Stories

A cash donation plus volunteers help set up, serve and clean up at the Christmas party for the residents at Rosefield Centre in Innisfail.

Brianna Layden enlightened us today with a fabulous powerpoint presentation of her year in Germany.  She presented President Rod Bradshaw with a Rotary Banner from Germany.

Jodi Graham, Sami Bennett, along with band leader Chris Bushell are shown here with Rod Bradshaw on June 20, 2013.

These guests attended the weekly Rotary lunch to talk about the Innisfail School Band program.

On sunny and windy Saturday June 15, 2013, approximately 15 Rotarians met at 9:00 am to marshal the annual Innisfail Parade. Under the leadership of Clarence Stewart, we were divided into five judging teams. Each team judged a specific category such as antique cars, commercial floats or horses. When the judging was complete ribbons were awarded to the winners. At 10:00 am sharp Clarence gave the signal to start the parade and directed each entry into its appropriate place in the parade line up. Clarence has performed this task for many years and he is a fine example of the Rotary ideal of "service above self". Thank you to all the Rotarians (and the one Lion member) who were able to provide a couple hours of service to the community. It was a fun time and another example of how the Rotary Club of Innisfail provides community service.

Group of Judges at the 2013 Innisfail Rodeo Parade

Bob Newman and Charles Dallas with Prize Ribbons for Floats

 

Rotarians in their cowboy hats ready for the parade judging; Gerry Meding, Duncan McNeill and Clarence Stewart

 

 Barry Lloyd with friend Larry Barton

Bill McGillvray with new member Heather Kirkham

 

Craig Erickson with Michelle MacDonald.  And Lawrence Howell standing with Craig Erickson

 

Art McAllister driving the 1949 Cockshutt 30 tractor in the parade

1953 Chev receiving 1st prize ribbon in their category 

 

1928 Ford Model T, owned by Nelson Nicholson of Spruceview, receiving 1st prize ribbon his category  (oops, finger got in the picture too)

 1939 Chev Dump Truck, owned by Reed Howell, earned a 1st place his category

 

Terry Little's 1946 Fargo 1.5 Ton Truck took 1st place

 

On a cold, wet and gray Saturday May 25, 2013 at the Innisfail Historical Village, dignitaries, family and friends of Rynie Lutz, (including 13 Rotarians, and the Historical Village staff) had our hearts and minds warmed by the dedication of the restored 1949 Cockshutt 30 tractor in the memory of Rynie Lutz. 

This day also marked the opening of the Rotary shed which covers the picnic area of the village grounds. Clarence and his committee have done a wonderful job of building the shed and having the tractor restored.

Rynie's brother spoke during the dedication ceremony.

 

The Rotary Club of Innisfail provided founding for purchase of materials to build the new picnic shelter at the Heritage Village.  Numerous local companies donated time and materials to help build this shelter.

A big thanks to Rotary Member Clarence Stewart for organizing this building project.  And a very special thank you to all the volunteers.

It is thanks to this shelter that everyone was able to stay dry during the pancake breakfast held on May 25th.  

 

Rotarians did a great job of cooking pancakes and sausages for everyone.  Mark Jejina won the contest for cooking the best pancakes. 

 

 Gerry Miller was a distance second!

Rotary Member, Clarence Stewart, drove this 1949 Cockshutt 30 tractor to the Innisfail Heritage Village.

What a wonderful sight to see this old tractor traveling down 42 Avenue this past week.

 

 Our proud Rotarians gather around this recently restored tractor.

Larry Kanters gave a brief update on our outbound exchange student Brianna Layden (she of the red Canadian blazer) who has been in Germany since August.

Larry said Brianna was staying in a town called Schleiden which is close to Cologne located not too far from the Belgium and Dutch border. Brianna reported having a few rough patches of home sickness which is a common exchange student malady and was having some challenges with the German language since her Teutonic linguistic knowledge was limited before she left Canada. She reports major improvements on both fronts. She also mentioned she was with her 3^rd host family. Brianna said she finds it is interesting an eerie that she is in areas where less than 100 years ago bombs were falling as evidenced by the bomb holes and that there are fields nearby where tanks had been driven and soldiers marched and many people likely died. She adapting well now and having fun and getting ready for her eagerly anticipated big German trip.

On March 14th we were privileged to have, 5 members from the Innisfail Health Centre attend our Rotary Lunch.

