NICOLE HAVRDA is a young 18 year-old Canadian race car driver who is rapidly making her name known in the world of motorsports. From karting to cars, Nicole is climbing her way up the racing ladder, as she works her way to achieving her goal of racing at the highest level of motorsport -- Formula 1.
Nicole already has a lot of experience behind her and a lot of great things ahead of her.
2022 - moved from karts to cars. The only Canadian, and the youngest among 15 drivers selected for the prestigious W series test. The youngest of 9 finalist for the Aston Martin GT4 shootout by The Heart of Racing team. She had several top 5 finishes in the inaugural Indian Racing League Championships towards the end of the year.
2023 - Nicole competed in Formula 3 in North America. She won 3 championships there.
2024 - Nicole competed in 2 endurance races, and tested for the F1 Academy -- a series backed by Formula One to develop female drivers to compete at the highest level of motorsport.
To top it off, Nicole had a major role in a documentary featuring women in motorsports, The Car Knows No Difference. You can find it on TSN+.
What drives this young woman toward the pinnacle goal of competing at Formula One? What has her experience been like so far? What would she say to other young people, particularly women, about travelling through what many think of as a man's world of competition?
Come out to show support for this incredible lady from Courtney, BC. Bring your friends, particularly young people who will find, upon hearing from Nicole, inspiration for their own goals and dreams. It's worth a day off school :o)
Tuesday Jan. 14, 2024 - BUSINESS PANEL HOSTED BY JOAN POSIVY
Tuesday Jan. 21, 2024 - EVENING SOCIAL MINGLE
Tuesday Jan. 28, 2024 - DISTRICT GOVERNOR, DREW ANTROBUS's VISIT
RCoV ANNUAL WHISTLER WEEKEND
February 7-9, 2025
Thanks to John Hayto for, once again, organizing this fabulous event on behalf of us all. If anyone wants to help John, please reach out to him. It's a big job for one person!!
A long time ago, 111 years ago to be precise, there was a fellow named Oscar Olsen who decided to join a newly chartered club called, The Rotary Club of Vancouver. Four years later, Mr. Olsen became the club president. That was 1917-1918.
Mr. Olsen was a very successful business person, a very generous one, and (something that many of us have in common) he loved his Rotary Club of Vancouver deeply.
Well, the thing is that the combination of those 3 qualities became very advantageous for our club. In 1948 Mr. Oscar Olsen bequeathed $100,000 to our club. Bear in mind that was a huge sum of money which, adjusted by inflation, would be north of $1.3 million today.
It was such a large sum of money that in 1950 the Oscar A. Olsen Foundation was formed with those funds.
Another significant amount of money was raised over a 30+ year time frame from the Ice Capades (a very successful annual event run started in 1924 run until 1996 by the Rotary Club of Vancouver for the enjoyment of thousands), this was the Vancouver Rotary Club Foundation.
In 1998 the Oscar A. Olsen Foundation amalgamated with the Vancouver Rotary Club Foundation and, fellow Rotarians and most welcome guests, that is how our dear Club Foundation as we know it was formed.
Today we have close to $3 million in the VRC Foundation. It is our primary source of funding for the majority of the projects that we support in our community. Without our foundation our ability to support our community would be very different.
I cannot emphasize enough how important our foundation is, and will become to our club in the coming years.
In recognition of those individuals who make contribution of at least $10,000 to the Vancouver Rotary Foundation, the Oscar Olsen Award was developed during Wayne Fraser's Presidential year.
Paul Martin aided in the inaugural presentation of this award to Stuart Bird. Stuart and his family's foundation have committed to an extremely generous donation to the VRC Foundation. Thank you!!
Oscar Olsen Award pin
If you wish to donate to the Vancouver Rotary Club, know that any amount, from $5.00 to $5,000, will help and be most appreciated.
* 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.
Last Meeting Dec 17, 2024
Franco Gallo, President, chaired the meeting and gave the invocation.
Sam Shorter, Secretary
Mindy Tulsi-Ingram, Sergeant at Arms
Chair’s Announcements:
Welcome to our guests, new and returning, as well as our own members who have taken time out of busy schedules to attend. We are grateful to see new faces, remember guests are ALWAYS welcome at our meetings.
Secretary's announcements:
Reminders of upcoming events/meetings (see above)
Birthdays, member club anniversaries, wedding anniversaries (see above)
Special Announcements & Members' Moments:
See above for an introduction to the Oscar Olsen legacy
Stu Bird was awarded the newly minted, Rotary Club of Vancouver's Oscar Olsen Award in recognition of his, and his family's, generous donation to the Vancouver Rotary Club Foundation -- $1,000,000 over the next 10 years.
Time was spent and words were shared to send Carolyn off on her retirement and the next chapter of her life. Some members, Phil Webber (Carolyn's 1st Rotary President and mentor), Peter Clarke (a long-time friend), Linda Enns (Rotary Admin predecessor and friend), and Franco Gallo (her last President), spoke very kindly of her time with the club. It was very touching and, actually, a little overwhelming for Carolyn who will be off on some new adventures starting in the new year.
Patricia Tait was officially welcomed to the Club as Carolyn's successor. She will, undoubtedly, take good care of us all. All members are encouraged to welcome Patricia and help teach her all things Rotary -- and there's a lot to learn as we all know.
Lastly, let's enjoy some time together before we are all off enjoying another busy holiday season. See you back in 2025!
Meeting adjourned with a toast by President Franco Gallo:
"To Carolyn for the next chapter of her life, and to all of us:
Happy and Safe Holidays"
NICOLE HAVRDA is a young 18 year-old Canadian race car driver who is rapidly making her name known in the world of motorsports. From karting to cars, Nicole is climbing her way up the racing ladder, as she works her way to achieving her goal of racing at the highest level of motorsport -- Formula 1.
