Due to the current COVID restrictions on in-person meetings, our club is using ZOOM to meet from the safety of our own homes. Please join us for these meetings. The first half hour is a social time with the formal meeting beginning at 12:00 noon. We meet on Tuesday every two weeks, starting on Jan 12, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. When members have the ZOOM application installed on their device (smart phone, tablet or computer) they can log in to our meetings by clicking on the meeting link that Graham Gilchrist has emailed to all members.
This week we heard from Natasha Larson, a senior student from WP Wagner High School and co- President of the Rotary Interac Club at WP Wagner. Natasha told us that due to COVID restrictions this year, the one week event hosted by the Rotary Club of Ottawa was a virtual event. The week included many different speakers, many of whom were previous Rotary AIC program participants, on all kinds of topics related to Citizenship. She said that prior to the event she received a package which included a T-shirt, pin and mug. The event topics included two days with various speakers on Canadian government, one day on Indigenous issues, one day on Citizenship and one day on a variety of topics. They were also given a choice of several topics for one talk, and the topic she chose was climate change.
Some of the government speakers and topics covered were the Right Honourable Joe Clark talking about how Rotary fit into his life, Senator Joe Day speaking about the role of the Senate, former Prime Minister Paul Martin talking about his role on government, past Speaker of the House of Commons, who talked his role in government, and a past Page in the House of Commons, talking about her duties in the House of Commons. Natasha said that one of the sessions she enjoyed the most was the chance to get to know a war veteran who spoke about her experiences, and the discussion session that followed. The fourth day was focused on Indigenous issues and the final day was focused on Citizenship, including a citizenship judge who spoke about how she came into her job and what it involved. Overall, they were given a lot to think about when considering career options for the future. Natasha said that politics, legislation and parliament were things that she had never really considered as a career and the week learning more about them as very enlightening. She thanked us for the opportunity to take part in this program and said that she had made some new friends across Canada in Rotary as a result.
This week our club welcomed Amy Stewart as a potential new member. Amy is being sponsored by Treena VanderMeer. Amy is an Alberta native who grew up in Sherwood Park and now lives in Edmonton, She works as a Real Estate Agent. Amy attended NAIT, taking the Radio and TV Arts program. Amy later attended the U of A where she obtained a BA in Psychology and Sociology. She also has a DOOLA certification. Some time ago, Amy spent some time working as a volunteer in Tanzania and the experience opened her eyes to the plight of many people around the world. Since then, she has been involved with several different service groups and has a few service projects that are near and dear to her heart. She says that she believes in putting people before profit in her business dealings and to above all be kind. We would like to welcome Amy to our club and look forward to getting to know her better.
This week our club welcomed Gail Martin as a potential new member. Gail is being sponsored by Treena VanderMeer. Gail is an Alberta native who grew up on a small farm in the Horse Hills area just north of Edmonton, which is now part of the Raven Crest Golf and Country Club. She works as a Property Manager handling commercial rentals. She originally trained and worked as a paralegal but changed professions when she realized that she really missed the social interactions with other people. Gail is also very interested in family history and told us a few stories about some of her ancestors and their experiences in coming with nothing to make a new life in a strange land. She said that she truly believes that the world is able to look after everyone. She looks forward to being able to help make this world a better place through Rotary. We would like to welcome Gail to our club and look forward to getting to know her better.
Here is the internet link to the recorded Rotary meeting held on 01 Jun 2021 which included the introduction of two new members, Amy Stewart and Gail Martin, a TED Talk on whether self-interest should motivate service in Rotary by Patrick Galvin and a thank you to our club from the WP Wagner Interac club attendees to the recent Rotary Youth Leadership Experience workshop.
This week we were pleased to hear from Ekjot Brar, Vice President and Jasmine Virk, co-President of the WP Wagner High School Interac club about their experience attending this two day training workshop. Five students from WP Wagner club attended. They both thanked us for the chance to meet other Rotary youth and for the opportunity to learn more about Rotary. They said that the sessions helped open their minds to the opportunities and possibilities that they may not have otherwise considered when it comes to the things that are possible when people work together towards a common goal. The creative approaches that they gained will help them when considering the projects their club chooses in the future.
This week we watched an excellent TED Talk by Patrick Galvin entitled ‘Should Self Interest Motivate Service’. This talk was presented on 26 Feb 2020. In this talk Patrick Galvin, a former membership officer of the Portland Rotary Club presented some insightful ideas on how to present the goals of Rotary, so that we can appeal to a younger generation of potential members. He suggested that the past appeal to people’s sense of altruism, may not be the best way to attract people in today’s much busier world where every adult family member needs to hold down a job, just to make ends meet. In the past Rotary relied on people volunteering their time in to help others because it was good for the world in general, but maybe we need to shift this view to appeal more to the physical and mental benefits that service engenders in those who volunteer.
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