President Milan welcomed everyone and led the singing of our national anthem.
He then shared an article from Rotary Magazine (March, 2026) titled "Reach of Community Action" by Rotary International President, Fransesco Arezzo. The article shares a description of a water project led by the Rotary Club of Panama Nordeste that illustrates the Rotary precept that when local service is connected, measured and shared, it becomes a force that extends beyond geography and borders. The project served Indigenous communities in Panama’s Darién province, a region accessible only by canoe and small boat. The project introduced solar powered water treatment systems that showed immediate results in the communities. Attendance at school increased as sickness in children decreased and adults gained capacity and strength to better support their families.
"This is how we extend our reach: combine local leadership with global partnerships, technical expertise, and long-term thinking."
President Arezzo goes on to share...
"As we observe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Month, I encourage you to reflect on the freshwater systems that sustain your community and the role Rotary can play in protecting them.
When we connect local action to a global vision, we strengthen Rotary’s ability to make lasting change. Together, by extending our reach and working side by side, we truly Unite for Good."
There were no guests to introduce today.
ROTARY AT DISTRICT LEVEL
Members were again encouraged to register for and attend the District 5360 conference, taking place in Red Deer from 1-3 May. Treasurer Gail suggested those attending book into the same hotel, so as to be able to socialize as a group. The Holiday Inn Express on 50th was proposed.
Kitt Brand mentioned that there would be a display of Rotary intervention (projects) connected to the Ukraine at DisCon.
President Milan highlighted the dueling piano performance on the first evening of DisCon and the House of Friendship.
See more in the MINUTES in the MEETING NEWS section of this newsletter.
ROTARY AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
Gail reminded members that the next RI Convention will be in Taipei, from 13-17 June. He encouraged those attending to let the Board know.
See more in the MINUTES in the MEETING NEWS section of this newsletter.
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 focusing on the expansion of the stage, to allow larger music events to occur. The old marquee sign will also be updated over the coming months.
Our club's Projects & Programs Committee and Board have approved partnering with Saamis Club to do another combined District Grant for the spring of 2026, to assist in the fundraising for the replacement of the roof.
The Monarch Theatre is the recipient of a Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant for $125,000 towards the roof replacement, so the project will likely proceed in the summer of this year. The grant was presented to the Monarch Society on February 20th along with a $10,000 from our Rotary club!
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.
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).
We didn't have a guest presenter this week but we did have our very own Dawn Barr share her experiences and impressions from her recent 2 week trip to Japan with her family. Readers Digest version? She LOVED it! Dawn shared a picture of the Tokyo skyline and asked us to guess the population of Tokyo…if you know the population of Canada, you also know the population of Tokyo! Unbelievable to have that many people in such a small space.
Dawn found a Rotary plaque in her hotel and decided to look up Tokyo's Rotary clubs on our app….just on Wednesday, over 30 clubs meet and different clubs meet every day. Dawn talked about how she feels safe in Rotary because, even in a country halfway around the world, there are Rotarians like us whom would help someone in need no questions asked.
Couple of interesting observations about the country….Japanese egg salad sandwiches that you buy in 7-11 of all places, are the absolute best! And they are available in Canada now.
There is no eating or drinking allowed on the street in Tokyo…makes sense given litter, spillage and such when crowds are large.
Lastly, Dawn had the opportunity to ride the bullet train in Japan. Later she was on Facebook and saw a post from Dave Panabaker - his wife and him were riding the bullet train in Spain at the same time that Dawn was on the train in Japan! Being in Rotary really does tie us together!
Dawn concluded by talking about the “dash"….the hyphen that separates the start and end times of an event, an era, our lives. The dash that represents the time we spend with the people we love, doing things that we enjoy, working, serving, building and living. The dates aren't important….that little dash contains all of the things that mark our time and the value we brought to our community. Dawn encouraged us to communicate more, make more and stronger connections and make our dash count!
ATTENDANCE: The meeting was attended by 20 Rotarians in person, and 3 online.
GUESTS:
We were not joined by any guests today.
MEETING DRAW:
Ken Zollner won the prize today - a bag of KitKats from Japan. Last weeks winner, Bruce Sheppard shared that the mystery prize last week that he won was in fact, a stainless steel water bottle and wooden wine holder!
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:
Mercer, Brenda - March 1
Panabaker, Dave - March 7
Vermee, Odessa - March 14
Cooper, Terry - March 25
Rotary Anniversaries:
Sakamoto, Stan 41 years 11 months Mar. 01 1984
Stalwick, Dave 23 years 11 months Mar. 04 2002
Christie, Mike 23 years 11 months Mar. 04 2002
Barr, Dawn 21 years 11 months Mar. 29 2004
Shepard, Robert 11 years 11 months Mar. 10 2014
Guerard, Alain 2 years 11 months Mar. 13 2023
Tuchscherer, Lesley 11 months Mar. 24 2025
WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ROSE RUNNER FOR FEBRUARY 2025:
There is no Rose Runner for March
MINUTE REMINDERS:
CASINO DUTY: Ken Zollner informed that our Club will be ‘staffing’ the casino on Tuesday September 22 and Wednesday September 23 . He will recruit volunteers in due course.
