"Gogo" means grandmother in Zulu, and the phrase "Grandmothers a gogo" or "Gogos" typically refers to support groups and movements inspired by or supporting African grandmothers raising children affected by HIV/AIDS, or senior assistance services
Coquitlam Sunrise Rotary meets Tuesdays at 7:15am
Welcome
Donald Seitz
Rotary Club of Charlotte, NC
Ending Alzheimer’s One Coin at a Time:
The CART Fund Story
Don was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He moved to Charlotte in 1994 and then retired in 2017. Since Don’s retirement, he has been a very busy man. He has been a Van Assist Drive for Charlotte Motor Speedway, a poll worker in Cabarrus County, and worked hard for the Boys and Girls Club and Speedway Charities. Don has a special place in his heart for Veterans and has been a Guardian on five Queen City Honor Flights to Washington, DC, carrying veterans to see the various memorials and sights in the area. His focus is now on the CART Fund, including attempting to bring the CART Fund to international cities in Canada. He has twice been recognized as a Distinguished Rotarian by different clubs. Together, through awareness, action, and support, we can make a difference for families facing Alzheimer’s every day.
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.
Norm Cook - (right hand side of picture) is thanked by Member Clive Evans.
Norm is an Honourary Member of the
Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise.
He is Retired - and was formerly City Manager, City of Coquitlam
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.
Ron Postma - outgoing 2025 / 2026 president hands off to Malcolm Kennedy - incoming president for 2026 / 2027
Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise Incoming Executive. Starting from the left: Bob Moody, Hamed Najafi, Stan Wylie,
Lois McNary, Malcolm Kennedy, Maureen Boyd (ADG), Ron Postma and Greg Garrison
Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise (Hamed Najafi) presents a $1,000 cheque to the local Youth Leadership Society of British Columbia.
Ariel Taylor, on the right in the photo and Lois McNary on the left
Ariel Taylor has been involved in Special Olympics BC - Coquitlam for 19 years. She has competed in six different sports, enjoying training with her friends, learning new skills, and keeping fit!
Ariel has been fortunate to complete at Regional (Representing Coquitlam), Provincial, National and World Games, where she met new people and learned about different parts of Canada and of course Italy.
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.
May 26, 2026, we presented a cheque for $1000 to Coquitlam Search and Rescue for the purchase of a drone which will be used to aid their search efforts in the mountains and lakes of the Lower Mainland. Coquitlam Search and Rescue is a volunteer organization serving Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Anmore, Belcarra and Port Moody residents and visitors.
Presenting the cheque is Rotary President Ron Postma and Rotarian Emmanuel Regalado. Receiving the cheque are Tom Zajac and Alice (Sorry Alice, I do not have your surname)
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).
Our May 05 speaker(s) were Kamakshya Pudasaini and three students from Charles Best Secondary School. ON the right is Rotarian Emmanuel Regalado presenting the youth with their speaker recognition.
The Youth Leadership Society of British Columbia (YLSBC) will host the 4th model United Nations Conference for High School Students and promotes education and the development of youth leadership skills through experiential learning. The youth-driven programs are designed to foster good citizenship and build life skills. It is our endeavor that the youth are laying a good foundation for Canada.
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.
Our guest presenter on Tuesday, April 28 was Past District Governor (2023-2024) Denis Boyd. Our current Area D Assistant Governor Maureen Boyd was unavailable to attend. PDG Denis's role at the district level, among his other district duties, is to promote and recognize Major Donors to The Rotary Foundation. When it comes to Major Donors the Rotary Club Coquitlam Sunrise "lifts way above it's weight".
Major Donors from left to right: Robert (Bob) Moody, Norm Cook, Stan Wylie, Clive Evans, Malcolm Kennedy. Missing is Kike McKone
Steve Kim of the Access Youth Society is recognized as our speaker. He was also presented with a cheque for $7,000 (Gaming Money) to be used in the furtherance of working with disadvantaged youth in the Tri-Cities area.
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.
Left Photo: Claire MacLean of SHARE is thanked for the grand tour the new SHARE Foundation Facility in Port Coquitlam.
Centre Photo: Claire receives a cheque for $2,300 from our Club - the result of monthly member donations to SHARE Food Bank.
Right Photo: Claire receives a cheque for $6,000 from our Gaming Grant to be used for the Food Bank.
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.
Chef, Adam Jonas, a Culinary Arts educator and Red Seal Chef with 18 years of experience teachingat Centennial Secondary. work focuses on inclusive education, food systems, and addressing food insecurity through student‐centered, hands‐on learning. He is committed to developing students’ practical, real‐world, and transferable skills that support their growth beyond the teaching kitchen classroom.
At Centennial, he has taken the lead on establishing our breakfast and snack programs and led the creation and operation of the school food garden, an experiential learning space that supplies our culinary program with access to fresh herbs, vegetables, and salad greens.
With continued growing community support, I am dedicated to sustaining and expanding pro-grams that improve food access, student well‐being, and build a healthier, more resilient school community.
On the left, Norm Cook presents Adam with the speaker recognition certificate and on the right, Ron Postma and Stan Wylie present Adam with a cheque for $500 in support of the food access program and Centennial.
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 .
Congratulations to you Malcolm from all of us at the Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise and all those who have helped you make this a very successful project. Of course it goes without saying that your wife, Evelyn, has been a great support as well.
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.
John Panrucker presents our thank-you to the Coquitlam Watershed speakers on January 20, 2025
OUr Speakers for January 09, 2026 are with BC & Alberta Guide Dogs, an organization that we have worked with before.William (Bill) ThorntonCEO & co-founder of BC & Alberta Guide DogsBill became an accredited Guide Dog Mobility Instructor in the U.K. after several years serving with a police K9 squad. In 1986, he founded Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind in the Ottawa area and served as CEO for 11 years. In 1996, Bill and his wife Linda relocated to Delta, where they founded British Columbia Guide Dog Services. Bill has served as CEO for the last 30 years.
Bill is a Charter Member of the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF), a 98-member global organization founded in 1988. He has served the IGDF for many years as a board director and currently serves as Board Chair. In 2006, Bill received the IGDF’s Ken Lord Award in recognition of his exceptional service to the international guide dog movement.
Jason Hulbert (Not shown in photo)Development Manager for BCJason joined BC & Alberta Guide Dogs just in October. With many years of experience building partnerships between individuals/corporations/service clubs, and nonprofit organizations, Jason is a welcome addition to the team. He is committed to ensuring donors receive meaningful impact reporting and the information they need to stay connected to the work they support.