We were shown the beauty and diversity of India during a great talk and slide show. The colours, sounds and smells could all be felt through the work of this fabulous photographer. Taj Mahal at different times of day was remarkable. The cremation and river disposal system seem a bit awful, with clothing and people being washed in the water upstream. The beauty of the southern regions looked sumptuous and inviting. The Taj is open to the public in the evenings only for 5 days nearest the full moon.
Tea Cup Ministry is run by Aslin's sister in India; reaching out to the poor and neglected. Donations are encouraged as "The cost of a cup of coffee or tea." They have just opened their own facility, following two years of growing and building. Their attitude of caring will help them go for a long time.
Aslin receives a thankyou from President Stephanus following his presentation.
Mazatlan, Mexico has seen a helping hand come their way from Rotarians. Judy Harcourt was enthusiastic about the work they've been doing to improve the lives of orphans in the area. Traditionally inspired music and dance have obviously given these youngsters a stability and confidence to go forward in a situation that could have seen them slip backwards, quickly. A group of kids from the centre were touring through Alberta the last week of July.
Take a Bold Step: Participate in a Poverty Simulation
Did you know that there are 120,000 people living in poverty in the Edmonton area, including 37,000 children?
How would you deal with a life in poverty? You are invited to participate in a community Poverty Simulation, which is coordinated by the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region. This is a powerful opportunity to experience what it may be like to live in poverty and the challenging decisions people are faced with every day. Considering so many of our Rotary Club projects and initiatives align with lifting people out of poverty, this is a great opportunity for us to get an idea of what it may be like to walk in their shoes.
Sessions are being coordinated throughout the coming months. It is 100% free of charge, with the goal being to spread awareness and evoke understanding with the community about the daily challenges those living in poverty face. Please help spread the word to anyone that might be interested in participating. Invite your family, friends, colleagues, and even fellow Rotarians you know to participate in this very successful community engagement initiative.
I have registered for the September 3rd session (there are many other dates if that one does not work). I would welcome you to join me. The registration is completed through the United Way’s website: http://myunitedway.ca/poverty-simulation .
I have had various conversations with our members about the ringing of the bell at the beginning and end of the meetings. It seems that very few no the reason of a hear to it so with a little digging here is the best answer I could find Rotary historians have written that the 3rd Rotary Club was the Oakland Club, which started in 1909. Their sixth President, V. O. Lawrence was the first Rotarian in history to inaugurate a system of fines on latecomers at the weekly luncheons, enriching the club’s charity funds. From this practice evolved the birthday fine and bell ringer. In 1922, U.S. Rotarians organized an attendance contest; the challenge was that the losing clubs would join in giving the winning club a prize. The Rotary Club of New York City was declared the winner and to them was awarded as a prize a bell from a popular patrol boat, which was placed on wood that came from HMS “Victory”, Admiral Nelson’s vessel at the battle of Trafalgar. Since then, the bell used in Rotary meetings started to represent, as on the ships, order, discipline and the time to guide us through the weekly hour and a half meetings. • The bell informs us with its sound the beginning of the Rotary meeting, at which time people present should stand, same as at the end, in order to salute the national and Rotary flags. • The gavel symbolizes the authority invested in the Rotarian elected to the highest position in Rotary, and through him or her, reminds those present of his or her authority. • When presidents transmit their positions to their successors at the end of their mandate, they give the bell their last hit turning the gavel over to their successor, symbolizing the transfer of authority. The sound of the bell has the power to charm, to amaze, to warn, to frighten (when it is rung by George while you are standing), and to lift the spirit (when someone else is standing). Without the bell present, people fall asleep or even at times, cause havoc during a meeting because the bell is not there to represent order and discipline, and to keep them in line.
The latest Minutes of the Board of Directors meeting is now posted in the Club Document section of 'My ClubRunner', or you can open the document from this link, BOARD MINUTES. You may be asked to log in.
Anytime look-up for Club Documents:
Home Page > Internal Site Pages > Club Site Pages > Club Documents
These documents are stored in a private area and you are required to log in.
A successful auction was held at last week's meeting. A bottle of fine rum, donated by Carin's Dad, Jan Zyl for use of a wheelchair while in Edmonton visiting was combined with the beautiful portrait of a soldier on Royal Strathcona Horse, as donated by Michael Oniou. Eric Solash, (former Navy) had his wishes come true as the successful bidder, at $200.00!
It was a good thing the auction was held prior to the Wheel of Fortune, as BOTH Patrick Gibson and Rose Marie Basaraba spun the wheel and landed on the "Draw a Joker" space. They both were successful and the $200. is now being re-circulated! Two previous winners, Bruce Flesher and Max DeKok accomplished the feat over a 3 year period!
June will be a memorable month for June (Toker). A resident of Red Deer for 30 years and retired, June has suffered from progressive MS for about a dozen years or more. (She had forgotten that she had requested a wheelchair two years ago.) She currently anticipates surgery for an unrelated medical issue in mid-July in Red Deer. A call from the Rotary Club of Strathcona in early June, 2014 confirmed her need of a chair was a ‘dream come true’.
On June 29th, Rose Marie and Con Basaraba delivered the chair to her home in Red Deer (in the pouring rain) and enjoyed visiting June & her husband, Bob, who as it turns out are distantly related. (Bob’s cousin is married to Con and Rose Marie’s nephew.) As well, they discovered that prior to moving to Red Deer, Bob had worked for 7 years in a pulp mill in MacKenzie, B.C. with Rose Marie’s brother who still resides there. It is indeed a small world.
June was very emotional when she first sat in her new chair and hesitantly commented, “Maybe there is someone who needs this chair more than me”…another Rotary moment.
Al Pierog, from Edmonton South club gave a quick update on the inbound student coming to Edmonton in August. A girl from Bolivia will be here and we still need host families for 4 of the 10 months. Always an enriching experience for the exchange student AND the host families AND the clubs that participate. Even a weekend (give the host family a break) would be great for the student.
Please give it some thought. Let President Stephanus know.
Every year the new Rotary International President chooses a presidential theme and logo significant to the theme.
RI President for 2014-15, Gary C.K. Huang has chosen "Light up Rotary" as his theme and the illuminating logo below:
Our website at www.EdmontonStrathcona.Rotary5370.org will also change significantly in appearance as we finally will roll over to ClubRunner version 3.0 (V3), which is a cloud based system making access and navigation significantly faster and smoother.
Please indulge us as there may be some hickups initially on both the website and bulletin, and we would really appreciate any feedback and ideas pertaining to the layout and content of the website.
As always, you will be able to update and maintain your own profile after you log in.
Directors and Committee Chairs will be able to build their own committees where they can communicate directly with committee members and share documents privately.
Aslin receives a thankyou from President Stephanus following his presentation.
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