Vol. 102 No. 27
Bill Davidson, President
Parisa Adrangi, Secretary
Next meeting: Tuesday January 21, 2020
Dr. Gary Bull, Head of UBC Forest Resource Management If you go down to the woods today in BC
Dr. Gary Bull is head of Forest Resource Management at UBC. He holds a degree in Commerce and three degrees in Forestry, specializing in economics and global forest policy issues. In Canada he has focused his efforts on working on sustainable business development with First Nations communities. The Economist recently carried an article on the advanced technologies employed in forest resources management in Finland. In response to Fred West’s invitation, he agreed to inform member of the Rotary Club of Vancouver on comparable advances in BC, using the same title as the journal’s article on Finland - “If you go down into the woods today in BC”.
Next meeting: Tuesday January 28, 2020
Bill Maclagan, QC, Director Vancouver Opera Association Viva La Opera! Viva La VOA!
Bill Maclagan Q.C. is a tax lawyer with Blake, Cassels & Graydon, LLP in Vancouver. For over 16 years, Bill was the Managing Partner of Blakes. Amongst his many community activities, he has been with the Board of Vancouver Opera since 2015 and has been Chair since 2018. He is also a former Rotary Exchange Student and Rotarian.
Bill will speak about the role of the arts in a community and in particular, 60 years of the Vancouver Opera Association and its role in the community as an entertainment organization, an educational organization and its role in reconciliation.
If you love stories and love storytelling, you love Opera!
Bill Davidson, President, chaired the meeting and gave the invocation.
Miya Otake welcomed us to the meeting on a harp. Miya Otake & Stephanie Lawton accompanied us with a duet on the harp & piano for the singing of O Canada.
Peter Clarke, Sergeant-at-Arms, introduced visitors and guests.
President's announcements:
We received an email from a university student, Maxime Rodrigus, from Belgium who after completing his bachelor’s in management engineering, is looking to work abroad for a little while to have my first international work experience under Canada's program “Experience Internationale Canada”. If you or you know someone interested in following up with possible opportunities, contact Bill or Carolyn for more information and a copy of Maxime's resume.
Secretary's announcements provided by Parisa Adrangi:
reminders of upcoming events/meetings (see above)
birthdays:Mass Abedi Jan 18th, Sean Chan Jan 18th
member anniversaries: none this week
wedding anniversaries:Kim & Ed Lepp 43 years Jan 15th
Special announcements and members' moments:
Paul Harris recipients:
Stuart Bird, PHF+4
Thomas Reppchen, PH
Joan Posivy confirmed the joint meeting date with the UBC Rotaract & the Young Professionals Rotaract Clubs is Tuesday February 11th. See above for details.
Sandra Lowe showed a video about HHART (Hispaniola Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Team). Sandra has volunteered with this group for years now and is off on another trip with them now (as of today). As per their website (hhart.org), HHART missions are supported, organized and led by Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Wasaga Beach, Rotary District 7010 (central Canada). The Team’s primary mission is to improve the lives of poor and disadvantaged people (primarily of Haitian heritage) living near Peurto Plata, Dominican Republic by providing much needed medical, dental and other forms of humanitarian assistance. CLICK HERE to view the video.
Sandra encouraged all, if you have been thinking of volunteering internationally, to seriously look at the opportunities. It is well, well worth it.
Rhianon Chow was interviewed by Franco Gallo
How would you describe yourself?
Ninja – super determined
Artist – design is her love in all aspects of her life
Crazy cat lady – love cats! Fosters lots and supports rescues; currently owns two and is fostering three
How has life changed in the last year?
Professionally lots has changed; Rhianon helped her company, M Moser Associates, grow the Vancouver office from 5 employees to 20. She is super grateful to be working with such a talented team.
What does Rhianon consider the most challenging to deal with?
Professionally, Rhianon faces different challenges every day. The great team she works with globally is available to help solve anything that comes up. M Moser Associates has 1000 designers globally to draw upon. All are willing to help, always.
