October 10, 2025
Joan Posivy, President
Nadja Gehriger, Secretary
Join us for a special Talk Shop Tuesday as we review our first-quarter results and gather your feedback through a short member survey and town hall discussion. This is your opportunity to share what’s working, where we can improve, and shape the direction of our year ahead.
Your participation in this check-in would be very much appreciated.
Plus, Bikes for Girls returns with an update on their impact.
Let’s connect, collaborate, and keep the momentum going. See you Tuesday!
Come in person to celebrate your birthday with Purdy's chocolates!!
Let us know what you think about our last meeting.
Scan the QR code below and fill out the short survey.
This Rotary year, we’re adding a dose of humour to our Secretary announcements. Have a good clean joke? Send it to jokes@rotaryvancouver.org — yours might be featured at an upcoming meeting!
Who do you know that is remarkable? Someone whose story or expertise would captivate a room full of experienced business and community leaders?
Do you know of a remarkable headliner speaker to invite to our upcoming Rotary Club of Vancouver meetings?
Think thought leaders, change makers, or trailblazers in business, sports, innovation, public service, or philanthropy.
Take a quick scroll through your LinkedIn connections. You might spot someone you haven’t thought about in a while who would be perfect.
If someone comes to mind, please connect with Bill Davidson at billd@davidson-co.com.
Your Support is Needed
Please consider supporting either a short-term or long-term exchange program.
It appears, that currently less than 15% of Clubs in the District are involved.
If you require more information feel free to contact Bill Killbery @ bbkillbery@citywest.ca
New Approved Membership Application
We are pleased to let you know that the new Corporate Membership Application submitted by:
St. Paul’s Rotary Hearing Centre has been approved.
Members:
Prof. Dr. Brian Westerberg
Dr. Margaret Aron
Dr. Paul Mick
Dr. Kevan Lu
The classification that the new members will hold is, "Health Care. Med. Dr.".
New member name's proposer is Franz Gehriger.
We are looking forward to welcoming all new members at their induction meeting, exact date TBC.
Youth Committee Meeting
Please join us for a Youth Committee Meeting on October 21st at 11am at TCC
(in our meeting room for the day)
Join the One World Committee 🌍
A message from Committee Chair Ally Potel:
I’m reaching out to invite you to join (or re-join) the One World Committee. We paused the committee for the summer and will be starting back up in October. Our mission is simple but powerful: bring people together across cultures, ages, and backgrounds to create projects that matter for our community and beyond.
What we do:
Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion
Build events and initiatives that have real impact
Create a safe space where every voice counts
Your role can be:
Sharing ideas and perspectives
Helping shape projects and events
Supporting with planning, outreach, or leadership tasks (big or small, every bit counts!)
Meetings (last Thursday of each month)
Meetings will be virtual every last Thursday of each month and In-person once every 3 months (when possible)
Our first meeting will be on October 30th at 12pm virtually
If you’d like to be part of this journey, reach out to me at ally.potel@flyberryevents.com. Whether you’re a student, professional, retired, new to Vancouver, or simply curious, you’re welcome.
Let’s build something meaningful together.
A message from the Rotary Club Yaletown
Invitation to Partner with the Rotary Club of Vancouver Yaletown for Wilder Voices
Dear Fellow Rotarians and Rotaractors,
The Rotary Club of Vancouver Yaletown is thrilled to invite you and your club to a special event in partnership with the Wilder Institute: "Wilder Voices." This inspiring speaker series, happening at the Rocky Mountaineer Station on Thursday, October 23, 2025, will feature discussions on wildlife advocacy and conservation, led by Anthony Morgan from The Nature of Things and Dr. Gráinne McCabe, Chief Conservation Officer at the Wilder Institute.
We believe this is a fantastic opportunity for our Rotary community to come together and make a tangible impact. There are three keyways your club can participate:
- Attend the Event: We invite your members to join us for an evening of powerful conversation and learning. It's a wonderful chance to network, be inspired, and support a cause that aligns with Rotary's commitment to protecting the environment.
- Volunteer with Us: We are seeking volunteers to help with various roles, including greeters, ticket checkers, and coat check. Volunteering is a great way to collaborate and show support.
- Explore Partnership Opportunities: We are also looking for corporate and club partners to help us make this event a success. We have a variety of sponsorship tiers available, from regional event element partners to conservation allies. We have attached a sponsorship package for your review and consideration.
