Newly minted President Mark called upon Gary E. who delivered a thoughtful blessing asking for our mindfulness towards the Houston hurricane sufferers.

 

President Mark made several housekeeping announcements;

- No meeting for September 4 due to the long weekend,

- On September 11th Herb Pinder will present on Climate Change,

- On September 18 we will hold a Club Assembly,

- District Governor Peter Neufeldt will address the Club on September 25th,

- Joanne F. as Membership Director is having to step down so Mark is looking for a volunteer to take over her role,

- Dave S. reported he has honey for sale! (Editors note - it's delicious!)

- Wayne M. spoke to the Rotary Inter-Club golf tournament, that hosted 16 golfers and 21 diners  and that raised a $300 profit for Rotary. He gave thanks to Dave S. for assisting in the organization and also recognized prize donations from Bev J., Vic D., Gary K., Gary R., Wayne P., Peter Z., Dave S., and Wayne M.'s son in law.

 

Sergeant Steve successfully solicited selective savings serving Service Above Self:

- For those who missed the Sod Turning or the Centennial Dinner,
- For those not currently on a Committee,
- Wayne M. happy for a successful golf tourney,
- Mike L. happy for his colourful Lviv, Ukraine shirt supporting the armed forces,
- Dave S. a sad dollar for a broken car window,
- Al M. happy for his two weeks on a European river cruise,
- Avis happy for Wayne M.'s assistance in finding the sod turning and for her Mom's 99th Birthday,
- Wayne M. happy for Bruce B.'s Ace at Riverside, the Rider's win, and the Mayweather fight,
- Drew B. happy for his son Brett opening his plastic surgery clinic in Calgary after 16 years of school,
- Mark happy for a successful Centennial celebration and the Hilltops' wins,
- Graham happy for time at the Lake with family, golfing and wake-surfing.

 

Item 1 - Centennial Event
President Mark recapped the Centennial Event that went very well and that was Mark's "trial by fire" in which he acquitted himself admirably. Jack B. hosted RI President Ian Riseley for the day. The Sod Turning for the Pavilion was well attended with both good media coverage and cooperative weather. 230 attended the dinner that proved a good success financially with an estimated  $8-9,000 profit going to the Pavilion Project. 

City council has approved construction of the Pavilion although the Meewassin Valley Authority still needs to sign off. A Spring 2018 start for construction is targeted with Summer completion slated. Sponsorships are needed for supplies, services and cash donations. A Committee will be formed to organize construction.

Item 2 - Club Committees
Club Committee membership is needed so that not just one person is doing all the Committee work. Expanded membership also makes successorship easier when the Chair's term expires.

Wayne S. reported on needing help with the Apple Drive, Saturday, September 30. Mike G. and he raised $400 in half a day last year and had a laugh dressed as Clowns.

Item 3 - Community Service
Director Dave S. reported the following Community Service initiatives requiring assistance:
- Dave needs help with name badge making, that only requires a printer and computer,
- The Enchanted Forest event needs single shifts for 12 nights with coverage from 5pm to  11pm. This is a no risk event and a big fundraiser, running from November 20th to January 10th,
- The Masters' golf pool organization starts in December and Dave would like some help with this,
- A Volunteer coordinator is to be named to better organize inter-club activities,
- The Badge Shield and Star dinner needs committee participants to keep up its success,
- RAP, our biggest project needs resourcing, especially with our newer members,
- Joanne F.'s King George School Project needs more support given she may be limited with her time. Avis is connected to the program and offered support,
- The Becas scholarships program, another big initiative is doing well under Jim W.'s leadership and his many hours invested,
- Joys Home of Hope under Maureen's leadership is working on a Global grant,
- The Rotary Foundation is led by Mike L. and Paul G. and is operating well,
- Peter and Elaine Z. head the Malawi project that is now well established and expanding. They head off at the end of September to help unload a container of supplies in Malawi,
- A Pavilion committee is now needed to orchestrate its construction,
- Adventures in Technology led by Steve W., is asking for volunteers. Jack B. and Wayne S. quickly responded!,
- Under World Community Service, the laptop donation program is still running but donations of laptops, Kobes and Kindles are needed,
- The Membership Committee needs a director. Jim W.  jumped in and volunteered!,
- The PR committee under Bev J. needs help. Vic and Jack both responded to assist,
- Under Club Administration, Steve W. asked for Rotateller back up to assist he, Will and Graham. As well the duty roster will need support as Adriana is taking some time away, 
- District Rotary Global Rewards are also now available to support our Club activities. More details are to come.

