Submitted by Will Arscott 

 

 

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

 

Thanks to Paul Gauthier and Mark Gryba for organizing Zoom and sending out the link. Thanks to Avis Hardy for arranging the duty roster. The MC for the meeting was Wendy Cooper. Our greeter was Wayne Storozuk who also stood by to introduce visitors and guests. Wayne Palmer was cashier.

 

The meeting began with the members singing ‘O Canada’. The blessing was asked by Al Morton. Unfortunately, your humble scribe missed both by arriving late.  

 

 

We had no visitors other than our District Governor. It was announced that Tim Squires would no longer be considered a visitor but a full member. The intention had been to introduce him to the club today, but he was unable to attend in person, so his induction was postponed to a future meeting.

 

 

Gary Kerr was not present and there was no report at this meeting. Everyone present said they were feeling well.

 

 

President Mark Gryba looked after this rather extensive part of the program. He began by reminding members of the new mask and vaccination policy at the Saskatoon Club. Members are asked to wear their masks except when sitting in place and eating their meal.

 

President Mark thanked the five members who represented our club at a recent Blades game.  The purpose was to collect food for the Foodbank and to advertise Rotary. A table of Rotary literature was set-up.

 

November is Rotary Foundation month. To this end Eva Vida will speak at our next meeting.  Eva is involved in World Community Service at the District level and will speak on the importance of the Foundation. At that meeting we will present Paul Harris recognition to three of our members. If you can remember, other members are asked to wear their Paul Harris pins to this meeting. To receive initial Paul Harris recognition a member must donate $1,000US to the Foundation. Future donations earn additional credits that can be used to upgrade your Paul Harris status or can be given to others towards their Paul Harris award. We have many members that have qualified for several Paul Harris awards. This is recognized by a notation such as PHF+5 which would be someone who has donated $6,000US to the Foundation. A very generous offer has been made by Jim Weber who is a Paul Harris Benefactor. For members seeking their first Paul Harris award Jim will use his points to match the points they purchase. In this way any of our new members with no credit could get Paul Harris status with the donation of $500US.  Thank you, Jim. If you want to donate, please talk to Jim, Mark or Paul and they will help you through the process.

 

Club fundraising is becoming a major concern. Without fundraising our club will find it increasingly difficult to fund the projects to which we are committed. The cancellation of the Badge, Shield and Star dinner for the past two years has really hurt our overall fundraising. A committee has been struck to examine opportunities in this area. The group includes Jim Weber, Graham Pearson, Tim Squire, and Jack Brodsky. They would welcome additional members. The purpose of this group is not to fundraise themselves but to identify opportunities.

 

Webinar for District Grants is coming up on Thursday November 18. To qualify for District Grants we must have two people attend this webinar. Project Chairs are also strongly encouraged to attend. Mark Gryba is planning to get a room at the Saskatoon Club so our people can attend the Webinar and have a social occasion. If you would like to attend, please contact Mark.

 

Our next service at the Friendship Inn is scheduled for Monday Nov. 15. This is a good hands-on service project. Elaine Zakreski went around the meeting with a sign-up sheet and seemed to get a good number of people signed up. They could always use one more. If you can help, contact Elaine or Gary Rusu.

 

Grocery cards are now available.  Again, this valuable project is in the capable hands of Donna Gauthier. If you can let her know what amounts are required Donna can have your cards available at the meetings. Cards are available from Sobeys/Safeway and Co-Op.  Let Donna know what you require.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The attendance at our club by our District Governor is usually one of the highlights of the Rotary Year. This year DG Dan joined us by zoom. The zoom connection was not up to the task. There were problems following him from the beginning and the problems seemed to get worse as his talk went ahead. It is too bad that it was not possible to follow all his remarks.

 

Dan Sutton grew up in the Interlake region of Manitoba. Eventually he went to the University of Manitoba and received his B.SC in chemistry and math. In 1974 he was sworn into the RCMP.    His career in law enforcement spanned nearly forty-five years.

 

From his police work Dan became aware of how disadvantaged some people remain. This has been one of the driving forces of his interest in Rotary. His other interest is in the environment that he traces from his time as a boy on the farm. Dan described his childhood as a time when he did not have a lot although he was never hungry. Within Rotary he is most interested in projects to alleviate child poverty and develop a new sustainable relationship to the environment.

 

Dan views pursuing these goals as a three-step process: First, there is his commitment to helping in these areas. Then there is the commitment of his Rotary Club to these issues and, finally, there is the commitment of Rotary International to these issues. Rotary should always use a bottom-up process. 

 

Dan went on and reviewed the projects of our club in these areas. If he was reading, it sure didn’t show. He showed genuine delight with our RAP program and with our international programs such as Malawi and Becas. He was also quite familiar with our newest urban agriculture project.   He gave as good a summary of our club’s projects as I have heard from any of our members.   There are a lot of projects and he seemed to know of all of them down to the support dog program and the Christmas Market at King George School.

 

He also talked a little about what makes a Rotary Club successful. He stressed the importance of listening to all the members of the club and particularly to new members. He also stressed that inclusivity is part of Rotary and that clubs should do all they can to become more diverse.

 

Following his talk there were several questions. President Mark asked about the membership situation and how covid has affected membership. DG Dan said that maintaining membership is a real challenge. The move to virtual platforms has been both good and bad. There are some aspects of Rotary for which virtual meetings can be very effective. An example are project committees that can save so much time meeting virtually. On the other hand, most people are in Rotary for the fellowship and virtual platforms are not conducive. All clubs seem to have older members who are just not comfortable with virtual meetings.

 

DG Dan did confirm that the District 5550 convention will be virtual again this year. This was deemed necessary because a hotel had to be confirmed and the covid situation is just too unsure.  The plan for 2023 is to have a convention that is a combination of in-person and virtual.

 

Again, it is too bad the connection was so inadequate. Maybe we can get the problem solved and have DG Dan back before the end of the Rotary year.

 

Next Meeting                                                                    

 

Monday, November 8. Presenter is Eva Vida on Understanding the Rotary Foundation,