Vol. 102 No. 35
Bill Davidson, President
Parisa Adrangi, Secretary
Next meeting: Tuesday March 17, 2020
Dr. Kris Magnusson, former Dean of Education, SFU Success of the Canadian education system relative to OECD countries
Dr. Kris Magnusson has recently completed a successful decade as Dean, Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. Prior to joining SFU, he was at the University of Lethbridge (last post as Associate Vice-President Academic) for 11 years, and before that he spent 10 years at the University of Calgary, teaching career development and counselling courses in the Counselling Psychology program. Kris' research interests include career development, adult learning, and organizational development. A recipient of numerous prestigious awards in the career development and education field, he was recently awarded the Association of BC Deans of Education’s Education Advocate Award, and a Lifetime Membership in the Association of Canadian Deans of Education.
Next meeting: Tuesday March 24, 2020
Diane Clement, Olympian runner & Sun Run Co-Founder Faster, Higher, Stronger -- giving your best in sport and life
Known for her wild enthusiasm, her fire-engine red hair, her husky voice, gutsy laugh and her larger-than-life personality, Diane has long been affectionately known among friends and family as “Mama Tomato.”
Diane was named a member of the Order of Canada in December 2019. She served as the first female president of Athletics Canada from 1973 to 1976. The 83-year-old Olympian is the author of eight cookbooks, is the former chef and pastry chef of the Tomato cafe, a funky Cambie Street hotspot she presided over from 1991 to 2001, co-founder of The Vancouver Sun Run with her husband Doug Clement, and serves on multiple boards and community projects.
Next meeting: Tuesday March 31, 2020
Mary-Lynn Hanson, Manager, Corporate Development The Story of Easter Seals
For 70 years, Easter Seals BC/Yukon has been helping individuals with divers abilities reach their fullest potential, and supporting their families along the way. Mary-Lynn Hanson joins us to share the Easter Seals story and the impact of the two essential services that they offer. Easter Seals House provides affordable accommodation and a home-away-from-home for BC residents required to travel to Vancouver for specialized medical care. Easter Seals Camps offer a one-week, fully-accessible, overnight camp program for persons ages 6-49 with any physical and/or intellectual disability.
The Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Vancouver is very aware that Club Members are concerned about the COVID‐19 pandemic and its impact on our Tuesday luncheon meetings. More importantly, the Board is concerned about the mental and physical well‐being of our Members as we are of our own, and of our families.
These are very uncertain times and for most of our membership, we have never seen anything like this before. If we were to look for a very simple solution, we would suspend operations for the near‐term. However, the Board has recommended that we work with the Terminal City Club, to ensure that we have as safe an environment as possible, in order to continue with our weekly luncheon meetings. The Board’s primary concerns are that our lunch is served buffet style, with common serving utensils, and that our seating arrangements are such that we are in close proximity to each other. We are in contact with the Terminal City Club to find a solution, and if we cannot we may have no choice but to suspend operations.
Some important points that affect our meetings:
The RCoV will follow the suggestions/instructions of Health Canada and other official health organizations , as well as our local , provincial and federal governments
Wash your hands frequently, with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds
Sneeze or cough into your arm or sleeve…..then wash your hands
Avoid handshakes, hugs or kisses when greeting your fellow Rotarian
If you are sick… stay home
If you are unhappy with our arrangements… stay home
Despite that the TCC strives to maintain a clean environment, avoid touching common surfaces and if you do… wash your hands
Avoid the microphone… speak up if you are making an announcement etc.
This is not a good time to bring guests and potential Rotarians to lunch
This is a very good time to treat one another with as much empathy and respect as you can spare, especially to those that are more worried than others.
The Board appreciates that even in these dramatically uncertain times, people want their personal and business lives to continue as usual, where possible. As such, the Board will work towards providing a safe environment for members to attend our regular luncheon meetings, if they so desire.
This local and world health crisis is changing hourly and the experts are telling us that things will get worse , before they get better. Consequently, we will keep members updated as events impact the operations of our Rotary Club.
Should you have any further concerns , please do not hesitate to reach out to me or to other Board members.
