President Milan welcomed everyone and led us in a rendition of O' Canada. He wished everyone a Happy New Year and did a land acknowledgment.
Milan mentioned that his new year started extremely well, as he watched the traditional New Year concert with the Vienna Orchestra and then on Friday evening attended the Duo Fratelli & Friends Welcome 2026 benefit concert at St Barnabas Church featuring the Soren and Lace Lorentzen. Both events were amazing.
As this was a business meeting, the meeting started with the Rotary Theme for January which is vocational service month. First we viewed a short video from Rotary International regarding vocation.
Margie Booyens spoke about the video.
In the RI recording we viewed, Louisa Horn (Zone 28 Rotary Coordinator) spoke about Rotary’s Vocational Service involving:
Classification talks at Club meetings by new members
Mentoring programs for young professionals
Talks about different professions during Career Days at Middle Schools
Clubs applying for a Global Grant to send a vocational training team to another country
To this list, we can add Rotary’s New Generations Service Exchange (NGSE) program for 18-30 year young adults.
The NGSE is a short-term, customizable program for school graduates, university and college students, and young professionals, designed to combine the young person’s professional or career goals with humanitarian service and cultural exchange.
Isadora Brum Nesi is our next inbound NGSE participant, from District 4640 in Brazil. She arrives at Calgary International Airport on Saturday 17 January. Rotarian Mihaela Cruciun will meet her at the airport and bring her back to Medicine Hat on Sunday 18 January.
Hosting Isadora for the 20 days she will be spending in the Hat are Mihaela and her family, and the Deenens. After her time here, she heads to Canmore for two weeks, wrapping up her District 5360 NGSE program at the end of February with a week in High River, the Rotary Clubs in these two towns organizing her host families and the vocational, service and cultural aspects of her program.
Isadora has a Law degree and a degree in Physical Education.
The vocational pillar of her program in Medicine Hat will be spent at the YMCA; also at the Redcliff Youth Centre, the Salta Gym and at Saamis Immigration Association.
President Milan and Almira will be hosting a lunch at their house on Saturday 24 January at noon. with the idea that Isadora will meet all who will be involved in her program in Medicine Hat.
Any Club members interesting in attending the lunch to meet Isadora would be welcome – please just to bring a contribution to the menu!
Isadora will be the guest speaker at our noon meeting on Monday 2 February, within the context of our monthly Business Meeting.
MONARCH 1911 SOCIETY
As many Rotarians will know, our club, in cooperation with the Saamis Rotary Club and the Friends of the Monarch Society, has been working on restoring both the structure and the programming at the historic Monarch movie theatre on 2nd St S.E, Medicine Hat. Construction is currently ongoing on an expansion of the stage, to allow larger music events to occur and the old marquee sign will be updated over the coming months.
As well, our club Community Service committee is considering a request from Saamis Rotary to do another combined District Grant for the spring of 2026, to assist in the fundraising for the replacement of the roof..
To stay completely up to date, consult The Monarch website at
Our club will try to keep track of events on at the Monarch, to give members a heads-up that the opportunity to serve exists. If you are interested, please let Rotarian Janessa Anderson (403-952-1907) know and she can provide details of available shifts and responsibilities.
Volunteering at a show is a great way to connect with the community and support the historic local landmark.
Ideas for Future Programs
The Rotary Club's Program Committee members are Jillian Koch (jkoch@jmhca.com), Margie Booyens (margiebooyens@gmail.com), Alain Guerard (aguerard@telus.net), Sharon Hayward (sharon.hayward@medicinehatymca.ca).
ATTENDANCE: A total of 22 Rotarians attended in persona and we welcomed 3 online participants.
GUESTS:
No guests today
MEETING DRAW:
Mike Christie won some chocolate and coffee.
Please remember to contribute gifts for the weekly draw. If you are somewhere interesting, a small gift to the club for the draw is much appreciated!
Makeups: None were mentioned.
Birthdays:
Sieg Kappler January 1
Dick Northcott January 13.
Mark Sorenson January 23.
Melanie Harty January 25.
Jim White January 31.
Rotary Anniversaries:
Gail Halderman 30 years Jan 01, 1996
Debra Best 30 years Jan 08, 1996
Peter Mueller 6 years Jan 20, 2020.
WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ROSE RUNNER FOR January 2025:
The January Rose Runner is Odessa Vermee.
MINUTE REMINDERS:
A reminder that our District is invited to participate in Zone 28 new member orientation webinars:
New Member Orientation Webinars
We are excited to share the dates for this year’s New Member Orientation webinars. These fast-paced, informative sessions are ideal not only for new members but for any Rotarian who wants to learn more about our amazing organization. The first was held on October 21. Coming up:
BINGO UPDATE: The club volunteered at the Sunday January 4, 2026 evening bingo, and a huge crowd of 157 players was present as there was a $5,000 prize pot being played off. 9 Rotarians were kept pretty busy but the pool profit was $4,737.75 (the largest we've seen in a while) and Odessa Vermee won the guess pot. The $9.00 was donated in her name at the meeting with thanks!
2026 Rotary CLUB 1000 Raffle, in support of the Music Festival: Anne Carrier and Tarek Williams advised that the 2026 Club 1000 tickets were available for sale, and that packages were being given out this week. Our commitment to the Rotary Music Festival for 2026 is $32,000 and this raffle contributes most of those funds.
MONARCH THEATRE AGM: The AGM for the Monarch Theatre Society will be Thursday January 22, at 7:00 pm at the theatre. All Rotarians are welcome.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION: For those who like to venture a little further, the Rotary International Convention is in Taipai, Taiwan
Family of Rotary:
Sandy Mackay has moved on Monday to his permanent room in Masterpiece Long Term Care wing (Room 222). He would also love visitors. Jane is in a community bed (No. 311) in St Josephs Home. She would appreciate a text or a visit anytime.
Former Rotarian John John is also at Masterpiece and got a visit over the holidays from Margie and Terry.
Please keep a Board Member informed about members health and/or any other changes, so that information can be provided to the club through the Weekly News.
Our first meeting of every month is a business meeting, but all meetings are both in person and available on ZOOM. Check the club calendar, which is usually up to date for our meeting locations and program.
