Stories

We had a great evening celebrating Milja's birthday!

http://www.conference5370-2013.ca/

At our December 19 club meeting, the Rotary Club made a financial donation to, LIght up your Life Tri-Community Palliative/Hospice Care Society

  

Pictured is Club President Michael Thomas presenting cheque to,

Light up your Life's, Linda McCreath

 

The Club was pleased to accept two awards on December 12, from District 5370 Assistant Area Governor, Mr. Syl Haisan.

Shown below, receiving the awards on behalf of the Club, is Past President Len Torgerson, accepting the District 5370 Gilbert Paterson Award for Club Projects and the District 5370 Public Relations Award. The Awards are shared with the Rotary Club of Spruce Grove and Parkland after Dark. Special mention to Tony Zeglen of the Spruce Grove Club who was very instrumental in the Public Relations Award and to Stony Plain Rotarian Bob Enders for his work on, The Rotary Run For Life.

 

 

 

 

 On Nov. 21 the Rotary club heard from Mr. Martin Dugas Executive Director Northern Alberta Ronald Mcdonald House. Mr Dugas gave Rotarians an overview of the activities of Ronald Mcdonald House and how it benifits families who have family members hospitalized. He also pointed out the many inhouse programs conducted by RMH for the benifit of the its residents, all in an effort to make their stay as comfortable as possible.   

 

   Mr. Martin Dugas            Ronald Mcdonald House Edmonton

 

 

The Rotary Club of Stony Plain proudly accepted the,  Decker Kulak Memorial Award from the Stony Plain Chamber of Commerce on November 10, at the River Cree Resort.  

The Rotary Club heard from Pamela Geddes Executive Director of APFA (Alberta Parenting for the Future Association) on Wednesday morning.

 

Pamela spoke to the Club about the activities of the APFA. Including Parent Education, Early Learning and Care, Family Support, Youth Programs, and Programs for Fathers, along with a number of Special events.

With a staff of 28 along with volunteers, Pamela indicated how the organization benifits the community. From those programs listed above to the, Coats for Kids, Community Family Gardens, to the Christmas Store, where children 4 to 10 yrs. can shop for their parents. The organization is truly a major benifit to the Tri-Municipal Region.

                  "Strengthening Family Connections"

For more information on this organization go to: www.apfa.ca 

 

            Mira Timber Frame visit

 

 

Mr. Julian Gauthier President of Mira Timber Frame, gave Rotarians a very interesting and infomative tour of their business. on Wednesday Nov. 7.

 Pictured above is the manufacturing floor and a sample of BC Douglas Fir used by Mira

 

Where are you spending your entertainment dollars?

The Club had Mr. Lawrie Seligman, Director of Cultural Services for the Horizon Stage in Spruce Grove, speak to us about the activities he is responsible for with the Horizon Stage. Mr. Seligman pointed out that the Horizon Stage is the second most visited venue after the TLC in the Tri-Municipal area. He pointed out how the various acts are booked, discovered and selected. The Horizon Stage takes great pride in the variety and diversity of the entertainment provided.   
Rotarians were encouarged by Mr Seligman to visit the Horizon Stage and re-discover this tremendous venue.   

We were honoured to have our inbound exchange student, Sixtine, from France visiting our Club at last week's meeting.

 Rotary Club of Bordeaux's Club Banner

Inbound Exchange Student, Sixtine,  exchanging club banners with Rotary Club of Stony Plain's President Michael Thomas.

On August 23,  Bob Enders, Chuck Morrison, Elly Contreras and Jan Vanderbij manned a booth at the, Information Fair, held at the Tri-Leisure Center, Spruce Grove disseminating information on Rotary.    

Pictured are Glenda (Husband) Rick and Sandy Porter

On August 22 the Club hosted inspirational speaker, Glenda Standeven. Having been diagnosed with bone cancer which subsequently caused her to lose her entire right leg, hip and pelvis, she decided to not let her situation deter her from living life in a positive manner. She was able to look at the lighter side of life with laughter and a positive attitude. Glenda was able to compete in the BC Winter Games achieving 2 silver medals in diabled skiing slalom and giant slalom. With her ongoing positive attitude, in 2010 she co-authored an auto-biographical book, "Choosing to Smile". Glenda is truly a remarkable lady, and the Rotary Club of Stony Plain salutes her ability to speak on such a serious topic with light spontaneity. and positive philosophy.

