The Westerner for June 17, 2013
Meeting: chair, Rob Dunseith; music, Jerome; grace, David Gibbens
Attendance/Guest: 28 including Jan Thalheimer, guest of Zen
Happy Birthday to Shane Lafond, June 20, Jerome led the happy birthday song
Board of Directors: meeting postponed till third week of July
Al Hamilton & Friends Golf Fundraiser: potential volunteers please call Brian, jobs for July 25 can be all day or part of the day
Grocery Cards: please purchase from Brian; profit goes to fund international projects
Rotary Club of Edmonton West Presidential Changeover Meeting: July 15 evening; cocktails @ 6:00 p m; dinner & meeting @ 6:30 p m
No Meeting: July 1 for Canada Day
50/50: Ben Doz & Jennifer did not match cards: $80 carried over
Finemaster: Dr. Doz raised funds through questions of origin/obscure facts: bathing suit from Greece around 350 B C; glasses from China (a knock off?); Manhattan new food item in 1776 - ice cream; what cities had summer Olympic Games cancelled - 1916 Berlin, 1940 Tokyo, 1944 London; when is normal construction season - June to September; what is the origin of the Peace Sign - semifore for nuclear disarmament {N D}; how much higher is Eiffel Tower in summer heat - 6 inches; how far can cruise ship travel on 1 gallon of fuel - 6 inches; in Edmonton what is longest day this year? - June 20 by 1 second
Guest Speaker: President Rob introduced Dr. Ben Doz who, on short notice, gave an update of his classification talk. Ben joined our club in October, 1992, and was propsed by his partner in the Optomestrists Clinic, Dr. James Rowand. This was the same month that Dr. Joe Lizotte also became a member of Rotary Club of Edmonton West. Both are past presidents of our club - Ben in 2009/10.
From a small farm in northern Alberta, Ben is the youngest of 4. 1982 was a pivotal year for Ben - NEP [national energy program] meant he would not be taking over the family farm = he went to the first Adventure in Citizenship in Ottawa but did not realize that it was a Rotary sponsored program until he joined Rotary = he was in Grade 12 and was the first in his family to graduate from high school (1983). Adventure in Citizenship gave him a life changing experience and he made some interesting and good life choices shortly afterward. He went to University of Alberta and picked Optometry for his life long work so he could help others - he graduated from University of Southern California in 1990. The program for optometrists changed in 1986 as they no longer participated in the diagnosis of eye diseases. However, as in every medical field, the optometrist's environment is rapidly changing. Ben provides eye services to infants through to senior citizens.
When Ben returned from California, he had an opportunity to take over a small clinic in northern Alberta but that deal fell through - which was fortunate in that he joined a clinic in Edmonton that was a good practice and gave him the scope to do everything. Jim Rowand was a partner and, as a result, Ben was introduced to our club and Rotary International. This is when Ben realized that Adventure in Citizenship was Rotary sponsored. Ben loves helping the community, youth and international avenues of service. He has done 14 annual eye care missions to Guatemala {the first was his honeymoon}. They take a lot of work especially pre trip in getting permits, drugs onto planes, etc. Rotary has given Ben a great job [practice] and a great opportunity to relate to others in Rotary.
The trips to Guatemala cost Ben and his partners $18-20,000 of which $5,000 comes from our club. He works with an opthamologist in Huehuetenango and usually spends 10 days per trip. The first were the 2 doctors and the wives seeing 600 patients; when other doctors joined they would see up to 1,800 patients. Many Rotary Club of Edmonton West members have joined Ben on these trips and he invites everyone to join him on the next one in January, 2014. As Jerome commented, our club has lucked out in getting Ben as a member just as Ben thanks our club and Rotary for his opportunities.
The largest problem in North America for eyes is macular degeneration - used to cause total blindness. But as a example of the changing medical landscape, Ben says he and his fellow practitioners can now give up to 50% of sight back through treatment.
Ben was thanked by Rob Dunseith.