The Rotary Club of Calgary comprises professional and community leaders brought together in fellowship to make a better future.
Birthdays:
Bob Ermter
May 16
Blake Heynen
May 16
Greg Stevenson
May 17
Bill Walsh
May 18
Lawrence Bates
May 23
Maxine Morrison
May 27
Bill Redmond
May 27
Steve Stein
May 27
Bruce Millar
May 28
Calgary Reads - A Dandelion Story-
IMPACT ON OUR CLUB
By Manon Mitchell
In recent weeks you have been listening to and even participating in some of Calgary Reads activities, namely the Big Book Sale. Today Calgary Reads made a big announcement; there are radio and television interviews planned and you can hear the message directly from Steacy Pinney at https://calgaryreads.com/a-dandelion-story/.
You will hear about the Big Book Sale and how our Club is looking at continuing this great Calgary tradition. We are still in the process of working out the details and many of you have participated in our Town Hall meetings last week. We’ve identified the risks and prepared a business case for the Board of Directors to consider. We hope to make a formal decision and announcement in the near future.
In Case You Missed Our Town Hall Meetings
Below are links to the video recordings of those meetings.
This will be a ton of fun to kick off summer fellowship activities.
Date: May 28th 2022
Time: 5:00 – 9:00 pm
Where: Bucars RV
The Rotary Trailer is clean and ready to go! The food and drinks are organized. So, get your tickets and head for Bucars RV Centre at Balzac on Saturday, May 28th at 5pm. New members –bring your family and come and meet both your fellow new members and lots of the “old timers”. It will be a great opportunity to learn how we use our barbeque equipment (see above) to raise funds to support our community service projects. At the same time, you’ll enjoy a great barbequed meal. Bill Redmond has assured us that if the Flames and Oilers are still playing and there is a game that night, there will be a couple of outdoor TVs available!
We have about 80 people registered – and we’d love to get to 100. The deadline for buying tickets is next Tuesday, May 24, so get it done today!
More details can be found on the Club website!
Fun times at our Rotary Barbeques! Sign up for May 28th and see for yourself…
Club Leadership Team Workshop- Final Session
By Manon Mitchell
This Club Leadership Team Workshop are offered to ALL ROTARIANS whether you are in a leadership position or not. We strongly recommend that those individuals who are committee chairs or board members register for this session either as a virtual attendee or in person.
Virtual on Wednesday May 25th from 5 to 8 pm OR In person at the Genesis Centre in Calgary on Saturday May 28th from 9am to noon with lunch to follow. (after which you can head to our club’s BBQ close by)
This final training session is focused on the following three key areas:
1. Helping Clubs Set Goals and input in the Rotary Club Central.
2. ClubRunner Made Simple
3. Member Growth and Engagement in your local Communities.
There will also be an update on Crisis Management, Vulnerable People Protection and Elevate Rotoaract.
We need to send at least 2-3 members and we are only about 2 weeks away from our first workshop. Please register soon as we need numbers for our in person workshop for our lunch preparation. Craig Henderson and Manon Mitchell will co-facilitate the in person session on May 28.
If you have any questions please email Rick Istead at rwistead@telus.net.
Membership News
By Diane Macdonald
Introduce yourself to Diana Aspe Ayer and you’ll meet a warm, friendly new Club member. Diana is a physician who did her medical education in Mexico City but moved to Canada in 1991. She wrote the necessary Canadian exams and has practiced in Calgary since then. She presently cares for patients at the Fanning Centre and several other long term care facilities in the city. Community service for Diana has taken the form of medical missions to Ecuador, where she first met Walley Temple, who in turn introduced her to the idea of joining Rotary. We’re very glad he did, Diana – welcome to the Club.
Adult Literacy, Small Donations Committee and the John Howard Society
By Al McMillan
Adult Literacy and Small Donations worked together with Calgary John Howard Society to provide a series of financial literacy workshops focused on increasing women’s economic stability after incarceration. Financial literacy is a core skill required for women as they work towards independent living and return to the community.
Donations for Ukraine Relief
By Barb Young
Including the initial matching amounts contributed by three members of the WCS committee we received a total of $30,470 for Relief to the Ukraine. There was an additional amount of $12,000 approved by the board from the board’s discretionary funds, for a total of $42,470 Canadian.
The WCS Committee researched possible places to send this money that would have the most immediate impact and have forwarded it to the Rotary Club Warsaw Wilanow International. This club is working with a club in Lviv, Ukraine who advises them twice a day of what is most needed. This is primarily medical supplies, which the Warsaw club sources at a discounted price through a club in Germany. This material is then transported regularly into the Ukraine to where it is needed. Both Tom Loucks and Trevor Axworthy attended a zoom meeting with this club which has been receiving donations from around the world.
In appreciation for donations our club will be awarding matching Paul Harris points to all donors.
June is National Indigenous History Month
By Manon Mitchell
June is National Indigenous History Month and what a great way to kick off the month with a Land Acknowledgement workshop. This is a 3-hour participative workshop for Rotarians scheduled for June 4 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Grey Eagle Casino.
The District 5360 Indigenous Relations Committee (DIRC) was formed to provide indigenous perspectives and advice to Rotary District 5360, its clubs and members. In February, DIRC hosted a Community of Practice workshop to further learning and to help build capacity in clubs for their engagement with indigenous groups. Representatives from 16 clubs attended. One goal of the session was to identify topics of interest related to indigenous relations. Land Acknowledgement was raised the most by attendees. Many of you club presidents have asked for similar assistance.
The workshop will introduce a deeper context of Land Acknowledgement to Rotary members and guests. Participants will learn the idea of a Land Acknowledgement, the relevant terminology and how to use it to encourage personal connection with the land.
Tim Fox is leading the session. Tim is a proud member of the Blackfoot confederacy from the Blood (Kainai) reserve located two hours south of Calgary. He has lived and worked in Calgary for the past 15 years although still consider his home fire the Blood reserve.
We chose an afternoon session to allow out-of-town participants time to travel. The event will also be available via video option for those who are not able to attend in person.
If you have any questions, please e-mail Brad Sewell at brad.sewall@shaw.ca.
Listen to Paul Harris Himself!
By Manon Mitchell
Ever wondered about Paul Harris and why he started Rotary? This link will allow you to listen to the man himself and his vision for Rotary.
Ralph took these pictures last Saturday at the Cochrane District Conference.
Floor displays
Polio Warriors
Meg Schmieder of ShelterBox speaks
Canmore youth group presentation
Meeting site
Western Canada High Interacts
Meg Schmieder and Howie Shaikaze confer
Free trees from the Canmore gang
Proudly Presenting Our Corporate Members
We are thrilled to announce a new Corporate Member organization for our club. Welcome Servus Credit Union!
Representing Servus are Lavender Neff, Ryan Klinck and Ryder Spence. We look forward to getting to know you as we continue along our Rotary journey in Service above Self.
COG Staff - May 17, 2022
Editor:
Andrea Serink & Diane Macdonald
Contributors:
Al McMillan, Catherine Scheers, Doug Webb, Dave Macdonald, Manon Mitchell, Barbara Young and Bill Kaufmann.
Rotary Club of Calgary - Chartered April 1914 as Club #949