 

On Saturday Aug. 11 the Grand Opening of the Rotary Spray Park took place.


Rotary members and guests        Imbedded pressure sensitive Rotary emblem




Ribbon cutting and Rotary Cheque presentation by President Michael Thomas to Mayor William Choy




Celebratory cake served to the guests.

For more pictures log onto the Rotary Admin page and click on Photo albums

If you are an RV enthusiast, this is for you. On Aug. 1 the Club received a tour of the new Camp in Class RV Park in Stony Plain.  Owner Victor Moroz proudly pointed out the superlative ammenities and features of their new park. 
A fully serviced year round facility very close to downtown Stony Plain's ammenities, next to the Rotary Park.


                                                                                                       
Park Managers, Mike and Christina Eklof, giving Rotarians the finer details of Park. 


    
    Rotarians Lynn and Victor Moroz
    
State of the art security, one of the many features of the Park

Inbound Youth Exchange Student, Sixtine from France, is arriving August 27, 2012.
Sixtine, will be officially welcomed by the Rotary Club of Stony Plain on
August 30, at Rotarian Charlie and Liz Gardner's residence.    


                                               Sixtine


                                           Sixtine's family

Sixtine has an older brother Loic (17) and two younger brothers – Victor (14) and Gaspard (10). Her father, Frederic, is a Lawyer and Rotarian. Her mother, Sybille, works at a flat agency. They live in Bordeaux France and will be receiving an exchange student (Carlos) from Mexico in the upcoming year.

On Wednesday July 11, the Rotary Club of Stony Plain had a presentation made to them by members of the SGCHS (Spruce Grove Composite High School) Rotary Interact Club on their trip to Belize to build playgrounds. They highlighted the satisfaction they realized from their efforts to build playgrounds in a country where children have very little.     

Come out for the Grand Opening: 2 - 4 PM  August 11, 2012    




New Rotary Spray Park Plumbing layout


Spray Park starting to take shape with concrete base

Grand Opening: August 11, 2012

Pictured is Lynn Moroz receiving her Rotarian Pin from President Michael Thomas
with Rotarians Murray Kulak and Keith Porter looking on.





The Rotary Club of Stony Plain congratulted and welcomed Lynn back to the Club on July 11, 2012

On Wednesday June 6, the Club had an informative and very interesting tour of the Town of Stony Plain's Murals. The tour was conducted by, former Mayor Donna Cowan. Ms. Cowan gave everyone a very unique insight into the town's history and how the murals came about.   


Ms. Cowan giving Rotarians some facts about Stony Plain at the Town Offices prior to the start of the tour.

Elly and Ramiro with their sponsored Children.




The Club heard from Elly Contreras on Wednesday, about how she and her husband Ramiro spent this past winter on Project Amigo in Mexico.

Elly explained how rewarding the experience is, and how the many friends and fellow volunteers have made such a huge difference in the lives of the project's recipients. To date the Project has seen 27 students graduate University. Donors and sponsors have supported 232 students as part of Project Amigo. Rotary funding has provided over 70,000 books, bringing knowledge, confidence, and a brighter future, to their many recipients.
All Rotarians are invited to think about potential Volunteer Workweeks to help with this very worthwhile effort. Contact Work Week coordinator at Project Amigo:  susan@projectamigo.org                                        www.projectamigo.org

District 5370's first Rotary E-club

Organizers of the Rotary E-club of District 5370 are excited about the progress made on the development of the E-club.

Under the leadership of Special Representative and Chair, Elly Contreras, they have set up a Facebook Page (Rotary E-club of District 5370) and their own wesbite, the latter managed by Clubrunner.

For the latest information on, District 5370 Rotary E-club - click on the News tab above on this website.

Dr. Luyckx talked about Malawi Africa:

Valerie Luyckx shared her experiences of teaching students at the Medical College of Malawi about kidney disease and her participation in starting a 3 bed dialysis unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre.  The successes and challenges facing the Malawian heath care system were discussed, especially focusing on the ethical and financial dilemmas of implementing expensive treatments such as dialysis, which can save lives of a handful of patients, but potentially divert funds from other areas of health care. The developing world is beginning to negotiate these complex dilemmas to try to honor all patients’ rights to health care most fairly.

