Our noon meeting on Monday 1 June got off to a good start with the singing of our national anthem. This was followed by the reciting of Rotary's Four Way Test - a good reminder of what needs to guide the thinking and actions of each and every Rotarian.
On the sporting scene, with a smile, President Milan encouraged members to put into their schedules, the date of a forthcoming soccer match between Canada and his country of origin, Bosnia-Herzegovinia - June 12 at 12:30pm.
Milan mentioned that June is ROTARY FELLOWSHIP month and pointed out that our club held a successful BBQ social in Kin Coulee Park on 21 May, providing a few hours of fun, fellowship and seriously good food!
Guests were welcomed - two members of the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat SUNRISE satellite club, IGNITE: Pamela Schwengler and Michelle Haukeness.
Michelle, our guest speaker on the topic of the Ignite Club, was introduced by Sharon Hayward.
Michelle has been a member of the Ignite club for three years now - and has (for reasons that will become apparent) recently been nicknamed 'The Face of Fabric'! Michelle and her husband celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary on 31 May. One of their twin daughters graduated at University on 29 May. Michelle works full-time at the Medicine Hat Health Foundation as the Events and Community Engagement Coordinator.
An outline of Michelle's presentation is in the STORY section of this newsletter.
Ignite meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month, from 5-6pm, in the All Saints Anglican Church, 606-12th St SW. Members are encouraged to attend an Ignite club meeting, to meet the members and to show solidarity.
Igor Grujic was welcomed back into club membership.
Members were encouraged to go on the Club outing to the South Alberta Light Horse Regimental Museum tour on Monday 8 June from noon. Take your own lunch! There will be many displays relating to various periods of time in the history of the Regiment. Some of the history of the Patterson Armoury will be explained. In addition, soldiers will present some of the equipment they use. This should be one very interesting event! Family and friends are more than welcome!
ROTARY AT DISTRICT LEVEL
The District 5360 Annual General Meeting was held online, on 27 May - sadly attended by only one member of our club.
ROTARY AT MEDICINE HAT LEVEL: MONARCH 1911 SOCIETY
The Monarch is having a promotion on a "book" of tickets. Check it out - it is a great deal!
Our club will try to keep track of events on at the Monarch, and will give members a heads-up about opportunities to serve. If you are interested in volunteering at the Monarch, please let Rotarian Janessa Anderson know (403-952-1907) and she will provide details of available shifts and responsibilities.
Volunteering at a show is a great way to connect with the community and support our historic local landmark. Assistant Governor Sharon McDonnell thanked members who helped to BBQ and sell hamburgers at the Monarch during the screening of the Tiger matches.
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).
PLEASE NOTE: The Club Program Committee will be asking you to evaluate the 2025-2026 club program... and to make suggestions for future programs. This will likely be done at the end of June.
On Monday 1 June 2026, we had the pleasure of welcoming two Ignite Club members to our noon meeting: Michelle Haukeness and Pamela Schwengler.
Michelle was our guest speaker, filling us in about the history and development of this, the fourth Rotary Club (albeit a satellite club) in Medicine Hat.
The Rotary Club of Medicine Hat - Sunrise - Ignite, began meeting informally in 2020. It is a small club, but the members think big and are planning to make a significant impact in the community of Medicine Hat over time. We think they have done so already!
A characteristic of this club is that, while they have the same passion for serving the community as all other Rotary clubs, they are exploring new ways of doing Rotary. Their focus is, for example, more on projects than on meetings. Their prime focus is to seek to connect with the local community and to promote wellness.
They became a non-profit under the Societies Act in February 2025.
Their past projects include a Rotary Christmas convoy, Christmas cards, Dine Arounds, Christmas caroling for seniors, cotton candy sales at the annual Rise Up Hot Air Balloon show in Medicine Hat, and Canada Day volunteering.
Ignite Club values working with the other Rotary Clubs in Medicine Hat. They have, for example, joined forces for the Terry Fox Run, the Hospital Flower Bed, and the Why Rotary event.
The main current fundraiser of Ignite is the ‘Fabric, Yarn & More’ sale - formerly organized by the Hat Grannies for Africa. This year, $14,000 was raised at a sale in April at the Curling Centre, where 143 people lined up, waiting to enter the building before opening time! It was a huge success!
For this main fundraising project, Club Ignite looks for donations - fabric plus anything related to sewing. Donations are sorted, priced and organized. The sale of all these goods raises revenue that is then spent in the community.
Recent recipients of donations from Ignite Club include the Medicine Hat Health Foundation and the Hospital Garden. They were present at the 2026 Hot Air Balloon Festival, raising funds, same time marketing Rotary and seeking new members.
In the longer term, Ignite members are planning to organize events that highlight women's issues.
Read more about Ignite Rotary Club on Facebook: /rotary/ignite or on Instagram /rotaryignite.
We salute you, members of the Ignite Rotary Club! Count us in to partner with you, as appropriate and possible, on any of your ventures that promote the wellbeing and health of the residents of Medicine Hat!
ATTENDANCE: This first meeting in June was attended by 24 in person, including our two guests, plus four online.
