Joint dinner meeting between the Rotaractors and the Rotary Club of Vancouver. Location will be at the Irving K Barber Learning Centre, UBC. Please register so that we can be sure to have enough seating and food for all.
We are proud to have dinner supplied by Potluck Catering. The Potluck Cafe Society was founded in 2001 to help end the cycle of poverty in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside community and address the needs of it's more nutritionally vulnerable residents through solutions that promote employment and nutrition. Dinner will be assorted sandwiches (including vegetarian options), salads, desserts and tea/coffee.
The agenda will include reports by all three Clubs (2 Rotaract & RCoV) highlighting ongoing projects that are of interest to all.
Please join us in this, the first joint meeting of 2018, to help strengthen the ties between the Clubs. If you have any questions, please contact Joan Posivy, joan@posivy.ca
Upcoming meeting: Tuesday February 27, 2018 Ms. Katherine Dhanahi, US Consul General to Vancouver Volunteerism and Youth Programming
Katherine S. Dhanani is a career Foreign Service Officer. Her most recent assignments were in the State Department’s Bureau of Human Resources and in the Bureau of African Affairs’ Office of Regional and Security Affairs. Before returning to Washington in 2013, she served as Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Hyderabad, India. She moved in to her role as U.S. consul general to B.C. and Yukon in the fall of 2017.
Ms. Dhanani began her career working on western hemisphere issues, with tours as an Economic Officer in Georgetown, Guyana, on the Mexico desk, and in Mexico City, as well as in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere.
She also has served five assignments to Embassies in central and southern Africa, including tours as Deputy Chief of Mission in Harare, Zimbabwe, and Libreville, Gabon, and as section chief in Lusaka, Zambia, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
Ms. Dhanani trained as an Economist at Kenyon College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and taught economics at Grinnell College before joining the Foreign Service.
Upcoming meeting: Tuesday March 6, 2018 Dr. Joost Schokkenbroek, Executive Director, Vancouver Maritime Museum
Dr. Schokkenbroek began his museum career in 1988 at the Kendall Whaling Museum in Sharon, Massachusetts, USA. Since that time Dr. Schokkenbroek has been the Curator of Material Culture and Chief Curator at Het Scheepvaartmuseum (The Dutch National Maritime Museum). Since 2013 Dr. Schokkenbroek has held the position of chair of Maritime History and Maritime Heritage at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. He was appointed Executive Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum in the summer of 2017.
Spring Training will start next month with our first District Assembly & Grant Management Seminar. These events are not to be missed if you are new to Rotary and want to know what is in store for the year ahead and want to understand the multiplier effect of getting RI support by way of District or Global grants for Rotary Projects. Even experienced Rotarians will benefit from these two training seminars.
Your attendance fees will be reimbursed.
~ President Phil Webber
Lower Mainland/Vancouver: Saturday March 17th & Sunday March 18th
Saturday March 17, 2018, Metro Vancouver Assembly; CLICK HEREto register.
Sunday March 18, 2018 Metro Vancouver Grant Management Seminar; CLICK HERE to register.
INTERNATIONAL SERVICE COMMITTEE
EXTENDS AN INVITATION TO TRAVEL TO TOKYO
Our sister club in Tokyo, RC of Tokyo Segaya South, would like to renew our agreement. CLICK HERE to read the letter of invitation from their President, Mr. Makoto Hattori.
All members are invited to attend a dinner evening hosted by the Setagawa Club in Tokyo on Tuesday March 27th, to renew our Club's association agreement. The cherry blossom festival celebrations are planned for the same week.
There are already a number of club members who have expressed an interest in participating and we hope more will join us. Kayo has managed to arrange for very agreeable flight costs.
If you are interested in finding out more or in putting your name on the list of travellers, contact either Michael Woolnough or Kayo Otake at your earliest convenience.
Charles Flavelle of Purdy’s Chocolates created Choklit Park in 1970 on the unused Spruce Street right-of-way at 7th Avenue, using a crew of six hired on an “Opportunities for Youth” grant. The chocolate factory at 1107 W. 7th needed an improved truck-loading facility and the children in the neighbourhood needed an adventure playground. The crew used the right-of-way and all the available space around the factory for the children’s park. Purdy’s made chocolates here from 1949 until 1982.
CLICK HERE to read more about Choklit Park and its development. If you can, come out to support Charles when he speaks about the park (see below meeting minutes for details).
President Phil Webber chaired the meeting and gave the invocation.
Kayo Otake accompanied on the piano for the singing of O Canada (with the new lyrics).
Jim Evans, Sergeant-at-Arms, introduced visitors and guests.
Visitors included Paul Keeley, Rotarian from Northeast England (Newcastle on Tyne), and others who attended the conference last weekend on the Environment and Peace.
Chair's (Phil Webber's) announcements:
Happy Valentines day for tomorrow and for the year 4715, Gung Hey Fat Choi, Happy New Year in this Year of the Dog on February 16 People born in a “Year of the Dog” are said to have a “dog’s virtues”, loyal and sincere, unafraid of life’s challenges, and seeking harmonious relationships with others around them.
“Paws for Thought" - Their strengths: valiant, loyal, responsible, clever, courageous and lively Their weaknesses: sensitive, conservative, stubborn emotional.
Famous people born in a “Year of the Dog”:
Socrates, Winston Churchill, Elvis Presley, Bill Clinton, Mother Theresa and Prince William
Last Thursday, the Board approved the renewal of our sister Club Agreement with Tokyo Setagawa Rotary Club.
Secretary's, Franco Gallo, announcements:
reminders of upcoming events/meetings (see above);
birthdays: none this week
member anniversaries: Hussein Samnani 4 years, Pamela Stewart 19 years
wedding anniversaries: none this week
Special presentations:
Paul Harris Fellow Recognition Pins were presented, after an address by Phil regarding the importance of donations to the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, to:
• Charles Flavelle, plus 8
Special announcements; members' moments:
Michael Woolnough again extended the invitation for any member to travel to Japan for a celebration of the agreement with our sister club in Tokyo in March. This is not just for International Service Committee Members, but anyone. Please contact Michael or Kayo Otake if you are interested or for more information.
Joan Posivy reminded members to please sign-up for the joint meeting with the Rotaractors. It costs nothing to sign up; we need numbers for the caterers. See the link at the top of this newsletter.
Charles Flavelle thanked all for the tasty Purdy's chocolate basket that Phil delivered to his home for his birthday. (The Purdy's shop that normally provides our birthday chocolates decided to do something special for Charles.)
Charles will be speaking about Choklit Park at the celebration "Places That Matter" on February 21st at 7:00 p.m. Attendance is FREE. Location is the Kitsilano Neighbourhood House, 2305 W 7th Ave.
Program:
Franz Gehriger led the membership to The Exchange for a tour of Vancouver’s first LEED Platinum heritage conversion. The new design conserves the best of the old structure — while bringing standards of sustainability, efficiency and comfort into the 21st century. Did you know that this building has 90% less exhaust then any other building in North America? CLICK HERE to read more about this fantastically successful project.
Meeting adjourned with a toast to being creative in ones vocation by “Historical Preservation and Renewal”.
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