Rotary CLUB OF SASKATOON

 

April 25,2022

 

Saskatoon Club with a ZOOM alternative Club Meeting.

 

 

We sang our national anthem and Elaine Zakreski gave the blessing in which she mentioned giving prayer support to Ukraine in the defense of their homeland.   

 

Gary Rusu chaired our meeting. Cashier was Wayne Palmer, and Linda Petrow was the greeter.

 

 

 

President Mark announced that the District Conference will be in two sessions, one on May 5th and one on May 12th, both via Zoom.

 

In two weeks (May 9th) we will have the Therapy Dogs visiting us.

 

Gary Rusu gave us the following information:

 

In his Rotary Moment Gary extolled the virtues presented in the film, A Christmas Carol. We are to make mankind our business as Jacob Marley told Scrooge, too late for himself but in the hope that Scrooge would take heed.

 

At The Friendship Inn it is possible to sponsor Brunch for $700 and dinner for $1,000.

 

Grocery Cards are available.

 

Health of the Club - Vic Dubois is coming along nicely after his hip surgery. Adrianna’s mother and Arie Van Duyvendyk’s wife, Audrey passed away last week.

 

Steve Wilson gave a brief report about the Master’s Golf  Pool in which he thanked Tim Squires for his help, Dave Sundby for being available for advice, and Steve’s brother, Tim, for technical help in getting out the results. $10,900.00 was taken in for entries and after the prizes were paid and expenses deducted the profit was $3,000.

 

GUEST SPEAKER

 

Jaida Nelson conducted the blanket ceremony, and she had a student, Josie Laframboise, helping her. Ashton More was also present.

 

Blankets were laid out on the floor and then we were given slips of paper with readings on them. Some of us were Europeans and others were Indigenous. We read from the papers in turn, and this led us through history. Every so often we were asked to fold in a corner of the blanket we stood on to signify the reduced influence of and benefits available to the indigenous population, along with losses due to disease, residential schools, and the breaking of treaties by the Government that had been signed. The main theme was the stated intention of the Government to isolate and assimilate the indigenous peoples into Canadian Society and strip them of their own culture.

 

The ceremony was an emotional experience for us, and discussion afterward reflected our disbelief as to how these things could happen. Now it is up to all of us to make improvements, teaching history accurately in our schools and encouraging the return to the ways of native culture before they had been stripped and diminished.

 

 

NEXT MEETING:

 

May 9, 2022 will be in person and through Zoom. The St John Ambulance Therapy Dog teams will be in attendance.

 

 

Reported by Steve Wilson