Rotary Weekly News - August 22, 2022 (Aug 22, 2022)

On Monday August 22, 2022 members met at the Medicine Hat Lodge for our regular noon meeting. It was our annual visit from the District Governor and the acting President today was Mike Christie.

Rotarians and guests enjoyed a delicious lunch and Mike kicked off the meeting precisely at 12:15 pm.

The temperature in the room did present a little bit of a challenge but it got better as the meeting moved along.

This week's Paraprosdokian - "A clear conscience is the sign of a bad memory."

Gail Halderman will be sending out our annual dues invoice, they were set last week and had a small increase to $275.00/year and are now due!

Rotary Club "What-z New":

A few more meeting helpers are required to run cameras and sound during our hybrid meetings. We are all learning to adapt to this new reality. Anyone wishing to help should contact Mike Christie 403 878 3311.

Rotary Club Membership Update:

Would you like to join the membership team? Check out a meeting of this team and see how exciting it is! The committee meets on the second Thursday of each month at 5:00 pm. Contact Mike Christie to join in.

Rotary Club Information:

Housekeeping:
- If you have a Meeting Minute, please phone or email the President and it will be included in the next Newsletter.
- Board minutes can be found on ClubRunner, under Club Documents.

Upcoming Club Program, Activities and Meetings:

Friday Saturday and Sunday -Aug 26-28 Ribfest at Town Center- we have a booth to sell water
Monday August 29th - President Melanie regarding Strategic Plan and Club Engagement
Monday August 29th - Evening Bingo
Thursday Sept 1 - a 'quad-Club' social: walking around the Sunrise Rotary Trail, followed by treats. Meet at 6pm at the Cultural Centre. Note that it's the first Alberta Day that day!
Monday September 5th - NO MEETING, STAT Holiday

Upcoming Rotary District and International Events

Next District Conference: Lethbridge: May 5th and 6th, 2023.
The next Peace Park Assembly is being held in Great Falls, on Sept 16 - 18, 2022.

Future Programs:

The Rotary Club's Program Committee members are: Jillian Koch (jkoch@jmhca.com), Dave Panabaker (d.panabaker@hotmail.com) and Margie Booyens (margiebooyens@gmail.com).
If you have ideas for future programs, please contact them.

Annual District Governor Visit

The Rotary Club was delighted to welcome, in person the District Governor of 5360 for 2022-2023, Steve Leavitt of the Rotary Club of Raymond. Steve was accompanied by his wife Pat, with whom he shares five children and 15 grandchildren. After a few years of virtual visits, it was wonderful to be back to this particular meeting in "live" form.

DG Steve was introduced by AG Keith Walker from the MH Sunrise Rotary Club, who also got his "Imagine Rotary" baseball hat to wear at Rotary events. Steve has been a member of the RC of Raymond for 21 years. He received his Masters degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Alberta, and he has been involved in marketing and agricultural management his whole career.

Steve became a true Rotarian when he experienced first hand the impact of Rotary in the developing country of Uganda. In 2016 Steve and Pat served a volunteer mission of 18 months in St Lucia. In conjunction with their local Rotary Club, they have participated in fundraising and service opportunities on their local Indigenous Reserve.

Steve spoke about the wonderful opportunity to be District Governor, and his recent experience meeting and interacting with RI President Jennifer Jones. ( You may have seen them both in the Calgary Stampede parade). Steve spoke about his vision for Rotary in the District, and talked up a couple of current issues. The first of course is membership, our District membership has declined to approximately 1,500 people. A second current project is the "Move for Polio" campaign, and he encouraged everyone to participate in the Quad Club social on September 1, which will raise money for continued polio eradication.

DG Steve was thanked by acting President Mike Christie and presented with our Centennial Book, a club banner and our "half full" coffee mug.

Thanks to both Steve and Pat for visiting, bringing the annual club banner and pins and joining us for lunch.

Social with Saamis Immigration Services

The Saamis Immigration Services Association event on Monday 22 August was a great success, led by Holly Hoffman (LINC Instructor, class 1), Davar Broeckert (LINC Instructor, class 2) and Judith Gonzalez (LINC Coordinator).

Three Rotarians joined in.

After arrival at the Tourist Centre, the group walked to the Teepee and spent a good 45 minutes reading the stories about aspects of Indigenous history… and taking many selfies and group photos!

AG Keith Walker spoke about the origin of this, the tallest Teepee in the world.

Back at the Tourist Centre, the group enjoyed conversation, developing their conversational English language skills, and refreshments.

It was a privilege to meet these immigrants from all over the world, who have made and managed major changes in their lives. A flyer on Rotary in Medicine Hat was handed out on the bus back to Saamis offices.

Meeting News

Guests:

District Governor Steve Leavitt and his wife Pat.
AG Keith Walker, MH Sunrise Rotary.
Norman Leach, RC of Edmonton-Strathcona (a new employee of the MH College)

Club Draw:

The club draw this week was again won by Doug Fleming, who is getting used to winning club draws!

MAKEUPS:

None reported

Birthdays:

Wayne Chesley - Aug 04
Terry Partis - Aug 05
Gregg Martin - Aug 25

Rotary Anniversaries: .

Ken Zollner 39 years Aug 01, 1983
Jillian Koch 6 years Aug 08, 2016
Wayne Chesley 24 years Aug 28, 1998

Wedding Anniversary Rose Runner for August:

Anne Carrier
WE ARE LOOKING FOR ROSE RUNNERS FOR DECEMBER 2022 AND FEBRUARY 2023. If you would like to assist, please contact Dawn Barr or Anne Carrier

Minutes

Movie Night with Saamis Immigration clients.

Bingo team

Dave Panabaker advised that our next BINGO is the evening of Aug 29th. He has a full team and three on the spare list, so thanks to everyone who promptly responded.

Saamis Rotary Harley raffle

The Saamis Rotary Club is holding their annual fundraising raffle this summer. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.winningticketlottery.ca

Ribfest

Gail and Anne:

The 2022 Ribfest is taking place on Friday 26 August (11:00 – 21:00), Saturday 27 August (11:00 – 21:00) and Sunday 28 August (11:00 – 19:00), at the new Towne Center facility.

Our club will have the opportunity to sell water as a fund-raiser. A meeting will be organized by President Melanie on Tuesday to confirm the final details. Volunteers have stepped up to fill all the selling shifts and the water storage on Thursday evening Gail Halderman or Anne Carrier will be in touch with the club to confirm any other arrangements or needs, this week.

Desert at Ribfest

Dave Panabaker advised that if you need desert after ribs on Saturday afternoon, St John's Church is selling pie and ice cream for $5.00 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

2023 Club 1000 update

Dave Panabaker also advised that our new AGLC licence for this year's raffle has been obtained, and ticket printing is underway. Hopefully ticket packages will be available after Labour Day.

Upcoming Social Events:

Thursday 1 Sept: 'Quad-Club' social: starting at Cultural Centre at 6pm. Walk around the trail. Treats courtesy of MH Sunrise Rotary. This is a fundraiser for "Move for Polio".
On at Monday in September, we will have an "Al Garden memorial" supper at the Connaught Golf Club. A partner event, signup sheets will be out soon.

Family of Rotary:

Please keep Adolf informed about members health changes so that information can be provided to the club through the Weekly News.