Pictured are: Constable Buck and RCMP dragster - (double click for larger images)

On March 21 the Club heard from Susan Roberts talk on Food Security in Alberta. 
Susan explained GFSA's  (Growing Food Security in Alberta), "Mission",  which states:
Engaging Albertans - groups, organizations, business, governments and individuals - in strategies and policy creation to ensure secure access to adequate amounts of safe, nutritious, culturally appropriate food for everyone, produced in an environmentally sustainalbe way and provided in a manner that promotes human dignity.  

On Wednesday, Brad Schneider, Chair of the Alberta Winter Games presented a beautifully framed picture of two children enjoying winter activities, to the Club to thank the Club for their Platinum level sponsorship.  

Anne Graham Chair of Parkland Head Injury Association visited the Rotary Club on Feb. 29 to give Rotarians a view of the activities of the PHIA. Ms. Graham through a power point presentation pointed out how the organization works to improve the quality of life for persons with an acquired brain injury.  

On Wednesday the representative from the Parkland Music Teachers Association, Carmen Kulak gave us some insight into the Parkland Music Festival.  The Volunteer Coordinator for the Festival, RJ Chambers, talked for a few minutes about the need for volunteers for the Festival.  Chuck Morrison noted that the request for funding for the Festival fitted perfectly with our club’s emphasis on youth programs and our desire for more visibility in the community and thus the Executive voted a general contribution of $1000 and another $500 for a scholarship named after the Rotary Club of Stony Plain.

The three local Rotary Clubs hosted an Open House for potential new memberships, on Feb 21 at the Best Western Hotel in Stony Plain.  Each club spoke on the benifits of Rotary to the members and the community. The various projects undertaken by the three clubs were described, so that potential members were given a chance to see what Rotary is all about. A very enjoyable evening was had by all. 

Rotary Club of Stony Plain 
Rotary Club of Spruce Grove 
Rotary Parkland after Dark.    

On Wednesday Feb. 22 the Rotary Club of Stony Plain hosted Rona Ambrose MP - MInister of Public Works Government Services Canada and Minister for Status of Women. Ms. Ambrose spoke to the Rotarians from Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, Parkland after Dark, and the Stony Plain Chamber of Commerce, about the various issues facing our government. It was a very insightful talk, and we are sure everyone came away with a new perspective on the shape and future of our country.   

The Rotary Club of Stony Plain is proud to introduce our Outgoing Exchange Student, Rebekah Lutz. Rebekah is looking forward to her exchange trip to Poland. Rebekah will be in grade 10 during her exchange trip. While it is possible that a small amount of her curriculum will be transferrable to her schooling when she returns,  mostly the education she receives will be in the experiences and relationships that she makes while she is there.  In March, Rebekah will be attending the District Exchange Student Orientation Session along with her parents Brad and Wendy Lutz. To help as a liaison with our club, the club Youth Exchange Counsellor, Graham Anderson will also be attending.  This orientation is intended to help prepare her for the year-long stay so that she will get the most out of her experiences with the least amount of difficulties.

Good Luck Rebekah!

The Rotary Club of Stony Plain along with Parkland After Dark, and Spruce Grove Rotary Clubs  will be celebrating Rotary Day on Tuesday, February 21st.  A major part of this celebration is a Rotary Open House (wine and cheese, coffee) at 7:00 pm at the, Best Western Hotel in Stony Plain.  You are cordially invited to attend this event to meet us, and learn more about what we do.  

Make a difference in your community and the world, think about joining Rotary. 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday Feb. 1,  Mayor Ken Lemke of Stony Plain spoke to the Rotary Club about the past year and future of the Town of Stony Plain. Mayor Lemke outlined the various projects that took place in 2011. Included was the completion of the Pavillion at Heritage Park, an agreement with our neighbours on an RCMP resource Officer to our schools, cost sharing on the procurement of  aerial fire trucks, upgrading of 48 St., first official Arbour Day event, and orderly approvals of commerical and residential developments.
Mayor Lemke explained that the overall financial health of the community was good and that we can look forward to an exciting year in 2012.     
  

