Vol. 101 No. 43
Brian Street, President
Joan Posivy, Secretary
Next meeting: Tuesday May 14, 2019
Susan Yurkovich, President & CEO of Council of Forest Industries Forestry: The Cornerstone of B.C.'s Economy
Susan Yurkovich was appointed President and CEO of the Council of Forest Industries (COFI) in June 2015. COFI advances the strategic interests of the BC interior forest industry, Canada’s largest lumber producing region. Ms. Yurkovich also serves as President of the BC Lumber Trade Council representing the interests of the BC forest industry on trade matters, including the Canada-U.S. Softwood Lumber Agreement. Prior to joining COFI, she spent 20+ years in the natural resource sector in BC.
Born and raised in British Columbia, Ms. Yurkovich holds both a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Business Administration from the University of British Columbia and a Diploma in International Business from Erasmus University, Netherlands. She currently serves as a Director of Centerra Gold, Governor of the Business Council of BC, Director of Vancouver College and a member of the Faculty Advisory Board at UBC’s Sauder School of Business.
Upcoming meeting: Tuesday May 21, 2019
Lana Gilbertson, Senior Vice President, MNP Ltd. Keeping up with the Canadians - the Reality of Debt in the Great White North
With more than 15 years of experience, Lana helps individuals and families resolve their financial issues with debt. She consults with clients on a range of options for resolving debt challenges, including budgeting and cash flow management, debt consolidation, debt management, consumer proposals and bankruptcy. Lana ensures clients understand the options available to them so they can make informed decisions and assists clients in resolving their financial difficulties to achieve a fresh financial start.
Serving clients in Vancouver, North Vancouver and Richmond, Lana is a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, Consumer Proposal Administrator and Registered BIA Insolvency Counsellor. She is also a Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional (CIRP) and a general member of the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals (CAIRP).
This shipment is going to Kiev, Ukraine and is being sponsored by the Rotary Club of Vancouver. In addition to the normal loading, this container is a very special loading since it will mark the 400th container that the Rotary World Help has shipped to countries around the world. Kiev is the location where we sent our first container some 22 years ago. So, we have come full circle.
At about 11 AM, as soon as the container is full and the tag affixed, we will be holding a very important ceremony to mark this milestone. There will be lunch and a cake inspired by our RWH truck and logo. You are all invited to this special celebration. Very few organizations have made such an important positive impact, but with your continuing support, RWH has.
Please come one and all, join us in celebrating this amazing milestone.
If no written objection is filed with the Secretary by May 13, 2019, Sahra Homayounian, will, upon payment of the dues and assessments determined by the Board, be declared elected as a member of the Rotary Club of Vancouver recognized by Rotary International.
The classification that Sahra Homayounian will hold is
"Real Estate: Capital Investment"
Proposed: Navid Morawej
Seconded: Franz Gehriger
If no written objection is filed with the Secretary by May 13, 2019, Saarika Varma, will, upon payment of the dues and assessments determined by the Board, be declared elected as a member of the Rotary Club of Vancouver recognized by Rotary International.
The classification that Saarika Varma will hold is
"Management Consulting".
Proposed: Franz Gehriger
Seconded: Jason Boudreau
Last Meeting May 7, 2019
President, Brian Street chaired the meeting and gave the invocation.
Don Evans accompanied us on the piano for the singing of O Canada.
Joe Lopushinsky, Sergeant-at-Arms, introduced visitors and guests.
President's Announcements:
Rene Fluri’s books are available for pickup for those who requested them. If you’d like a copy please contact Carolyn
We have received a note from a Rotarian, Henrik, who will be visiting with his wife from Denmark in September. They are looking for some assistance in finding accommodation. If you can help, let Carolyn know and she will forward the related information.
Another request received, from the Rotary Club of Kingston, Ontario. A woman Rotarian in Pretoria, South Africa will be attending the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver the first week of June. The conference is about advocating gender equality for girls and women. They are reaching out for accommodation and any other available assistance. Please let Carolyn know asap if you can help.
The Seaforth Armoury social is this coming Monday, May 13th at 6:00 p.m. It includes a museum tour, talk by a small arms trainer (dress casually – possible to handle weapons and lying on mats), drinks upstairs in the beautiful officers’ mess and light eats. It is a family event; kids are welcome. Other clubs have been invited so we will hopefully have a good turnout.
The 2019 District 5040 Conference at Sun Peaks was great. It’s a wonderful way to recharge the Rotary spirit within us. The highlights for Brian were: the Presidents’s dinner, Q&A with RI Director, Jeffry Cadoretts, the fun Hawaiian dinner/dance, handing over the Club of the Year banner to the Rotary Club of Vancouver Sunrise, and finally, our Club being awarded the District Membership Award for the Most Members Under 40.
Joan Posivy let us know that Brian was awarded a People of Action Award for his efforts in bringing forward and implementing a new fundraising vehicle, The Red Carpet Ball.
There was a great presentation and thanks extended for Club support for the recent District 5040 Vocation Training Program trip to Kenya.
