The Rotary Club of Calgary comprises professional and community leaders brought together in fellowship to make a better future.
Birthdays:
Don Campbell
June 28
Craig Henderson
June 29
Janeen Murphy-Webb
June 29
Lavender Neff
June 30
David Richardson
July 1
Steve Allan
July 2
Helen Hu
July 5
Kurt Kowalchuk
July 8
Catherine Evamy
July 9
Bawrdi St. Laurent
July 10
A Heartfelt Thanks
By Manon Mitchell
Thank you, my Rotary family, for an amazing year. Being president of this club has many challenges however when I approached those as learning opportunities, the personal growth I experienced was amazing. Of course receiving awards and witnessing the great work our Rotarians do is the icing on the cake!
I want to thank those of you who were great listeners and who provided feedback and suggestions; thank you to all committee chairs and members who made things happen. Thanks to all the directors who oversaw their respective area and put in many hours to get things accomplished.
I want to extend a particular thank you to Jo-Ann our administrator who holds this club together like you would not believe. I’m not sure where we would be without her continuous service to our organization. We are all very privileged and fortunate to belong to this amazing Rotary club. Together we continue to see a world where we unite with others and take action to create a positive impact around the world, in our community and of course, in ourselves. It was a great year and I look forward to serving alongside you in the many years to come.
Yours in Rotary,
Manon
End of June message from your President Elect
By Madeleine King
First I want to thank President Manon – it has been a great year, and she has worked relentlessly for us all! She and I decided early in the year to meet at the start of every month. During Covid those were walks in the park, and later on over coffee. Those meetings have enabled us to continue working together as friends – and I’m delighted to report that Manon has agreed to take over the recently vacated role of Communications Director for the next year.
Earlier this month Bob and I attended the Houston International Convention. It was my 4th Convention and it was truly inspirational. We’ve signed up for the one in Melbourne same time next year. It’s no wonder Rotarians from around the world choose to sign up so long in advance – not only do many of them go every year anyway, but also the costs are reduced, cancellation fees are very reasonable and accommodation is available. It would be wonderful to have a group go from our club!
We spent great times with our past, present and incoming District Governors as well as Kurt and Manon. And of course, with over 11,000 Rotarians (at least half of whom were female) there were lots of connections made! Aside from the excellent daily general sessions in Houston, I was able to concentrate on breakout sessions focused on club business, which will be helpful in the year ahead.
We wore our Canada shirts – and American delegates were delighted to learn that the next Convention in North America will be here in Calgary in 3 years.
It will be so special to have the Rotary International President, Jennifer Jones from Ontario at our SneakaPeek event July 7. I hope lots of you will be able to enjoy this very casual social Stampede evening (with partners, family and friends) and be inspired by her words.
Looking forward to sharing a great Rotary year ahead with you all.
Madeleine King
Rotary Club of Calgary
By Manon Mitchell
We are pleased to present this year’s annual report. Thanks to all the directors and committee chairs who summarized their busy year. When we take a look at all that we have accomplished, we should be inspired to continue the great work of Rotary in our community and around the world.
There are a lot of “latch-key kids” in Calgary. In the north central part of the city, a group called Closer to Home Community Services runs a summer camp program for some of these youngsters, who are part of the population of vulnerable families they work with. The Small Donations Committee funded $2,000, which will be matched by funds from Birdies for Kids (from the Shaw Charity Classic golf tournament) for their Summer in the City camp program. The donated funds will be used for transportation for field trips, arts and crafts supplies, and food for snacks and lunches.
Trish Penner, who is the Fund Development Administrator for Closer to Home, sent us the following brief description and photo:
Closer to Home Community Services (CTH) is a charitable organization located in Calgary, AB since 1995. CTH provides a wide range of services designed to meet the unique needs of children, youth and families.
Our Vision Every child thriving within supportive family and community relationships.
Our Mission Closer to Home Community Services facilitates growth and belonging in communities of meaningful relationships. Our integrity is grounded in evidence-based practice authentically informed by, and connected to, diverse cultural wisdom. We journey with children and families to uncover strength, hope and healing, creating new possibilities for a brighter future.
Closer to Home’s Summer in the Cityday camp serves families experiencing financial barriers, language barriers and who may have limited knowledge of or access to community resources and socio-cultural barriers to community integration.
The camp provides children ages 8-14 with opportunities to learn essential values and life skills, including self-confidence, teamwork, communication, inclusion, discipline, respect, education and fair play.
Summer in the City day camp is an excellent way for kids to form friendships and learn essential life skills.
Our Summer in the City gives kids the opportunity to participate in recreation and group activities and also get the chance to go on field trips (past camps have gone to the Calgary Zoo, Glenbow Museum, and so much more).
At the Zoo!
Stampede BBQ Cancelled
By Diane Macdonald
Please note that the previously mentioned BBQ on July 13th has been cancelled, BUT – stay tuned for future events! We’ll be looking for volunteers in September.
Proudly Presenting Our Corporate Members
COG Staff - June 28, 2022
Editor:
Andrea Serink & Diane Macdonald
Contributors:
Manon Mitchell, Madeleine King and Bill Kaufmann.
Rotary Club of Calgary - Chartered April 1914 as Club #949
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