  

 

 

Pictured is Rotarian Michael Thomas presenting a cheque to AWG Chair Brad Schneider

 

 At our Wednesday (Jan. 18) meeting Alberta Winter Games Chairman Brad Schneider made a presentation to the Club on what was involved in putting together a plan and subsequent execution of that plan to stage the Alberta Winter Games. All the Rotarians were in awe of the massive planning and logistics involved. The Club congratulated Brad and his team on an excellent effort. We all look foreward to the games on Feb. 9-12, 2012.  

On January 4, 2012 the Club was visited by Rev. Bill Ney former pastor of  St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Stony Plain. Bill discussed his new role as a member of LAMP (Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots).  It was truly an inspiring talk on how Bill became a pilot and how he has spent the last year flying to remote northern Aboriginal Communities in his new role. Bill shared some interesting stories of his various visits up north and some of the difficulties encountered flying into such remote areas that in some cases have very little in the way of airport runways and related equipment. The entrire Rotary Club of Stony Plain wished Bill all the very best in his continued quest to follow his vision.  

   

 

 DG Harry Buddle addresses the Rotary Club of Stony Plain

 

 

Paul Harris Fellowship recipients: William Choy, Stan Shwed, Wallace Ross, Brad Schneider and Len Torgerson.   

 

 Wednesday Nov. 23 was a special morning meeting for a number of reasons. First we were very fortunate to have,  District Governor Mr.  Harry Buddle and his lovely wife Judy, visit and give a very informative talk on Rotary's challenges and changes. Secondly, five Stony Plain Rotarians received their Paul Harris Fellowships.  Please click on photo journal for additional pictures.      

 Pictured is,  Rotarian Charles Morrison making the presentation to, Linda McCreath - Light up Your Life, Funds raising Chair

On Wednesday Nov. 23, the Rotary Club of Stony Plain  made a donation to: Light Up Your Life,   Tri-Community Palliative/Hospice Care Society for the purchase of a Broda Chair.   

 

With the Mission Statement: The Simon Poultney Foundation exists to foster and improve community leadership and development by providing training, inspiration and charitable resouces,  Gordon Poultney -Executive Director of the Simon Poultney Foundation updated the club on the Foundation's activities.
 
Gordon outlined the work being done in Zambia, including building schools, medical facilities, water well building and renovation, and a host of other activites. An insight was provided into the difficulties encountered, such as lack of water and electricity to carry out many of the planned projects. 
Gordon indicated while some funding is made available along with other resources, the aim is to assist the local community to be self sustaining. In that vein, a program of, " training of trainers", to train others for improved agricultural practices, will go a long way in improving the quality of life in the community.

Pictured is presenter,  Roberta Laurie

On Wednesday Oct. 19, the rotary club of Stony Plain received a visit from Roberta Lauri and Kathy Flannery to tell us about their time spent in Malawi. A video was presented highlighting the Community of Atsikana, and the girls given an opportunity to speak in their own words the experience of receiving an education. 

Roberta discussed, how the circumstances came about that led to writing a book about the, Girls of Malawi. The idea being, to allow the girls to input into the writing of the book in their own words. The pictures presented a very insightful look at the life in Malawi along with their classmates at their school. 

Kathy read some of the heart warming stories passed along to her from the girls for this very interesting project.

 

  

  

      

On Wednesday Sept 28/11 the Rotary Club of Stony Plain received a visit from Corporal Creaser and Constable Hiscock of the Stony Plain RCMP Tri-Municipal Drug Section, to discuss the topic of Drug abuse in our Community. The two officers pointed out the difficulty in dealing with this very significant issue in our area.

 

The officers pointed to a public awareness program through various community groups such as Rotary, to get the message out on the severity of the problem.

A team approach is utilized in the aspect of policing this in our area. This includes surveillance of suspected drug houses, unusual behaviour in regular neighbourhoods and electricity thefts for grow-ops, to name a few of their prevention activities.  The biggest impact on our communities and major contributor to property crime is hard street drugs such as crystal meth and crack cocaine.

 

 

The officers included a power point presentation, in which a number of slides showed the typical grow-op houses along with fortifications to keep unwanted visitors out. Additionally, unfortunately the criminal element follows closely behind this activity, as these habits are very expensive to support.

 

It became readily apparent, as to the vast spread of drug abuse, right in our own back yards of the Tri-municipal area.

