Submitted by Will Arscott 12^th December2016

 

December 12^th MEETING RECAP - Meeting at Bessborough for Annual General Meeting.

 

On arrival members were greeted by a display which included some 1950s-era club rosters. A surprising number of the names on these rosters were familiar to this scribe. Our club has been blessed to have members that have made lasting contributions to our community.

 

The meeting was presided by President Jack

Greeter - Wayne Storozuk

Cashier - Wane Palmer

Set-up - Al Morton

Visitors and Guests - Vic Dubois

 

O Canada - in the absence of Wayne M Gary Rusu did a fine job of leading our anthem.

 

Grace - Clare Heagy did grace and reminded us that we have so much to be thankful for despite the very cold weather.

 

Visitors and Guests - Vic Dubois

Rotarians: Art Postle - Meewasin Club

Ed Pek - Nutana Club

Guests: Susan Blum who completed her application for membership at the meeting.

 

 

Christmas Luncheon: Will be next Monday at the Bessborough. We need to know how many will be attending. We also have to let Santa know how many children 12 or under will be in attendance. Please let Dave Sundby know at your earliest convenience.

 

The King George Christmas Fair will be held on December 21^st. More volunteers are needed. Please call Joanne Fisher if you can help out. Past volunteers have found the fair to be a most rewarding experience. More gifts are always welcome. Again please contact Joanne. All contributions are appreciated.

 

Grocery Card sales were brisk with more than $6,000 worth sold at the meeting. Thank you to Butler-Byers. This is an easy and important fundraiser for our club. Please see Gary R to get the cards you will need over Christmas.

 

Adventures in Technology is coming along but additional members are required to join Steve Wilson and Dave Sundby and form a proper committee. Participation is rewarding and you may learn how much technology we are developing right here in little old Saskatoon.

 

PETS (training for incoming Rotary executive members) will be held 17-19 March in Russell Manitoba. All new board and executive members are encourage to attend. The club has funds available to pay your registration.

 

Due to Christmas and New Year falling on Sunday there will be no meetings either December 26^th or January 2^nd. President Jack will be away the 9^th, 16^th and 23^rd of January and the meetings will be taken by Incoming President Mark. It is up to all members to help Mark determine his shortcomings as meeting chair.

 

 

Sergeant at Arms: Steve Wilson

 

Whereas the sergeant last week began by exempting people from fines our sergeant for this week decided to go for the jugular and fill the coffers:

- Anyone Christmas shopping with their spouse was fined $2.

- Anyone not speaking at the AGM was fined $1.

- Anyone exercising outside in the cold was fined and it was suggested they seek further professional help.

 

 

2XH John D for getting hip replacement replacement. He was further happy for medicare because after eighteen years the original hip replacement was no longer under warranty.

H Gary Rusu for Susan B agreeing to become member of our club.. Our male to female ratio is better than some Rotary clubs in Saskatoon but we could still use more female members to even up the numbers. Gary was also happy for the club support of the Grocery cards and to Wayne S for looking after the accounting.

S There were sad dollars put in for our very cold weather. Again this year we seemed to have been surprised when it turned cold. Hope triumphs over memory every year!

 

 

It was great to have such a well attended meeting for the AGM. Last year only eighteen members attended the AGM. This year that number was exceeded by about half. The annual meeting is our chance to look at the overall progress and success of our club. Minutes for the AGM were taken by Club Secretary Heather Clydesdale. No attempt will be made here to produce formal minutes.

 

 

Membership has been steady over the past year. But the real good news is that average meeting attendance is up. Our club continues to have a core of committed members. Our end of year financials were improved by having fine money remain in the club rather than going to Rotary International. It is also good that ten people took the district webinar in grant applications. The planning for the 100^th anniversary is well under way and next year should be very special. Also, it was good to see cooperation between the five Rotary clubs this year.

 

 

Financially it has been a good year. The statements were presented. Wayne had prepared them on a ‘notice to reader basis.’ This means the statements were not audited or reviewed. Wayne made it clear that they were prepared by a member of the club. Wayne is trying to move to having other club members handle cash - removing the accountant from the cash.

 

Wayne broke the statement down over several pages each devoted to a specific activity of the club. In this way he hoped to show the members the components of our statements and then how they fit into a whole.

 

Out revenue was up due to a $10,000 donation from Bruce Bays. Overall we had income of $4,600 above budget. Overall we had a break-even in revenue and expenses. Of note is the success of the grocery cards which could become a major source of revenue going forward. This year grocery cards produced double the revenue that was projected in our budget but we could do even better. This year the President’s dinner made about $100 after several years of loss.

 

Our statements inflate our cash position as payments to Joy’s Centre in Uganda and to Hope for Malawi have been approved but not yet paid out.

 

 

The golf pool was not run this year due to licensing issues. It was more than replaced by the Enchanted Forest Project. Thanks to Dave and Peter for their huge commitment to this project. This year RYLA required no additional funding so the budget for Local Community Service all worked out.

 

 

In membership there are two aspects to consider: The number of members we have and the average involvement of our members. In some ways inactive members do not serve the club purposes. The membership is steady and we are averaging about seven more members per meeting. There will be new membership initiatives in January including a re-canvass of past members. For existing members a poker night and a family event at the Forestry Farm are being planned.

 

 

Vic Dubois has agreed to be vice-president and take his place moving towards being president. This was by acclamation. Four names stood for election to the three Board positions that were open. They all proved to be popular as a vote and two run-offs were required. Mike Giesbrecht, Steve Wilson and Wayne Palmer will join the board.

 

 

There is now a district public relations committee but no strategy has been developed at this time. Something will be done in connection with the 100^th anniversary of Rotary in Saskatoon. There has already been a meeting with the five club historians to start planning a booklet to be released at the time of the anniversary. There is also a plan to do a six to seven minute audio/visual. Vic will be involved in this project.

 

 

The theme of our 100^th anniversary will be 100 Years of Rotary in Saskatoon. This theme was chosen in order to involve all five clubs in the celebration. The big day will be Tuesday August 15^th. The special guest will be Rotary International President Ian Risely from Australia. There will be a mid-day event at Rotary Park and a dinner at Prairieland Park. Details are being developed.

 

 

 

 

Next Meeting:

 

Monday, December 19^th at the Bessborough,

Club’s Annual Christmas Luncheon. Santa will appear for the children. Spouses, Partners and families are encourage to attend

 

Monday, January 9^th at the Bessborough TBA