Rotary Weekly News - June 12, 2023 (Jun 12, 2023)

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:

We waited for President Melanie, but unfortunately she texted to say she was in a "Board" meeting, or was that she was "bored in a meeting", either way we needed to move on without her today so PE Bruce Shepard grabbed the podium and led the meeting.

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 Mike Christie 403 878 3311.

Rotary Club Membership Update:

Please consider joining the membership team. Check out a meeting of this team and see how exciting it is! The committee meets on the second Wednesday 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, text 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 June 16th - Rotary at the Ballpark, Athletic Park. Guests welcome. $35 p/p
Sunday June 18th - Rotary Bingo (afternoon)
Monday June 19th - Meeting TBD - No budget discussion that day
Monday June 26th - Board changeover - in-person, at The MH Lodge
Monday July 3rd - NO MEETING - Canada Day holiday

Upcoming Rotary District and International Events

Rotary District Club Learning Webinars:
Registration is open for a Club Learning Workshop - Public Image on Wednesday 21 June at 7pm: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fCvhvaKDQIu9uaS5GQDrkQ
Registration for the Clubrunner Essentials Workshop on Saturday 17 June at 9 am: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WVuaNDBNQFShdb341aDrPw

Ideas for 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.

Local Employment Initiative talk

The Rotary Club was delighted to welcome Michael Austin to the meeting today. Michael runs a new initiative to assist newcomers to the community with employment and it's called the Medicine Hat Area Employment Mentorship. Michael was welcomed to the meeting by PE Bruce and introduced to us by Milan Vujovic. Michael is almost "related" to our Rotary club, as he happens to be Dick Northcott's son-in-law.

Michael explained the Medicine Hat Area Employment Mentorship (MHAEM ) organization, a local professional partnership between Industry and Community Leaders with Newcomers. The organization has two distinct visions:

"..creating a streamlined system for helping newcomers to Medicine Hat: close their professional/education gaps, build networks and friendships and find productive and fulfilling employment in a timely manner."
"...work to enrich the Medicine Hat community through diversifying the workplace, filling the skill gaps, improving workplace understanding and culture in Medicine Hat and empowering individuals to better contribute to this wonderful community"

Their organization can be found downtown and much more information is available on the website. http://mhaem.ca

Michael spoke about the trends in employment within the province and the risk that many of the newcomer community are seriously underemployed. He talked about a few different industries and how they have found variation across Alberta. The program works on a mentor/mentee relationship and they are looking to recruit a wide variety of industry professionals across many disciplines.

They have provided a variety of workshops on resumes, interviews, financial culture and business culture in North America. They have also been partnering with established organizations such as Saamis Immigration, Being Human Services, MH Chamber of Commerce and the MH College to both provide service, mentors, and help with job placement.

Michael was thanked by PE Bruce Shepard for his excellent presentation and given our traditional "thank you" coffee mug, made at Medalta Pottery with the Rotary logo.

Meeting News

Our meeting today was attended by 21 club members and our guest speaker.

Guests:

Michael Austin, MHAEM and our guest speaker.

Club Draw:

Ken Zollner won a bottle of Mexican vanilla.
Please remember to contribute items for the weekly draw as the stock cupboard is running low.

Makeups:

None mentioned

Birthdays:

Mike Christie June 07
Alain Guerard June 08
Terry Brekko June 09
Sandy MacKay June 15
David MacLean June 26

Rotary Anniversaries:

Mark Sorenson Jun 01 1998 25 years
Neil Mardian Jun 10 2019 4 years
Gwen Dirk Jun 28 2021 2 years
Melanie Harty Jun 30 2010 13 years

Wedding Anniversary Rose Runner for June 2023:

Anne Carrier

Reminders about important Minutes:

Rotary Bingo:

Our last bingo of this Rotary year is Sunday June 18, from 11:45 - 4pm. Although it is Father's Day, we have a full team and hope for a successful day. Many thanks to all those who participated through the year!

Sunrise Rotary E-bike Raffle Tickets

The e-bike raffle generates funds for the Sunrise Rotary Club to sponsor community and international causes, one of which is literacy, through the “Sunrise Rotary Ride the Road to Reading” program at the Medicine Hat Public Library, for grade 4 students in the city. Use this link to buy tickets with a credit card: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/18de336b-5b29-4ee9-8e0a-81ade75a8684

Sunrise Rotary Club anniversary: June 20: 6pm: Paradise Valley (TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER)

The 25^th anniversary celebration of the chartering of the Sunrise Club which will take place in the evening of Tuesday June 20, 2023 at Paradise Valley. The draw for the above-mentioned two e-bikes will be done same evening. There will be an outside dinner starting at 6pm. Cost: $25 p/p for the dinner. A cash bar will be available. All are welcome - BRING GUESTS! To RSVP, email Keith Walker at kvwalker@telusplanet.net or use this link: https://forms.gle/ssYrMbb8Qp4FG4GA9.

The Medicine Hat Club chartered the Sunrise Club in June 1998. Past President of our Club, Mark Sorenson, was one of the charter members.

Canada Day Cake Cutting: Saturday 1 July: Melanie Harty and Anne Carrier will attend a Canada Day meeting at 7pm on Monday 5 June to confirm arrangements for the Club's cake cutting on Canada Day, at the Stampede Grounds. A volunteer sheet has yet to be sent out, but there will not be a shortage of members, family and friends to help on this fun occasion.

Saamis Immigration Summer Events: Margie Booyens spoke about a number of "Explore Medicine Hat" events that are happening this month with Saamis Immigration. The program is for any client at Saamis whether their new or old, as well as volunteers and staff can join us to. The purpose of the program is to get out and mingle with other clients and volunteers (no structure or schedule to follow).

Terry Fox Run: Sunday 17 September: 10:30am: The Sunrise and Ignite Clubs are organizing the annual Terry Fox Run/Walk for this year, taking over from the Kinette Club which ran it for almost 40 years. The Run takes place every year in over 10,000 locations in Canada (communities and schools) and in 33 countries around the world. It is the largest event that supports cancer research.

All Rotarians are encouraged to take part in the event on Sunday September 17 at the Medicine Hat College, walking, running, or biking, starting at 10:30am.

It is a non-competitive event for families on the 3k Sunrise Rotary Trail.

Register at http://terryfox.org and help fundraise for cancer research in the name of one of Canada's great heroes, Terry Fox.

Saamis Rotary Club: 21st annual raffle: Tickets can be purchased on their website:http://www.winningticketlottery.ca

Team Freewheel Bike project: Terry Cooper encourages everyone to visit the project at 551 Spencer Street (Knowles Electric building). Thursday afternoons through the summer are the best time to swing by for a cup of coffee and a chat with the team working on the bikes. Active involvement in the project would be warmly welcomed!

Meeting Room Setup

John John needs assistance setting up the meeting room on a go forward basis. The time commitment is about an hour before the meeting, starting at 11:00 am and about a half hour after the meeting, usually ending around 1:30 pm. If you are willing to help, please contact John or Dave Panabaker.

Family of Rotary

Margie Booyens passed on that Rotarian Ted Cowtan is now residing in Chinook Village, as he struggles with dementia.
Dave Panabaker mentioned that former Rotarian Ray Kemp is home, he is trying to get out and do a little walking every day. He would welcome a phone call or email, if you have time.

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