Item 4 - RI President Ian Riseley
Jack B. reported further on the Centennial event as the host for RI President Ian Riseley. Jack and the Club thanked Mark for his leadership of this important event. President Ian presented a special gift for Mark in recognition of his service. Ian felt that better Rotary promotion is needed for initiatives like Polio Plus to keep them front and center.  Social media could be an important part of this. The Club merger, if it proceeds, will give us 5 chapters in Saskatoon but membership is still key to our success. Jack took Ian and his spouse to the KG school reading room for a visit. They then met with Brenda Banbury to speak about the African Hygiene initiative. Lunch at the Willows followed with a presentation on both the Malawi and RAP projects. President Ian agreed with Jack that RAP needs more promotion across the District. The Centennial Dinner was a success for all Clubs concerned.

Item 5 - The Becas Program
Jim W. is holding a Becas meeting Wednesday night. The Laptop, Kobo and Kindle program needs new leadership. Social media promoting Becas needs support with Norsem helping out on a contract basis. Non-members can volunteer to help as well with Becas. "We are looking at membership backwards" says Jim. What's in it for the new member is the question that should be asked? Jim can answer this question for them.

Associate membership is now possible to attract young talent, keep them informed and getting volunteers on committees without a full time membership commitment.

 

Great job to President Mark, our Directors and Committee Members!
 

 

Submitted by Will Arscott 14^h of June 2017

MEETING RECAP - Meeting at Bessborough Presided by President Jack

Becas Update - Jim Weber

Greeter - Gary Rusu (and grocery card salesman)

Cashier - Paul Gauthier

Set-up - Al Morton and Wayne McGillivray

Sergeant - Steve Wilson

Visitors and Guests - Adriana Van Duyvendyk

 

O Canada - was sung. Even with Wayne it was a small but determined choir at this week’s meeting. Come on people it is summer but we still want to see you out if at all possible.

 

Grace - Al Morton did an excellent grace with a long quotation from Mother Teresa about how science leads to faith and eventually to service to others and then peace. As Rotarians we want to achieve peace through our service.

 

Visitors and Guests - Adriana Van D

Bwaya Norsum was introduced from Ghana. It would turn out later that Norsum is assisting the Becas project with IT. He bravely battled our projection system throughout the meeting holding a microphone to the laptop to put it on the PA so our members could hear the videos Jim presented.

 

 

Last Club Meeting at KG School: President Jack remarked briefly on how successful this event had been. Thanks to Joanne Fisher for her help in arranging. It was great for the club to see the room we are helping to provide. The room does have a feeling of being a community room rather than a classroom.

 

Dues Are Now Due: You only have until June 15^th to avoid the additional $25 cost for this year. Despite the efforts made we only have some twenty-two paid members. PLEASE GET YOUR DUES IN.

 

Meewasin Rotary Lobsterfest: Rib Jasper has confirmed that our club sold twenty-three tickets and will have raised close to $1,000 for our club projects. Thanks to all from our club who attended.

 

Board Meeting: Will be held at the usual location this Wednesday at 7:00 am.

 

Grocery Cards: We still have far too much club money tied up in this inventory particularly with our year end approaching. Thanks to all who buy regularly. Special thanks to Gary Emde who called by Gary R and ordered $1,000 worth. Please plan your BBQ season to help us reduce this holding.

 

President’s Dinner: Will be held at the Saskatoon Club the evening of June 26^th. There will be no regular Monday meeting on that day. Please get your ticket order or at least confirm your attendance with Mark. He needs to know numbers to pass along to the Saskatoon Club. Unfortunately, you cannot just show up for this event. Mark’s email is mgryba@gmail.com. Please come and help the club kick President Jack’s a** out the door.

 

Centennial Celebration and Dinner: Plans are going well and tickets are for sale on Picatic. To date sales have been very slow as they usually are ahead of Rotary events.

 

Regina Eastview Golf: All Rotarians are invited to participate in this event. The brochure was sent out with the information for this meeting. If you do not have and are interested see President Jack.

