Submitted by Will Arscott 

 

 

This was an in-person meeting with a Zoom alternative available. Some sixteen members gathered in the upstairs lounge of the Saskatoon Club. We were joined by Graham and Prem on Zoom. Despite some technical challenges the Zoom members were able to participate in the meeting.

 

Thanks to Paul Gauthier for organizing the invitation and having the feed and special screens ready to go. Thanks to Avis Hardy for arranging the duty roster. Avis also acted as our greeter. Thanks to Wayne Palmer for acting as cashier for the meeting. The MC for the meeting was President Mark. The plan for the year is to have different MCs each meeting but for the first meeting Mark presided.

 

The meeting began with the playing of ‘O Canada’. You could tell the members were pleased to be back together because there was a stronger than average amount of members singing. The blessing was asked by Jenny Lawrence. She reminded us that all we receive are gifts and those gifts are many even in these difficult Covid times.

 

 

Our only visitor was Rotarian Priscilla Mah from the North club. She came to see how we manage a meeting in a hybrid, in-person and Zoom, format. Fortunately, it worked though the patience required managing the process was well displayed.

 

 

 

Graham Pearson reported that Past-President Bert Ayers is having some health setbacks. The Rotary Club of Victoria is honoring Bert with a life membership. They are looking for stories for the meeting when this is presented. If you have any anecdotes about Bert that could be used, please contact Graham and he will pass it along to the Victoria club.

 

Will Arscott reported that our oldest member, Otto Ulrich, celebrated his 103 birthday two weekends ago. He has come through some recent health problems and is in good spirits. Jim Weber reports that the residence where he lives still does not allow general visitors.

 

 

 

The next meeting will be a fellowship meeting on August 25 onboard the Prairie Lily. You will note that this is a Wednesday. We are to set sail at 6:30 pm and they have requested that passengers be on board for 6:00 pm. Please note that due to construction issues parking may be at a premium in the immediate area so allow yourself some extra time. We have the required forty guests to have exclusive use of the main cabin. There are twelve places left some of which were spoken for at the meeting. President Mark must give final numbers by August 16 so please contact him quickly if you want to attend. This should be a good event.

 

There was a vote taken about meals at the Saskatoon Club. Prior to the break we were alternating between a soup and sandwich choice and a hot meal. We voted on whether we would continue to alternate or go to a soup and sandwich option only. The alternate option won by the smallest of margins so we will continue to alternate at least until another vote. Wayne Palmer reports the meal prices are up but not significantly. I believe the soup and sandwich option will be $21 with the hot meal at $27. There is also a $7 coffee option.

 

Due to business and family pressures Gary Rusu needs to step down from the position of Foundation Chairman. Jim Weber indicated he is willing to take on this position. Does anyone want to run against Jim?  Going once… Going twice…  This change now goes to the Board for approval.

 

Jim Weber announced the Becas Committee will meet soon. Jim has an idea for a fundraiser.   He is also looking for someone who has computer skills such as knowledge of Mail Chimp. If you could help Jim, please let him know.

 

Jack Brodsky reported that the Badge Shield and Star is a go for September 22^nd at Prairieland.  As previously, the ticket price will remain at $125. Tickets are now available online or see Jack.  The speaker for this year’s event is the Lt. Governor of Saskatchewan, Russell Mirasty. This is our most important fundraiser and supports RAP.

 

Grocery cards have been ordered and should be available from Donna Gauthier as early as the Prairie Lily meeting. Please phone Donna if you would like cards delivered to that event. Again, this year the cards will be available from Sobeys and Co-op.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[President Mark provided his notes to your scribe, and they are produced in full below.]

 

It is my privilege to serve as your president for 2021-22 – my second term (2018-19) was my first term.

 

I thank Past-President Paul for guiding us through a very challenging last year; dealing with the covid shut-down as well as reimagining our membership structure to allow us to be financially self sufficient.

 

We have much to look forward to in the coming year the coming year:

 

- The greatest joy is meeting again in person.The isolation of this past year has made us realize how important the fellowship aspect is to being a Rotarian.

 

- One thing we learned from the challenge of covid is that running a hybrid meeting with a zoom component improved the accessibility of our meetings to those who at times are unable to attend personally at noon. We will continue with the hybrid meetings as long as there is a demand.

 

- Our new community project – the Victoria Park Community Centre – looks like it will be going ahead.After several meetings with the city and the collective of community groups involved, our board has given approval to enter into a funding agreement with the city to aid this project (contingent on receiving final written agreements that are satisfactory to us).This will be presented to the city in their budget-planning sessions this fall.CHEP’s urban agriculture internship program is already using the site of the old lawn bowl field for their garden this summer. The demolition of the old existing building and upgrading infrastructure should happen this fall/winter, with construction of the new building to happen next spring.

 

- Our plans to start an Interact club at BJM high school 2 years ago were interrupted by covid, but we plan to reach out to them to see if they are ready to renew that process.

 

-We are hoping to resume other hands-on projects that were interrupted as a result of covid, such as serving lunches at the Friendship Inn, manning Salvation Army Kettles and our Christmas Market at King George school.

 

We will also have some challenges in the coming year:

 

- Our main fundraiser, the BSS Dinner, has been cancelled the last 2 years. It will be going ahead in September, but those funds typically do not come to us until the following Rotary year. Also last year we lost our opportunity to participate in the Enchanted Forest, where we typically would earn several thousand dollars, so the money that we have available for projects will be limited this year. If anyone has a good idea for a new fundraiser for our club, or if a few of you want to get involved in a fundraising committee (which we have not had for a number of years), please get in touch with me.

 

- Another challenge that we have been facing for quite a few years, but which is becoming more critical, is membership. Over the summer we had several members decide not to renew their membership, and several more who requested a leave of absence due to health reasons. Our membership now sits at 34 confirmed members, with 2 or 3 still undecided if they will return.If our membership continues to fall, we will not be able to sustain all the projects that we are currently involved in.

 

-The positive aspect of our membership is that over the last 3 or 4 years, we have added 6 new members. Of those 6, 4 are currently in leadership positions on our board, another is leading on or our international projects, and our newest is eager to bring forward ideas for local projects. These are the types of new members who will help this club thrive.

 

For new initiatives for this year, much will be just trying to re-establish past programs that were interrupted this last year:

 

- We need to continue to look for new local projects that might attract new members to our club.

- It has been a number of years since our club has been involved in the Rotary Youth Exchange program. I would like to see if there are any members who might be interested in getting involved in this program again.

 

Thank you for this opportunity to serve this club once again.

 

President Mark was thanked by a hearty round of applause from the club.

 

 

Next Meeting                                                                    

 

August 25, WEDNESDAY, aboard the Prairie Lilly sharp at 6:00pm.  (If you are late, please do not try to swim out to the boat as the current is fast.)