Rotary Weekly News - April 14, 2025 (Apr. 16, 2025)

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

President Mike opened the meeting early, as many of us were headed out promptly at 1:00 pm to attend the funeral of former club member, Adolf Seiler. President Mike spoke about new room that we are trial running, and that the lift should be inspected on Thursday of this week and be operational the next time we attend.

President Mike ended the meeting at 1:01 pm, after advising the club that he will be absent from club meetings for a few weeks. He has hip replacement surgery planned for Friday April 25th, so he'll be present, either in spirit or by ZOOM for a few meetings, Much kidding about CORE having a lift, him having a temporary blue sticker for premium parking spots and having to be up exercising anyway,were all tossed his way. But seriously, we all wish him the best and based on passed experience in the club, the impact of the surgery is pretty life changing, so he'll soon be back to lifting those cases of wine.

Past President Bruce Shepard also had couple of club business issues to speak about, so he got the floor and the microphone as well.

Firstly, please consider attending the "Why Rotary" event, and bring friends and/or family who might be curious about Rotary. It will take place at the Grandstand ballroom of the Stampede Grounds, the cost for the sit down dinner is $50.00/person and the event is on Wednesday April 23rd. Doors open at 5:00 pm, the cash bar opens at 5:30 pm and dinner will be served right after 6:00 pm.
Secondly, PP Bruce was delighted to announce that he has recruited a club president for the 2026 - 2027 Rotary year. Club Secretary Doug Fleming has agreed to take on the role, and the club is delighted he will return to a post he held during the 2011-2012 Rotary year. We wish him the best!! That does mean that PP Bruce will be looking for a new club secretary, as well as a couple of new club directors for the 2025-2026 year, under the leadership of Milan Vujovic.

Service Director Terry Cooper took the floor to advise that the club had donated $750 to the annual Color Run which supports REAL HUMANITARIAN. He also got club approval for a donation of $1,250 to Shelterbox on behalf of our club, to support humanitarian efforts in Thailand after the recent earthquake.

Rotary Club "What-z New":

A few more meeting helpers are required to run cameras and sound during our hybrid meetings. Anyone wishing to help should contact President Mike Christie 403 878 3311.

Rotary Club Committee Membership Update:

Please continue to assist your 'team captains' (committee leads) and please also work in other areas of club activity, as you are able.
Please have a look on ClubRunner in the Committee section. You should find your name on one of the committee member lists, as per your choice(s). If not, please contact President Mike.

Rotary Club Information:

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

Rotary District 5360 and Rotary International News

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 SE. On Wednesday April 16th they will be showing "The Passion of the Christ", in keeping with the Easter weekend.

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.

RI CONVENTION 2025 IN CALGARY: 21-25 JUNE

The RI Convention was last held in Calgary in 1996. It’s going to be back in Calgary again June 21 - 25, 2025.
If you are interested in volunteering, contact Host Organizing Committee secretary, Luanne Whitmarsh (l.whitmarsh@shaw.ca)
Club Convention Champions are playing a vital role in communication (both ways) between the District 5360 Host Convention Committee and their Club. Our Convention Club Champion is PDG Sandy MacKay.
Registration for the 2025 Rotary International Convention - https://convention.rotary.org/en-us
The constantly updated convention website is http://www.rotarycalgary2025.org

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)
If you have ideas for future programs, please contact them.

Getting to know you talks

Our club has been privileged to inducted several new members over the past few months, and we were delighted to hear their "Getting to know you" chats at today's meeting. Rotary used to call this classification talks, but the old classification system has pretty well gone the way of the dinosaur, so these introductory chats allow us to learn more about our new member.

First, Manali Shabhag was introduced by Margie Booyens. Manali took the floor and spoke about her upbringing in Mumbai India. She spoke about her parents and grandparents in that busy, noisy City and the birth of her "baby" brother when she was 10 years old. Manali spoke about moving to California in 2014, to take her higher education, and then moving to Dallas, Tx when she met her husband. They now have a 2 1/2 year old son, and have happily relocated to Canada.

