Randall (Bud) Wong, retired lawyer & supreme court judge Despite Historical Discrimination, Chinese Canadians Made Significant Contributions to Canada
Randall (Bud) received his BCom (1965) and LLB (1966) from the University of British Columbia. Married to Beverley for fifty-six years, he has two adult daughters and four grandsons. He was the first Chinese-Canadian Provincial and Federal Crown Counsel in Canada (1967-1974). He was also a member of the Bars in BC, Yukon and Northwest Territories.
Bud was the first Chinese Canadian Provincial Court Judge appointed in 1974 at the age of 33, and in 1981, a federally appointed superior court judge. Bud was also a member of the Federal Sentencing Commission on Criminal Sentencing Reform in Canada (1984-1987)—many of its recommendations were later incorporated into Canada’s Criminal Code.
Retired from the Bench in 2016 after 42 years as a judge, Bud is the last pre-Charter of Rights Judge to retire from the BC Supreme Court, the longest serving Judge in B.C. history, and is an acknowledged “Judicial Dinosaur”.
Bud is the current Honourary President and Associate Member of the Chinatown Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Unit 280. He is also the current President of the Chinese Canadian Military Museum dedicated to the preservation of the service legacy by Chinese-Canadian Armed Service Veterans and the education of others about the Veterans’
contributions. Not only that be is also a current Board Member of the new Chinese Canadian Museum Society of BC. which is planning to open a museum dedicated to the history of the Chinese people in British Columbia.
UPCOMING MEETING FEB 22, 2022
Queenie Choo, CEO of S.U.C.C.E.S.S Key services for newcomers, senior care & affordable housing
Our Vancouver Young Professional Rotaract Club member, Melody Hu, runs her own chocolate business, Oenomal Chocolates.
Oenomel Chocolates can deliver one of a kind fresh gourmet chocolate treats for events, parties and corporate functions. All of her chocolates are crafted with all natural ingredients, with no preservatives and are low in sugar.
Please contact her if you would like to support or feature her chocolates at any of your events. She’s always looking to develop her business.
She is also offering a 20% off her valentines chocolates for order placed by Feb 11th on her valentine’s day chocolates (Including Rose Caviar bonbons and blood orange and almond truffles set, Fiery Heart Bars, Ruby heart White Hot chocolate, and Vegan Dark Hot Chocolate domes). Pick up available on Feb 12th, 1 - 4 pm. Delivery on Feb 14th.
Nadja Gehriger, Secretary, hosted the ZOOM meeting Jill Pennefather, Sargent at Arms, introduced our guests
Miya Otake played O Canada on the harp via Zoom
President’s Announcements:
Thank you to all of you who came to today’s meeting. It is wonderful to see you all, both those in person and those attending virtually.
Our February RCoV board meeting was last week. A few notes:
Club member Juno Parlange, with his company Pitch Perfect, is working on updating our website. The focus is to target new members, highlighting the work we do and the impact we have.
We are looking for members to take the Grant Management training. Let me know if you are interested.
We approved funding requests from:
CSC for (1) Talitha Koum Society for $3,700, and (2) Burnaby Safe House for $2,000,
ISC for 2 containers (1) to Tanzania US$8,730, and (2) to Cuba up to a max. of US$6,000 (amount will depend on other clubs’ contributions).
Secretary's announcements:
reminders of upcoming events/meetings (see above)
birthdays, member club anniversaries, wedding anniversaries (see above)
Special announcements and members' moments:
Joan Posivy – looking at raising funds for our club’s youth programs she reminded us of the successful auction held last year and now the YSC is hoping to repeat the experience. Tues April 12th is the date set with Paul Martin as auctioneer. They are looking for an on-line auction platform for the silent auction portion that would be able to be used to reach out to a wider audience. There will be a live auction on April 12th. To maximize the number of people who attend they are looking at holding an evening meeting instead of lunch.
For the live auction they are looking for donations of great experiences. Contact Joan if you have something to contribute. For the silent auction, if you have ideas for donations, again contact Joan. Volunteers are needed to help organize would be great.
We are pleased to welcome our newest member, Christian Nielsen, who was inducted to our club.
Bill Davidson was recognized as a Rotary Foundation Benefactor. Thanks to Bill and his family for their generosity.
Melody Hu, VYP Rotaractors, let us know about their upcoming auction fundraiser to support, Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA). UNYA’s mission is to be the centre of Indigenous youth excellence, supporting youth on their journeys by amplifying and celebrating their voices. Their vision: Empowered Indigenous youth leading and inspiring all Nations. The VYP Rotaractors are hoping to raise $10K through the auction. If anyone is connected with indigenous business who may donate items/experiences, please contact Melody (or Carolyn). The event will be on June 2nd at the Bill Reid Gallery. Contact Melody for more info, melodyluvlody@gmail.com.
Kendall Jessiman let us know that John Hayto’s son was involved in a serious accident in Oxford. It was initially touch and go but apparently all is going well for Justin and he will be discharged from hospital and coming home. Thoughts are with the Hayto family.
Gerry Glazier talked about the container we sponsored that was sent to Montevideo, Uruguay. Our club has sponsored a lot of containers over the years, and we continue to do so. It’s not often that we get to see the results. It was thanks to Aldo Brussoni that this particular container was organized. We sent hospital beds, wheelchairs, tables, etc. and it has been really nice to see the end result. Congratulations to all involved from the collecting of equipment, loading it, and organizing the drop off and installation at the end of the trip.
John Bathurst shared the sad news that Andrea Johnson passed away suddenly on the weekend. She was involved in a lot of district aspects of District, including PR and PETS. Andrea was such a force in the district, she will be missed.
Program:
Jim Evans introduced speaker, Valerie Jerome. Valerie’s talk was very personal honouring Black History Month. She spoke about her, and her family’s experience growing up in Vancouver as a black family. CLICK HERE to read her very emotional and enlightening speech.
Meeting adjourned with a toast to inclusion and positive change in Canada.
