MEETING RECAP - 6 October 2025
Submitted by Will Arscott
Introduction of the New Saskatoon Club General Manager - Tim Ellison
We met in the Main Dining Room of the Saskatoon Club. President-Elect Don Lepp was our MC. Members, led admirably by Gary Rusu, sang O Canada. Al Morton asked the blessing and talked about how confidence can begin from a sense of gratitude. The meal was fish and chips and dessert.
Cashier was Donna Gauthier. Technology was ably handled by Mark Gryba. Greeter was Paul Gauthier. Again, a very special thanks to Avis Hardy for organizing and communicating the roster.
Visitors and Guests
Our one visitor turned out to be our speaker. Tim Ellison introduced himself later in the meeting.
Health of the Club
No report at this meeting.
Announcements
Kent Smith-Windsor spoke to the Badge Shield and Star Dinner. Unfortunately, since the date of this meeting the decision has been made to postpone this event to late spring. In the end there was not sufficient time for advertising and ticket sales. Kent thanked the Rotarians who had worked on obtaining sponsors with great success. Without ticket sales the event could not go forward at this time.
The next event is the Rotary Craft Fair on Saturday November 1 from 10am to 4pm. All the tables are rented. We could still use a few more volunteers for the set-up and take-down. Linda Petrow is very appreciative for all the volunteers. It should be a good fundraiser for the club.
Also, in November we will have our annual Foundation Dinner. Once again it will be a potluck meal at Mayfair United Church. Paul has a list as to who is bringing what and if you are planning on attending, please see Paul. In the past this event has been a huge success.
We need members to volunteer to be scribes for the Rotateller. It is not onerous once it is prepared you simply email to Avis for publication. If help is not forthcoming it may be necessary to miss issues in the future.
Grocery cards are available from Donna Gauthier. This is an easy fundraiser. This year we have Sobey/Safeway and Co-op cards available in $100 denominations. Please get yours. Those members of our club who do not consume groceries are exempt from participation in this project.
[Editor’s Note: Much of the H & S activity involved the upcoming Badge Shield and Star Dinner which has been postponed as reported above.]
- Gary Rusu put in $50H for having sold 50 tickets to our members for the BSS. Thank you to our members and we know you will be ready when the new date is announced.
- $20H Mark Gryba for the Blue Jays. Hey, who does not like a bandwagon.
- $50H Don Lepp for it being October and the ‘Riders are not out of Grey Cup contention.
- $100H Jim Weber for the success of the Huskies. Jim went into a min-report on the Valcanos project. The project suffered from the passing of one of its biggest supporters and volunteers. Things are now settling in well under a revived board. Jim reports there are some new and good people on the Board and on the Advisory Board.
- Kent Smith-Windsor matched Gary Rusu with $50H for the progress of the BSS dinner.
Our speaker: Self Introduction of Tim Ellison (The new General Manager of the Saskatoon Club)
Our speaker was a bit of a surprise. Someone else had been planned and then there was no sign of the person who was to speak. Tim had just arrived this week and had been greeting people coming into the club. We had heard he was a Rotarian and were delighted when he joined our meeting, At Don Lepp’s encouragement he agreed, with no notice, to tell us a little about himself.
Tim began by saying he had heard of Saskatchewan winters and was looking forward to experiencing one. We will see how he feels when he is really in one. Hey Tim, it is a dry cold!
Tim grew up and lived his whole life in the greater Vancouver area. He has family roots on the prairies. His grandfather established the Edmonton Tent and Awning company which is the oldest family-owned business in Edmonton.
As a lifetime hospitality professional Tim is a gold level chef and sommelier. Most recently he was the General Manager of the Vancouver club which is a turn-of-the-century business club very similar to the Saskatoon Club.
Tim is excited about what he calls the private club industry. He feels it fills a unique need supporting a trans-generational family. He is hoping Saskatoon will be more like Vancouver used to be. Already he is seeing how tight knit the business community is in Saskatoon. It is also very family oriented. He is looking forward to meeting the Saskatoon Community.
Tim is also a Rotarian and plans to join our club. Early on he discovered that the Vancouver Club did not have a Rotary Club attached. Their main competitor in Vancouver, the Terminal City Club, did have a Rotary Club on premises. The result was the establishing of the Waterfront Rotary Club of Vancouver. He found our charter in the club storage and was impressed at our club’s age. He plans to have our charter displayed in the club. He also wishes to become a member of our club. The club was delighted to meet Tim and we welcome him.
In honor of Jim’s talk the regular donation will be made to Bethany Homes.
Adjournment
Next meeting is October 20. Presenter is Henry Chan on China Canada relations regarding Canola and EV tariff situation.