 

Tim Cholowski: Regrettably has taken a one year absence from our club. He made a $500 donation towards our centennial.

 

 

Sergeant at Arms: Steve Wilson

 

Steve started with a bevy of fines: You were fined if you were dressed more casually than Steve; if you did not attend the event at KG school; if you have not gotten your ticket for the President’s dinner. Especially you were fined if you made any disparaging remarks about Sydney Crosby over the course of the hockey play-offs. Steve’s time was short and profitable for the Rotary Foundation.

 

 

H Graham Pearson for selling his hair for $1,220 to cancer charity. He certainly looks lighter. He says he is now much cooler. Graham, I hope you have a hat for the fishing trip as we do not want you to have sunstroke or a fried pate.

 

S Gary Rusu for the proposed provincial tax on insurance premiums. Will Arscott also put in a sad dollar on this. People should not be taxed for seeking to meet their responsibilities. Saskatchewan would be the only province with such a tax. If you agree contact Gary and join the petition.

 

H & S Mark Gryba for travelling to Portland with his sons to seek accommodations for his studies at chiropractic school. Also happy for the two Blue Jay games in Seattle where the Jay’s fans far outnumbered the hometown Mariners fans.

 

H Wayne McGillivray for that pesky Sidney Crosby. Also was impressed with the Roughriders and now believes the coach should not be fired (at least till after the first league game).

 

H Wayne Storozuk for trip with daughter and successful run. Believes his daughter will have a better time when she is able to run without being five month’s pregnant.

 

H Jack Brodsky for being a hockey fan but glad to see the end of a very long season.

 

 

 

Jim spoke with considerable passion about the Becas program in Puerto Vallarta. Jim admits that he has really found place and meaning for himself in this program. He knows these feelings are returned by the people the program touches in PV.

 

Over time the program has grown from ten students to over 105 students in three schools. Several hundred students have now gone through the program. This year saw the loss of one major donor but the twenty-three students released were able to continue to receive scholarships with only a minority having to be funded out of the contingency reserve established for situations like this.

 

Altogether $350,000 has been spent with only about 1% of this money coming from our club. Jim is always seeking more support. He knows the program requires support beyond our club and beyond Rotary as Rotary pockets are only so deep.

 

A short video was played in which three students thanked the program for the change it had made in their lives. The students were obviously bright and had good English skills. The real success of the program is that these students are going further than they ever thought they could. They are finishing high school and going on to college choices they once thought were not available to them. In the process they come to feel much better about themselves. This extends to their whole families as the parents take pride in the student’s accomplishments. The students model for their younger siblings who also begin to aim and go higher.

 

The big need now is to create a sure and stable future for the program. This comes in two parts financial and administrative. Both parts are important. Jim believes that without solving these two areas that succession will not be successful. Ultimately, the program must be able to function without Jim. On the administrative side, programs are needed to track both donors and students. Technology can also streamline and simplify administration. A simple example is issuing instant tax receipts for donations. The best model is for the donor to sponsor a student through their participation in the program; though in the practical world this is not always possible.

 

The Becas website is up and will be expanded. Bwaya Norsum is helping Jim and is now Jim’s newest best friend. Aim is to have better communication throughout using devices such as mail chimp. The site will have messages from the students as well as testimonials from donors. Jim asked our members who are donors/sponsors to consider making a short testimonial for the site. Jim wanted the testimonials to describe what the donors have received out of the program. The intention is for internet outreach to find donors looking to support a program such as Becas.

 

The plan to ask for repayment of funds paid is moving ahead and has been well received by the students in the program. The idea is that the students will re-pay the money that has been spent for their education as they are able. This is non-binding. A letter of intent to re-pay will be taken from each student. Often students want to help fund education for their own siblings before undertaking the repayment for their education. Jim knows that repayment will never reach 100%. Even if repayment reached 50% it would allow the program to reach a much greater and of Puerto Vallarta and Santa Barbara.

 

Jim took several questions. Yes, donations of laptops are still needed as well as any available Kindles or Kobos. Books are expensive in Mexico but many can be downloaded for free.

 

Jim was thanked for his service by President Jack who remarked about his obvious passion.

 

 

 

Meeting June 26^th President’s Dinner at the Saskatoon Club in the evening.