 

All the Rotarians in attendance found the presentation very informative and in some cases shocking in nature. Thank you Cpl. Creaser and Cst. Hiscock.     

     

 

 

Dr. Jason Acker, PHD, MBA, MSc, BSc. visited the Stony Plain Club to relate his visit to Australia as a member of the GSE (Group Study Exchange)  team. Dr. Acker is the Chief Technology Officer at Aquilla Diagnostic Systems Inc., Senior Scientist at Canadian Blood Services and Associate Professor at the University of Alberta.

He discussed his 6 week Australian visit, keying on the country's institutions, ways of life, and his vocation as practiced in Australia. 

Spending time with Rotary Clubs in, Tamworth, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Inverell, Coffs Harbour, Laurieton, Armidale and Coonabara Bran, where he exchanged ideas, and received an appreciation of typical Australian life.  His visit also included visiting Blood clinics and studying the Australian methodology relating to his vocational background. In his spare time he received an appreciation for all the varied species of wildlife in Australia, including Kangaroos, Koala bears, poisonous snakes, and kookaburos.

 

 

 A truly entertaining breakfast meeting was held on Wednesday August 24, when Rotarian Jeanette Smith along with her husband Keith Smith presented a very interesting talk and slide presentation on, "Small Town Alberta". Jeanette and Keith covered a large variety of small towns and rural hamlets in southern and central Alberta. From how many of the locations visited received their name and the wonderful people they met and great local eating establishments. A very interesting talk on a part of our Alberta heritage.   

 

 

 

Pictured are Mr. Gubbels and President Torgerson exchanging Club Banners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rotary Club of Stony Plain was visited by Marilyn Mucha and Mary Drader on Wednesday August 10 to talk to the Club about Rotary's Polio Plus program.  Mary and Marilyn presented a very enlightening talk and slide presentation on the Polio Plus program and specifically their personal experiences when visiting India to assist Rotary with their mass immunization of children in Ghaziabad, India.

Marilyn pointed out what Polio is, how it is transmitted, and the resultant effects of it. Additionally she indicated how Rotary is involved in eradication efforts. 

Mary discussed and described pictorially of the conditions in Ghaziabad, and how they set and personally handled hundreds of oral immunizations with the local children. 

It was truly a remarkable experience and we were fortunate to have them share it with us.  

       

The Rotary Club of Stony Plain has had an interest in Malawi for a number of years since it became involved with the building of the Atsikana Pa Ulendo Secondary School for Girls about 40 km west of the capital of Lilongwe.  The club continues to provide funding for the school and scholarships to the girls who attend and has provided a significant microcredit fund to help the girls and their families.

 

Malawi has evolved since independence into a stable parliamentary democracy that until recently has been well managed economically given that it is one of the poorest countries in the world with over 70% of the  population living on less than $1 a day. However, during the past year, there have been serious issues involving the violation of human rights, a disregard for the rule of law on the part of the government and the management of the economy and donated funds.  In addition, the government is less and less tolerant of criticism to the point of considering negative comments about the government or the President as treason.  Given the above, the British government, the largest provider of aid to Malawi, discontinued it aid program.

 

With the ever decreasing amount of aid flowing to Malawi, the government raised taxes and prices which has led to demonstrations in the cities against the increased costs of essentials such as food and the lack of electrical power and gasoline.  The government responded with a heavy hand resulting in the deaths of 19 protesters in mid-July.  This prompted  the US Millennium Challenge Corporation to suspend an agreement to provide $350,000,000 to improve the power supply in Malawi.

 

It is the cultural heritage of Malawi not to question authority but that is changing and those in power do not appreciate this change.  There are clear indications that the Malawi democracy is slowly drifting once again toward an autocracy, not understanding that the world has moved beyond that mode of governance.  The rest of the world will be unwilling to provide aid to a country that does not treat its citizens with respect and the result may well be a retreat from the progress already made.  We hope that this trend will be reversed shortly for the benefit of all Malawians in “the warm heart of Africa”.

 Pictured is Rotary Club of Stony Plain Rotarian Dee Louis with her sponsored child, Mariam. Please click on "more" for important information on Project Amigo. 

On Wednesday July 20/11 the Rotary Club of Stony Plain received an enlightened talk from Trevor Angell of Memory Lane Services on Genealogy. Trevor pointed out the very interesting things one can find out about one's past and ancestors.  He discussed the various sources available for gathering historical family facts and history.   

