Meeting Notes Feb 3rd 2014

Posted by Christine Curtis 
 
Notes from our club meeting on Feb 3rd
 
Club President Darcy Mykytyshyn started the meeting with a list of events that happened on this date in history.  In 1916 the Parliament Buildings burned.  In 1947 Canada's lowest temperature was recorded in Snag, Yukon at -63.  1961 marked the beginning of Operation Looking Glass, in 1969 Yasser Arafat became Chairman of the PLO, in 1989 PW Botha resigned.  Today is also the day "the music died" in 1959 when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash.
 
Our Sarge was Shelley Ralston.
 
Guests of Rotary included Wilma Van der Leek, Fraser and Dianne Edwards, Misook Yoo, John Oldring.
 
Visiting Rotarians included inbound student Victoria Debonnet, Al Chiswell, Remy Engi, and Jim MacSween
 
Happy/Sad Bucks.  Ross Fletcher had happy bucks for the Chinese New Year and gave a set of Canadian Stamps commemorating the Year of the Horse to Grace Zhang.  There were happy bucks for the Seattle Seahawks Superbowl win yesterday.  There were remembrance dollars for the passing of an aunt at the age of 100.  Remi Engi had announcement dollars for the Strawberry Shortcake Drive for the Red Deer East Rotary Club and he also had greetings from Celia in Switzerland, our former inbound student.  There were happy bucks for a recent fundraiser for Canadian Mental Health with two pro cyclists to kick off Mental Health Week.  Morris Flewwelling had 22 dollars for 22 days Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.   Grace Zhang had five happy bucks for her new stamps from Ross Fletcher and five announcement bucks for the Citizenship Committee.  They need wine or a donation for a wine tree, see Grace or Craig Curtis.   There were also happy bucks for a recovered foot and a week in the Dominican, as well as a recovered back and time spent in Hawaii.   
 
Sarge Shelley led the group through some Olympic trivia.
 
Bill McTaggert had the winning 50-50 for the second week in a row, but didnt win.
 
On May 2nd, the Rotary International President will be here.  Dinner is being organised and we need volunteers.  Mark the date!
 
Glenn Moore introduced our speaker, Fraser Edwards, former CEO of the Uganda Water School. The project recently won the prestigious 2013 Stars Impact Award for Africa and the Middle East.  This project was supported financially by the Red Deer Downtown Rotary Club in 2007, who with matching funding, were able to raise $175,000.  The water school teaches people to make polluted water drinkable by using UV rays from the sun and plastic bottles.  Hundreds of thousands of people in Uganda now use this progam, and it has spread to Rwanda, Kenya, and Haiti.
 
Following the presentation, Darcy Mykytyshyn presented Fraser Edwards with a Paul Harris Fellowship.
 
Next week's meeting has been moved to Wednesday February 12th, when Scotiabank Chief Economist  Dr. Warren Jest will be speaking.  It will be held at the Cenovus Learning Common at the RDC Main Campus.  The meal will cost $15 dollars and you can use your punch-card.  Bring a guest.  Guests will receive a two-for-one pass which they can use for another Rotary lunch in an effort to interest people in the club.