President Karen Blewett opened the meeting by welcoming District Governor Rick Istead, all members and guests to this special meeting.
Rotary Remembers:
President Karen asked all assembled to stand and observe a Minute of Silence to recognize those who served and sacrificed for our country.
Karen then recognized Al Garden for his service in the Army Dental Corp. She also asked club members and guests by a show of hand how many had family who had served. Denise Henning told the Club of her father's service as part of the "Carter Unit" in the US which was made up exclusively of Native Americans.
Rotary History: Cenotaph Story
The Cenotaph in Riverside Park was completed in May 1922 in honor of the veterans who sacrificed their lives during the war.
Close to 1,800 soldiers from across Western Canada signed up in Medicine Hat, which at the time was a city just shy of 10,000. More than 250 were killed.
After the war, the Rotary Club was instrumental in raising funds for the Cenotaph or the Citizen’s War Memorial as it was called at the time.
It was a huge community undertaking with funds coming from many sources. Much of it was the result of small subscriptions including a “Next of Kin” group and school children’s’ contributions. Bigger contributions came from businesses and other organizations.
Our Rotary Club helped raise the last remaining funds to put the fundraising for the project over the top.
According to the Medicine Hat News of November 5, 1921, it organized a three day canvas.
Captain Pingle, Chairman of the Rotary Committee, announced the Rotary canvas collected about $1,500 bringing the total for the War Memorial Fund to over the $4,000 mark. It must not have been easy but a testament to Rotary for its commitment to serving the community.
Membership Update:
Past President Uwe Krickhan has been granted a six month Leave of Absence from the Club.
Kathy Walker has resigned from the Club.
No new member proposals this week.
Rotary Information:
There is a regular meeting on November 13,
November is Rotary Foundation Month & Sandy MacKay will speak about the Rotary Foundation next week.
Rotary Presentations:
Today was a busy day for presentations:
DG Rick presented Dave Panabaker with his Paul Harris +7 Pin and thanked him for his continued support of The Rotary Foundation.
DG Rick then presented two recognitions to Sandy MacKay on behalf of the Club.
A Rotary Foundation Banner for being the No. 2 Club in the District in terms of per capita givings to the Rotary Foundation Annual Fund.
A Rotary Foundation Certificate in appreciation for financial support to the End Polio Now Campaign.
Upcoming Club Events:
District Membership Seminar, Saturday November 18, scheduled for the AMA boardroom.
Salvation Army Christmas Kettles - December 2.
2018 District Conference will be May 4 - 6, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Calgary.
DATE FOR CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION: FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018, at the Medicine Hat Lodge
RI Convention - Toronto, June 23 - 27, 2018. The Club has agreed to provide an incentive of $500 for new members and $200 for existing members to attend the RI Conference.
For more Club activities, to keep up with events and stay in touch, check the Club website at: www.medicinehatrotary.com
Future Programs:
Christmas Lunch December 4. Watch for more information about our Christmas Stocking Project.
If you have any future program ideas, please e-mail Heather at heather.bach@ahs.ca.
District Governor Rick Istead was in attendance for his annual club visit and was introduced by Assistant Governor Dave Panabaker. DG Rick started his speech by stating Rotary is the oldest and largest service club in the world and has been Making a Difference in the World for 112 years. He also congratulated our Club for being around since 1918 and looked forward to helping us celebrate our 100th Anniversary in June 2018. DG Rick highlighted some of Rotary's achievements, in particular our fight to end polio through our Polio Plus campaign. In 1985 when Rotary set out to eradicate polio there were 350,00 case of polio in the world, today there are 12 cases in 2 countries and we are "that close" to ending this terrible disease. Rick related a story that when the idea of eradicating polio was first proposed, people said it couldn't be done. His comment was never tell a Rotarian it can't be done.
DG Rick when on to discuss of some of the initiatives being undertaken at the district level. Last year district conducted a Member Survey which was completed by 40% of the district membership. Feedback from this survey was very valuable and the District Executive are working on strategies and actions to address issues raised. He also reiterated that District Committees are there to serve the local clubs. Rick then touched on the issue of membership and pointed out the fact that Rotary's biggest problem is not recruiting members rather retaining them. RI and District are working on strategies to allow more flexibility in clubs to keep members engaged and appreciated.
Rick then turned to a discussion of The Rotary Foundation (TRF). First of all, he thank our club for being a District 5360 leader in supporting the Rotary Foundation. He encouraged more Rotarian to make TRF their charity of choice 'To Do Good in the World'. In 2016, The Rotary Foundation was rated the #1 Foundation in the world and for the past 8 years has received a Top 4 Star rating from Charity Navigator. 97% of money donated to TRF goes to Rotary projects, with 50% going to Global Grants and the other 50% coming back to our District to be allocated through a variety of District Grants.
In closing DG Rick thank Rotarians for donating their Time, Treasure and Talent to Doing Good in the World. He then suggested we consider registering for the District Conference in Calgary in May and the International Conference in Toronto in June. Apparently the RI Conference in Toronto is closest it will be until 2025 when it will be held in Calgary.
President Karen thanked DG Rick by presenting him with one of our Medalta coffee mugs.
Karen Danielson, Executive Director of Strive Strategy, a guest of Denise Henning
Mark Bolender, a prospective member (awaiting induction).
Birthdays:
Dave Stalwick, Nov 8
Club Anniversaries:
Karen Blewett - November 6, 2006 - 11 years,
Doug Fleming - November 7, 2005 - 12 years (this time around plus 16 years previously)
Heather Bach - November 9, 2015 - 2 years
Cathie Catalano - November 9, 2015 - 2 years
Jason Hertz - November 9, 2015 - 2 years
Mark Sorenson - November 9, 2015 - 2 years
Weekly Draws:
Denise Henning was the winner of the weekly draw. Denise took home several batches of Chinese Tea, which she shared with her guest.
Alan O'Byrne was not in attendance and won a free lunch in the attendance draw.
Club 500:
No draws this week.
Make Ups:
Sandy Mackay, Dave Panabaker, Dieter Brand and Ted Cowtan attended the District Grants workshop along with 5 other Rotarians from the Saamis and SunRise Clubs.
Dick Bide attended a makeup onboard his ship while on his South American cruise.
Karen, Dawn, Kitt, Adolf, Margie and husband Johan handout out gift cards on behalf of the Club for Random Act of Kindness Day on November 3.
Family of Rotary:
No report.
Minute People:
Club 500 tickets are now available and could be picked up from Chris or Glen. This is a principal fundraiser for the Music Festival, so please sell yours as soon as possible.
Dave Panabaker also announced a Rotary Social evening at VR Junkies will take place on Thursday November 23rd, from 6:30pm to 8:30 pm. Cost will be $20.00/person with spouses and kids welcome. A registration email was sent last week, please respond indicating whether you plan to attend or not.
Christmas Project:
This year it was decided to do a 'hands-on' project at our Christmas Party. First of all, our Christmas Party will be a noon luncheon on December 4, where we will be putting together Christmas Stocking for people in the Hospice & Nursing Homes. Heather Bach is organizing this project and put out a list of items members can bring. The club is also accepting cash donation to purchase items. The following is a list of items required for the Christmas Stockings: Mini Hand Lotion, Lip Balm, Cross Word or Word Find with pencil, Chocolate, Tic Tacs, Tooth Brush, Tooth Paste, Mouth Wash, Small Teddy Bear.
Please bring these items no later than Monday December 27th. For more information, please contact Heather.