These guests came to see StrokeLink and to listen to the presentation about this innovative iPad App.

Pictured here in the front row (left to right) are:  Shirley Mills, Physical Therapist & Laurel Bilton, Physical Therapy Assistant.
In the back row are: Terry Hawkin, Physical Therapist with Jerby Caballero & Victor Oyejola, who are Physical Therapy Assistants.

John Newsham is going over the schedule of upcoming Rotary Lunch Meetings & asking for volunteers to take attendance at the door.

 

Eric Moe introducing guest speaker Morgan Moe, his daughter, who is the Chief Clinical Innovation Officer and Co-Founder of StrokeLink. A new innovative App for the iPad to help stroke survivors.

StrokeLink empowers stroke survivors throughout their care journey by providing knowledge and self-care tools to bridge the gaps in care delivery. It provides a comprehensive toolkit of health reference material and a powerful tool for rehabilitation designed to guide and actively engage patients as they recover and regain independence. With stroke being the leading cause of disability in North America, StrokeLink provides a comprehensive toolkit of personalized resources for rehabilitation designed to guide and actively engage patients as they recover and regain independence.

 

To view more photos, learn more and for Morgan's contact info please continue reading....

At the March 14th meeting, Joe Lehane holds a flyer about the Pennies for Polio fund raising drive & reminds everyone where the Pennies for Polio collection cans are located around Innisfail.  Please give whatever you can.

Bill Hoppins is being pinned by President, Bryn Chambers on March 7th. 
This is Bill's +5 Paul Harris Award!

Someone got Mike O'Dwyer laughing while he was giving a speech on membership during Club Education Day Feb 28, 2013.

On Feb 23rd three of our Rotary members graduated from the District 5360 Prairie Division of the Rotary Leadership Institute.
Our graduates John Newsham, Michelle MacDonald and Eric Moe join 4 other members who have graduated from previous Leadership Courses.

Shown here are the attendees of this year's Leadership Class (from bottom to top):

John Newsham, Al Bergsma of Rocky Mountain House, Bob Sugarman of Red Deer Centennial, Valerie Odell of Stettler, Michelle MacDonald, Eric Moe, Rod Bradshaw and Shirley Bergsma of Rocky Mountain House.

 

 Shown here are Shirley Bergsma of Rocky Mountain House, Gwen Lee of Stettler with Certificate in hand, Rod Bradshaw and Al Bergsma.

 

Click on More... below to see another photo.

On Saturday Feb 23, 2013 our Rotary volunteers were selling tickets at the Rebels Hockey Game in Red Deer.  The Jackpot was over $18,000!

Some of our volunteers are pictured here below.

Eric Moe, Maymie O'Dwyer, Mike O'Dwyer, Bill McGillivray, exchange student Mevce Acur and Rod Bradshaw.

 

Click on More... below to an see additional photos.

Brenda Meding is shown here receiving a Rotary Club Journal from Larry Kanters; a thank you gift for being our guest speaker on Feb 21, 2013.

Rotary Member Dr. Meding and his wife Brenda just got back from a cruise down the Mississippi River on the American Queen paddle-wheeler.  The cruise started in Memphis.  Along the way they visited Vicksburg, Natchez, Baton Rouge and Oak Alley (which is lined with a 1/4 of a mile of large oak trees) ending up in New Orleans.  Brenda really enjoyed all of the stately homes along the way.

A happy Joe Lehane is getting pinned by Bryn Chambers with his +8 Paul Harris Award on Feb 21, 2013.

update

The link to our Facebook Page is  http://www.facebook.com/RotaryClubInnisfail

As time goes on and our members share the Rotary Club of Innisfail Facebook Page with their friends, family and coworkers, we are getting more and more Likes.  So don't stop sharing...pass us on to everyone you know.

Up Next - Brenda will schedule an evening Facebook session to provide members a chance to ask questions & get answers.

Don't miss it.

Guest Speaker Terry Welsh, Director of Community & Protective Services for the town of Innisfail, is shown here with Monty Wild at our Valentine's Day luncheon.

Terry spoke to our club about the walking trail around Napoleon Lake.

 

Mike O'Dwyer, from our Membership Committee, is recruiting members who are younger & younger all the time!.

Mike is holding Jacob Feduniw, son of Rotary Member Jennifer Feduniw.  When this photo was taken on Feb 7th Jacob was only 6 days old!