Next year’s conference, The 2020 Vision District 5040 Conference, will be held in Vancouver on the weekend of April 24-26, 2019. Note there is a significant registration discount until May 31st. CLICK HERE
The Conference has partnered with Third World Eye Care Society to collect 2020 pairs of eye and sun glasses. We have boxes if you are able to put one in, perhaps your favourite optometrist’s office, or maybe your own office lobby. Let Carolyn know if you want one.
A connection has been made with the Dictionary Project, where grade 3 students are provided with dictionaries. There will be a presentation at Norquay School on Monday May 13th. If you’d like to attend contact Brian for more information.
Joan Posivy, provided the Secretary's announcements:
reminders of upcoming events/meetings (see above)
birthdays:Wilf Wassersleben May 7th, Robert Dueck May 9th
member anniversaries:Don McPhee 27 years, Gordon Esau 37 years
wedding anniversaries:Kaz & Natsuyo Kadono 25 years May 7th
Special announcements and members' moments:
Katherine Copeland let us know about the upcoming BACA Child Abuse Awareness Ride on May 18th. Everyone is welcome to participate, all you need is a motorcycle. For more info contact Katherine.
Gerry Glazier let us know about the upcoming Journey Home’s annual fundraising gala, the Summer Solstice Soiree, being held on World Refugee Day, June 20th. The guest speaker, Mohammad Moheq, arrived in BC 7 years ago with his family and became part of the Journey Home Community. After receiving his Canadian Permanent Residency, Mohammed worked in Afghanistan as an advisor to the President and to assist in countering religious extremism. His was recently appointed as Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Egypt.
Jach Zaleski reminded everyone that the 2019 bike-a-thon is approaching. Get involved by riding, volunteering or fundraising. CLICK HERE for more info and to register.
Thomas Miller, the President of the Young Professionals Rotaract Club, provided us with an update on what the Club has been up to. He is happy that during the last year the Club has grown into a real family feel and has moved from 12 members to 24 and counting. All of the members are very involved, supporting each other and volunteering in the community. Some of the projects/initiatives include:
Honour House spring cleaning
Christmas gifts for homeless females
Hot meal program with the Salvation Army
Preparing a family meal for those staying at Ronald Mcdonald House
Raising funds for EndPolio with a trivia night, $1250 raised
Raising funds for YMCA with a comedy night, $1000 raised
Helping hoop-a-thon raise funds by shooting baskets
The Big West 2020 Rotaract Conference will be hosted in Vancouver. If you want to help contact Thomas. This conference provides leadership training and education to young professionals from ages 18 through 30 on the Western Region of North America.
And lastly, Thomas spoke highly of the PETS (Presidents-Elect Training); it is an incredible leadership development event and a must for all incoming Presidents for both Rotary and Rotaract. The Pacific Northwest PETS is, per their website, one of the most highly regarded training programs for Presidents-elect in the Rotary world.
Program:
Fred West introduced our speaker, Dr. Dan Peach, who spoke about the impact of insects on humans and nature.
Insects are definitely Dan’s passion. Being the son of a Vancouver Island farmer, he recognized the benefits, and the costs, of these little creatures. Even though they are little, they are not insignificant weighing in at 70 time the weight of all humans. There are approximately 1 million known species and it is estimated another 3-4 million not known. They lived before us and will undoubtedly live after us. They have some of the most advanced social structures known to man – include social hierarchies, slavery, work groups, and on and on.
There has been quite a lot of press around the “insect apocalypse”. It is a great concern. Why should we care? Insects do significant damage to agriculture, forestry and infrastructure, in the billions of dollars annually. We attempt to decimate them in an attempt to control this but let’s consider, insects are only doing what they normally do in nature. They are behaving the way they always have. We have moved into their environment so they have adapted to what we have presented them with.
Insects are crucial to the food web. They are extremely efficient at converting plant protein to a form which benefits mammals, when they themselves are eaten. They are also crucial in breaking down natural matter to feed the life cycle, e.g., eating rotting wood and producing essentially fertilizer. They cannot distinguish between a log on the forest floor and one on the side of your house. They are great pollinators, adding to agriculture in that way. Insects are also very, very useful in medicine, used in a variety of ways.
It is accepted, certainly in agriculture, that there will be at least a 30% loss of crops due to insect impact. Of course, there are losses in forestry as well, as seen by the pine beetle damage of a few years ago.
What do we do about it?
The standard practice has been to use insecticidal sprays. However, there is now proof that what can be seen as successful eradication of insects has a price. There are areas of China that have to have people climb apple trees to hand pollinate – there are no more bees.
A more progressive method is integrated pest management. A combination of chemical use, physical barriers, cultural planting (interspersing wildflowers/plants in with crops), and biocontrol methods. It has been shown that there is an economical benefit to having a percentage of farmland uncultivated.
We can learn to live together, respecting the environment and all that comes with it, including insects, and still prosper.
Meeting adjourned with a toast to the insects in our lives.
