Arvind & Kiran Jain

Kiran and Arvind joined the Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise July 3, 2025
They are the owners of Comfort Keepers Tri-Cities

Hugh Mitchell presents them with the Polio Plus Certificate as a token of appreciation for their Classification for their talk.

Left Hand Picture:  Rotarian Hazel Burnell - recognized for her Classification presentation by Clive Evans.  Right Hand Picture: Stan Wylie (centerish)  presents Lois McNary (his right hand side) with PH+1 and Hazel Burnell (his left hand side) with a PH, while club president, Malcolm Kennedy left hand side of phote looks on.

Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise (Hamed Najafi) presents a $1,000 cheque to the local Youth Leadership Society of British Columbia.

Igor Bjelac, , Executive Director of Food Link Society Charity. 

Igor leads the organization in creating and implementing
Innovative programs to support immigrant integration and
community development.
He says our journey began in 2015 when a small group of immigrants, during an English as a Second Language (ESL) training at Vanier Centre in Coquitlam, watched adocumentary on food waste. Motivated by what we learned, we initiated a food recovery project called ‘’Win Win’’ gathering unsold food from grocery stores to prevent it from being wasted. What started as a small effort to provide free food for students in the program soon expanded, as we realized how much good, edible food we could rescue and distribute.

Igor is on the right and our Norm Cook is on the left.

At our May 12, 2026 Meeting Zoe Royer, (front row third from right) MP for Port Moody - Coquitlam presented two or our members with their Canadian Citizen Certificates.  The two Rotarians are Kiran and Arvind Jain (4th and 2nd. from right respectively).

Maura Fitzpatrick
Fundraising Specialist
Plea Children of the Street

Maura works to raise the funds needed to provide Children of the Street’s free programs and services. With almost 30 years of fundraising experience, she enjoys working with individuals, community groups, businesses, and foundations to help them learn more about child/youth sexual exploitation and how they can help keep kids safe from this crime.  Children of the Street was founded in 1995, when a group of parents from the Lower Mainland united after their children were sexually exploited.
Sexual exploitation involves children/youth being manipulated into exchanging a sexual act for money, drugs, shelter, food, transportation, love, acceptance, or other needs.  Victims can be of any age, gender, sexual orientation, income level, geographic location, or religion. Exploiters prey on the vulnerability of young people.Human trafficking is very commonly confused with human smuggling and is thought to be an issue that happens only in developing countries.  The Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise was successful in tapping into BC Gaming funds and presents a $7000 to Plea to further their work with children and youth.

Coquitlam Centre Park Cleanup Day - April 11, 2026

Our very own Allan Lawrence - Vancouver Jaguar / MG Car Club – More than just cars! A group of like-minded guys got together in 1969 and formed what is now one of the longest continuous running British car clubs in North America. Ultimately spouses and partners got involved and a great social organization developed over the years. Membership now fluctuates between 180 and 200 members. The hobby is as much about memories as it is cars. Comments from strangers like – “my dad had one of these” or “I’ve always wanted one of these” are common. Clubs help preserve these memories provide technical support and driving opportunities. The club is also part of a major yearly fund raiser for the Christmas Bureau together with many other car clubs in the lower mainland.

Allan and daughter Kate have been active club members for over 25 years.

Our guest speaker on March 03 was Chantelle Burga from New View Society, serving the Tri-Cities fornearly 15 years.  She has been working in the  non-profit sector for over 20 years, gaining a wealth of knowledge and expertise in providing services to the most vulnerable in our communities. Chantelle is described as an inspirational,compassionate, and innovative leader with a genuine interest in the welfare of others.  All speakers receive a thank you with Club donating to the Polio Plus fund of RI.

ON THE LEFT:  Our January 27, 2026 Speaker, Tobin Postma, Director of Special Projects, FIFA World Cup 2026 Vancouver and son of President Ron Postma and being thanked by John Panrucker.

ON THE RIGHT:  Our Club members in Coquitlam Sunrise Rotary Hall of Fame - the theme of the January 27, 2026 meeting .

David E. Burnell

Canadian Novelist - Father to Hazel Burnell

David E. Burnell is a Canadian novelist whose writing career reflects a lifelong curiosity about history, belief, and the hidden forces that shape human experience. Now 87 years old, Burnell has authored ten novels and an acclaimed collection of short fiction, establishing a body of work marked by imagination, atmosphere, and historical insight.

His first novel, The Elevator (2005), was written following a visit to Germany. The experience left a lasting impression on his worldview and helped shape the psychological depth and reflective tone that would become hallmarks of his fiction.  Burnell next turned his attention to darker, metaphysical themes with two novels rooted in the occult: The Coven of the Unholy and The Shadow of the Serpent. These works explore humanity’s enduring fascination with forbidden knowledge and the uneasy
boundary between faith, superstition, and power.

Alongside his novels, Burnell wrote eighteen short stories over many years, later collected into the anthology Dad’s Christmas Stories. This collection reveals a more intimate side of his storytelling, blending warmth, memory, and reflection with the wisdom of lived experience.  A significant portion of Burnell’s literary output is devoted to history. He has written five novels centered on the Second World War, demonstrating a deep respect for the complexity of that era and the personal courage, tragedy, and moral conflict it produced.

These works combine careful historical grounding with compelling fictional narratives, bringing individual lives into focus against the vast backdrop of global conflict.  Across genres—from psychological fiction and the occult to short stories and historical novels—David E. Burnell’s writing is unified by thoughtful storytelling and a lifelong commitment to the craft of fiction.