Stories

After over 15 years in Rotary, Jeff admitted this was the first time he had ever done a Classification talk. Jeff was born in Vancouver, and spent his early years in Beaverdell in the South Okanogan, where his father owned the local Hotel. He left Beaverdell when he was 12 and moved to Coquitlam. He is quite the Jack of all trades, master of none, which resulted in being evicted from High School due to bad attendance.  One day when the Principal was looking for Jeff he was found to be working on his car when actually he should have been in school, hence the "eviction" He spent many years working at a local Volkswagen dealership in the service and parts departments. He returned to his schooling after some time and obtained a degree from SFU which lead him to completing his CA designation with Deloyte and Touche in Abbotsford. While in practice he worked in Kelowna where he was a Charter member of the Okanogan Mission Rotary Club, in Abbotsford and locally. Jeff is now retired but continues to be an active member of numerous Associations and Societies including the Surrey Board of Trade, South Surrey Chamber of Commerce, Field House Society and the Fraser Valley Executive Association.  Jeff also hold the office of Treasurer for District 5050 and of course this Club.

Constable Roberts made a short presentation to the club today to update us on WITS and DARE in the community.  As you are aware our Club is an annual supporter of these local programs for kids and it was good to hear from Constable Roberts on current status. Constable Roberts reported that the programs are running well and funding for next year is now being addressed. He is not sure how much of a shortfall there will be for next year as he has yet to receive a budget from his headquarters.  Once he knows he will advise us and we can look at what we can do to assist.

Today, Alan gave us a great photo trip to Africa.  He and Aline toured Africa, climbed Mt. Kenya, hung out with Lions, Lionesses, Giraffes, Hippos and even had time to lounge on the beach!  What a wonderful although exhausting trip. See pictures under picture album tab "Alan Benson - Africa", Thank you Alan for sharing your experience.

Don Boyce, our elder statesman gave his first ever Classification talk after his many years in Rotary.  Highlights of his life and career include but not limited to the following:

Born in Ottawa and contrary to comments made later, Good things DO come out of Ottawa!! Graduated from Ottawa Technical High School and pursued a career in printing. Don first worked at the Ottawa Citizen for a mere 35 cents and hour, progressing to a whopping $2.10 an hour in 1949. Married Iola in May of 1949 at a church in Merivale where the cornerstone had been laid by Sir John A. Macdonald. After 6 years at the Citizen, Don and Iola moved west to Fairview, Alberta to take over the Fairview Post. The town of Fairview welcomed Don and Iola where they expanded the business and circulation four fold by the time they sold it 8 years later in 1960. Don then moved into the Insurance business, starting with a job in Management at Mutual Life.  Don soon realized that Management was not for him so he resigned and moved to Maple Ridge to start his own agency, Boyce Insurance Services. Don semi retired in 1996 and completely retired in June of 2013. Don has been very active in the whatever community he has lived and worked. He was a Charter member and first president of the Fairview Kinsmen Club, served on Maple Ridge Municipal Council, GVRD, Maple Ridge Chamber of Commerce, Charter member of the Maple Ridge Foundation, Charter member of the Meadow Ridge Rotary Club, Charter member of the White Rock Millennium Club and has served on the White Rock Economic Development Committee. Don has always been active in his church and continues to be a valued member of this Club. Don has two sons, two daughters in law, three grandsons, three granddaughters and one great granddaughter.

We trained a new temporary server this morning after some of us waited outside in the cold.
Rotary District Conference in May
Leadership Course in the US on Jan. 24.  (There will be 1 in Canada in February)
Jeff Richards was absent because he was not feeling well but he did come to pay the bill and to send $7500 to Cambodia for kitchen remodeling at the Batambang orphanage.  Brian will go there to view remodeling part way through.
Rick Singh’s soccer equipment project has progressed through loops such as cleaning equipment and getting Peruvian Consular approval.
Rick reminded us that attending a leadership course is one of the requirements for members.Hike for Hospice is Sunday May 3.  We have not been officially asked to take part.  It conflicts with the District Conference.
Harness Races evening is Feb. 27.
St Patrick’s Day is March 17.  Our meeting on the morning of March 18 is moved to an Irish Dinner.
2 Learning Centre Students will attend Rotary Adventures in Leadership.
The city of White Rock has cleaned up Bryant Park.  Alan Benson has removed 2 plaques from benches.  These will be replaced with hard plastic and the club name will be updated.  A third one will also be done.

