ARNOLD, William "Bill" Arnold
It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Bill on March 25, 2016 at the age of 102.
Bill was predeceased by his wife, Gerry in 2003.
He is survived by one son, Dr. Richard (Maureen) Arnold; four grandchildren, Kelly Anne, David, Susan, Nancy (Dan) Falconer; two great-grandchildren, Jack and Grace Falconer; step-brother Bruce (Marg) Arnold of Victoria; as well as by several nieces and nephews.
Bill was born in Vancouver on July 13, 1913. He attended school in Vancouver, Calgary and in Edmonton. In 1935, he married Geraldine Hollingsworth. Bill served in the RCAF as a B24 Bomber pilot from 1942-46, flying out of Burma and Ceylon, India. After the war, he worked as a manager at the first Oil Sands Plant in Bitumount and later with George E. Failing Supply Company – oilfield supply in Edmonton. In 1954, Bill started Tri City Drilling with four other partners selling to Chieftain Petroleum in 1968. He continued as President of Tri City and Armstrong Drilling for 22 years with Chieftain.
He was a long term Rotarian, a member and President of Edmonton Petroleum Club as well as a member of the Edmonton Mayfair Golf Club. He and his wife Gerry loved to travel and spent many happy times in Maui and Palm Desert. Bill was inducted into the Canadian Oilman's Hall of Fame, 2003.
The family would like to thank the staff at Canterbury Court, Royal Alexandra Hospital and Covenant Care at the Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre for their excellent care.
A Funeral Service was held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 1, 2016 at Foster and McGarvey Funeral Home, 10011-114 Street, Edmonton.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Canterbury Foundation, 8403-142 Street, Edmonton, T5R 4L3.
To send condolences please visit www.fostermcgarvey.com
Al Holmes has announced that after a year of working things out, the Bursary to support the award is now active. Those wishing to contribute to the award that remembers Al's son and supports the 395 squadron can now do so. Cheques are to be made to "Alberta Provincial Committee".
Al Holmes will collect any cheques from the club and ask you to fill out a shot form for tax purposes. All donations are tax deductible.
From Boyle Street to Belize, The Rotary Club of Edmonton West has a sixty year history of applying its members' unique skills and talents to the challenges that face our community, our city and our world. Join us!
Meeting: Chair, Darrel Ripley; Music, David Gibbens; Grace, Mike Ryan; attendance 25 including 4 guests .
Rotary Business:
Induction of new club members: President-Elect Darrel Ripley was proud to induct two new members at todays meeting. David Weir was sponsored and introduced by Doug McDougall. Ken Brander was sponsored and introduced by Brad Arsenault. Both were enthusiastically welcomed to by all members present. Welcome to Rotary Gentlemen!
Rotary Club of Edmonton Northeast 50th Anniversary: Darrel Ripley was able to report that he attended the 50th anniversary gala over the weekend. Darrel not only attended on behalf of our club, but also because that club was the initial club that he joined when he first moved to Edmonton. It sounds like they did review a lot of history at the event, but also were looking forward to the next 50 years.
District 4250 District Conference: A contingent of members from Edmonton West are currently in Belize assisting our partner club in Placencia with hosting their district conference. We are sure that they will be given lots of work, but will also have lots of fun while they are down there. And a reminder that our Belize fundraiser is happening on May 7th. Tickets are available from David Gibbens for only $50 each, or a table of 8 for $400.
Professional Networking Event: Brad Arsenault reminded everybody of the professional networking event that is happening THIS Thursday, April 14th at the offices of Clark & Arsenault Advisory.
Suite 201
10458 Mayfield Road
Edmonton, AB
Please RSVP as requested on the email that was sent out to all members. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the professional work of other members of the club.
Rotary Partners for Cambodia Project: Darryl White has happy to annouce that after meeting with the Rotary club of Vegreville, they have come aboard with a donation of $2500 for the project and would like to be involved in applying for a global grant application for the project as well as sending several Rotarians on the project next year. This is a great example of Rotarians working together on great projects.
Fine Master: Bill Buckham was proud to announce that the Cadets were celebrating their 75th anniversary over the past weekend and challenged all members regarding trivia about the history and makeup of the 395 Squadron that the Rotary club of Edmonton West is so proud to have sponsored for many years. After fines were collected, he challenged all members to visit the squadron during one of their future meetings to see what wonderful things are being done by these great cadets.
50/50: Leslie Cleary and Ed Schultz were lucky enough to have their ttickets drawn, but not lucky enough to match their playing cards. Therefore the pot of nearly $416.50 will still be available for someone at the next meeting. There are very few cards left in the deck, so the odds of winning will be very high over the next few meetings.
Airspray - Celebrating 50 years pf Wildfire Control
Lynn Hamilton
Lynn began her talk with a bit of background information. First of all, what is wildfire control? and then, how are they extinguished? Most people think that what they see being issued from a plane will be landing on the fire directly and putting it out. That is not the case in the majority of situations. The fire retardant is usually places where the fire will be going and hopefully this will help it die out.
Airspray as a company was founded in 1967 by a former member of the Rotary Club of Edmonton West, Donald Hamilton (Lynn's father). Lynn gave a touching background on Donald's passion for flying and his history of being a bush pilot before opportunity knocked and he saw an opportunity to begin Airspray and continue with his love of flying.
Lynn then continued the Airspray story by documenting the growth of the company, the different types of planes that have been in the company's fleet and the challenges of this type of business. No challenge was bigger than in the year 2000, when Airspray's hangar at the Red Deer Regional Airport caught of fire and completely destroyed the facility and took the life of one of the employees.
At that time, there was thought of shutting down the company, but through support of friends and family, Don decided to rebuild and a new hangar was built with a machine shop, a better flight planning centre and even a flight simulator.
In May of 2011, Don Hamilton was inducted as a member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to aviation in Canada. Sadly, two months later, he passed away at the age of 88.
Lynn then became the sole owner of the company, and many changes have been occuring to help the company grow. They have expanded into the US, are building the next generation of air tankers, air tractors, fire bosses, and mobile retardant filling stations. There are now plans to expand into another couple of countries in the near future. The company is turning 50 years old next year, and there is hopes to write a 50th anniversary book, have a celebration with current and former employees and build a B26 Tanker 1 static display to commemorate this milestone.
There were several questions from the floor, and then Lynn was graciously thanked by Rotarian, Leslie Cleary.
ARNOLD, William "Bill" Arnold
Airspray - Celebrating 50 years pf Wildfire Control