GUESTS:
Michelle Haukeness
Pamela Schwengler
… both members of Rotary Club of Medicine Hat Sunrise - IGNITE.
MEETING DRAW:
Ken Zollner was the lucky winner of a Rotary jacket donated by Ian McLaughlin
BIRTHDAYS:
Mike Christie - June 7
Alain Guerard - June 8
Terry Brekko - June 9
Sandy MacKay - June 15
Tarek Williams - June 19
Lionel Brideson - June 21
ROTARY ANNIVERSARIES:
Mark Sorenson - 28 years - June 1, 1988
Melanie Harty - 16 years - June 30, 2010
Gwen Dirk - 5 years - June 28, 2021
Tarek Williams - 1 year - June 16, 2025
WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ROSE RUNNER FOR MAY 2026:
The Rose Runner for June is BRUCE SHEPARD.
NEW MINUTES AND REMINDERS:
FIREFIGHTER AID UKRAINE: Alain Guerard reported that FAU is coordinating a shipment that the late president of Rotary Club of Calgary North (Jarvis Kosovan) initiated. Recently, 10 FAU members travelled to Lviv to provide training to 57 personnel (medics, doctors and instructors) on Advanced Tactical Combat Casualty Care. They signed a MOU with the University of Lviv for the advancement of such medical training.
MARKETETING ROTARY VIA SWIM CLUB: Our club has made a donation to the Medicine Hat Summer Swim Club to have the RC of Medicine Hat logo on the back of the team t-shirt. This is great marketing of Rotary and our club, as the t-shirt will be seen by many in the swimming community of South Alberta. Alain said a big thank you to Rotarians Dale Stein and Ken Zollner for volunteering at a Casino dedicated to the swim club.
HUES FOR HUMANITY RUN: Dick Northcott presented a thank you card to President Milan, expressing gratitude to the volunteers from our club who assisted during the run.
SUMMER GAMES: A reminder that volunteers are needed for the Summer Games on August 11 - 15! Our club has sponsored swimming. If you wish to volunteer at that event, talk to Mike Christie for details!
ROTARY CLUB OF MEDICINE HAT DINNER CLUB: Odessa Vermee has taken over responsibility for organizing our Dinner Club. Thank you, Odessa! Please sign up with Odessa if you are interested in hosting a dinner in your home!
GOLF AFTER ROTARY: Rotary golfers began regular golf after the noon meeting on Monday May 25th. Those involved normally golf at the Connaught Golf Club and begin around 1:45 or 2:00 pm. It's a lot of fun. If your name is not on the weekly signup list, please contact either Dale Stein or Dave Panabaker.
ROTARY BOARD PARTICIPATION: Past President Mike Christie advised that the club is still short two Board Members for the 2026 - 2027 year, where Doug Fleming will be President. If you have time and an interest in the operation of the club please contact Mike so he can get your name registered.
THE 2026 TERRY FOX RUN: SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER: 46 years ago, Terry Fox crossed Canada, running on an artificial leg, to raise money for cancer. The annual runs organized by Keith Walker nd the Sunrise Rotary Club have, over the years, have raised $70,000. So this year, the Terry Fox run is once again around the Rotary Sunrise Trail (Medicine Hat College campus), 3km, no hills, starting at 10:30. Do join in! You don't have to run, you can walk! Form a team to participate and have fun! Please register: terryfox.org. You can donate on this website or at the start of the race.
DOOR GREETERS NEEDED FOR MONDAY NOON MEETINGS: Please talk to Dave Stalwick. Consider getting your name on the roster. Being a ‘meeting greeter’ is a great way to welcome and to get to know fellow members.
NOMINATE A SENIOR FOR THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION TOP 7 OVER 70 AWARD
Eligible nominees are seniors aged 70+ who live in Medicine Hat, Redcliff, or surrounding counties and special areas. Nominees should be recognized for new achievements started after age 70, rather than lifetime accomplishments. The award honours individuals who demonstrate excellence, creativity, innovation, or collaboration in areas such as agriculture, health and recreation, arts and culture, science, business, volunteerism, the environment, overcoming adversity, or making a difference. For nomination forms and details, visit https://cfsea.ca/top-7-70. You can also talk to Margie Booyens, who is one of the ambassadors of this 2026 award.Deadline for submission of nominations: June 30, 2026.
PECHA KUCHA: FRIDAY 5 JUNE: Terry Cooper is on the program for the forthcoming Pecha Kucha, starting at 7:30pm, at the Esplanade. Terry will be talking about the Team Freewheel project of our club, marketing Rotary and hoping especially to recruit volunteers to assist with the restoration of bicycles prior to their donation. This is a very popular event, so go early! No tickets, just a $5 donation.
PROGRAM FOR REST OF JUNE: Monday 8 June: Outing to Regimental Museum; Monday 15 June: Jen Boyle, Realtor, on “How's the market?”; Monday 22 June: a guest speaker from Safelink; Monday 29 June: Changeover of Club Executive and Board plus Deb Best's introductory talk on herself.
Family of Rotary:
Anne Carrier was happy to report that Ian McLaughlin is at home and doing well. Has Home Care assistance.
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.
