Vol. 102 No. 14
Bill Davidson, President
Parisa Adrangi, Secretary
Next meeting: Tuesday October 8, 2019
Rick Antonson, author "Walking with Ghosts in Papua, New Guinea"
Pre-registration required to attend.
The Canadian Club of Vancouver and the Rotary Club of Vancouver cordially invite you to the launch of Rick Antonson's new book. If this event title intrigues you then you must join us for this special luncheon featuring the return of author Rick Antonson, who will be sharing his experiences and adventures with us on this important and often overlooked part of the world.
Rick has lots of miles under his belt: from the summit of Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey, to the abandoned stretches of Route 66, from going to Timbuktu for a haircut, to travels in Iraq and Iran. He didn't think twice when one day a chance Australian acquaintance invited him for a "walk across the country" of Papua New Guinea. The "walk" turned out to be a grueling trek on the notorious Kokoda Trail—a narrow, 60-mile footpath featuring rough jungle, 6,000 feet in elevation change, and punishing weather extremes. The country and the trail both get fresh perspectives in Antonson's new book, which is built around Antonson's accepted invitation of his new friend nicknamed Monk and the resulting trek, but it's hardly a mere travelogue.
Upcoming meeting: Tuesday October 15, 2019
Club Day - What is in the future for our Club?
Note: no guests please
A discussion will be held based around our strategic plan, facilitated by Bill Davidson. This is an opportunity to voice your opinions, concerns, and suggestions in a safe, open environment. All members are encouraged to attend, the more voices the better prepared we will be in our attempts to meet our members' needs. Come out and help shape our Club's future.
Upcoming meeting: Tuesday October 22, 2019
Dr. Antje Ellermann, Associate Professor, Institute of European Studies, UBC The Challenge of Populism in Europe
Dr. Antje Ellermann's research focuses on the politics of migration and citizenship in liberal democracies. She is particularly interested in the nexus between immigration and the power of the law and law enforcement; the politics of immigration policy making; the group biases produced by immigration policy, and the intersection of immigration, settler colonialism, and national identity.
Dr. Ellermann was born and raised in Germany before spending many years living, working, and studying in Northern Ireland, England, and the United States.Before becoming a political scientist, she trained in social work and worked as a community worker.
"If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships -- the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace."
Rotary District 5040 is partnering with Third World Eye Care Society to collect 2,020 pairs of eyeglasses and sunglasses in time for the 2020 Vision Conference, April 24-26, 2020 in Vancouver.
Contact your local optometrist, they usually have lots. Bring your collection to a lunch meeting. Looking for:
single vision reading or distance eyeglasses are preferred
non-prescription sunglasses are also welcome
no scratches and the frames in working order
no loose lenses, or frames only; must be a complete set
Please help us reach this goal to help those who need better sight for a better life.
Bill Davidson, President, chaired the meeting and gave the invocation.
Kayo Otake accompanied us on the piano for the singing of O Canada.
Peter Clarke, Sergeant-at-Arms, introduced visitors and guests.
Chair's Announcements:
Reminder: dates of note to put in your calendar:
October 8th: Joint meeting with the Canadian Club for a lunch presentation by author, Rick Antonson, for his newest book "Walking with Ghosts in Papua New Guinea: Crossing the Kokoda Trail in the Last Wild Place on Earth. To attend pre-registration is required. Numbers must be in by Friday, October 4th. Let Carolyn know if you would like to attend. There is no additional charge for pre-pay members; $49.50 for pay-as-you-go and guests.
October 15th: will be a Club Day where we want to discuss the direction of our club. Member input is important; please, if you can, attend and be heard. (no guests please).
November 16th: District 5040 Foundation Hollywood Glitz dinner and show take place at the Burnaby Firefighters Banquet and Conference Centre. They are looking for support by way of auction items, live or silent.
Parisa Adrangi, provided the Secretary's announcements:
reminders of upcoming events/meetings (see above)
birthdays:Jenifer Brousseau Oct 4th, Des Verma Oct 3rd, Nadja Gehriger Oct 4th, John Richardson Oct 5th, Jeremy Towning Oct 5th
member anniversaries:none this week
wedding anniversaries:Don & Leslie MacKinnon 42 years Oct 7th, Wolfgang & Ida Degemann 62 years Oct 5th
Special announcements and members' moments:
Thomas Reppchen spoke about the fun time he had at this year's, the 45th, Wunday Ranch boys weekend. It was definitely rustic, "off the grid", with good food. This year Thomas was the youngest of the group; hoping next year will bring out more of the younger members to join the group. Thank you to host Paul McCrae.
Program:
Gerry Glazier introduced the Peace Panel speakers:
Thomas Reppchen, new immigrant from Germany. He escaped East Germany just before the wall came down in 1989 after he deemed it was too dangerous to stay.
Miguel Rozo, our current Peace Fellow candidate. He, with his family, escaped from Columbia in 2000, landed in the U.S. and eventually made it to Canada to settle.