Your club's participation, whether through attendance, volunteering, or sponsorship, would be invaluable. Together, we can champion wildlife and wild places and amplify the message of conservation.
We look forward to partnering with you on this important initiative.
For partnership inquiries, please refer to the attached document or contact Kristin Bibbs directly at KristinB@wilderinstitute.org
Best regards,
Laura Múnera Montañez
President Rotary Club of Vancouver Yaletown
2025-2026
The VYP Rotaract Halloween Indoor Bowling Fundraiser is coming up soon, and we’d love for you to share the event with anyone who might be interested.
Come dressed in your Halloween costumes and show us your bowling skills for an afternoon of food and fun! Bowl as an individual (assigned to team on the day) or register an entire pre-made team of up to 6 bowlers. Costumes can be individual or themed between 2 or more attendees.
Prizes awarded for best bowling scores and costumes.
Opening Comments & Theme
President Joan opened with a short reflection on reputation and trust in business — quoting Ryan Beedie: “Do you want to be someone people want to do business with — who they trust, like, and know has their back?”
Feature program — Fireside chat with Ryan & Cindy Beedie (moderator: Paul Martin)
Bill Davidson introduced the Beedies and framed the session as a look at how the couple marries business success with philanthropy. The conversation covered:
Origins & Motivations
Both Ryan and Cindy credited parents and early community involvement: grassroots giving, volunteering and local civic engagement shaped their values.
They described an early pattern of giving that evolved into coordinated, strategic philanthropy as resources and networks grew.
Signature Projects & Impact
Beedie Luminaries — scholarship & wraparound-support program: over 1,000 recipients to date; includes counselling and peer supports.
Cindy Beedie Place — supportive housing for single mothers: 56 units, co-located daycare with 37 spaces, located at 4803 Kingsway, Burnaby; scheduled to open this year after a multi-year development process. BC Housing funded construction of the daycare; the City of Burnaby provided heavily discounted land arrangements.
Beedie Rocks — biannual concert festival (fifth edition recently): raised approximately $2.5 million for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank in a recent year.
Greater Vancouver Food Bank Partnership — the Food Bank is a tenant of the Beedies’ property on Winston Street. Ryan & Cindy praised David Long’s fresh-food, dignity-first approach and stressed how that strategic partnership evolved naturally from tenancy to deep philanthropic collaboration.
International projects — eight active projects this year, including cleft palate surgeries in Indonesia and basketball court / seating work in Ethiopia.
Challenges & Lessons learned
Large, community-focused capital projects (housing + daycare, Chinatown redevelopment) are time-consuming: Cindy’s housing project took roughly 7½ years from concept to open — she emphasized the need for donated/discounted land, reduced development costs and patient partnership with government and non-profits.
Bureaucratic inertia and fragmented approvals are real barriers; speakers suggested stronger, senior-level coordination is sometimes needed to shepherd complex community projects through approvals.
Community Questions & Conversation Highlights
Scholarships & coordination: Beedie Luminaries shares best practices with other scholarship providers and is open to collaboration to avoid duplication and improve outcomes.
Why food security? The Beedies emphasized empathy (everyone understands hunger) and the Food Bank’s innovative, dignity-based model; partnership choices were made on fit and demonstrable leadership.
At the end of our meeting, Ryan & Cindy Beedie were presented with the Paul Harris FellowshipAward for exceptional service and leadership.
The Paul Harris Fellow recognition is one of the highest honours in Rotary International. Named after Rotary’s founder, Paul Harris, it is awarded to individuals who demonstrate outstanding service, generosity, and dedication to the Rotary’s mission of promoting peace, goodwill, and humanitarian efforts. Receiving this award highlights a person’s commitment to making a positive impact in their community and the world, reflecting the values of service above self.
Moderator & PP Paul Martin with Cindy & Ryan Beedie
A full room captivated by the Beedie's Philanthropy Efforts
President Joan P. presenting the Paul Harris Award
The meeting was adjourned with a toast by President Joan Posivy:
*Halloween Bowling - Fundraiser/Social for ShelterBox*
Saturday, Oct 25, 2025
REVS Bowling - 5502 Lougheed Hwy, Burnaby BC
2:00pm-5:30pm, Arrive on time
