The Westerner for January 25, 2010
Meeting: chair, Ben Doz; music, Jerome and "piper" Butch; grace, the Selkirk Grace by Robbie Burns read by Bill Buckham
Guests: Butch Balch, piper; Linda Glover; Alex Pederson and his guest Doug Loewen; Nadine Fulmer, Rotary Club of Edmonton Northeast
Robbie Burns Celebration Lunch: Paul Harris Fellows piped in to the sound of pipe music; consumption of Haggis and Scotch - thanks to the efforts of Bob Lamoureux; Address to the Haggis in excellent misspeak by Jim Johnston
Casino: Bill Buckham said total revenue was about $58,000 which is expected to rise to $75,000 through pooling of all casinos for the quarter - thanks to all the workers who contributed to this effort
Board of Directors: they authorized a donation of $5,000 to Shelterbox as a way of helping the displaced people in Haiti; many individual donations were pledged after President Ben started with a personal $100 donation - donation cheques to be made out to Rotary District 5370 Charitable Foundation so you can get a receipt for income tax purposes
Grandview Media Room and Grand Piano: President Ben thanked Jerome for many hours of work to put together a new project for Grandview Extended Care Centre - $34,000 to provide the items suggested in the title
Former Exchange Student: President Ben read a letter from Charlotte Corbaux, our last exchange student who wrote from her home near Caen, France - she is doing very well, knows how to imply a second message, is close to gaining the access to the secondary education that she desires - wished us Happy New Year among other messages
New Member: Alex Pederson was inducted, proposed by Lynette, Alex is married to Lorna and they have 5 children; classification is Mediation; he owns Two Gallery and performs mediation through several mediation associations - welcome
50/50: Don McDermid and Doug MacDougall (on behalf of Jim Johnston) did not match cards, $119 left on the table
District 5360/5370 Curling Bonspiel goes February 18th to 21st at Athabasca. Registration form and all other information regarding the bonspiel can be found at www.rotarycurling.ca
Air Cadets: all of our members are invited to view the parade of cadets, February 3, 6:45 pm; @ HMCS Nonsuch
Guest Speaker: Doug MacDougall, a 5th generation Canadian, talked about Robbie Burns, with emphasis of how he might respond to current world events.
Robbie was an alcoholic who wrote many poems, many with over 20 verses. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Scotland developed libraries in most of their schools allowing the population to become well educated. Robbie was born before the Victorian era of strick personal values and, thus, was able to enjoy the company of many bonnie lasses - he had more affairs than Tiger Woods.
Robbie did have an intense pride in country and dedicated many poems to individual ladies in his life. He died in 1796 at the grand old age of 37, an early indication that poets should take better care of their bodies and personal health.
Congratulations: SteveMacEachern announced that he and his wife Margaret are celebrating 64 years of married life, a tribute to a successful mediation of English and Irish cultures.