Thanks to all who helped out this year.

Special thanks to Alan who pulled it ALL together last minute.

Major Ken Kimberley provided the Club with his Christmas message and overview of the Services provided by the Salvation Army. His presentation was preceded by some reminiscing of his use of Christmas Ties.  The Salvation Army dress requires a Black Tie, but the Major always tries to liven his dress during the Christmas season with his collection of Ties with various Christmas and Cartoon themes. Major Kimberley spoke about the different triggers of "The Christmas Spirit" Many of his congregation feel that the putting out of the Red Kettles as their trigger, others it is snow, although not often here on the Wet Coast. For others it is Caroling or the lighting of Christmas lights throughout the community. Whatever the trigger, the Season is here and the Army is now in it's 76 th year providing various community services for those in need. The Major outlined where the funds raised in the Kettle drive are used. The money is used in many ways to help those in need including gift cards, toys, basic living supplies, food hampers community care for seniors and disaster relief to mention a few. This year's goal for it's fund raising drive is $140,000 but they currently only at $90,000 with a week to go. At the conclusion of the Major's presentation, the Club presented the Major with a contribution of $1400 which was received with much appreciation and thanks. 

"Merry Christmas to all"

Today Ken, our newest member gave us a brief overview of his family, career and his rejoining of Rotary. Ken's opening remarks were quite an eye opener to a lot in attendance and probably shared by a few also.  Ken opened by saying he was here today because "he failed at Retirement". Ken retired from his previous work in Edmonton, 50 years with careers in banking, Law, Government, Farm Marketing, Trainer, Consulting, Dispute Resolution and Mediation and moved to the Coast to Retire. He bought a motor coach which he and his wife thought was their dream. After some time traveling Ken realized that this was not for him and returned to pursue what he really enjoyed, working with people in dispute resolution and mediation. Since returning to the work force Ken has opened a Mediation Practice in South Surrey and is looking forward to using his skills with his most recent collaboration with "Mediators Without Borders",

Arts Umbrella was founded on the principle that high-quality arts education can positively and profoundly impact a person’s life, especially when received early in childhood.

 Some of the organization's successes are outlined below:

• More than 35 years of operation • Over 785 art-based classes offered weekly across four locations • Nearly 22,000 children and youth served • Over 14,219 children reached through 100% donor-funded outreach programs delivered to inner city schools and disadvantaged communities • Bursary Fund of $148,757 • 122 qualified artist instructors  • Excellent board governance  • Clearly articulated strategic plan • Long-standing donor base (corporations, foundations and individuals) • Proven history of collaborating with like-minded community partners

Arts Umbrella has now moved to two locations in Surrey after many successful  years on Granville Island and is looking forward to developing local relationships in the Central and South Surrey areas.

See Link on right under "Site Pages" for the complete presentation

A great social was held with the Peninsula Club last Tuesday evening.  Although a small number were in attendance, the meeting was lively as usual, as members reconnected with some previous Millennium Club Members.

President Deirdre welcomed Incoming District Governor Bill Robson, Assistant District Governor Linda Coyle and Rotary International Liaison Dean Rohrs. Peter introduced Guest Sandy Kaplin.

President Deirdre reminded all of the Bowling Social this Friday evening at Sandcastle Lanes, the Leadership Forum on Saturday and the XMAS Social planned for December 12.

Stuart gave a brief report on latest developments with the Cambodia Orphanage and the request for funding for further education. To date two children have been selected for support by individual Rotarian's from the Club. The kitchen renovation plans have now been received and are being let to local contractors for final estimates and construction details. The club has approved previously the use of the funds raised from last year's Fools Night Out to support these kitchen renovations.

Scott led the Club in the singing of Happy Birthday to Stuart for his recent birthday and also extracted a large cheque from Stuart for deposit to the Rotary Foundation.

