On Tuesday, November 15th, we welcomed members, family, friends of our club, District guests and fellow Rotarians at our 2nd Annual Pool for Polio FUNdraiser . Our three co-hosts: President Kathy and two dynamic young leaders, Maria and Wyatt, from the University of Alberta Rotaract Club, kicked the night off. District Governor Frank Reitz also spoke and presented our FUN FEARLESS & FOCUSED Rotary Club with our End Polio Now: Make History Together Campaign award from The Rotary Foundation for reaching our Polio Plus goal of $2662 US. Frank and his wife Barb joined us to compete for the Pool for Polio champion title, and Past District Governor Laura Morie spoke about Rotary's role in eradicating Polio worldwide, and our true impact on the lives of so many. We would also like to thank District Governor Elect Ingrid Neitsch for taking time out of her busy schedule to join us.Eight teams came together to vie for the coveted Pool for Polio championship. There were a lot of close games but ultimately team Hygge were the victors. Congratulations to Richard and Sheila of team Hygge on their win, as well as to runners-up Tristan and Peter of team Polio Predators. Silent auction items included an autographed Edmonton Oiler Ryan Nugent-Hopkins print, two lift tickets to Marmot, a Nespresso machine, beautiful artwork and prints by local artists, wine, Rotary swag and much more. Thanks to all who donated items in support of the event, as well as all the bidders. We are excited to announce that through a portion of ticket sales, generous donations to Polio Plus by members and friends, and the proceeds from the silent auction, our club raised $2262 towards our Polio Plus goal for this year! With matching funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation of 2:1, this will make our contribution worth $7986!
A very big THANK YOU to The Billiard Club for sponsoring our event; they donated the venue, the pool and provided one highball for each ticket sold for our guests to enjoy. Thanks, also, to all of you who made our 2nd Annual Pool for Polio a huge success!