Manali spoke about her specialization in women's health and how that has steered her practice. She loves the idea of connection and community, and see's her involvement in Rotary as helping her build both of these aspects of a successful life. She was thanked and welcomed again to our Rotary family by President Mike

Next, Odessa Vermee was introduced by her neighbour Bruce Shepard. Odessa described her family history, starting with here Great Grandfather's arrival in Medicine Hat in 1908. She is part of 6 generations of borne and raised Medicine Hatters, which is a pretty rare thing. She owns the Quilt Shop, and Rotarian Dawn Barr (who was her sponsor) is teaching her to quilt. Her quilt shop is moving on June 18th, so this is a busy time for her.

A question was asked about her first name, and she advised that she's either named after the City in Crimea or a song by the Bee Gee's, the family stories are not entirely clear.

Odessa was thanked by President Mike, and referred to as the best kind of recruitment, as she had worked a Rotary bingo before she was even inducted. She also participated in the Rotary-at-bingo event this winter, and won the bonanza game, so Rotary has been a money maker as well.

Thank you to both of Rotarians for great stories and we look forward to all you will accomplish in our club and for our community.

Meeting News

GUESTS:

We welcomed Brian Robinson and Frank Devine from the Saamis Rotary club.

ATTENDANCE:

22 Rotarians attended in person, one on ZOOM

CLUB DRAW: None today.

Please remember to contribute gifts for the weekly draw. If you are somewhere interesting, a small gift to the club is an easy fundraiser!

Makeups: None were mentioned.

Birthdays:

Glen Presley April 3.
Sarah Koch April 4.
Manali Shanbhag April 7.
Bernie Scott April 9.

Rotary Anniversaries:

Dick Bide. 54 years. April 11, 1971.
Terry Brekko 36 years. April 1, 1989.
Joe Hrankowski 25 years. April 3, 2000.
Dave Panabaker 21 years. April 1, 2004

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ROSE RUNNER FOR APRIL 2025

Bruce Shepard

Minute Reminders

"WHY ROTARY" RECRUITING EVENT

PP Bruce Shepard reminded everyone that the 2nd "Why Rotary" event will be taking place on Wednesday April 30th, in the Stampede Ballroom. Tickets are $50.00 each, and he is taking orders for them now. This year there is a full buffet supper, and tickets will be allocated to each Rotary club in Medicine Hat, based on membership numbers. The doors open at 5:00 pm with supper scheduled for 6:00 pm.

DISTRICT 5360 AGM

The annual general meeting of District 5360 will take place on May 23, beginning at 9:00 am. Pre-registration is required, you'll find the form on the District website.

ROTARY UKRAINE FUNDRAISING EFFORTS

Alain Guerard advised that our second container with medical and dental supplies has left Canada, enroute to Poland and the Kiev. He is working on the performance of an opera in the fall of 2025, as a public fundraising event for the project utilizing the talents of a number of opera performers from Calgary. Much more to come out on this, a small working team has been formed.

ANNUAL ROADWAY CLEANUP

The annual cleanup will take place on Saturday April 26th, beginning at 9:00 am. We will be working on Rotary Centennial Drive NW, and after the work is finished, a refreshment will be obtained from MH Brewing Company.

BINGO UPDATES

Please consider helping out at one of the future bingo events. The next one is Wednesday evening, April 16th beginning at 5:00 pm. The team is full, thanks!

70TH ANNIVERSARY ROTARY MUSIC FESTIVAL ROSEBOWL WINNER CONCERT

We are delighted that the winner of the 2025 Rosebowl, pianist Miriam Monet, has, on our request, agreed to put on a concert for Rotarians and friends, on Friday May 16th, beginning at 7:00 pm in St Barnabas Church. This will be a practice run for the Provincials, as she will play the two pieces she has entered for this 'next level' competition.

THE MONARCH THEATRE - MAJOR FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN.

Brian Robinson introduced the 2025 fundraising campaign to raise $125,000 for two major projects in 2025. An extension to the stage, to allow live performances and restoration of the front facade and marque. Brian advised that a matching grant was available to double the fundraising efforts, and that currently $45,000 of the $125,000 had been raised. A copy of the letter, to circulate throughout the community has gone out to all members.

ROTARY DINNER CLUB

Members are reminded that everyone who has signed up for this year's dinner club can now book a date for the dinner in their home. If you have a particular date in mind, it's best to get it to Milan (or his spouse Almira) so that date can be fitted into the schedule. Please phone and book your dinner as soon as you can.

Family of Rotary

Bernie Scott is home, healing and recovering and hopes to be at a meeting soon.
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.