What is one core characteristic that is necessary to be a good leader?
Empathy! A lot of people verbalize the right attitude but do not practice it. It is empathy that drew Rhianon to Rotary. She has seen that this club and its members act, always with empathy and sincerity.
What is Rhianon most grateful for?
She is grateful for all her past experiences and everyone she has had the opportunity to meet and talk to. All of this has introduced new ideas and different outlooks that have shaped who Rhianon is.
John Bathurst provided an update from his role as Assistant District Governor (ADG). He is halfway through his term as ADG. Some of the tasks he is responsible for? Ensuring clubs set their goals on the RI site. Becoming very familiar with the features on the RI site. Working with Peter Clarke on awards. Promoting District events. John is asked to visit the clubs in his area at least 4x per year. He supports the clubs by being liaison to District committees and chairs.
Some other information: In the Vancouver area there are 7 Rotary clubs with 245 members, 4 Rotaract clubs, and 4 Interact clubs with 59 members combined. The volunteer hours recorded so far for this year are 650, knowing this is just a drop in the bucket to the actual volunteer hours our members contribute.
Some highlights from other clubs:
Mountainview Club – a mostly Filipino membership. Currently working on a project that is purchasing masks for those near the Manila volcano.
Fraserview Club – was Club of the Year last year. This club is multi-cultural and has been growing – from 18 to 45 members last year. On Giving Tuesday they raised $3,500, distributing it between CNIB & EndPolio. They meet 2x per month.
Centennial Club – a mostly Taiwanese membership, currently with 14 members. They support one fundraiser per year, the Delta Youth Orchestra Fundraiser, that raises approximately $20,000 per year supporting scholarships and EndPolio. They also support a water project in Paraguay.
Sunrise Club – currently has 19 members. Their main fundraiser is the Hoop-a-thon (note May 9th is the date for the 2020 event). They have been working with Tom Smith on a membership plan. Another successful fundraiser for them was an internal club silent auction. Some other activities: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner with the West Van Club; they will be hosting a pancake breakfast on the Sunday of the District Conference.
Yaletown Club – currently has 13 members. It may be a small club but they are very active working on a Kenyan water project, Aunt Leah’s, supporting local seniors and more.
Arbutus Club – next to Vancouver Club is the oldest in the District, currently has 21 members. They are working on rejuvenating the club and growing their membership. They recently have been working on an El Salvador beach clean up as a project. They hold one social per month. They have refocused from supporting an Interact Club to youth exchange.
The Toastmasters partnership with Rotary will be launching in April. There will be two courses on offer: speech development and speech delivery.
Mark the date if interested in the Rotary Leadership Institute, Part 3, the next date is Saturday February 15, 2020, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Holiday inn Express, 10720 Cambie Road, Richmond. CLICK HERE for info and to register.
The District insurance will be changing: clubs have been charged a flat rate per club, this will be changing to a fee per member. This will fix this issue of smaller clubs paying a higher per member fee than larger clubs.
Verona Edelstein let us know that Kayo Otake visited her before leaving for Japan. Kayo expressed that she was not in pain and was feeling better. She also wanted to say that she is so grateful for our friendship and support.
John Hayto requested that anyone who is going to be going to the annual Whistler ski weekend, please let him know asap, even if currently it’s a “maybe”. Numbers are needed for the dinners on Friday and Saturday. Accommodations are limited so let him know if you need some or if you have arranged your own.
Meeting adjourned with a toast to our members and all that they do in the spirit of Rotary.
Dr. Gary Bull is head of Forest Resource Management at UBC. He holds a degree in Commerce and three degrees in Forestry, specializing in economics and global forest policy issues. In Canada he has focused his efforts on working on sustainable business development with First Nations communities. The Economist recently carried an article on the advanced technologies employed in forest resources management in Finland. In response to Fred West’s invitation, he agreed to inform member of the Rotary Club of Vancouver on comparable advances in BC, using the same title as the journal’s article on Finland - “If you go down into the woods today in BC”.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
