Rotary Club of Grande Prairie holds its first  "ROTARY for LIFE" event!

 

On a beautiful evening in May, Rotarians and guests got together over appetizers and wine at the beautiful Centre 2000 in Grande Prairie. The purpose of the social evening was two-fold: to honour long-term Rotarians and hear their stories and recollections of their years in the club, and to bring guests to hear first-hand what it means to be in Rotary for Life.

Doug Montgomery, Cyril Gurevitch, and Rejean Grenier regaled the attendees with often hilarious memories of what it was like to be a Rotarian in a young, growing city. Doug highlighted that Rotary was “everything to us…it was our social life, our entertainment, and our community service” as they talked about the many projects Grande Prairie benefited from. The conversation around women being allowed to join Rotary brought to mind what a long way we’ve come to our present split in membership. The first female member of Rotary was the manager of Time Air during Cyril’s year as President. Rejean recalled being required to wear a jacket and tie to Rotary meetings, and in honour of that tradition he wore a jacket, now several sizes too large for him, and a tie! A rare sighting, indeed!

Exchange student Noina was on hand, selling 50/50 tickets in support of Shelter Box.

Most of the guests from the evening have followed up by attending a regular meeting of Rotary, and it looks like we’ll gain two or three members in our club. We have many more long-time members to hear from, and many more Rotarians-to-be, so we’re looking forward to having more Rotary for Life events in the coming year.

Watch for posts for Rotary for Life this fall and plan to attend and bring a guest.