:
Dave gave an apology dollar (for something this reporter couldn’t make out), but the real estate board recently surprised him with his 40 years as a realtor award!
President Charles was given a late fine, because Janeane was inducted (abducted?) the same day as Lucy, and wasn’t mentioned in his congratulations earlier in the meeting. (Burn!)
Mikel offered a happy $1, as his brother is back safely from doing a peacekeeping mission in Mali. Also, he’s being transferred, from the downtown Thrifty’s store to Longwood, because as of the beginning of May, he’s the new Store Manager! Congratulations, Mikel!
Rebecca offered $2, one dollar for International Women’s Day, and one for her husband’s successful hip replacement, as he’s 2 months ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation!
David offered a $2, one for happy International Women’s Day, and one because VIU recently hosted a very successful event, a multicultural tea (and coffee) with representation from around the world! He was very impressed with the calibre of students who shared where they are from, mostly with the employer community here. There were also 5 PechaKucha presentations on community and economic development, and was judged by a celebrity panel, which included the Mayor, local CEO’s and our own Laurie Bienert!
Laurie offered a gratitude $2 for her family in Calgary, because her niece is OK after a stressful ICU stay. So happy to hear that, Laurie. :)
Jason offered a thank you buck, as someone donated their ski chalet for the use of all our exchange students! Some had never seen snow before! He spent 5 days in Comox with all 28 students from across the valley, and they put together a talent show during this visit, which is now being taken to district conference!
Bob offered a happy dollar, as he missed a meeting because his daughter got married in Mexico last week! Congratulations!
Brent had a history question $1, regarding International Women’s Day. Of course, we didn’t always have women in rotary. What’s the history of our club related to female Rotarians? Ian Williams was president that year, so he responded. Ian wanted women in the club from the start (because as he explained, men are inherently lazy). The first discussion was in September 1991 where half the club threatened to quit. Ian then encouraged debate monthly. With the help of Dave Hammond and Dale Huck individuals who were pro women in the Club and those who were opposed to women in the Club were identified. These individuals were the asked to stand and present their views, one pro and one con followed by a short discussion. By February 1992 there was only one remaining member who was threatening to quit. On March 6, 1992 the first four "Lady Rotarians" in Nanaimo were inducted into our club: Marianne Armishaw, Lucy Gosselin, Elizabeth Hay, and Janeane Coutu (McGannon). Their incredible and immeasurable value to this club is a testament to the value of women in Rotary, as they are clearly instrumental to making the club work.
Janeane took a moment to express how happy she has always been in this club, for 27 years. She told a story how Ken Inch, a holdout against having women in the club, had eventually knocked in her door one day and apologized for trying to block her. He made it clear that he thought her involvement was a major asset to Rotary.
For the draws, Carrie pulled the 9 of clubs, and Ian won the table stakes.