PROGRAM: Margie Booyens highlighted upcoming program items:
Mar 2 Classification talk from Brad + Business meeting
Mar 9Gary from AJ Loan Cupboard
Mar 16 Cancarb JD Gaetan
Mar 23 Spec Olympics Natalie Sauer
Mar 30 Education Cora Carriere
Saturday 11 April (organized with Dan Kammerer), those available will have a morning of volunteering at Prairie Gleaners, from 08:30 to noon.
ROTARY MUSIC FESTIVAL DRAW - Ann C gave a reminder on selling Rotary Music Festival draw tickets! One week till festival starts! Keep selling. If needed, turn in partial books sold. Everything will need to be reconciled with AGLC and there is much work to be done to complete the draw.
HYGIENE BAGS FOR SAAMIS IMMIGRATION - Sharon H noted that our club donated $400 to Saamis for hygiene bags. Members are invited to help distribute the bags March 9 at 10 am at Saamis Immigration
WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE - Sharon reported that the winter clothing drive our club supported for newcomers at Saamis Immigration went well. Y Treasure thrift store provided $500 worth of gift cards that were distributed to their participants. The participants could use them at the thrift store to purchase whatever items they needed, and to date there are still some gift cards outstanding. We have reached out to Saamis to ensure they are encouraging their clients to use the full balance of the gift cards.
Greeters Needed – talk to Dave S. Great way for newer members to get to know people
Manali – M Factor documentary screening as well as panel discussion on March 26. 7-9 pm Free to attend.
SAVE UKRAINE PETITION: A note from Kitt Brand: Save Ukraine is an organization that has tracked and worked to return stolen Ukrainian children and adults since 2014. This organization recently reported that to date, 1,100 children have been returned and housed in centres for de-programming and trauma counselling. A plea from Kitt please to access the District 5360 weekly Digest for the link to sign a petition supporting efforts to return Ukrainian children to their parents. THE PETITION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 15!
PRAIRIE GLEANERS - We are asked to lend a hand at Prairie Gleaners sorting produce the morning of April 11. Please contact Dan Kammerer if attending.
TOP 7 OVER 70 COMMUNITY AWARDS - Margie has nominated Terry Cooper for his work with Project Freewheel. Any senior who is over 70 and lives in Southeast Alberta is eligible to be nominated. Ideal nominees are those who have started something different or new, or implemented a new venture or idea, after the age of 70 in areas of science, philanthropy, community service, literature or sports to name a few. The focus of the awards isn’t on past accomplishments or lifetime achievements. Rather, individuals should be nominated for new accomplishments, in which they’re achieving excellence. These achievements may be based or built on previous work or commitments, but they should have a “current” flavour or different twist, or perhaps could be occurring in a completely new arena.
INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY - March 9!
ISADORA made it home safely to Brazil, exhausted but with many memories of her experiences in Alberta!
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. Coming up:
WHY ROTARY? The 2026 Why Rotary event will be held on April 29 in the Stampede Ballroom - an event for and with all Rotary clubs in Medicine Hat. Tickets will be $20 per person this year and will include appetizers, not a full meal.
BINGO UPDATE: March 9 at 5 pm is next Bingo. Volunteers needed and if every member volunteered for 2 Bingos a year, we would be well staffed and the work shared throughout.
SATURDAY MEAL PROGRAM: A reminder that Lionel Brideson has invited members to offer hands-on help any Saturday afternoon during the Saturday Meal Program at St Barnabas Church on 4th Street SE. He said the number of homeless people or people just needing a meal, ranges from 80-170 each week.
2026 ROTARY CLUB 1000 RAFFLE IN SUPPORT OF THE ROTARY MUSIC FESTIVAL: Tarek Williams reminded members to please get their allocation of raffle tickets sold asap and to hand in the stubs and money to Anne Carrier. Our commitment to the Rotary Music Festival for 2026 is $32,000 and this raffle contributes most of those funds. Tarek reminded sellers that our email address for the raffle has been set up for e-transfers, however please to follow the rules for such a transaction, otherwise it may be difficult to tell where the money is coming from. Anne Carrier shared the good news that more than half of the amount required to pay out the cash raffle prizes has been deposited in the bank. She also mentioned that the draw will be on March 22nd but that ticket sales need to be finalized a week prior to that date.
ROTARY MUSIC FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERING: A schedule has been emailed to members. A reminder to all, please to have a look and to pick opportunities to volunteer during the two week festival. A few new opportunities have become available recently. Please see Delynne's email, forwarded to members by Dave Panabaker.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION: For those who like to venture a little further, the Rotary International Convention is in Taipei, Taiwan.
Family of Rotary:
Please keep Sandy McKay in your thoughts as he is struggling in his new home.
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.
