Submitted by Will Arscott 

 

 

It was a good turn-out in the Terrace Room of the Bessborough. President Vic acted as greeter and the Master of Ceremonies duties were well-handled by Mike Giesbrecht. 

 

Greeter  was President Vi

Cashier was Heather Clysdale

Visitors and Guests introduced by Peter Whitenect

Set-up  and take down was completed by Al Morton

 

The meeting opened with members singing ‘O Canada’ and Rotary grace led by Gary Rusu in his first official duty of the meeting.

 

 

Rotarian, Galabaya Esharb Saxis (the scribe apologizes as the spelling of this name may not be correct). Galabaya has been a member of the Njeru Rotary Club in Njeru, Uganda. He has recently moved to Saskatoon and is looking to join a Rotary Club. Our members were quick to give him information about Maureen Torr and our project in Uganda. We look forward to having Galabaya at future meetings.

 

Steve Kushman, our guest speaker, who will be introduced more formally later in the program.

 

 

 

Peter Zakreski is about to undertake a series of nine radiation treatments. He will not be on chemo at this time. The club expresses its concern and prayers that things go as well as possible.   Gary Rusu is in touch with Peter and may be able to share further information to members who inquire.

 

Susan Blum is back to work three days per week and is recovering from her spinal cord injury. Her full rehabilitation plan is to go over five years. She is in the early stages but is doing well.  The club hopes her plan includes returning to Rotary at some point in the process. 

 

Health of the club used to be a formal part of every meeting. A request was made by Gary for someone to step forward to undertake this for our club. The person just needs to keep their ear out for news on the health of members and make it known that members should report to the volunteer so they can report to the club. When announcements are made you can also ask if anyone present has further knowledge of any other members with health issues. It is my submission that health of the club is important because it allows members to show they are interested and concerned about their fellow members. For members who are ill or injured, it is uplifting not to be forgotten. If you can help out please talk to Gary Rusu.

 

 

 

There was a discussion of the location for future meetings. The Bessborough has again raised our meal price. The current $25 full meal deal will cover meal costs but very little else. With the costs of complementary meals to our guests it could be that we would have a net loss at the new price.

 

Contact has been made by Gary Rusu and others at the Saskatoon Club. It appears they would be willing to host us and store our materials. They are willing to offer soup, sandwich, dessert and coffee for $18 or a full meal for $22. It has been suggested we give the Saskatoon club a two- meeting trial. At the meeting there was considerable confusion as to the dates for the trial. Indeed, there seemed to be much confusion as to the order of the months in the year. Since the meeting your scribe has been informed by the highest authorities in the club that our try-out dates are on March 2^nd and 16^th. The meetings on those dates will be at the Saskatoon Club.

 

Grocery cards are available from Donna Gauthier. Bring your credit card and stock up to help Rotary.

 

 

On March 30^th the club is scheduled to have a tour of the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum. Lunch will be at the museum.

 

The Presidents Dinner is scheduled for 25^th of June (Thursday). The meeting will be held aboard the Prairie Lilly.

 

 

 

H         Dave Sundby for a very successful Enchanted Forest Project. Thanks to all who participated. For those that missed out there will be opportunities next year.

 

H         Mark Gryba was very happy that his house has finally sold after six months being on the market. Now he has a very busy two weeks emptying it out. He plans to celebrate with a trip to the Turks and Caicos and an associated cruise.  

 

H         President Vic for missing our next meeting and also for the annual ‘Coffee Time’ trip.  This year the trip is to Puerto Vallarta.

 

H         Joanne Fisher for her husband’s family all surviving the blizzard in Newfoundland. They have been stormed –stayed for several days and will be stuck indoors for another day or two. They are doing well and beer and wine may be involved to help the situation.

 

 

 

Our guest speaker was introduced by Gary Rusu. Steve hails from Bengough, Saskatchewan.  (The gateway to the Big Muddy). Steve learned his first things about leadership growing up in rural Saskatchewan. In a small community everyone must step up and do things in order for there to be a community life. His mother was a church piano player and his father was involved in many community projects. When he was able, he began to participate along with his parents.

 

Steve began his talk by saying how grateful he was to be speaking at Rotary. Our organization is one that stresses our roles as leaders in our community. A show of hands confirmed that our members identify themselves as leaders. Steve says people are often too reticent about their leadership. We need to share our wins and not be modest about the things we do.

 

His original training was at Kelsey in Leisure and Recreation. Early in his training he came into contact with people living with disabilities. He learned quickly that the key was to concentrate on the individual’s abilities and not the ‘dis’ part. Many people living with disabilities are disadvantaged and isolated in our society because people cannot see past the disability part. Unfortunately, this often includes the disabled people themselves. We are all salespeople and the biggest sale we have to make in our lives is to sell ourselves to ourselves. When we accomplish this vistas can open up before us.  In conjunction with his training at Kelsey, Steve began to work with several organizations for people living with disabilities. Over a twenty year period he worked with Camp Easter Seal and as an Educational Assistant in the school system and worked with Sunshine Housing (a housing program for people living with cognitive disabilities).

 

During his time working with people with disabilities Steve launched a second career as DJ Kush. He is now the official DJ for the Saskatoon Blades.

 

Steve has always tried to push himself to a higher level. To pursue this goal he has been coached in the program developed by Robert Karasaki. It was through this organization that he traveled with his own trainer, Blair Singer, to Africa and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. [Mount Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania and is the tallest free standing mountain in the world. A free standing mountain is a mountain that is alone and not part of a range. Most free standing mountains are volcanoes as is Mount Kilimanjaro which is topped by three volcanic cones.]

 

The purpose of the Kilimanjaro climb was much more than just to reach the summit of a mountain. The purpose was to learn leadership and complete a project with a very diverse group of people. Steve was the only Canadian and there were many nationalities represented. As they approached the summit the air became cooler, it was not cold by Saskatchewan January standards but the summit was snow covered. Steve had an easier time with the minus ten than the climbers from Brazil and Vietnam. The group he climbed with has a 95% rate for reaching the summit which is considered a very good rate.

The climb, like any project, required a vision and a process. It cannot be completed without both.  If you believe in the project it will help you trust the process as things become difficult in completing the project. When things are difficult you need to learn to dig deep and find your reasons for being a leader. Steve showed pictures of the porters who helped them move between camps and made sure all materials were carried off the mountain. He also showed pictures of an orphanage for visually impaired children. This school is not only foe the visually impaired but provides a safe place for albino children (who can still be hunted down by witch doctors in order to harvest their internal organs and bones).

 

Steve finished with a pitch for his annual Slugfest Charity Slow-pitch tournament. This tournament is held every June seeks to integrate people living with a disability and non-disabled people into one event. It is sponsored in part by the Special Olympics on whose board Steve serves. Steve thanked our members Vic and Joanne for their involvement in this project. There is always room for more to help with this tournament.

 

Steve was thanked by our Mike Giesbrecht and the regular donation will be made to Bethany Homes on his behalf.