As Jackie Hobal's time as President comes to an end we would like to thank her for stepping into the role when we needed a leader. "Leadership is not a title. It is a behaviour." - Robin Sharma. Her commitment and dedication to our club is inspirational and has set us on a pathway to success.
For the next 3 months, Al Sanderson will take the reins. Your willingness to take on the responsibility is much appreciated and we look forward to being part of this next chapter.
A Message from our Club President
Hi folks, I am honoured to take on the Club President role for January through March, and invite you to send me thoughts and ideas about making our great club even better. We are doing well through the covid period and I'm sure we are all looking forward to the time we can put that behind us! In the meantime, there are still many things we can accomplish.
We are working on a plan for the club to provide guidance to our activities. These days, no plan can be static as change is happening regularly all around us. We do though want to ensure we are operating from common principles and with clarity about the kinds of activity we choose to lead or participate in. There is a never ending list of possibilities locally and internationally so having a plan is about making choices on what we will, and will not, select. We will provide a draft for your review and comment shortly.
We are off to the races with planning for the Golf tournament! Thanks to Spencer and Doug for leading the charge on this very important fundraiser. We will need your help soon with generating prizes, advertising, and a variety of other tasks, so please be ready to lend a hand. Also mark July 28 in your calendars as it will be all hands on deck on the day of the tournament. If you have not participated at the tournament before, I can assure you it is an enjoyable experience!
I have heard from the team in Guatemala - the clinics are going well with great support from the Huehuetenango club. Also, at the Huehuetenango Rotary Club meeting, Ben presented Carlos Solorzano's wife Katyna with a plaque from our club honouring Carlos, along with a beautiful memory quilt that Karen made for the Solorzano family. From all accounts both were well received with many tears all around!
For the meeting on Jan 21, we were planning our traditional in-person Robbie Burns Day event at the University Club; but, given the frustrating continuation of the covid dilemma we have decided to hold our meeting by Zoom instead - so you will have to buy your own haggis!
Our next Board meeting is this Wednesday, January 19 7:00 PM on Zoom - all members are welcome to attend as usual.
Next joint meeting with the Downtown club will be Feb 14 at the University Club, when our speaker will be - Dean of Agriculture Stan Blade
January is Vocational Service Month. This is an opportunity to think about how your club and district engages fellow Rotary and Rotaract members through their professional skills or vocations, and how they bring Rotary’s ideals into their workplace. In bringing together people from diverse professions and backgrounds, Rotary recognizes the importance of all skills and occupations. In Rotary, your professional life and vocational service can work together. Members have a responsibility to represent their occupations within their club and to exemplify the ideals of Rotary in their workplace.
Edmonton West News
Dr. Douglas MacDougall, a founding member of our Rotary Club, a Paul Harris fellow, and honorary Club life member passed on December 16, 2021, ten days shy of his 103rd birthday.
Douglas was very active in our Club, participating in Club activities, fundraisers, and projects. An annual Club event hosted during a regular weekly meeting was his celebration of Robbie Burns Day and the ceremonial arrival of the haggis, which he performed for the Club right up to his 99th birthday. In 2018, the Club celebrated his 100th birthday at our December 17th regular meeting where he and his daughter Mary were our guests of honour. This was followed by a 100th birthday celebration on December 28th 2018, arranged by his family and held at the Royal Glenora Club of which he was a founding member. This event was attended by many of our members.
On a personal note, Douglas inducted me into our Club in 2016. During his introduction of me, Douglas mentioned having introduced and inducted my father into our Club, over 50 years earlier, so it was an honour when he also inducted me. The MacDougall family and the Weir family were not just neighbours, we became good friends. He will be missed.
David Weir
Community Service
Manning the Christmas Kettles at Costco
Many thanks to everyone who came out to collect donations for the Salvation Army. Rotarians Bert Andrews, Dave Turner, Jim Johnson, Jackie Hobal, Brian Thompson and Ben Doz, and our Friends of Rotary Fred Kraft, Wayne Hobal and Michelle Mueller all volunteered and enthusiastically rang their bells. You all did such a wonderful job!
A Note from Dayna Curtis, the Salvation Army Resource Manager/Kettle Coordinator:
Happy New Year!
I've had many calls and emails from our volunteers asking if we have our final totals for our Kettle Campaign. I had mentioned before Christmas that it looked like we would be pretty close to our goal of $600,000. Well we were short by more than I expected, but we still did a great job and I'm happy with the overall success of the campaign in areas other than financial. Our total as of right now is $532,145.70. That number may increase as we finalize donations at our head office. But as I said, we were successful in other areas - we were able to have kettles in the Oilers games this year, Glow Edmonton Festival, and we have some other big partnerships lined up for next year already. I said from the beginning of this campaign that my main goal was for the Salvation Army to be more present in the city to let others know we are here to help anyone, anytime, anywhere! I also want to give a shout out to our Area Team Leaders and Kettle Assistants. They were the backbone of this campaign and I could not have done my job without them! So thank you Kettle Team - you rock!
I would like to again say a huge THANK YOU to all of you for the sacrifice of your time in November and December. Time is a very precious gift in these very busy times, and the fact that you gave that gift so freely to help us raise money to help others is a true testament to the kindness of Edmontonians, Just today, I spoke to a volunteer who said "the city of Edmonton is known as the city of champions but it's not the sports figures that makes it a city of champs - it's the volunteers and those who care for others." And I echo that statement! YOU are the champions of Edmonton!
