The Eye-Opener Newsletter for August 28, 2015

 
It's been one heck of a summer!  We've been a little behind on bulletins, so here's a recap of the Summer of 2015!
 
 
 

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • September 14-17 - Hospice Project - Darren Wilkinson is organizing.  Over these four evenings, we will pave the walkway around Hospice House to make the grounds (and our gazebo!) accessible to visiting families.
  • September 19 - Rotary Food Drive!  It’s that time again! Pancake breakfast (by donation) will start at 8:30 at the Kamloops Food Bank and pickups will start at 10am.  If you don’t want breakfast, but still want to pickup food, show up around 9 to get your route!  Can’t do pickups?  Come help out with the sorting at Interior Vault!  We particularly need fresh energy after lunch!
  • September 27 - PIT Stop! Lynda MacKenzie has sent out a signup email through Clubrunner.  This is a great fellowship event and a great way to do some hand-on work and give back!
  • October 2-4 - The Daybreak Derailleurs will be hitting the road from Tsawwassen to Sooke!  Interested in riding along?  See Dan Sulz!
  • October 3, 24 & Nov 7 - Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) will be hosted in Salmon Arm this year. If you’re interested in getting involved in a leadership capacity with the club, this is for YOU!  And Kent is an instructor - what more convincing do you need?
  • October 17 - 31 - International Project in Sri Lanka. See more at: http://portal.clubrunner.ca/819/#sthash.5Branegk.dpuf
  • May 2016 - District Conference will be held in Yakima, WA. Nandi Spolia is looking for interest in chartering a bus.  Interested?  Let Fred know!

OTHER STILL RELEVANT ANNOUNCEMENTS...

  • Darren Wilkinson has a garage full of Ribfest leftovers: about 200 cans of pop and even more water!  Strangely, the beer is all gone…
  • RAFFLE TICKETS MUST BE RETURNED BY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Both sold and unsold tickets must be accounted for.
  • Lorne Toderian is looking for nominations of non-Rotarians worthy of the Four-Way Test Award.  See Lorne for selection criteria and let’s recognize some of the great community members we have in Kamloops!
  • Thanks to Purity Feed and their seed donations, the Rotary garden FLOURISHED this year, yielding 2000 pounds of produce so far for the Food Bank!  A special thanks to Lynda and Jim MacKenzie for taking care of that garden!

JUNE 26 

This summer kicked off with the installation of our new President, Fred Legace, and his supportive board!  A huge thank you to Linda Watson for once again hosting our club at her beautiful country home! Our new theme for the year is “Be a gift to the world”!

 

JULY 3 

Started getting to know our part-time President, Fred Legace, and his better-looking stand-in, Roxanna Ferguson!

Bert Braybrook filled us in on Telus’ Fiber Optics initiative.  Now this is high-speed!

 

JULY 10 

Glen Cheetham from the City of Kamloops taught us all about electric cars and how Kamloops is preparing for the future!  See Lisa Lake for a test-drive, as the only EV driver in our club!
 

JULY 17 

Visit from District Governor Greg Luring with a strong message on the connection of Rotary and Rotarians in the world.
 
Robert Atwood showed us the future of fighting forest fires with the technology from Hummingbird Drones.  These drone cameras can identify hot spots and monitor fires in airspace that manned aircraft cannot.
 
We actually rendered Terry-Lynn Stone speechless with the presentation of a well-deserved Paul Harris Award.
 
Presented Ralph Warner with a Four-Way Test Award for his contributions to Ribfest and the Kamloops community as a whole.
 

JULY 24

Kathy Sinclair from the Kamloops Arts Council discussed the importance of arts in our community and for our youth. Don’t miss the FREE Children’s Arts Festival at Riverside Park on Saturday, September 19. (take the kids/grandkids down after you’re done pickups for the Rotary Food Drive!
 

JULY 31

Sgt. Darren Michels of the Kamloops RCMP informed us about the Car 40 Program. Car 40 is an unmarked police car staffed with one officer and one mental health worker that attends situations where mental health has been determined to be a factor.  This initiative has resulted in less resources wasted at RIH and more appropriate care for those with mental health issues in our community.
 
Continued to give back to our community through a cheque presentation to Kamloops Therapeutic Riding Association
 

AUGUST 7

RIBFEST KICKOFF! After a quick bite to eat, we went to work putting the finishing touches on the start of an AMAZING weekend!
 

AUGUST 14

The meeting after Ribfest - forever known as the Survivors Breakfast! 
Introduced to the new PIT Stop coordinator, Rick Windjack, and were reminded of the importance of this program to those who need a hot meal, and our club members who participate. Daybreak has a reputation for GREAT dinners.
 

AUGUST 21

Entertained by Dan Pan, as she told her story of growing up in China, moving to Canada, growing her family, becoming an accountant and promptly quit that profession before running a successful furniture store, Portfolio Interiors!
 
Presented Henry Small with a Four-Way Test Award for his contributions to Ribfest, Music in the Park and the Kamloops community as a whole.
 

AUGUST 28 

Regaled with tales of Mackenzie’s life-changing year in Finland, and learned that although it is not polite to make eye contact on the public bus, it is totally acceptable in the nude saunas!