 

Clarence Stewart and Mike O'Dwyer getting their Paul Harris pins from Bryn Chambers on Feb 7, 2013.

 

Joey Olsen and Richard Staples are shown here with Rod Bradshaw and Bryn Chambers at out Jan 31st lunch meeting.

Our Rotary Club sponsored both Joey and Richard to attend the Agribition in Regina, SK in November of 2012.  Each of these young fellows attended our meeting and gave speeches.  Joey talked about what farming means to him and the future of farming, along with what he saw at Regina show.  Richard talked about growing Garlic on his family's farm this summer and how he plans to market and sell his farm fresh, locally grown Garlic.

 

During the Jan 31st lunch meeting Brenda did a short presentation and answered some questions on Facebook.

Unfortunately the Legion's wi-fi network is secured, so Brenda was unable to show the step-by-step process of creating a New Facebook account and page.

However, there were a few handouts available:

• How to Create a Facebook Account
• How to Create a Gmail Account
• How to Create a Hotmail Account

These handouts are available as PDF documents in the Downloads Section of this Website.  (See the right hand column of the Website, right below the list of Speakers.)  So you can click on any of these documents to read the instructions on your screen or print them out on your printer.  There is also a 12 page Facebook Guide that explains things like Privacy Settings.  Hopefully, these documents will help you in setting up any of these accounts and as reference material.

Brenda also created a business card showing both our Club's Facebook and website addresses.  This is great to carry in your wallet or to pass out to friends.  Let Brenda or Eric know if you would like a business card.

In preparation for Thursday's upcoming Facebook Presentation, by Brenda Reiber, there have been 4 new PDF documents added to the Downloads Section of this Website.  (See the right hand column of the Website, right below the list of Speakers.)

These documents are:

• How to Create a Facebook Account
• Facebook Guide
  
• How to Create a Gmail Account
• How to Create a Hotmail Account

You can click on any of these documents to read the instructions on your screen or print them out on your printer.

Hopefully, these documents will help you in setting up any of these accounts and as reference material.

See you on January 31st.

Pictured here are President Elect Rod Bradshaw, Shaelynn Houchin, Melisa Anderson, and President Bryn Chambers.

These Bowden students were the 2012 RYLA participants, and were our guest speakers at the Club's Jan. 24th Lunch Meeting.

 

Our MLA, Kerry Towle, gave everyone a very informative update on her first term in office on Jan. 17th.

Kerry is looking forward to the Spring Session which starts on Feb. 11th.

 

The President of Red Deer College, Joel Ward, addresses our lunch meeting on Jan 3, 2013.

Shown here with Club President Bryn Chambers.

Dec 20th Christmas luncheon was full of visiting and fellowship as everyone enjoyed turkey with all the trimmings.  

Bryn and Larry getting ready lead us in singing the 12 Days of Christmas at our lunch meeting on Dec 20th.

Our exchange student, Mevce, gives us an update on what has been happening in her life and about seeing "Zoo Lights" at the Calgary Zoo on Dec 20, 2012.

Mevce's question was although the "lights were pretty, but where are the animals?"

President Bryn Chambers presents Carol Sim with a donation of $410 for the Innisfail Food Bank on Dec 6th.

On Nov. 15th, Mevce Acur, our Exchange Student from Instanbul, Turkey gave a presentation to our Rotary Club about her home town. 

She is pictured here with President Bryn Chambers.

Brianna Layden from Innisfail will be spending the next year (2012 - 2013) in Germany.


You can email Brianna at vball_skier@hotmail.com

Stay tuned for:

• a Photo Album of Brianna's pictures, and
  
• a link to her blog

At our meeting January 23rd, 2014 we were joined by Donna Lohnes the wife of member Larry Kanters.  She had undertaken a trip to Africa to take on the challenge of Mount Kilimanjaro.  She and one other trekker, of their group of ladies, were the only two to achieve the summit.

Seen here she was presented with a memento by Larry Kanters with a promise to come back and continue the PowerPoint presentation from the rest of her African adventure.

Hi my name is Brenda Reiber and I am currently updating this website to include more club information, stories, events, downloadable files, etc...

My email is rotarywebmaster961@gmail.com

In 2007 our Rotary Club of Innisfail embarked on a new journey.  We voted to undertake an International Project in a developing country.  A project called "Adopt a Village".  We went to Bulalo Village & Kyeera Village near Massaka,