District Governor Penny Offer's Visit

Posted by Bob Hlina 
 
District Governor Penny Offer and husband Chris came to Prince George for their inaugural visit to the clubs from 100 mile to Mackenzie. While in Prince George, she attended a special board meeting with our club. Of the 14 directors of the club we managed to have 12 attend this meeting and we gave her an overview of the workings and direction of our club. I was very happy to hear and report that we have some great work going on in the Membership group, Media Group, Auction Group, Boat Raffle group, Youth programs group and Local and International projects groups. Penny was so impressed that she mentioned to our Assistant Governor Gary Gurnsey to nominate our club for the club of the year honours.
 
After this meeting we had our regular lunch meeting and the 45 in attendance was spectacular especially considering it is summer time. Penny had the pleasure of inducting our first new member of 2010/11, Karen Hall (congratulations Karen) and our first new Paul Harris Fellow of the year in John Duncan (congratulations John). She then made a special presentation to Darrell Hubbell because we feel he exemplifies community service and the Rotary theme of building bridges and bridging communities. Now I must say there are many in our club who would be great candidates for this award but alas we could only choose one and Darrell you are certainly the best choice, congratulations. Only 3 had to leave early while the rest of us got to see & hear Penny's vision and spirit of what she sees with her year in Rotary.  
 
After the meeting I took Penny and Chris on a tour of PG. Our first stop was to see Peter Thompson at the Two Rivers art gallery. Peter gave us a splendid tour and spent much time in explaining the purpose of the Art Gallery in how it is a betterment of mankind. He explained the thinking behind certain artists and gave us some hands on experience with how some of the art is made.
 
Next we moved on to see Bob Campbell and the Exploration Place. Bob walked us around giving a commentary of the artifacts, exhibits and workings of the museum. He explained some of the relationships the museum has with the First Nations people and explained some of their history.
 
Next we met Ranjit Parmar at the Railway Museum. Ranjit was too busy so she had Leanne give us a tour and walking commentary. Again we saw and heard some great history of our area and were even given a ride on the mini train. Leanne was a great guide.
 
In conclusion on our visits to the three attractions that we are so fortunate to have in Prince George, we were in agreement that it was a very enlightening and pleasant afternoon. I would highly recommend that you visit these treasures that our in our own backyard.
 
Next we went up to the Gazebo where Rotarians Dave Duck from the PG Club, Bill Bateman from the Nechako club and Brenda Mondor from the Yellowhead club arranged a fabulous BBQ of steak and chicken with salads, soft drinks and a huge cake personalized welcoming Penny to Prince George. About 60 people had a great time of fellowship and we got to enjoy the beautiful Gazebo and the spectacular view (the smoky haze was gone).
 
Thanks to everyone who helped to make Penny and Chris's visit an enjoyable one.
 
Bob Hlina
President - Rotary Club of Prince George