Speaker This Past Week, April 24th, 2025- Glen Stenabaugh, Owner of Rad Torque Raceway
(L-R) Jamie McNamara, Rob Vavrek, Glen Stenabaugh, Kasy Kozicky
This past Thursday we were joined by Rad Torque Raceway owner Glen Stenabaugh and his GM Rob Vavrek. They were here to tell us about all the new and exciting things and events they have planned for the upcoming season. As Rob and Glen both mentioned, they are technically in the entertainment business and just because it's a race track, it's not all about the males, all of the time.
Last year they hosted a women's event called Mudgirl and announced that event will be back. Last year, over 5000 ladies showed up to enter and compete in this event which seen the competitors face all sorts of mud challenges, obstacles and inflatables in an amazing atmosphere surrounded by women of all ages and of all all fitness levels.
Later this summer watch for the Elvis Fest with over 6 Elvis impersonators. Sounds like great family fun! They will be hosting a Classic Car Auction this coming weekend with over 150 cool classic cars, trucks and bikes crossing the sales floor. As Glen pointed out Rad Torque Raceway is a multi-faceted venue with a ton of space and amenities. Of course they will be running the usual slate of events featuring everything from sprint cars on the Oval to jet cars, funny cars and bikes on the 1/4 mile track. As most of you already know, our club raises approximately 70% of the funds over the year and enjoy exclusive fund raising opportunities at the track.
RAD Torque Raceway’s 320-acre facility is a multi-venue motorsport complex, including a ¼ mile NHRA dragstrip, 2.7 km road course, 3/8 mile clay oval, 12,000 Sq. meter paddock, and 10-acre off road dirt track. Each race season hosts a comprehensive schedule of events, including Monster Truck Throwdown, Rocky Mountain Nationals, and Hot August Night, Canada’s largest Jet Car event – see the skies light up with flames as speeds approach 300 mph!
Racing is just the start of what we have to offer. RAD Torque Raceway is a fun family facility, home to an exceptional playground and concessions boasting a full menu for the whole family. If you’re looking for an Edmonton attraction that has something for everyone, RAD Torque Raceway is the place to be!
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Speaker This Week, April 17th, 2025 - David Qiao
David Qiao and several family members dropped in one Thursday morning in February for breakfast and did a brief presentation on the Forum for Young Canadians. David applied for and was selected as one of the 100 young students that had been accepted to attend the Forum for Young Canadians that was held in Ottawa this past March. David is a Leduc resident, is 16 years of age and a Grade 11 student and was looking for some financial help in funding his trip to Ottawa. David has also expressed an interest in joining Rotary.
David's request was presented to the Board at the March Board meeting and approved for a $500.00 grant from the Club and David was here this past Thursday to tell us all about his trip and experiences. Below are some of the slides that David presented to those in attendance. David is off to Germany to attend a 2year International Baccalaureate program and on behalf of the Rotary Club we wish he great success in continuing his education. I don't think we've heard the last of this young man!
Below is a small excerpt from the Forum for Young Canadians website.
Here’s why the Forum is a must-do for any young person passionate about leadership, politics, and change:
- Unlock the Secrets of Canadian Politics: Get an insider’s look at how national decisions are made, and why they matter to YOU.
- Talk to the People Who Make Change Happen: Meet MPs, Senators, and political leaders who shape Canada’s future—and ask them the tough questions!
- Connect with Like-minded Peers: You’ll join a community of young leaders from across the country who are ready to spark change.
- Level Up Your Leadership: Whether you’re building your skills in public speaking, policy, or teamwork, this experience will help you grow.
- Practice Your Official Languages: Improve your French or English skills while engaging with students from all over Canada.
- It’s More Than Just a Week in Ottawa: It’s a chance to have unforgettable experiences, make lifelong friends, and get inspired to take action in your community.
Dr. Wanda Polzin Holman is currently the CEO and was previously the Clinical Director at Little Warriors/Be Brave Ranch, a Sexual Abuse Treatment Centre for Children and Youth. She has extensive clinical and programming experience working with in the field of child and family mental health and addictions as well as child and family services.
Her clinical interests are in addressing the needs of complex child and family trauma and attachment, sexual abuse, and complex mental health and addictions. She has specialized training in the areas of evidence-based trauma treatment, Animal-Assisted Therapy, Concurrent Addiction and Mental Health, developmental trauma and attachment.
Little Warriors has been very lucky to have 8 years of her experience directly with Little Warriors as their Clinical Director, where she led all clinical aspects of Little Warriors and the Be Brave Ranch. She has been instrumental in budgeting, governance, operations, and leadership, ensuring that Little Warriors remains at the forefront of childhood sexual abuse treatment.
Dr. Wanda has truly been an invaluable contributor to developing the organization to where it is today, and they have no doubt she is the perfect person to lead them into the future. Please join us in enthusiastically welcoming Dr. Wanda to speak with us this Thursday morning!
About Little Warriors:
Little Warriors is a national charitable organization focused on the awareness, prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse.
We also advocate on behalf of and with child sexual abuse survivors.
