The Westerner for June 1, 2009

Announcements:

• Arnie Holmes is in the Royal Alexandra Hospital.  Sad update from brother Al - Arnold passed away on Monday night.  Watch the newspaper for details of a gathering to honour Arnie next Saturday afternoon.
• Jerome Martin reports that Allan MacLean slept through the fire alarm in his building, which is located adjacent to the building which burned last weekend.  Reminder - See Jerome for tickets to a tribute to Al MacLean which will be held on Wednesday, July 8th at The Faculty Club.  This will be a sold-out event, so act quickly or you will be disappointed.  Cost is $30 per person.
• Erika Rudolph had surgery last Friday and will be undergoing chemotherapy treatments for the next few weeks.
• Michel Dorais advises that Dave Treece had an operation, but now has pneumonia.
• Duane Evans reports that his Father-in-Law was displaced by the building fire next to Alan MacLeans place.  He was able to retrieve some personal belongings on Sunday evening.  His suite has severe water damage, but, of course, it could have been much worse.
• The 2010 Rotary International Convention will be in Montreal.  They have issued a request for volunteers.  Contact President Al if you are interested.
• President Al is pleased to report that once again our Club has received a Presidential Citation Award for achieving set goals for the 08/09 Rotary Year.
• Thanks to Lorne Proctor, assisted by Ben & Marley Doz, Al & Karen Sanderson, & Bruce Perry, for looking after 20 Exchange Students at the recent District Conference.
• 50/50 Draw: Jim Johnston & Abra Gruber failed to match cards, so the small pot is growing.
• Finemaster Jim Spalding extracted at least 2 or 3 bucks from everyone, including Dave & Brian for mis-spelling Porsche, Ed Schultz for spending three months in New Zealand, and others for not being able to name City Councellor Don Iveson, not naming the Indy 500, Monaco Grand Priz & Coca Cola 600 Nascar races, not knowing how many female drivers were in the Indy race or how many Canadian drivers were in it.

NEW MEMBER

President Al & Past President Ralph introduced and inducted our newest member Doug Burchill, whose Classification is Engineering.  Doug has practiced his profession in Labrador and Ontario, and is now involved in pipelines.  He is a lover of salmon fishing.  We will learn more about Doug in the next few weeks - Welcome Doug.

PROGRAM

Past President Joe Lizotte provided an updated Classification talk.  He joined the Rotary Club of Edmonton West in 1993 while working as an associate with Gayle Mabey at the Baker Dental Centre.

Joe and wife Nancy are celebrating their 13th Wedding Anniversary this year.  They have 3 daughters including "fashion-conscious" Elizabeth, "future Dentist" Emily and "Daredevil" Charlotte.

Several years ago, Joe and 5 partners took a big risk and bought the former bank building at 105 Street and Jasper Avenue and re-developed it as the Jasper Avenue Dental Building.

When Gayle retired a little more than a year ago, Joe took on many of Gayles former patients.

Much has changed in Dentistry even in the relatively short time Joe has been practicing.  People used to have most or all of their teeth removed by age 65.  Now, most people want to keep their teeth till they pass on.  They want to look good, and they want to chew their food with comfort.  Digital X-Rays have really enhanced the Dentist's ability to view and solve tooth and jaw problems.

About 6 years ago, Joe started to do dental implants.  This procedure has grown to the point where he now does about 24 implants each week.  The post or anchor for a tooth or a bridge is threaded into the jaw bone, and the bone grows around it to hold it firmly in place.

Joe was thanked for his interesting presentation by Doug MacDougall.