Submitted by Will Arscott 

 

 

This was an in-person meeting with a Zoom alternative available. Twelve members gathered in the upstairs lounge of the Saskatoon Club. We were joined by four people on Zoom 

 

Thanks to Paul Gauthier and Mark Gryba for organizing Zoom and providing the link. Thanks to Avis Hardy for arranging the duty roster. The MC for the meeting was Gary Rusu. Our greeter was Jack Brodsky. Wayne Palmer was cashier.

 

The meeting began with the playing of ‘O’ Canada. The blessing was asked by Jenny Lawrence.    Jenny thank God and asked blessings for all our friends in and out of Rotary.  

 

 

We had no visitors other than our guest speaker who was introduced later in the meeting.

 

 

Gary Kerr was present and made the announcement that Otto Ulrich, out oldest member at age 103 and six months, had passed. Otto had been in and out of hospital in recent months and had grown more dependent on oxygen supplement. His final passing was a little sudden and unexpected. He was still living in his apartment, but the decision had been made that he would need more care going forward. There is a private family funeral with a celebration to follow later in the summer. We will make sure the club is made aware of this event.

 

Graham Pearson spoke briefly about how he met Otto at his first meeting after arriving in Saskatoon. Otto took him by the arm and didn’t rest until Graham became a member of our club. In recent years we have missed Otto as his hearing reached the point where he was unable to attend meetings.

 

 

President Mark Gryba made an announcement about our annual Christmas Luncheon on December 20^th.  The luncheon will be at the Saskatoon Club. For this year it will be limited to members and partners. We will not have young children present because of the Covid situation and the fact that few of them are vaccinated. Please RSVP to President Mark. Only six people have replied so far though some did at the meeting. We need numbers for the club. People coming are asked to bring two things: The first is a white elephant gift. This is to be a wrapped gift and not a gift certificate. These gifts can either be kept or taken by someone else. All who bring a gift will leave with a gift. Couples may bring one or two gifts in which case they will receive the number they brought.  

 

Secondly, members are asked to bring appropriate gifts for Bethany Home. These are not to be wrapped so that the Salvation Army people can distribute them appropriately. A list of items needed will be emailed to members. Otherwise, cash (cheques) are most welcome. We will be presenting our annual donation to our Salvation Army member, Marc Cheriyan, at the Christmas meeting.

 

The Victoria Park project has been approved by City Council at their last meeting. The timeline for implementing the plan is coming. It is likely the new building will be completed over the summer. It has been agreed that new building will have Rotary signage both on the outside and inside of the facility.

 

There is a meeting of the Local Community Service committee tonight at 7 pm on Zoom.  The minutes of the last meeting have been distributed to members.

 

 

It was also announced that Jenny Lawrence has a catering business. She is a trained chef. If you have a need in this area, you might call Jenny.

 

It is the entertaining season even if we are still more limited in how much we can do. Grocery cards are available from Donna.  Please entertain you guests well and this make some easy money for our club at the same time. We are hoping to earn $2,000 from this project for this year. Given that our other fundraising is in question please support this project.

 

Friendship Inn has an opportunity for our members to serve over the lunch period on Christmas Day (yes December 25^th). This will be a roughly two-hour commitment beginning at 11am. A surprising number of members said they would participate. The club realizes that for some this will not fit with their Christmas traditions or plans. For those that are able it could be a wonderful opportunity to serve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Editorial Note: Nearly all the members mention Hope for Malawi. This charity does wonderful work for the people of Malawi. It also does some quite wonderful things for the people here in Saskatoon. It provides a sense of purpose and community that was initially created by the Zakreski’s but now expands to an ever-widening circle around them and around Saskatoon. Our club is very proud of its association with Elaine and Peter, their family, and their project.]

 

Rotary Moment

 

Gary reviewed how the ‘Rotary Four Way Test’ came to be created. The test dates from 1932 when Rotarian Herbert Taylor came to take charge of a bankrupt aluminum company. He decided that part of the solution would come from holding the employees of the company to the highest possible ethical standard. To this end he drafted a thirty-two-word set of principles. In 1943 these were adopted as the Four Way Test. Herbert Taylor was a long-term Rotarian and served as Rotary International President in 1954-55.