This Wednesday we had our incoming D.G., Bill Robson join us accompanied by assistant D.G. Linda Coyle  and Rotary International Liaison, Dean Rohr.  Bill's presentation focused on the great work done through the Rotary Foundation since it's inception in 1917.  The Rotary Foundation has spurned many programs starting with the first grant which was to the International Society of Crippled Children, now the Easter Seal initiative. The Foundation has also developed programs to support Ambassadorial Scholars, Group Study Exchanges, Vocational Training teams, 3H Grants, Polio Plus and Peace Scholars to name a few. Bill also explained how funds are raised and managed. Foundation and District Grants are funded from the investment income from the Foundation Fund.  The Fund was originally set up so that there is no erosion of Principle, only investment income is spent, however due to recent pressures in the Investment world, some changes are being contemplated to ensure the program continues to be sustainable. The new moto for the Rotary Foundation is "Doing Good in the World" and he hopes that there is continued support for OUR Foundation.

Members enjoy an informal meeting with District Governor Lyle Ryan following our regular meeting.

We had a small but enthusiastic turnout at this regular meeting. We had three guests: Walter Philips of the White Rock Club, Rob Pineau of White Rock RCMP Victims Assistance Program and Ken our prospective member. Walter, who now lives in White Rock, used to be a member of the Richmond Club, but discovered that it was a much shorter drive to the Rotary Field House than to Richmond.

Guest speaker Rob Pineau gave an interesting talk on the White Rock Victims Assistance Program (VAP).  Every police department in BC is required by the Victims of Crime Act to maintain a VAP.  VAP is obligated to report suspected crimes to the police. VAP can also refer clients to outside community based programs, which are not required to report suspected crimes to the police. VAP deals with abuse of all sorts: domestic violence, threats, assaults (usually against women). It also deals with financial abuse, psychological abuse, elder abuse, fraud and the like. Rob noted that he has to think in terms of "grey shades" and not in black and white terms.  Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether an elderly parent is being abused by a child or a caregiver. It may appear that way, when in fact no abuse is occurring. On the other hand, seemingly caring people or relatives may be slowly draining all of the senior's savings and nobody suspects anything untoward is occurring. The issues are very complex and often the greatest loss to the senior is the feeling that they have lost their independence. In addition, sometimes the senior's relationship with children is complicated. The child may be taking advantage of the senior, but the senior may be fearful of losing his or her relationship with that child, so he or she allows the abuse to continue. Rob drew our attention to the BC Lions Football Club program: "Be More than a Bystander".  That program encourages people to step forward if they suspect elders or any person is being abused. Look for the warning signs such as whether the senior or the abused wife is being isolated or is reluctant to talk about potential abuse. Rob noted that new legislation will allow banks to report suspected financial abuse of seniors and other to the authorities. Rob noted a few outside sources for help: The Public Guardian and Trustee, Fraser Health, and Victim Link a 24 hours resource that can direct callers to various agencies that can assist victims or potential victims. All in all, Rob gave an interesting talk that resulted in an interesting discussion that went on until 8:30 am. At that point the Mercy Rule kicked in and we had to cut off the interesting discussion.

September 21 saw the 6 th annual Chili Cook Off take place in conjunction with the White Rock Farmer's Market. Thank you to the Market, the Directors and Helen Fathers for allowing us to join you this year. This year we had 5 entrants: Sources Connection Cafe & Catering; Semiahmoo Rotary; Jimmy Flynns (and White Rock Rotary); Jan's on the Beach and a new entrant; The Wooden Spoon. The weather held and the Chili was served.

The winners this year of the Peoples Choice award and Judges Choice Award respectively were :  "The Chili Connection" aka Sources Connection Cafe & Catering and "The Red Hot Chili Schleppers" aka Semiahmoo Rotary.

Thank you to everyone who participated and we look forward to seeing you again next year.