Our Mission
- Raise awareness and provide information about child sexual abuse.
- Advocate to ensure the rights, needs and interests of children are respected and protected.
- Provide child sexual abuse prevention strategies to adults through education.
- Provide a treatment facility to help children cope with the devastating effects of child sexual abuse.
Janet Guthrie from the City of Leduc, Sport Tourism Office was on hand this past Thursday to talk about the upcoming 55+ Summer Games to be held in Leduc this summer. As a disclaimer, just before Janet was introduced, I lost the Zoom feed and it wasn't restored towards the end of the meeting. Thanks to Chris Gilbert, he is always very good about sending me the presentations of our guest speakers. Much appreciated Chris!
It appears that the event is looking for support in many ways from the community including the Rotary Club of Nisku Leduc. They are looking for assistance in fundraising, volunteers and pre-event and during-event exposure. For those of you that are available to help out, there is contact information and a link to their website at the bottom of this article.
Established in 1980, Alberta 55 plus is a not for profit, volunteer driven group of people. We help mature Albertans enjoy a healthy, vital future through active lifestyle choices. We promote sports and recreation development for all Albertans 55 years of age and older. Our membership includes Albertans from eight different zones of the province.
Collectively, we support the Alberta 55 plus Summer/Winter Games and the Canada 55 plus Games.
Alberta 55 plus represents the heart of mature Albertans. It stands for the idea of a fuller, healthier, more vital future; for the straightforward steps that can be taken towards that future. We promote participation and action and have generated a unique spirit of cooperation across the province.
The association believes that sport and recreation development for mature adults is a provincial issue. It has a direct bearing on the quality of life in this province and it can become a way of life for the individual and the province as a whole. That is the ideal. We’re working to make it a reality.
https://members.alberta55plus.ca/2025-Summer-Games
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Guest Speaker February 20, 2025 - Chelsea Lee with Basically Babies
President Jamie McNamara presenting cheque to Chelsea Lee from Basically Babies
- Raising a baby requires a large amount of baby gear
- We all have way too much baby gear
- There’s many young families that don’t have any baby gear
- We should find a way to give some of this baby gear to others in our community.
Rotary Club of South Edmonton - Rusitu Mission Hospital Ambulance Project Presentation - February 13, 2025
L-R - Al Pierog & Simon Jozzy, Rotary Club of South Edmonton Members and Jamie McNamara, Club President Photo Courtesy of Lorne Yeo
This past week we were joined by a contingent of members from the Rotary Club Edmonton South. Al Pierog and Simon Jozzy were on hand to make a presentation to our Club looking for support of their Rusitu Mission Hospital Ambulance project in Zimbabwe. The project is seeking partnership and donations to fund a life saving ambulance in rural community in Zimbabwe.
Al explained some of the due diligence and risk mitigation that their Club has gone through already in order to make this a successful project. They want to make sure that the money raised that has been worked for so diligently goes to the right place, for the right things and to the right people and is used in a way that was originally intended.
Some of the things that they have done is that they already have another strong club in the district that is interested to partner in the project. They are also working with a trusted NGO (non governmental organization) that has provided services to this area in Zimbabwe for many years in the past and hopefully many years in the future. They are working with a trusted vendor and are confident they will provide the right vehicle that they paid for and will be suitable for the country and an example that Al provided was that Zimbabwe vehicles drive front the right side.
In regards to payment he says that there is always a risk sending money but their is less of a risk by making sure that you are working with a trusted NGO that the funds will end up in the right hands in order to purchase the vehicle. Al mentioned that they want to make sure that they have secured a maintenance program for the vehicle and know that there are parts available in order to maintain the vehicle. Another important aspect is proper training for the operators of the vehicle and mentioned that they wanted to have all this in place before they came to the other clubs looking for help in funding this project. They are now confident enough that they have all these steps in place and are now reaching out for assistance.
They are hoping to secure a Global Grant through Rotary International. A Global Grant works in such a way that if a club donates money, the District will match funds up to $10,000.00 and if approved, Rotary International will match up to 80% of the District funds. Simply put, if they put in 10K, the district matches the 10K and RI will put in 8K making the total now $28,000.00. The cost of this new ambulance is $75,000.00 so they are looking for 2 other Clubs to join in on the project as the District and Rotary International will match the same funding formula. Al has requested that we think about whether or not we would like to partner with them or at least make a donation to their Club towards this project.
The ambulance project will service a remote area in Zimbabwe where medical services are few and far between. There is one ambulance currently serving the area but is on the move on a regular basis so cutting off people in need when the time arises that they need to be transported to a medical facility when the one ambulance is away on another call or in medical service. Our Board will be discussing the request from the Rotary Club of Edmonton South at our next Board meeting in March.
Thank you to Al Pierog and Simon Jozzy for their interesting proposal and presentation!
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Samantha's favorite part of the experience was the diverse culture that she found at the camp, with fellow students coming from all over the Western Canadian provinces. She gained insight into how different people can work together to overcome and learn about each other's differences.