On Wednesday July 13, the Rotary Club of Stony Plain visited the B & G Manor for breakfast. Mr. Nizar Somji President and CEO of Jaffer Group of Companies was on hand to give Rotarians an overview on how he got involved with Mr. Barth and Mr. Gosset to develop B & G Manor in downtown Stony Plain. In addition to the very interesting talk by Mr. Somji, a draw for a pair of Taylor Swift concert tickets and dinner (provided by the Jaffer Group) was conducted to raise money for the Alberta Winter Games. Rotarians raised in excess of $400.   which Mr. Somji's company matched and was presented to Mr. Brad Schneider, Chair of the Games Group 

.  

 Pictured are Mr. Nizar Somji,  President and CEO of Jaffer Group of Companies along with Rotarian Mr. Brad Schneider Chair of the Alberta Winter Games Group. 

Pictured is President  Charles Morrison handing over to incoming 2011-12  President Len Torgerson 

See additional photos of the Changeover meeting by clicking  on " Photos " in left column.

 

 

Project Amigo

 

Susan Hill and Ted Rose visited the Rotary Club of Stony Plain on Wednesday June 22, 2011, to give our Rotarians an update on Project Amigo. Project Amigo is a charitable organization with a mission to enable the underprivileged children of Colima a chance to achieve their highest potential, which might otherwise not be possible.  The project has instilled a sense of achievement, provided inspiration to locals, provided medical, dental, hearing and vision services, provided literacy, and enrichment to poor children and their families. Without this assistance their opportunities would be minimal.

 

The accompanying slide presentation pictured a number of Stony Plain Rotarians at work in Colima working with the local children and their families. And we were pleased to see some of our people posed with the university student we sponsor, Nancy Belen Lopez.  

 

Mandi visited the Rotary Club of Stony Plain on June 15 to present her pictorial view of her trip to Ghana, entitled, " Earth's Children". Rotarians received a view of life in Ghana with little opportunities available. dealing with poverty and hunger daily. Mandi discussed the planning and building of a facility and garden called, "Amma Haven", where mothers could re-unite with their abandoned children, or children be left as orphans. All Rotarians were very moved by the presentation.

 

The Rotary Club of Stony Plain received a visit from three sponsored students at our last two Wednesday morning meetings. 

Nicholas Roznicki, gave us an account of his four days involved in, "Adventures in Firefighting" organized by the Rotary Club of Vermilion.  Nicholas discussed the comraderie and enjoyment spent with 23 other participants, in learning firefighting techniques, participating in competitions and being tested. 

Justin Mercier, a student from Memorial Comp. High School, Stony Plain, attended the RYLA conference at Camp Nakamun, and  thoroughly enjoyed his experience along with approx. 85 other participants. Leadership, social and life balancing skills were high on their agenda. 

Kelsey Wierstra, a student from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School, Spruce Grove, was our club's second candidate selected to attend this conference.  She related how the experience gave here insights to, networking, relationship building, Communication, and team building.         

On June 1, 2011 the Rotary Club of Stony Plain hosted the Stony Plain Chamber of Commerce at their weekly breakfast meeting, to hear Dr. Margit Knupp - Stony Plain historian, from the Multi-Cultural Centre, give a wonderful talk and slide presentation, on the history of Stony Plain. 

Dr. Knupp discussed the early days of Stony Plain, where the early local inhabitants were the Stoney First Nation. Later Stony Plain saw the building of, the John L. MacDonald House and first Post Office in 1892-93. Slides were shown depicting main street in 1912, and the population grew to just over 1,000. Prominent local resident names forming a large part of Stony Plain history over the years included, Umbach, Oatway, Lundy, Armbruster, Houston, Wood, Barth, and Schram, to name a few. 

Everyone was fascinated by the pictures of the early businesses in Stony Plain, including a cattle drive down the main street, all of which provided a fascinating legacy of the culture of Stony Plain.

        

   

 

On May 25, 2011 the Rotary Club of Stony Plain received some insight from Judith Clarke - Program Manager - Coordinated Suicide Prevention Program. Judith pointed out some disturbing facts about the silent epidemic of suicide. She indicated 9 Albertans are lost every week and 4000, in Canada every year to suicide. We all play a part in Suicide Prevention, as 80% of suicides give off warning signs we can be vigilant to.  In speaking to many local youth groups, Judith reminds her audience, everyone needs hope and resiliency.