Maxine Larmour and Jesse spoke about the Youth Collective.  Youth in White Rock/South Surrey are getting into trouble because they are bored.  Alexandra Neighbourhood House is trying to solve this problem in part by having a meeting place and activities.  They have found a place near the Whaleing Wall but need a lot of money on a long term basis for rent and operating costs.  These ladies and some of the youth have made presentations to several groups and have been well received

Today was a mix of Business and a little learning. Scott updated the Club on progress with the Rotary Hole In one Challenge Golf event scheduled for September 12, 2014 at The Cove Golf Course in Ladner. Sponsors are needed for all 9 holes plus Longest Drive, Most accurate drive, putting, Lunch and Refreshments. Sponsorship and entry forms are available on the link under Events on the Club's Web page and Bulletin. There is an Urgent need to confirm sponsors so that credit can be given on all advertising done for this event. Contact Patrick Hahn or Scott if you have any questions regarding sponsorship. Also shortly, Stuart will be confirming with Club members their ability to volunteer at the event. We will need as many volunteers as we can find to make sure this is a successful event.

The meeting then moved on to a short presentation on the Website and Bulletin and the respective functions available through it. Stuart outlined the Event tab and showed how one can activate the link and obtain any and all information and entry forms all with the click of a button. The Duty roster was also highlighted on the Bulletin to show how members can confirm their commitments for the next meeting. The duty roster lists assigned members and backup for the duties of Greeter, Invocation, Introduction of Speakers, thanking of Speaker and the new duty of Scribe. The Scribe will be responsible for taking notes at the meeting including a short summary of any presentations by speakers. Another item outlined was the ability to send e-mail from the Clubrunner to any member in the club. This is accessed through the Login tab and requires your  Login name and password. If you have forgotten what this is please contact Stuart and he will set you up again. 

 

Current and future Plans to assist the orphanage by Rotary Clubs:

The Rotary Club Minerva in Amsterdam and the Rotary Club of Bangkok South (RCBS) and the Rotary Club of South Surrey, accompanied by representatives of the FLOAT Foundation visited subject Orphanage in March 2014. The visit was orchestrated to assess progress since the last visit from funding partners in Rotary and to provide onsite orientation to the Rotary Club of South Surrey, a new participant in the support of this Orphanage. Progress was noted in some areas of the Orphanage but many more areas were observed which could benefit from additional project coordination of projects supported by contributions from Rotary and other funders. Since there is now no local Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Battambang has now ceased operations; the consortium took the opportunity, when in Phnom Penh, to visit with the Rotary Club of Phnom Penh Metro with the hopes that this Club could provide some additional oversight and local ‘Eyes” on future projects at the Battambang Orphanage. Together with the continuing involvement of the Float Foundation, its representative in Cambodia (Vireak) and the personal involvement of Hans Mannheim (Minerva) and Arie Bloed (RCBS), this will assist in providing necessary safeguards to ensure that projects will be realized successfully. It also provides some assurances that all money will be spent for the children and no money will ‘disappear’ (a continuous risk in a country like Cambodia).

Today was a Business meeting and President Deirdre's first. Well it went off without a hitch and  Deirdre settled into her role as President quite effortlessly . The meeting kicked off with Past President Rick awarding Perfect attendance pins to Deirdre, Brian, Jeff and himself. Congratulations, great to see such dedication. Past President Rick also finalized the induction of 2014-2015 Directors who missed the Installation event two weeks ago. Rick installed, Joanne, Jody and Patrick, welcome aboard.

Deirdre then proceeded to summarize her first Executive meeting held yesterday.  Main topics reported out were decisions on Rotary Donate a Car and the decision to allow this program to lapse. Although not a huge expense it was felt that the expenses to keep it running far exceeded the revenue and it was time to move on. Other cost saving measures were also reported such as cancelation of our mail box, mail to the Club will now be directed to the address of the reigning President. One exception to this is for Bank correspondence which will be directed to the home of the Treasurer. There was a brief update on progress with our Orphanage project which is currently stalled due to our Cambodia contact has just given birth to a baby boy and she is quite busy at the moment. There was also a short discussion on the Chili Cook Off Event for 2014. It has been decided that rather than align ourselves with the BIA this year, various reasons why, we would approach the Farmer's Market and see if any interest in a collaborative event one Sunday in September. The last item up for discussion was the upcoming Golf event, scheduled for September 12, 2014.  This is a 9 hole event, with all holes having potential for a $10,000 hole in one prize. Stay tuned for this one.

Happy Buck's:  Patrick reported on his recent trip to St. Andrews in Scotland and his golfing prowess. Patrick managed 4 games on the courses in Scotland and was a member of the winning team at the Rotary Organized International Golfing event held on the last day of the tour.  Congratulations Patrick, hope you left some Scotch for me!!

