Highlights of the January 5, 2016 Meeting
By Andrea Serink
 
President Rob called the meeting to order and the club sang O Canada a larger group than expected, accompanied by Michael on our first meeting back after the holidays.
 
 

Nick Cosentino delivers an insightful invocation


 Lorne Larson giving Adult Literacy update
 
George Brookman reports successful Christmas Hamper Campaign
 
 
Madeleine King making flag presentations to president Rob
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nick Cosentino provided a wonderfully insightful invocation. President Rob thanked the volunteers. Carmen Goss prepared a fun exercise to do at the table titled “Get off Your Ask”.
 
Lorne Larson updated us on Adult Literacy Program. The Rotary Bursary Awards took place at Bow Valley on November 19. The ceremony celebrated the achievements of the students and the generosity of the donation from our club.  Lorne explained the experience of attending the awards ceremony on behalf of our club was amazing. The recipients were very grateful and determined to improve their education despite the fact that many of them are living in difficult circumstances. Our club received a letter from the Director of Fund Development at Bow Valley College who stated “We want you to know that your generosity and friendship are appreciated and valued. We are proud of the successes our learners are earning through their hard work, and we are grateful for your help in writing those stories of success. Thank you for making a difference through your generosity.”
 
 
George Brookman reported that the Hamper committee collected sufficient funds to assist 50 families with hampers this holiday season. He thanked Mark Stiles for running the program and explained what an unbelievable experience it was for all involved. He was in tears while delivery the hampers (not because he was with Bill Avery) but because he was so touched. Great job to our Hamper Committee and thank you to all Rotarians and members of the community who donated their time and money to such a great cause.
 
Calgary Rotary South: Larry Kwong Annual Chinese New Year's Dinner 2016 held on Friday, February 5th. Cocktails and Dumplings will be served at 5:00 PM with dinner at 6:00 PM. The event will be held at the Regency Palace Restaurant 335 – 338 Centre Street South. Tickets are $50 per Person or $450 for a table of 10
Fabulous 8-course dinner, with live entertainment throughout the evening!
To Order Tickets contact: corinne@whitehathospitality.com
 
As part of the Rotary Exchange Madeline King and 10 others from our District were hosted in Solapur and Aurangabad, India. Both cities are in the province of Maharastra (of which the state capital is Mombai/Bombay). Madeline explained this Rotary District is very successful and growing in numbers. She was impressed that Solapur, being a city with a population only slightly larger than Calgary's (at 1.5 million) has 12 graduate engineering colleges. The friendship exchange will see members of Solapur, Solapur East, North, Midtown and Jule Solapur, Aurangabad, Aurangabad East, West, Midtown and Central be here from July 6 to 21 so they can volunteer at our Stampede BBQs.