The Westerner for July 22, 2013
Meeting: chair, Duane; music, Bob Kimmerly; grace, Dan Graham
Rotary Employment Partnership: Nadine Fulmer of both the Rotary Club of Edmonton Northeast and the Rotary Employment Partnership gave an update on the excellent year that the partnership had last year. They created 15 jobs for disadvantaged adults, several of those coming from members of our Rotary club
Rotary Club of Edmonton West Budget: Duane advised that most of the last directors' meeting dealt with the budget for this year. It is 95% done. Dues for the current year are $350. Invoices to come soon.
Sandon Cox: Sandon is doing a bit better as a resident of Grandview Extended Care Centre room 202. He would like visitors. If you can, wheel him into the Rotary House of Friendship on the main floor or out into the gazebo area off the second floor.
Rotary in Canmore, Alberta: Ingrid talked about her makeup at the Rotary Club of Canmore. Many of the small communities in that area, like Exshaw, are severely damaged. The Rotary Club of Canmore started to raise funds to assist all the local communities immediately after the devastating floods occurred and have raised $258,000. Donations come from non Rotarians because Rotary is deemed very trustworthy. While she was there, a donation was made so that local children could attend a summer camp for a week - this allows the parents to get more involved with their cleanup/repair duties. Congratulations to Rotary Canmore.
Finemaster: Rob Dunseith gave exemption to all working or playing in the Al Hamilton & Friends Golf Tournament and to those who attended last week's changeover meeting. Others were fined $2 if they did not donate to the Rotary International Foundation's Every Rotarian Every Year last year.
Paul Harris Fellowships: At last week's Change-over meeting, the following Paul Harris Fellowships were awarded by the Rotary Club of Edmonton West:
- Danny Chau introduced Major John Breen and presented him with a PHF for his service to 395 Air Cadet Squadron
- Rob Dunseith introduced Brian Thompson and presented him with a PHF for his service to the Club
- Duane Evans introduced Karen Sanderson and presented her with a PHF for her work in Belize in teaching women how to sew and make krafts
- Brian Thompson introduced Cathy Graves-Evans and presented her with a PHF for her work in Belize in running the summer tutorial programs for children with reading difficulties
- Lorne Proctor introduced Marley Doz and presented her with a PHF for her assistance on the many eye clinic missions to remote Guatemala
- Steve McEachern introduced Bill Arnold and presented him with a PHF for his many years of service to Rotary and the community, and in celebration of his 100th Birthday.
Happy Buck: Duane donated because the current Belize team is in Placentia and Seine Bight working on the summer training program. They expect 20 summer students in each location and about 10 instructors which include the scholarship students from Placentia that are helping out.
50/50: after getting through many of last week's tickets left in the box in error, Darrel Ripley and Ed did not match cards.
Guest Speaker: Danny Chau introduced Lisa Van Den Kwaak of the Rotary Club of Sherwood Park who is a speech psychologist and has had her own business since 1992. She now does public speaking to young people (especially university students) to develop skills to connect to other people. The skills used in public speaking also can be used to develop relationships with others.
Tips on speaking: 1) eye contact - focus on connection over perfection and give a promise of what the audience will receive from the talk (the most important message). Connect with eye contact - make the audience feel that you are talking directly to them. 2) Look to All, Speak to One! Make your statements to the singular person instead of plural. Embrace the Growth Mindset - gain the skills to impart your message in the set time period - don't go overtime. Always be learning to get to the next level of presentation. Learn new skills to continue to engage the audience - be teachable, invest in yourself. Register with Lisa and you get free access to the teaching skill set on her website. 3) extend a call to action - ask for money or promote the cause. How can the audience use what they are learning? In speaking, what do you want the audience to receive - set the goal before you write the speech. Clarity is power. Provide question/answer period during the speech as audiences tend to remember the first and last parts of the presentation the best. If the question period is the last part and there are negative comments, you may have lost your ability to leave an important memory.
Lisa was thanked by David Gibbens who used some of the skills just learned.