Volunteering at the Edmonton Food Bank
Due of the generosity of Edmontonians in December the Food Bank put our a call for volunteers in January to help with sorting food and building hampers. As always Edmonton West Rotarians put up their hands and signed up. Thanks to you all for supporting this worthy organization.
What is Community Service?
Community Service is the opportunity Rotary clubs have to implement club projects and activities that improve life in the local community. Every Rotary club and every Rotarian assumes a responsibility to find ways to improve the quality of life for those in their communities and to serve the public interest. When Rotary is viewed as a positive force in the community, its membership strengthens and grows, adding to the organization's ability to serve worldwide.
Grandview Extended Care
The Rotary Club of Edmonton West has checked all of the boxes for a successful Community Service Project. We have partnered with Grandview for 49 years and through all of our projects have improved the lives of the residents. The relationship has been mutually beneficial as it has provided many opportunities for our eager volunteers.
The organization of the Golf Tournament is off to a solid start.
The committee members to date, include: Spence Mueller, Jackie Hobal, Brian Thompson, Lorne Proctor, Al Sanderson and Doug Sollows. Ex.officio. Vicky Grabb (Club Treasurer) and Ingrid Neitsch. A request for additional members will come once the activity list become more clearly defined.
The following activities have taken place or are in progress:
A planning meeting took place on Saturday, January 8 to discuss the project framework and share ideas.
Four significant sponsors have been identified. Three have been notified.
A theme or focus has yet to be decided. This will evolve from conversations with the potential sponsors and the Club Membership.
Marketing packages are being developed. The package will define the framework for sponsorship including:
Theme
Sponsorship value
Amount going back to Sponsor’s Choice
How much of the funds raised will remain with our Club
Number of Golf Teams a major sponsor will have
Value of per person attendance.
Three of the four Golf Account signatories have been changed over. One left to do. This activity could be completed by the third week of January.
Wayne Ellis has assembled the previous golf tournament records. The content will be reviewed for valuable information regarding organization and previous sponsors and participants. Further outreach will be considered.
Discussions on participant gifts has been started. A sponsor for this material, trophies, etc. has been identified. Initial outreach has taken place.
Discussions on entertainment has taken place
A budget (revenue + expenses) will be prepared after a review of the previous tournament records and reflect the management plan.
The goal is to have a major sponsor identified by the end of January with a update presentation to the Club in early February.
Reported by:
Doug Sollows, Incoming President – 2022.
International Service
Guatemala Eye Project
Dr. Ben Doz and a team from Edmonton West has been traveling to Guatemala to run annual eye clinics serving remote rural areas. For many patients, Dr. Doz may be the first, and only, optometrist they ever see in their lifetime.
After missing last year due to COVID restrictions we are happy to say that the team is in Guatemala continuing their good works.
This project is Vocational Service in Action. Vocational Service calls on us to empower others by using our unique skills and expertise to address community needs and help others discover new professional opportunities and interests.
We had the pleasure of hosting Bill Flanagan, President of the University of Alberta in a joint meeting with the Rotary Club of Edmonton West. During the meeting Ingrid Neitsch spoke about the District Peacebuilding Committee's Peace Pole Initiative.
The Rotary Club of Edmonton West is the first Positive Peace Club in our District, and has worked closely with the District Peacebuilder committee to promote peace education and peace literacy in our community.
I had the pleasure of meeting with President Flanagan before the holidays. I was impressed with his new vision for our university and his commitment to collaborate with community groups.
We discussed opportunities for peace education and since our meeting I have connected with a number of faculty staff: Dr. Jennifer Tupper who is on this call; and others interested in the global movement of promoting peace education.
Our District Peace Committee is launching a new initiative during February — which is peace month — to advance positive peace and peace education by introducing peace poles.
Peace poles, like the one I have here, are located around the world.
In fact, there are more than 250,000 peace poles that have been dedicated in ceremonies as a symbol to encourage thoughtful conversations and reflections on how we as a global community must support peace education in our own backyards.
There are communities in Australia, Japan and the United States that have planted 100 peace poles in their region to commentate important anniversaries and raise awareness of peace building.
Since our Club meets on campus grounds, I am proud to announce that the Rotary Club of Edmonton West has passed a motion to purchase a peace pole for the University of Alberta campus. Details for the exact location and time of the dedication ceremony are yet to be finalized.
I encourage the Rotary Club of Edmonton to a join us in a peace pole dedication in the future!
Ingrid Neitsch
Let's Make History at our Rotary Foundation Zone Gala!
Join our hosts, Rotary International Vice President Valarie Wafer, and TRF Trustee, Dean Rohrs, for our Fundraising Gala on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, at 8:00 pm ET.
Our hosts will be joined by RI President-Elect Jennifer Jones, Director-Elect Drew Kessler, and our MC for the evening, Past-Director Jeffry Cadorette.
Gala-2022 #1 - The Basics (1:35)… https://vimeo.com/655516472
Gala-2022 #2 - The Tour (1:24)… https://vimeo.com/656819253
Gala-2022 #3 - The Need (1:39)… https://vimeo.com/656827937
Gala-2022 #4 - Rotary Leaders (1:25)… https://vimeo.com/656839916
Gala-2022 #5 - Entertainment (1:56)… https://vimeo.com/656743700
Gala-2022 #6 - The Party! (1:19)… https://vimeo.com/657232495
Click the link below for more information and to Register.
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