This was the monthly Business Meeting of the Club, conducted via Zoom.
President Bruce Shepard welcomed the 19 attendees.
Anyone interested is invited to contact President Bruce, who has already volunteered for one of the Convention planning committees. See more details below.
Saamis Rotary Club 50/50: Congratulations to Rotarian Dick Bide who won second prize of just under $25,000.
The members of the Bring-a Friend event were asked to stay behind after the meeting for further planning.
The Communications Committee has ascertained that the Medicine Hat News is still interested in a monthly Rotary column - on the condition that a $100 advertisement is sponsored each month. Fortunately two Rotarians have offered to cover the costs for November and December, opening the door to two Rotary columns being published before the end of the year.
The editor of this edition of the Weekly News is taking the liberty of providing background information on the Monarch 1911 Society, as presented by Brian when he was guest speaker at our Club a few weeks ago, in addition to that which he shared at the 2 October meeting.
Editor's observation: If ever there were a big dreamer, a big thinker, and a Rotarian of Action, all rolled into one, it is Brian Robinson.
Brian is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat Saamis, currently Club treasurer, and at District level, District Youth Exchange (YEX) inbound events coordinator.
When Brian was a guest speaker at our Club recently, he shared how he and other members of the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat Saamis have for a number of years, explored ways and means to generate club funding beyond the usual selling of tickets, 'staffing' Bingo sessions, and 'staffing' an evening at the Casino.
The Monarch Theatre is ‘it’. It is a Rotary commercial venture, operating on a business model, as a social enterprise, with Federal Charity status.
The theatre has been bought from the City of Medicine Hat by the Monarch 1911 Society, for an undisclosed amount, and will be restored to its former 1950s glory, redecorated by local construction companies, and transformed, over the months ahead, into a community resource second to none.
The transformation vision is that the Monarch will operate as a social enterprise. It will be run on business principles and as a for-profit business, but after sub-contractors have been paid, the remaining profit will be channeled to Rotary for allocation to local and international humanitarian service projects.
The Monarch project is a joint Rotary project in the sense that to join the Society and to become a member of the Board or a member of the Society, one has to be a member of one of the four Rotary Clubs in the city of Medicine Hat.
The Board currently has eight members (no more are needed), one of whom is Jillian Koch, a member of our Club. The main focus of the Board right now, is getting governance in order, including the bylaws.
A second committee will be set up annually, drawing on members of the Society, to receive applications from Rotary Clubs and to decide on how the profits of that year will be distributed in the community. The annual allocations will possibly be made at gala dinner type events.
The hope is that through this initiative, Rotary will not only increase its funding for community service, but its prominence in the Medicine Hat community and that this will unfold into attracting new members for the four Clubs.
Day-to-day operations of the theatre will be outsourced to Plug-in-Media. This means that volunteers will not be needed at that level, as has been the practice in the past.
Landmark Media will be contracted to sell movie tickets and to show movies at the Monarch. Matinees will be shown, in addition to regular movie nights. Comedy Club may operate from the Monarch. The Monarch will be open for any number of events, even possibly weddings.
The Monarch 1911 Board has received a number of sizeable donations. It will also do fundraising, including grant applications. Rotary Clubs would be welcome to take on specific renovation projects, possibly applying for District grants. The Board has $50,000 to get going with renovations, of which the roof is the most important.
A full assessment will be done of the building. New ideas will feed into the renovations, including the extension of the stage and the improvement of the sound system.
Timeline: if all goes according to plan, the first movie show will be at the end of November 2023.
A distinguishing feature is that, once operational again, the Monarch will be the longest operating community theatre in Canada.
Brian was once again sincerely thanked by President Bruce for identifying this wonderful opportunity for Rotary, for taking the lead, and for making this ground breaking initiative, a reality for Rotary in Medicine Hat, and the Medicine Hat community.
President Bruce wished all a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
