President Milan opened the meeting with our land acknowledgment and O'Canada.
He specifically wanted to mentioned the recent Music Festival Society meeting, which took place at St Barnabas Church on Friday evening at 7:00 pm. The current Executive Director of the Music Festival led an informative discussion about the Society, particularly the need for volunteers in several areas to take over some of the activities previously done by the Rotary Club. President Milan did speak, to emphasize that although Rotary was still willing to be a primary sponsor, our ability to fund and staff the Festival had declined and both were not possible.
The Executive Director of the Rotary Music Festival, Delynne Lorentzen spoke about the changes to the next Festival, the move away from the MH College and the Cultural Center due to cost, and the "return to our roots" by using some of the downtown churches. The 2026 Festival will run from March 12 - 20, with the Rosebowl event at the MH College Theatre on Friday March 20. Stars of the Festival will be at St Barnabas Church on Sunday March 22.
To start the business portion of our meeting, President-elect Doug Fleming spoke about the Rotary Foundation, which is recognized as an outstanding charitable society, with very low administrative costs and a commendable track record for project success. Doug spoke about being a Paul Harris Fellow and about our our foundation donations are returned as District Grants. It was mentioned that our District 5360 is the highest donating district per capital to the Rotary Foundation.
Following Doug, was Mike Christie who talked about the importance of membership from all sides, recruitment, engagement and retention. Mike spoke about the Membership Master Plan, which is working within the District to aid all clubs in setting and attaining their membership goals.
Mike also showed some of our clubs goals and progress
Long term membership growth is the key to survival of the club, and everyone should be engaged in helping Mike, Nadia and Bruce in seeking out potential new Rotarians.
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.
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.
The next event at the Monarch is a showing of "The Shining", on Friday Oct 10th, doors open at 6:30 pm and admittance is $5.00 (cash only).
In keeping with the scary Halloween theme, a double bill is planned for Saturday October 18th, with "Hotel Transylvania" at 2:00 pm and "The Adams Family" at 7:00 pm
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).
There were 24 Rotarians at our meeting, and 2 guests.
GUESTS:
Brian Robinson - Saamis Rotary Club
Sharon McDonnel - Saamis Rotary Club
MEETING DRAW:
Dave Panabaker was the winner of a box of chocolates in this weeks' draw.
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:
Gwen Dirk Oct 4
Sharon Hayward Oct 7
Peter Mueller Oct 13.
Rotary Anniversaries:
Anne Carrier. 12 years. Oct 7, 2013
Dale Stein 18 years. Oct 22, 2007
WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ROSE RUNNER FOR OCTOBER 2025 IS:
Glen Presley
MINUTES
Mike Christie advised that our District is participating with our Zone 23 in some new member orientations.
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. Please share this info on your district social media and newsletters.
Gregg Martin provided a report on the last bingo which occurred on Monday September 29th. Unfortunately, the bingo lost about $162.00 to the pooled profit, due mostly to a number of double and triple winners. The guess pot was won by Dick Bide. On the positive side, our work at a bingo in August generated a payout of $2,150, so we are still doing well on the fundraising side. The next bingo will be Friday evening, October 17th and 9 volunteers will be required.
Kitt Brand recruited volunteers for a fundraising event featuring the delicious offerings of Lobster Mobster. More information will be available soon, the club members can ask friends and family to use a special code on any order and the club will receive 15% of the value.
The Community Foundation has a special leadership and community development presentation available on Nov 6th. Registration is available through the CFSEA and is $25.00 per person.
The annual District 5360, Grants Qualification Seminar is fast approaching. Anyone interested in the granting process is welcome to attend, and it is mandatory that someone involved in a District Grant application take the seminar to qualify the club for the process. The webinar is being held as a ZOOM meeting on Saturday October 18th from 9 am to noon. Register on the District website at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WD5rwAWGSMCQYMZVxLYQFw
Margie Booyens invites anyone who is interested in International Service, to attend the District International Service Committee webinar.
- Get your project highlighted at the district conference - find out how
- Find out what lessons others have learned on their projects - can this help you?
- Find projects you can become involved in - both in our district and in 5370 to the north \of us - you don't have to be in a big club or have a lot of money. Would you like to build a playground in Belize in February or become involved in a microcredit project?
and
- Raise questions related to international funding
- Get ready for the Grants Seminar
Rotary is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: District International Interest Group Time: Oct 8, 2025, 07:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Rotary International's "World Polio Day" is this month.
Dieter Brand mentioned that REAL HUMANITARIAN will be having a Carnival of Hope fundraiser on October 24. Check your calendars if you are interested in attending, tickets for this fundraiser are $100 per person.
Family of Rotary
Leela John has advised President Milan that her Dad was discharged from hospital last Monday, and that her brother Thomas will be in town for several weeks taking care of their Dad. The club sends our thoughts to the John family during this difficult time.
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.
