Newly minted President Mark called upon Gary E. who delivered a thoughtful blessing asking for our mindfulness towards the Houston hurricane sufferers.

 

President Mark made several housekeeping announcements;

- No meeting for September 4 due to the long weekend,

- On September 11th Herb Pinder will present on Climate Change,

- On September 18 we will hold a Club Assembly,

- District Governor Peter Neufeldt will address the Club on September 25th,

- Joanne F. as Membership Director is having to step down so Mark is looking for a volunteer to take over her role,

- Dave S. reported he has honey for sale! (Editors note - it's delicious!)

- Wayne M. spoke to the Rotary Inter-Club golf tournament, that hosted 16 golfers and 21 diners  and that raised a $300 profit for Rotary. He gave thanks to Dave S. for assisting in the organization and also recognized prize donations from Bev J., Vic D., Gary K., Gary R., Wayne P., Peter Z., Dave S., and Wayne M.'s son in law.

 

Sergeant Steve successfully solicited selective savings serving Service Above Self:

- For those who missed the Sod Turning or the Centennial Dinner,
- For those not currently on a Committee,
- Wayne M. happy for a successful golf tourney,
- Mike L. happy for his colourful Lviv, Ukraine shirt supporting the armed forces,
- Dave S. a sad dollar for a broken car window,
- Al M. happy for his two weeks on a European river cruise,
- Avis happy for Wayne M.'s assistance in finding the sod turning and for her Mom's 99th Birthday,
- Wayne M. happy for Bruce B.'s Ace at Riverside, the Rider's win, and the Mayweather fight,
- Drew B. happy for his son Brett opening his plastic surgery clinic in Calgary after 16 years of school,
- Mark happy for a successful Centennial celebration and the Hilltops' wins,
- Graham happy for time at the Lake with family, golfing and wake-surfing.

 

Item 1 - Centennial Event
President Mark recapped the Centennial Event that went very well and that was Mark's "trial by fire" in which he acquitted himself admirably. Jack B. hosted RI President Ian Riseley for the day. The Sod Turning for the Pavilion was well attended with both good media coverage and cooperative weather. 230 attended the dinner that proved a good success financially with an estimated  $8-9,000 profit going to the Pavilion Project. 

City council has approved construction of the Pavilion although the Meewassin Valley Authority still needs to sign off. A Spring 2018 start for construction is targeted with Summer completion slated. Sponsorships are needed for supplies, services and cash donations. A Committee will be formed to organize construction.

Item 2 - Club Committees
Club Committee membership is needed so that not just one person is doing all the Committee work. Expanded membership also makes successorship easier when the Chair's term expires.

Wayne S. reported on needing help with the Apple Drive, Saturday, September 30. Mike G. and he raised $400 in half a day last year and had a laugh dressed as Clowns.

Item 3 - Community Service
Director Dave S. reported the following Community Service initiatives requiring assistance:
- Dave needs help with name badge making, that only requires a printer and computer,
- The Enchanted Forest event needs single shifts for 12 nights with coverage from 5pm to  11pm. This is a no risk event and a big fundraiser, running from November 20th to January 10th,
- The Masters' golf pool organization starts in December and Dave would like some help with this,
- A Volunteer coordinator is to be named to better organize inter-club activities,
- The Badge Shield and Star dinner needs committee participants to keep up its success,
- RAP, our biggest project needs resourcing, especially with our newer members,
- Joanne F.'s King George School Project needs more support given she may be limited with her time. Avis is connected to the program and offered support,
- The Becas scholarships program, another big initiative is doing well under Jim W.'s leadership and his many hours invested,
- Joys Home of Hope under Maureen's leadership is working on a Global grant,
- The Rotary Foundation is led by Mike L. and Paul G. and is operating well,
- Peter and Elaine Z. head the Malawi project that is now well established and expanding. They head off at the end of September to help unload a container of supplies in Malawi,
- A Pavilion committee is now needed to orchestrate its construction,
- Adventures in Technology led by Steve W., is asking for volunteers. Jack B. and Wayne S. quickly responded!,
- Under World Community Service, the laptop donation program is still running but donations of laptops, Kobes and Kindles are needed,
- The Membership Committee needs a director. Jim W.  jumped in and volunteered!,
- The PR committee under Bev J. needs help. Vic and Jack both responded to assist,
- Under Club Administration, Steve W. asked for Rotateller back up to assist he, Will and Graham. As well the duty roster will need support as Adriana is taking some time away, 
- District Rotary Global Rewards are also now available to support our Club activities. More details are to come.

Item 4 - RI President Ian Riseley
Jack B. reported further on the Centennial event as the host for RI President Ian Riseley. Jack and the Club thanked Mark for his leadership of this important event. President Ian presented a special gift for Mark in recognition of his service. Ian felt that better Rotary promotion is needed for initiatives like Polio Plus to keep them front and center.  Social media could be an important part of this. The Club merger, if it proceeds, will give us 5 chapters in Saskatoon but membership is still key to our success. Jack took Ian and his spouse to the KG school reading room for a visit. They then met with Brenda Banbury to speak about the African Hygiene initiative. Lunch at the Willows followed with a presentation on both the Malawi and RAP projects. President Ian agreed with Jack that RAP needs more promotion across the District. The Centennial Dinner was a success for all Clubs concerned.

Item 5 - The Becas Program
Jim W. is holding a Becas meeting Wednesday night. The Laptop, Kobo and Kindle program needs new leadership. Social media promoting Becas needs support with Norsem helping out on a contract basis. Non-members can volunteer to help as well with Becas. "We are looking at membership backwards" says Jim. What's in it for the new member is the question that should be asked? Jim can answer this question for them.

Associate membership is now possible to attract young talent, keep them informed and getting volunteers on committees without a full time membership commitment.

 

Great job to President Mark, our Directors and Committee Members!