The Importance or Literacy and Learning about new Members...

Posted by Dan Kammerer 
on Jun 19, 2012
 

President Jace called our meeting to order and our guests were introduced.  Constable John Kennedy (Nova Scotia) and Petra Mauerhoff (Shortgrass Library CEO) were in attendance.

Constable Kennedy spoke to us about his Adopt a Library Literacy Program.  He described his work with inmates in Eastern Canada, the high illiteracy rate in that population and Canada in general.

He would like Rotary to consider a partnership.  He has been able to get discontinued books from publishers for pennies on the dollar.  He has worked with Scholastic to get books, and then gives them out to kids.  He reports that in Canada the illiteracy rate is 25%, and 48% of the population don’t comprehend well enough to read the newspaper.

Image  Darren Folkersen also gave his induction talk.  While he claims to have a boring life as a lawyer, we don’t believe him.  Darren is an associate at Niblock and Company.  He is a Saskatchewan native, graduating from the U of S in 2004 with his law degree.  This after a bit of protracted path determining his lot in life…he hitchhiked across Canada, did door to door sales, worked in a kitchen at a hostel and worked in a sawmill.  When he determined that being a vagabond and ski bum offered few job opportunities, he went and got his history and political science degree.  Well, that didn’t open up too many job offers either.  So law it would be.  He graduated in 2004, and came to Alberta, the land of opportunity!  He wanted to be close to the mountains, so he ended up here in Medicine Hat (note: he realizes his map reading skills may be a bit deficient). He has had a few jobs here, including with Sivon Carter Fischer, the City of Medicine Hat (“applause” by Karen Charlton noted); and now at Niblock and Co.  He is doing general law, and enjoys corporate/commercial/business law.  Welcome Darren!

Meeting Notes:

  • McCoy Rotaract is selling Mavericks tickets for $10.  Half of that goes to their coffers…contact them or Jace for more info.
  • Jane’s Walk and the Pop Up Park ---see the email sent out by Jace.
  • April is going camping and branding…stories to follow.
  • Caroline reported that Sheila Carlson is improving and is in fact off to Vancouver for some holidays. 
  • Caroline also tells us that the Mexican School’s bathrooms are finished and pictures will follow (I am hoping these will be pics of the ‘outside’ of the bathroom) 
  • 50/50 ticket was held by Frank Pancotto, but he did not win the $492 pot.  It carries on, growing and growing and growing…
  • No meeting June 26th or July 3rd.

See you next on July 10th.