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Speakers
Sep 18, 2018
No Luncheon Meeting (unGala Evening)
Bowness Community Association Hall
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Upcoming Events
Pulling for "U"
Cathy Freer-Leszczynski
Sep 16, 2018
 
UnGala
Bowness Community Centre
Sep 18, 2018
6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
 
Barbecue - Valley View School
Volunteers Required
Sep 20, 2018
 
Photo Albums
Ian Bazalgette Breakfast - August 23
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
ClubRunner
COG Volume 36 - Number 07
August 21, 2018
 
The Rotary Club of Calgary Downtown is comprised of professional and community leaders brought together in fellowship to create a better future.
 
This Week's Birthdays
Cathy Freer-Leszczynski August 21
Philip Libin August 22
Tom Loucks August 23
Bruce Williams August 23
Bill Ptacek August 24
 
Attendance for August 21
69 people, including 15 visitors and guests.
 
Breakfast - Ian Bazalgette School 
Check out our photo album from the breakfast we catered at Ian Bazalgette School in support of our Stay In School programs.
 
 
Want To Stand Out? Get your ad in the COG
A COG Sponsorship will make sure your company information is prominently featured:
  • displayed and acknowledged at the Tuesday meeting,
  • displayed in the rolling meeting presentation for 4 subsequent weeks,
  • included in the COG Newsletter sent to all members,
  • displayed on The Rotary Club of Calgary website for one week.
 
Comments on the COG should be addressed to the COG Editor cog@rotaryclubofcalgary.ca.
 
 
Thank You Sean Baylis and Kelly Mitchell of RBC Wealth Management for Your COG Sponsorship
Posted on Aug 21, 2018
 
Highlights of the August 21, 2018 Meeting
 
Ralph Lundberg with Visiting Rotarian Daniel Weiner
 
 
 
Catherine Brownlee Presents New Member Lisa Corrigan
 
 
 
Jennifer McCue Accepts $100,000 Cheque for the Bethany Atrium

 

Club member Maja Starovic delivered the invocation following club President Tim Heaton's call to order and our a cappella singing of O Canada.
 
Thanks go out to our front entrance volunteers Larry Martin, John Seigner, Bruce Millar and Tom Howard.
 
This week's COG sponsors are Rotarians Sean Baylis and Kelly Mitchell of RBC Wealth Management.
 
Tim Heaton's sing song for this week was Bridge Over Troubled Water, a selection that was most apropos to our speakers' presentation.
 
Julie Visser introduced this week's visiting Rotarians, including Rotarian Daniel Weiner from Georgia's Metro Savannah Rotary club. As well, five club members celebrated birthdays this week.
 
President Tim announced the passing of former club member and Paul Harris Fellow Al Stuart.
 
Catherine Brownlee introduced new member Lisa Corrigan. Welcome to Rotary Lisa!
 
This week's announcements included a cheque presentation to Jennifer McCue, CEO of the Bethany Foundation, of $100,000 to launch The Atrium. The Atrium, supported by the Rotary-Bethany partnership, will be hosting a sneak-a-peek for Rotarians on September 7. This will be a wonderful opportunity for Rotarians, family and friends to check out the Rotary Atrium and Bethany Riverview Dementia Village before the facility opens to its residents.
 
UnGala, our primary fundraiser this year, will replace our regular luncheon meeting on September 18. We are still looking for silent auction items to ensure the success of this event.
 
Please refer to the Events section of the club's website to see our upcoming breakfasts and barbecues. Volunteers are required for many of these events.
 
The inaugural Bernie Carriere Memorial golf tournament will be held on September 7 in Lethbridge. Bernie was the District Governor for the 2006-2007 Rotary year.
Our Speakers: John Gulak & Cindy Radu
 
Paul Gagnon Introduces
our Speakers
 
 
 
Speaker John Gulak
 
 
 
Speaker Cindy Radu

 

Paul Gagnon introduced our speakers John Gulak and Cindy Radu, who shared stories of their mental health struggles. Cindy and John were instrumental in putting together Sick to Death of the Silence: Stories to Break Down Stigma of Mental Illness under the auspices of the Canadian Mental Health Association.
 
John, who spoke of overcoming his cocaine addiction, which began fourteen years ago, had three key messages.
 
  • Shame: There is still a great deal of shame surrounding mental health issues. As it does for many people, shame played an important role in John's experience. As he entered midlife, he spent long hours in his office avoiding challenges he couldn't figure out, went through a period of introspection, in which he questioned who he was, and had intense feelings of inadequacy. It was at this point that he started using cocaine, which quickly became a daily preoccupation. While unable to stop using the drug, he understood how soul destroying his addiction was, and this produced feelings of deep shame, fear and loneliness.
  • Recovery is Possible: The death of a cousin, and expressions of concern from his co-workers, caused John to realize that living in isolation and shame was not going to end well. The key turning point was reaching out to a friend who asked, without judgement, what he could do to help. John learned that while essential, humility can be hard to find; that pride is a big hill to climb; that one must not take things for granted; that strong, healthy relationships are a key reason for living; and that addiction is a chronic brain disease.
  • The Importance of Talking: John concluded his portion of the presentation by noting that there is a real healing power to storytelling. We must begin to change social expectations so that we can embrace new treatment approaches. In short, "We can do better!"
Cindy related her experiences with episodes of depression, which followed a miscarriage, and the destruction of her home during the 2013 floods. She related two very different workplace experiences in relation to these two episodes. She received positive support and a smooth transition to a disability leave in response to the depression that followed her miscarriage. Her PTSD following the 2013 floods was exacerbated by an unaccepting employer and a disallowed disability claim.
 
Based on her experiences, her key messages were
 
  • Be Aware, and Care
  • Workplaces Have a Huge Impact
  • Be a Supporter, and an Advocate
  • Make Use of the Resources that Are Available to You
Following their presentations Howie Shikaze thanked both speakers for sharing their deeply personal stories.
COG Staff - August 21, 2018
 
Editor Craig Henderson
Photography Ralph Lundburg
Sponsorships David Holden
Rotary Club of Calgary - Chartered April 1914 as Club #949
Suite 305, 105-12 Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta, T2G 1A1
Tel: (403) 398-9969 - Fax:  (403) 264-2392
www.rotaryclubofcalgary.org - admin@rotaryclubofcalgary.ca
President: Tim Heaton - Vice-President: Rick Erven
RI President: Barry Rassin - District Governor: Dan Doherty