Guest Presentation: Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue SEE VIDEO LINK AT END OF BULLETIN !!

We had big crowd for our meeting. Our meeting room was almost bursting at the seams. Guests from the White Rock RCMP, including Constable Derek Roberts, Volunteer Coordinator Julie Everett, members of the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, Jim O'Dowd a former club member, and Devon Penner a new young Chiropractor starting his practise in White Rock with Pierre Deslauriers. 

NOTE:  No morning meeting next week: March 12th.  There will be an evening meeting at Renee's Community Room. Details below.

Denise Darrell Speaks on Women's Place

August 13, 2014: Lexie has benefited from a number of Rotary programs.  She attended the Rotary International Convention in Sydney, Australia in 2014.  She was awarded a Rotary grant to go in September to London. England to study for a masters degree.  She will study Education and Drug Policy.  She Has studied in Washington, D.C. and she played soccer in Surrey.  She also worked in a long term addiction recovery centre in the Downtown East Side of Vancouver.  The centre she worked in is based on the world travels of its benefactor and is one of the best in North America.  She also taught the people there who she said are very good students though they struggle every day with their addiction.

She had an Ambassadorial Scholarship and now has a new grant which is a matching grant.  The total will be $36K but she must raise $12K with some strange and controversial rules which Jeff is researching.  She is sponsored by the Langley Rotary Club

Lexie was a good speaker, very enthusiastic, and likely a good selection for a grant.  We will consider supporting her after Geoff reports on his research

August 6, 2014

Our meeting today was moved from morning at the Pantry to evening at the home of Brian and Dierdre O’Ruairc.  Members, Spouses and Visitors were invited.  Present were Alan Benson and Aline, Don Boyce and  Iola. Jody Gordon, Bob Gray and Helen, Peter Herz, Brian and Dierdre, Jeff Richards, Rick Singh and Leslie, Stuart Wilson and Karen.

There were also several visiting Rotarians who came on time and some who came later.  Regular visitor, Chip and Assistant D.G., Linda Coyle and Marietta Ostberg were among the later arrivals.  Linda and Marietta had been on the beach collecting for C.H.I.L.D.

Guest and visiting Rotarian, Linda Whitehead, was recognized for having been awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship.

President, Dierdre, found a small bell and called a short meeting to order at which she reminded us of upcoming events including an executive meeting on Tuesday Aug 12.  We were entertained by a great show put on by the R.C.A.F. Snow Birds and then had a great dinner.  Early arrivers also had appys.  Several people tried Hickory Salt on their Ice Cream.            

Thank you to all who have volunteered to date.  We have 10 volunteers so far, well on our way to having enough to run this Fun event.

Also, heard today that we might have two holes sponsored and some prizes starting to materialize, way to go, keep it up.Contacts:

Scott -  sphemister@shaw.ca        

Let's face it: If Rotarians don't succeed in attracting younger members to their clubs, there won't be any clubs to attract members to.

The first annual Chili Cook-off Contest was held Sept. 12th, 2009 to rave reviews from all participants and the public.

Almost two decades ago, Cyril Noirtin, then a high school student from Nancy, France, received a special gift from Rotary: a chance to participate in an exchange to Wisconsin, USA, hosted by the Rotary Club of Lake Country-Hartland.

Rotary International President John Kenny urged Rotarians to take steps toward making the world a better place during a visit to the Rotary Club of Chicago on 7 July.

Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge for polio eradication is drawing broad support from the family of Rotary. The challenge is Rotary's response to the $355 million in grants received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Rotary is committed to raising $200 million in matching funds by 30 June 2012.

A club member must attend or make up at least 50 percent of regular club meetings in each half of the year (though some clubs may have more stringent requirements). Any missed meetings must be made up within 14 days of a regular meeting.  If traveling, club members are encouraged to visit clubs in the new area to make up a missed meeting.

Can't make to another club, try and eMakeup.  Click "Online Makeup" at the left or see more information below.

The YouTube website now has dozens of Rotary-related videos available for viewing, including an audio speech by Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary. To check them out, click here