Ms. Clarke thanked Rotary for the tremendous support received from Rotary's,  "Run for Life" annual event in support of Suicide Prevention.  

      

 

 

 

Dr. Donald Nixon Emergency Room Physician at the Westview Health Center and Royal Alexandra Hospital, gave The Rotary Club of Stony Plain a very insightful view of life in Haiti, with a slide presentation and related commentary on Wednesday May 18/11. 

Dr. Nixon as part of the  Samaritan's Purse effort, spent some time in Haiti recently dealing with the Cholera crisis in Haiti. His talk centered on the day to day conditions under which the team operated. Extreme difficulties were experienced in isolating patients in the effort to prevent contamination. Dr. Nixon related that there is a very fine line between life and death at the moment in Haiti. All the Rotarians were extemely moved by the Haitian plight and their struggle to overcome these adversities.

 

Tuesday, August 6th the Town of Stony Plain launched its initiative "Paint the Bridge"  and our Rotary Park bridge got it's first coat of brilliant red!  Keep your eyes open around town for more

 

 

  

District Governor Kevin Hilgers in attendance to help with Charter of our very own Memorial Interact Club. Congratulations goes out to the students, teachers , and Rotarians who made this possible.

Malawi Education Foundation

Giving Girls A Choice ... Giving Girls A Voice

 

Atsikana Pa Ulendo (APU) is dedicated to helping young Malawian women achieve self-sufficiency through education. Our mission is to provide high quality education to girls from the rural areas of Malawi who would be otherwise unable to continue with their education beyond primary school, due to a lack of financial support.

This is a grassroots organization co-founded by Christie Johnson, a Canadian teacher, and Memory Chazeza, a Malawian teacher who have been working towards this goal since they met in the summer of 2000. As educators, Christie and Memory believe that education is the key to giving girls a choice in the lives that they lead.  It gives them a voice to share their dreams with their communities.  It is their voice that will give them the power they need to transform their lives and the lives of their future families. 

Together, with their supporters in Malawi and in Canada, they are making this dream real, empowering their students to see that they too can have dreams and live to see their dreams come true. Visit the link and explore more about this project - http://www.malawigirlsonthemove.com/

Our club, many other clubs and individual Rotarians support this project. A student can be sponsored for $1000 per year.

 

Watch this wonderful You Tube video performed by the first graduating class (73 students) in June 2011, who started their program several years ago at the school - very powerful!! 

See it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhF7CAsLueI

 

Send Mail to:

Atsikana Pa Ulendo
c/o Christie Johnson
650 Pearson College Drive
Victoria, BC
V9C 4H7

 

Email: support@malawigirlsonthemove.com
Phone: (250) 391-0348

His Worship Mayor Ken Lemke gave the Stony Plain Rotarians his "State of the town of Stony Plain address" , on April 6.

At the Wednesday Stony Plain Rotary Club meeting, two well known local Rotarians, Pastor Bill Ney and Murray Kulak and Murray's wife, Suzy Kulak were presented with Paul Harris Fellowships in recognition of the financial support they have given to Rotary's own charity, The Rotary Foundation. The Foundation supports countless humanitarian efforts around the world including the campaign to eradicate polio. Diane Ney, pictured here, is also a Paul Harris Fellow and was instrumental in her husband achieving the award. Bill is a new Paul Harris Fellow, Murray and Suzy are multiple Paul Harris Fellows.

The Club has 41 Paul Harris Fellows of which 30 are active club members and their spouses. There are 12 multiple Paul Harris Fellows.
For more coverage: click on Photo Journals (Paul Harris Fellowships)

Meeting attendees were treated to Charlie Gardner's re-classification speech on March 30. Charlie is a charter member of the Rotary club of Stony Plain formed in 1986. He gave everyone a wonderful insight of his career as a lawyer and last year being appointed to the bench.

The Honourable Rona Ambrose visited the Rotary Club of Stony Plain on March 30,2011. The visit gave our members an opportunity to visit and talk to the minister. Pictured is Rona and Charlie Gardner.