2 of the 3 newest Wise Men
Happy New Year All!
January 4th & January 11th Meetings were an excellent opportunity to learn a bit more about a couple of our newest Members.
January 4th meeting
Les Scholly - Classification
Les was born and raised in Calgary and moved to Medicine Hat in 1993 after law school at the urging of a friend. Soon thereafter, the friend left the Hat, and left Les on his own! He started working at Pritchard and Co., and was excited about the opportunities that he got here that his colleagues in bigger centres did not get so readily. He met his wife Cheryl, became a parter at Pritchard and Co.
Les decided early on that he would be a lawyer, as he likes dispute resolution and problem solving. He enjoys the continual learning in his career, and finding new ways to help his clients. While Les started out as a "generalist" in the field, his practice now is comprised primarily of estate management, wills, & power of attorney issues.
He is in the process of setting up a network for business professionals, comprised primarily of lawyers, accountants, bankers and financial planners. His goal is to promote a local awareness of the experts in this area, to discover their professional passions and to facilitate referrals in the area. Les joined Rotary to give back to the community while still meeting his career and family commitments. He values the dynamics of Rotary. Welcome Les!
Other Items:
1. Murray Jaster thanked the club members who participated in the local Kettle Campaign for the Salvation ARmy. It was a success here in Medicine Hat.
2. There will be a Rotary presentation on Public Relations on Feb 5th... time and location TBA. Contact Gord Wallsmith for more info.
3. It is Loretta's 1st Rotary Anniversary!
4. Glen Christensen won the draw (day money = $12/Pot $115) but shockingly did not draw the ace. :)
January 11th Meeting
Brad Isfeld -- Classification
Although Brad said accountants don't like to talk, and would rather do a survey of the shoes in the audience, we are not sure that is exactly true!
Brad was born in Manitoba, 1/2 Icelandic and 1/2 Mennonite, and feels as such, that he is related to the entire province. He made his way to southeast Alberta at the age of 3 (we think his parents brought him), and has stayed since. Brad feels that Medicine Hat is like a country club...and his relatives treat he and his family "like prisoners that escaped".
Brad has worked as an accountant in Calgary and Toronto, but in 2000 moved back to Medicine Hat. He met his wife Paula (who is a 2nd yr nursing student now), and they have two children, Thoranna who is 6, and Eythor who is 5.
It seems that Jace and perhaps a couple other Rotarians met with Brad on occasion and encouraged him to become a Rotarian. He was interested in the international involvement and broad vision of Rotary, and the flexibility of chosing from 4 different clubs to allow for his life schedule.
While I hesitate to say that Brad "came over from the dark side", he was a Kinsmen from 2003 - 2009, including one stint as president. He did reach that age to either join K40 "or die" but instead he did the "worst possible thing"...he joined us in Rotary. Apparently the history lesson is that the Kinsmen club was formed back many many years ago when one Rotarian's son was not allowed to join Rotary as he had the same occupation. Thus he started his own club, the Kinsmen, and a rivalry was born. Thanks Brad for joining our club!
Other Items:
1. Les Scholly was drawn for the 50/50, but did not get the ace... ($22/$126)
2. Next week Speaker: Glen Christensen - TRF
3. Cashier - Terry Cooper
4. Greeter/Newsletter - Gerry Carter