Alma Tragler is a Rotary Youth Exchange Student hosted by the RC Edmonton Downtown.

She comes from Schlierbach, Austria, where her family runs an organic farm selling eggs and beef - they have over 2,000 chickens and 50 head of cattle. She is the youngest of four, and is in grade 11 at Harry Ainley HS. During her year in Canada she hopes to order Tims like a local, do a hike in the Rockies, and see a hockey game.

Alma and Rotary District International Youth Exchange Coordinator (& Whyte Avenue former President) Jennifer Laughton, enjoy a night out at the Myer Horowitz Theatre in Edmonton.

 I am Elizabeth Bonkink, Co-President of Whyte Ave Rotary. 

I have been in Rotary for 20 years!! I originally joined when I needed to meet new people and make friends. Rotary was the solution for that. 

My first Rotary Club was Guelph Trillium Rotary in Guelph, Ontario where I was a member until 2012. In early 2013 I moved to Edmonton and again needed connections and looking to meet people, so I immediately knew what to do... find a Rotary club. I visited many clubs and "tried them on" before deciding on a club that met at the same time as my previous club. I joined Edmonton Gateway where I served on the Board for many years as foundation chair, community chair, and as President for 18 months during the pandemic. In 2022 I started a new job and the schedule for my Rotary Club no longer worked well. I looked around and have always been impressed with what the Rotary club of Whyte Ave could do. So, I reached out and began attending their meetings. The rest is history. 

Rotary is a place you can make a difference, make friends and make a place for yourself. 

Outside of Rotary I work in communications for a government agency full-time and I have a side gig pet sitting (which funds my travel habit). I am frequently found at Buena Vista dog park with my golden retriever, Orion - and often quite a few of his friends. I recently added two ginger kittens to my family - Sunshine and Moonbeam - who keep me on my toes as they learn about their world. They are VERY active and I often refer to them as my "ginga ninjas." I am avid audiobook reader and average about 150 books per year.

Elizabeth is seen here with fellow club member Stan Kodric and former District Governor Ramesh Ferris at the 2026 Edmonton Oil Kings fundraiser to end Polio.

Whyte Avenue Rotary Club is hosting its 5th annual Paint for Polio Fundraiser again this year on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17th. The link to get tickets to this famous event will be on Eventbrite soon. PubNPaint is graciously waiving the booking fee again to support this worthy cause.