L to R: Ellen Weber, Membership; Carin Jansen van Vuuren, Youth Service; Jim Peddie, President Elect; Donna Hutton, President; Vince Campbell, Immediate Past President; Audrey Martyn, Secretary; Graham Gilchrist, Treasurer.
The 2019-20 membership dues are due. An electronic invoice was emailed on July 3, 2019. The due date is August 16, 2019.
You can pay online from the link in the invoice or you can always open and click the link in the My Billing Account Balance link in the My ClubRunner box on the Admin page after login.
If you wish to pay by cash or cheque, give the $280.00 made out to "Rotary Club of Edmonton Strathcona" to Graham Gilchrist at your earliest convenience.
Membership fee in the club covers District dues, CN$80.00 annually and Rotary International dues, US$55.00 semi annually or US$110.00 annually.
Thank you for your prompt attention.
If you have any questions, please contact Graham Gilchrist, Treasurer, e:grahamtg@telus.net
This past Tuesday we heard from Mark Polet, a retired biologist, who along with his wife Terry has spent the last seven years in the middle east helping companies to become more ethical in their business practices.
They are currently helping a cleaning company in Tajikistan. Tajikistan is a small Persian speaking country that borders Afghanistan, with which it shares many of the challenges found in that part of the world. Tajikistan is the smallest and poorest country in the region, but, is also very culturally rich. Tajikistan is a former Soviet Republic, which has since suffered through a civil war and is now a familial dictatorship. As the country is extremely poor they do not pay their civil service a living wage and they are expected to pay bribes to ‘buy’ their jobs, collect bribes from their customers and pay kick backs to their superiors. For those who refuse to pay bribes the penalties can be very harsh. School students who have been doing well will get final marks that are failing, young men in the military can suffer beatings, businesses ‘caught’ on trumped up charges of not meeting regulations or paying all of their taxes must pay onerous fines ( bribes). All of this results in a society that is very untrusting of everyone but their inner family.
Their host family is a devout muslim family that love what Mark and his wife do in Christian service. He compared what they have been doing to our Rotary Four Way Test. Their overall lack of honesty means that the truth is often hard to discern. It is not fair to anyone and even those who try to be fair get tarred along with everyone else. Goodwill does not exist as the atmosphere of mistrust shadows everything. The benefits flow only to those who threaten and mistreat others. Mark and his wife work with small businesses helping them with payroll, labour standards, bookkeeping and taxes to become so scrupulously honest that the government auditors have a very hard time finding holes to use to extract bribes. It costs the business more in taxes and less in bribes, but they also gain personal dignity. For example, many companies there keep multiple sets of books, some of which do not include the bribes and kickbacks paid to others, or the wages paid to some employees. In one business they started keeping only one set of books which included everything and confessed their past mistakes to the auditor, who was impressed that they were so honest. Along the way they have come to know some government inspectors who now have respect for their business practices.
In a final comparison with the Four Way Test for this business they can now say yes to all of the criteria. Yes it is the truth, it is fair as they now pay all taxes due, it has built goodwill, as the people they come in contact with respect them for their honesty, and this has proven beneficial to all.
Join the adventure on Tuesday, Aug. 13th meeting to help us roll out our exciting new rotary mentorship program. We’d love to meet your applicants and introduce guests to our friendly Rotarian community at the same time.
Our meeting goal is to grow our Rotary club and enhance both personal and collective roles of service and fellowship in ways that benefit all. You will find opportunities to speak up and feel heard through fun two-footed questions that relate Rotary’s vision to what we each do and care about most.
Get to know newer participants over lunch and learn how we each can win a $20 lunch ticket by participating in this mutual mentorship rollout.
The JSCC (10052-117 St., Edmonton) is sponsoring several programs, talks and films that would be of interest to many of our members. Please call their office at 780-488-4241 for further information on cost and registration. Here is a selection of some of their offerings:
Wed
28 Aug
10-12 am
The Dead Sea Scrolls
Dr. Peter Sabo
Mon
09 Sep
16 Sep
10-12 am
Venezuela and Guatemala
Dr. Morris Maduro
Mon
09 Sep
16 Sep
23 Sep
1-3 pm
Israel: Past, Present and Future
Abe Silverman
Tues
17 Sep
1 pm
Forms of Tradition in Contemporary Spain, Josep Pujiula I Vila and his Great Labyrinth, Film
Sam Koplowicz
Tues
24 Sep
12 noon
Lunch and Learn, Traditional Jewish Melodies
Jack Goldberg
Wed
25 Sep
7 pm
Italian Opera Masterpieces
Edmonton Opera
Thurs
26 Sep
12 noon
Lunch and Learn, Traditions and Symbolism Associated with Rosh Hashana
Rabbi Mendy
Mon
28 Oct
04 Nov
11 Nov
10-12 noon
Politics: Edmonton and Alberta
Stephen Mandel
Tues
29 Oct – 03 Dec
1-3 pm
Solo Flight: The Concerto from Vivaldi to Ravel
Michael Thomas Roeder
Wed
30 Oct – 04 Dec
10-12 noon
Revolutionary Exploration: Rock’n Roll’s First Tumultuous Decade
D T Baker
Thurs
31 Oct – 05 Dec
1-3 pm
YEG’s Public Art
Kathleen Silverman
Tues
12 Nov
12 noon
Lunch and Learn, Geriatric Psychology and Dementia
Our second annual Eyeball Gala will bring together ophthalmic specialists, surgeons, business and community leaders, and loyal friends to raise awareness and funds for the fight for sight and life-enhancing work of the Eye Institute of Alberta.
Please contact Audrey Martyn for more information.
I believe our Friendly Club is healthy and vibrant, but we should be willing to share and not keep our success to ourselves. Please complete the survey at your earliest convenience.
DiscoverE is a nonprofit organization through the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta that provides fun, accessible, and inclusive summer camps to youth in Edmonton.
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