President Mark Sorenson welcomed everyone to the meeting today, he warned everyone not to start "planting the garden" just yet, although the weather the past few days has been very nice. We spend a moment to remember and honor Rotarian Herman Wahl, who passed away on Friday March 5th. He was the longest servicing member of our club, having been an active Rotarian for over 59 years. A virtual funeral will take place on Wednesday March 10th, at 1:30pm. If you wish, a come and go at the funeral home is available on Tuesday March 9th, from 6 pm to 8 pm, but numbers are strictly limited and social distancing is necessary. Rest in peace Herman, you will be missed.
There were 36 Rotarians and guests joining us at the meeting today, it was great to see such a good crowd, even if it was "virtually".
Glen Presley did an update on the Club 1000 draw. Please do your best to sell the remainder of the Club 1000 tickets before March 14th. All proceeds go to the Rotary Music Festival. It would help if Rotarians would share the post on our Facebook Page, on their own personal page to extend our reach. We have 642 tickets sold and returned, and after prizes and expenses, a donation of around $19,600 to the Music Festival. It would be great to sell a few more than last year (707), especially in such a tough year. "Last call" for tickets will be about March 14th, as the committee needs to get all of them in and registered prior to the draw. The draw will be done at the intermission of Stars of the Festival, on Sunday evening March 21st.
Rotary Club "What-z New":
A new club laptop is in our future, the current one will not provide the service required to stream our meetings.
If our hybrid meetings continue in the future, a few more meeting helpers will be required to help run cameras and sound. We are all learning as we go along here, but these type of meetings are manpower intensive.
Rotary Club Membership Update:
If you are interested in helping this working membership team, please contact Mike Christie.
Rotary Club Information:
Housekeeping:
Please collect club draw items. It is an important part of our meeting and the funds generated help to run the club.
If you have a Meeting Minute, please phone or email the Newsletter and we'll include it.
Board minutes can be found on ClubRunner, under Club Documents.
Upcoming Club Program, Activities, and Meetings
Our next "ZOOM" meeting will be Monday, Monday March 15th at noon, it will be a "virtual" visit by our NGSE participant Juliana Nishitani.
The DG and President Mark have requested that we limit our in person gatherings while COVID cases are rising in the community. Our meetings will be virtual until at least Monday April 12th that is currently our first scheduled " in person" meeting.
Upcoming Rotary District and International Events:
The Rotary International convention for 2021, originally scheduled in Taiwan will now be held VIRTUALLY as well. Watch for updates on registration and programs.
Future Programs:
The Rotary Club's Program Coordinator is Jillian Koch. If you have future program ideas, please email Jillian at jkoch@jmhca.com
The Rotary Club of Medicine Hat was delighted to welcome District Governor Mary Turner to our meeting today. With the use of ZOOM technology, the DG is able to make second visits to most clubs and the meeting tools have changed the way that the role can be accomplished. Although it would be great to meet in person, we understand that everyone needs to work at being safe. It has been almost a year since Covid turned our world upside down and limited social gatherings, service projects and fund raising plans.
DG Mary was very happy to reconnect with everyone. She promoted the theme for her District Conference "Navigating a New World", now happening virtually on May 1st. The registration links are available at the end of the Newsletter or on the District 5360 website. There are great speakers planned to address "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion", a Youth Panel, and current Mental Wellness issues.
DG Mary and President Mark spoke about the accomplishments of the club during this time, the adoption of new technology and the introduction of new events. President Mark mentioned the Project Freewheel, and the introduction of the Rotary Ribfest on the weekend after the August long weekend. Also mentioned were the switch of the Rotary Music Festival to a "virtual" platform for the 66th year of the event, and the participation in several international projects with clubs from across the country.
Mary urged the club to imagine what we might look like when we finally get back together in person. It's likely that technology will play a part in that as well. We should review what we want for a "perfect" Rotary club, and this is an opportunity to start some things fresh and brand new. She recommended an article from the recent Rotarian magazine, entitled "Lower the Temperature", about making a positive change in clubs and community.
Mary was thanked by President Mark for taking the time to visit with us and we all look forward to attending the conference.
DG Mary also promoted the next Rotary Learning webinar will take place on Wednesday March 24, at 7:00 pm and will be about "Protecting the Environment". Registration is available on the District website and ties in nicely with Rotary International's new 7th area of focus, the Environment.
Edward Lipin introduced Jany Hatanaka, the NGSE lead for District 4220 in San Paulo, Brazil and our incoming NGSE participant Juliana Nishitani. They will be our program next week.
Terry Cooper provided a short update on the Tenderfoot Self Help School kitchen expansion project in Nairobi, and the 3D Limb project in Sri Lanka.
The 66th annual Rotary Music Festival kicked off this week. Video submissions are underway and it will be possible to watch certain performances by accessing the Music Festival website ( https://rotarymusicfestival.com/festival-2021-playlists ). Approximately 154 individuals will be taking part and there will be over 450 individual sessions. Definitely smaller than normal, but also great to see the kids ready to participate.
Don't forget, both the Rosebowl and the Stars of the Festival will be livestreamed on FB and YouTube so everyone will get to see them.
If you have photos or a story to include in the Weekly News, please submit it to Dave P and we'll try to publish it.
Birthdays: March.
Shann Snedden March 17.
Terry Cooper March 25.
Club Anniversaries: March.
John John 18 years March 10, 2003.
Bruce Shepard 7 years March 10, 2014.
Dawn Barr 17 years March 29, 2004.
Makeups:
None recorded.
Family of Rotary: (PLEASE KEEP ADOLF INFORMED ABOUT MEMBERS SO THAT INFORMATION CAN BE PASSED ON TO ALL IN THE WEEKLY NEWS)..
Jim White is doing better and would welcome phone calls from Rotarians.
Adolf passed on greetings from former club member Ron Shannon, now living in Prescott, Ontario.