Our club has been running the annual Bike-A-Thon for the past 36 Years. Through the years, we have raised over $3.3M in support of research and to provide treatment and care for patients with hearing disorders. This is an incredible achievement due in great part to the hard work of a very few people at the helm of the organizing committee.
This year, we have set an ambitious goal to increase the fundraising target through a corporate sponsorship program that will form the framework to ensure this event is sustainable for the foreseeable future. Our goal is to remove the bulk of the work and financial support from our Club members and move to external sponsorship. To that end, we are requesting your help this year; the event is coming up very quickly and we do not have much lead time. We are seeking out businesses to help support our cause through a 3-tiered sponsorship program. However, to get this off the ground for this year, we need your help in sponsoring this event or help to identify suitable companies through the power of the club’s network and connections. We ask each member to look into their contacts, and if you have a business owner or a corporate executive who may be in a position to choose a sponsorship package, please make an introduction by emailing Jack Zaleski <jack.zaleski@gmail.com> or Navid Morawej <Navid@aultrust.com>.
If all of our corporate sponsorship packages are sold, we will raise a combined $50,000 more for the Bike-A-Thon this year just from sponsorships.
Let us leverage the power of our combined network and double up the fundraising this year.
CLICK HERE for the corporate sponsorship packages and prices, and feel free to contact Jack or Navid if you need more information or would like to introduce a candidate.
HERE'S A GREAT WAY TO WEAR A SELECTION OF THEM:
A DISPLAY RIBBON
Display a number of label pins on this handy 8" long ribbon and easily transfer it from one garment to the next. Powerful magnet on back of 2" W x 1-1/4" H gold plastic badge engraved with Rotary International Masterbrand Signature logo. Includes both a navy blue ribbon and a black ribbon, with strong two-sided tape on one end for securing to the back of the plastic header. Not recommended for use with pacemakers.
Cost is $13.50 each plus taxes and shipping. For orders of 6 or more there are discounts.
Email Carolyn by Friday March 20th if you are interested in a group purchase.
Bill Davidson, President, chaired the meeting and gave the invocation.
Stephanie Lawton accompanied us on the piano for the singing of O Canada.
Peter Clarke, Sergeant-at-Arms Elect, introduced visitors and guests.
President’s Announcements:
Reminder of the upcoming District 5040 “Our Year Ahead”, this Saturday, March 14th. Info was included in last week’s Rotor as well as emails sent to all members. If you didn’t receive the info, contact Carolyn or John Bathurst.
The Rotary Club of Nanaimo, a club we sponsored, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. We have received an invitation to attend their gala dinner on Saturday May 2nd. There will other events on their celebration weekend, including a reception at the Nanaimo Museum, opening a time capsule, etc. Contact Bill or Carolyn if you’re interested in attending – it would be nice to have a contingent head over.
Condolences to Honorary Member and friend, Deb Sankey and her family on the loss of her mum, Betty, who passed away on January 15th. A memorial service will be held soon, no date set as yet.
Congratulations to the Perry family on the expansion of Kerrisdale Lumber. They are moving just a few doors away from their current location to a larger location at 6365 West Boulevard, opening this Saturday March 14th. This is their 99th year in business with the 4th generation of the Perry family at the helm! Congratulations on this fabulous legacy Tremayne.
Parisa Adrangi, provided the Secretary's announcements:
reminders of upcoming events/meetings (see above)
birthdays:Adrian Mastracci Mar 11th, Michael Woolnough Mar 12th, Jack Zaleski Mar 12th, Brian Street Mar 14th, Narv Gill Mar 16th
member anniversaries:Verona Edelstein 19 years
wedding anniversaries:none this week
Special announcements and members' moments:
John Hayto sent best wishes on behalf of Bill Schulz who has just arrived home from his cruise vacation – the one that took an unexpected left turn to Dubai. He is looking forward to being back at our meetings soon.
Gerry Glazier re CSC have sponsored the boys basketball team at Britannia. It was the girls team that won the championship! If fairness, the CSC will be proposing support for the girls team as well.