 

           

 

Judy was introduced by Marc Cheriyan. Major Regamay is a Saskatchewan product from Melfort, I believe. She has served forty years in the Salvation Army and has been posted across Western Canada and as far east as Toronto. She is getting close to retirement. Judy plans to retire in Saskatchewan where she has three grown sons.

 

Judy and our own Marc Cheriyan have been involved in a project to integrate all the work the Army does in Saskatoon. There were to be three of them heading up the project. The three major areas are temple (the church), child and family services and the residences. The third person had to step back for health reasons, so Judy and Marc have carried the project forward. Judy has taken charge of the temple and child and family services while Marc has looked after the residences. Judy is a pastor, and her duties include writing Sunday sermons.

 

Judy began by thanking our club for our long and continued support of the work of the Salvation Army. The Army is in its full Christmas swing now with the work starting in September. Judy went through examples of the work the Army does:

 

The Crossroads Program makes up sunshine bags for people who are incarcerated over the holiday season. This covers about 1,300 people.  The bags are simple but provide some Christmas for those unable to be out for the holiday. Prisoners may be where they are for a reason, but they are people too. Judy explained how a person who was an extended member of her family received such a bag and it was the only ray of hope in a grim time in their life.

 

The Salvation Bell ringing is in full operation. This is the important source of revenue for the Child and Family outreach. The money raised provides the Christmas hampers and the toys. Up until last year people had to apply to receive from the program. There was a process of checking to be sure they were below a certain income thresh-hold. Due to the Covid, these restrictions were relaxed last year and anyone who contacted the program qualified. Part of the reason for the change was to lessen the stigma at a time when many people were hurting. Last year 6,000 families were helped, up from 4,000 the year before. Fortunately, there was a large increase in the resources available again partly due to the Covid. To date there have been significantly fewer applications to the program for this Christmas.

 

The Salvation Army supports CKOM’s Adopt a Family Program. Last year 600 families were assisted, up from 250 the year before. The Secret Santa Program serves another 800 families.   The Army works with this program and the Foodbank. Even with all these programs there still is need. The day of our meeting was the first day for applications (online). Distribution begins this weekend.

 

As mentioned, when a family applies to the program, they will be accepted without a ‘means test’. In the past clients received actual food hampers. Today they will receive a gift card to a grocery store. People prefer to choose their own foods and it also preserves their dignity. When a family comes for the gift-card they then proceed to shop at the toy store which is in the basement on the Centre. Usually, they pick out a main gift and several stocking stuffers for each recipient child.

 

On the shelter side special dinners are planned and treats for the people sheltered over the Christmas period. All of this together is what the Salvation Army does over Christmas. It is almost overwhelming just to list it all. After her presentation Judy answered several questions.

 

During the question period Judy talked about an anti-homelessness program called The Trust Program. This is a project to prevent homelessness that the Salvation Army runs along with the provincial government. People often become homeless because they lose their housing. This program makes sure people’s rent and utilities are paid so they do not face eviction. The program exists in Saskatoon and Moose Jaw and is coming to Regina. In Saskatoon this program has served about 200 families but will expand up to about 260 families.

 

Other programs include a program to bring nutritious snacks to kids playing in parks and a breakfast program for high school students at Nutana and Oskayak schools.

 

The Salvation Army also operates a temporary emergency shelter program for people that may be forced to leave their homes due to fire, carbon monoxide or some other event.

 

Major Judy was thanked by Gary Rusu who also spoke of our club’s long involvement with the Salvation Army. The usual donation to Bethany Homes will be made and a cheque will be presented at the next meeting.

 

Gary finished his excellent work as MC with a quote from one of our past members, John Cross, “If you change the way you think, you can change the things you think about.”

 

Next Meeting                                                                    

 

December 20^th at the Saskatoon Club.  See the full information in the announcement section of this Rotateller.