James Grunau, Executive Director of Journey Home Community Association. Journey Home welcomes refugees into the community by offering housing, settlement support, and relational care.
All three spoke to reasons they or others choose to leave their home countries. An unbelievably difficult choice made only when one feels they have no choice. The journey to find a new home country and community is not an easy one. We all need to be cognisant of the challenges immigrants face and greet them with open hearts.
Bala Naidoo, District Governor, has been a Rotarian for 25 years. He was two-time President of the Burnaby Metrotown Rotary Club. Bala served as Assistant Governor for the Burnaby-New Westminster area of district 5040. His wife, Vasi, is a Rotarian in the Semiamhoo Rotary Club in District 5050, where they live in White Rock. Bala & Vasi are both members of The Arch Klumph Society of the Rotary Foundation. In addition, Bala is on the Board of Governors of the Burnaby Board of Trade.
On the professional side, Bala's career spans 32 years with IG Wealth Management in various senior leadership roles. The Naidoo Wealth Management Team now focuses on helping Rotarians plan their legacy by utilizing unique tax strategies to benefit themselves, their families, and the Rotary Foundation.
Bala & Vasi were both born in South Africa, whose ancestors came as indentured laborers from South India in the 1840s. They have one grand-daughter and three children. They enjoy travelling and now wish to experience the world through Rotary related travel and global projects.
Bala loves to adopt and adapt to change by exploring new possibilities of Growing Rotary to become more relevant in each of our communities.
Some of the points Bala touched on:
Peace Conferences. The World Peace Conference 2020, January 17-18, 2020 in Ontario, California, will give each of us, Rotarians and non-Rotarians from all sectors of society, an opportunity to come together, learn from experts, become inspired and leave with immediate action plans to implement within our communities. Together, we can make the changes needed to create world peace! (from website: https://peaceconference2020.org/).
It is the 75th birthday of the U.N. in 2020. Rotary was an integral part of the intitial formation of the U.N. Rotary International had a seat from the beginning with what was then known as, the League of Nations. They continue to have 2 permanent seats at the U.N. table. For more info see, https://www.rotary.org/en/history-rotary-and-united-nations
District Conference 2020. Great activities and speakers planned. Friday will be open to the public - a great opportunity for potential members to check us out. Saturday will host speakers and activities for our own Rotary family. Our own member, Rumana Monzur, will be a speaker. Sunday features the Walk to End Polio.
District 5040 has partnered with Third World Eye Care Society, based in Vancouver.
Rotary is changing significantly. It is a challenge to keep up with the times, to stay current. When trying to tell our story, the great story of Rotary and the wonderful work that Rotarians do, it was realized that there was no data to draw from. How can we tell the world the great stories, take advantage of opportunities to spread the word.
This is why we need to know about volunteer hours and money raised for all of the varied projects that we - you - are involved with. We now know that over 68 thousand volunteer hours have been logged. If you think about what that's worth; USD$18/hour, it's worth over a billion dollars in free labour.
Rotaractors will have a new program that is currently being put together, including a partnership with Toastmasters. More information about the program should be available in a couple of weeks, with the roll-out to be at the RI 2020 Conference in Hawaii.
The partnership with Toastmasters should work well for us. Their membership is usually for 1-3 years, this provides an opportunity for members to filter to Rotaract for continued leadership training.
Continue challenges for Rotary:
Our clubs and their members do so much in so many areas it creates a huge challenge: how do we tell the story of Rotary?
We need to be sensitive to the differing needs of new and younger members. The staid format of lengthy mid-week lunch meetings won't work in the long term. Our clubs need to consider and test different models, such as our club's Young Professionals Division. What will last and be relevant for the next 20 years?
Related to telling the story of Rotary, it used to be that Rotary International was the PR machine for all. It is now the club's responsibility to spread the work closer to home, within our own communities. It is recommended that the PR committee chairs from all of the clubs in our district work together with the Assistant DG to come up with a cohesive plan. How best do we do that?
In closing, the big question that we all, as Rotarians, need to consider is how do we innovate to ensure that we stay relevant for another 100 years?
Meeting adjourned with a toast to using our Rotarian ways to bring peace on earth.
.jpg)
The Canadian Club of Vancouver and the Rotary Club of Vancouver cordially invite you to the launch of Rick Antonson's new book. If this event title intrigues you then you must join us for this special luncheon featuring the return of author Rick Antonson, who will be sharing his experiences and adventures with us on this important and often overlooked part of the world.
of Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey, to the abandoned stretches of Route 66, from going to Timbuktu for a haircut, to travels in Iraq and Iran. He didn't think twice when one day a chance Australian acquaintance invited him for a "walk across the country" of Papua New Guinea. The "walk" turned out to be a grueling trek on the notorious Kokoda Trail—a narrow, 60-mile footpath featuring rough jungle, 6,000 feet in elevation change, and punishing weather extremes. The country and the trail both get fresh perspectives in Antonson's new book, which is built around Antonson's accepted invitation of his new friend nicknamed Monk and the resulting trek, but it's hardly a mere travelogue.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