Navid Morawej on behalf of the Bike-a-thon Committee:
The Bike-a-thon committee is looking for event sponsors. A message will be going out to all members with the sponsorship package. Please consider it seriously. If you, or you know of someone who may be willing to consider sponsorship, please contact Navid. If you want to refer someone as a potential sponsor, the committee is happy to make contact with them to arrange a presentation.
Program:
John Bathurst introduced our speaker, Commander Bryan Price, Commanding Officer, HMCS DISCOVERY Naval Reserve Division and his talk, Your Royal Canadian Navy – Today and Tomorrow.
Commander Price leads a 230-person naval reserve division. He has received a number of awards and accolades including the Queen Diamond Jubilee Award for his multitude of community service activities.
The world is one that is an interconnected maritime world. Canada needs a Navy to protect it. There is a lot of competition for limited resources and hence related potential for conflict in the overpopulated coastal areas. Did you know?
70% of earth’s surface is covered by water
80% of the world’s population lives within 100 km of the sea
90% of global commerce and 2/3 of the world’s oil travels by sea
95% of intercontinental communication runs along cables on the sea floor
Canada is a maritime nation with the world’s longest coastline covering 243,000 km over three separate oceans. Canada’s ocean estate covers 7 million square km equalling 70% of our land mass. Ships carry almost half of Canada’s trade and is key to our prosperity as a nation. It is expected that this will double over the next 15-20 years.
Nothing done by the Navy is done randomly. Direction comes from the Government of Canada and is incorporated into the strategic plan. This guides everything the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) does. Key points of the 2017-2022 RCN Strategic Plan:
They are aligned with higher intent and SSE
People FIRST, Mission always
Enable the transition to future fleet
Continual improvement objective aligned with DRF activities
Establish RCN as a digitally-enabled enterprise
The Vision of the RCN: RCN envisions a naval force that stands: ready to help, ready to lead, ready to fight.
Their Mission: To prepare combat-effective naval forces that support Canadian interests at home and abroad.
The RCN currently has 8,500 in the regular force, 3,700 reservists, and 4,000 civilians. They have 24 divisions right across the country with bases on both coasts (Victoria & Halifax) from which ships are deployed. They are always looking to recruit for a huge variety of positions with a very broad skill set. They have a number of vessel types with the frigates leading the pack.
The RCN has two types of deployable teams: (1) Naval Tactical Operations Group (NTOG) who actively, forcefully, board other ships, and (2) Naval Security Team (NST) who guard ships providing the security for people to do their jobs, e.g, ship repairs, and providing relief for staff on leave.
Globally, the RCN is active, along with their partners in supporting international projects. This includes safeguarding Canada’s north, engaging in the Asia-Pacific, strengthening NATO, countering threats in North America, building African partnership and commanding international taskforce.
Domestically, they provide surveillance, vessel detection/interception, fisheries patrol, search and rescue, sovereignty operations in the Arctic, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief for fire and floods, etc, and assistance to civil authorities and law enforcement authorities.
The Naval Reserve tasks are primarily to recruit/retain/train reserve sailors, domestic safety operations, domestic security operations, augment the fleet on any platform, and local connection with Canadians.
Often regular members of RCN move to Reserves when they retire. It is optional for Reservists to be deployed. They can move between full-time and part-time. The RCN draws from Reservists to fill particular needs for missions. They do get paid, but only for trainings or mission they work. On average a Reservist works 20-30 days per year, with it sometimes increasing to up to 120 days per year.
In closing Canada’s RCN is well respected globally. They can fall into any mission seamlessly with their partners (mostly the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand), and start work immediately collaboratively. Not to mention, they have a great party reputation too. But that’s a story for another day.
Dr. Kris Magnusson has recently completed a successful decade as Dean, Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. Prior to joining SFU, he was at the University of Lethbridge (last post as Associate Vice-President Academic) for 11 years, and before that he spent 10 years at the University of Calgary, teaching career development and counselling courses in the Counselling Psychology program. Kris' research interests include career development, adult learning, and organizational development. A recipient of numerous prestigious awards in the career development and education field, he was recently awarded the Association of BC Deans of Education’s Education Advocate Award, and a Lifetime Membership in the Association of Canadian Deans of Education.
