The Westerner for June 20, 2011
Meeting: chair, grace, music - Mike Ryan
Attendance/Guests: 28 including Nadine Riopel; Daryl Zelinski, guest speaker
Change Over Meeting: June 27, 6:00 pm for cocktails; 7:00 dinner & program
Get Well Wishes: Bill Macdonald spilled off his bicycle while cycling near Canmore, ligaments sore
Congratulations: Shane Lafond for birthday June 20; past member Art Jones and spouse Jennie for 60th wedding anniversity;
Gift Cards: please see Kasey to purchase, commission goes to fund our projects
Rotary District 5370 Conference: President Mike advised it was a very good conference with powerful speakers; our club won the Rotary International President's Citation
50/50: $251 carried over as Brian and Dave did not match cards
Finemaster: Richard levied a lot of fines to obtain the $2 maximum per attendee - $1 if you did not attend the district conference; $1 if you attended the district conference because you could not attend the NDP convention in Vancouver; Bert $2 for trying to get Richard to bring in extra fine revenue; Ben Doz $2 just because Richard had to buy new glasses; $1 if you were a Canucks supporter; $1 if you did not know the CFL winners for last week (Saskatchewn, B C; Toronto; Montreal); $1 if you did not know the names of the 2 Canadians that made the cut at the U S Open (Heffernan,Hadwin); $1 if you did not know who won the U S Open 25 years ago (Ray Floyd); $1 if you did not know how many years the U S Open had been operating (111 years); $1 if you did not know the names of the 2 amateurs that made it to the final round of the U S Open (Henley, Cantlay)
Club Website: We have made some changes to the Website, so please check it out by clicking the link at the top of this eBulletin. At the start of the new Rotary year we wil be changing the look of the Westerner eBulletin, so we hope you will like these changes. On the Website, two articles have been added under NEWS - one on the Slave Lake Relief funds and one on the upcoming Al Hamilton & Friends Charity Golf Classic. If you are one of the volunteers, you will want to check out this article.
Guest Speaker: Rob introduced Daryl Zelinski, who is a veteran of 18 years of sports in the Edmonton area including public relations with the Oilers and Eskimos. He is now with the Edmonton Indy Race public relations group. The Edmonton Indy runs July 22, 23, 24. Daryl hopes for sun, not rain. The race has operated since 2005.
The new promoter is Octane Sports of Montreal whose president has over 20 years experience in promoting Grand Prix events. Octane now runs 3 races in Canada - Formula One Grand Prix in June in Montreal; Edmonton Indy in July in Edmonton; NASCAR in August in Montreal.
Octane looks to support the strong racing community that lives in Edmonton. The new race track is in the northeast corner of the Muni Airport. Suites will be closer to the race. There are 3 passing corners and a 1 km straight away (attracts the race drivers); the City of Edmonton put in $3.5 million to reconfigure the track. Octane hope to bring in ardent racing fans from the American northwest. The race gives Edmonton international exposure as millions see the race on TV or internet.
The F1 car is lighter so performs better on straight aways. The Indy Car corners better. The fuel is ethanol, a renewable resource. The track is one of the 20% that runs counter clockwise. There will be new automobile sponsors for the 2012 race. The Indy Cars attain 220 mph and the tires warm to boiling water temperatures which help them grip the road.
Booster packages are available - saves money on the ticket. Suites hold 50 people but individuals can attain the same type of comfort by buying an upgraded entrance ticket. All tickets have been reduced by $25 over last year's prices to attract a larger crowd.
The Indy Cars have a Push To Pass Button that can be used 15 times during the race - strategy of when to use the extra momentum.
Daryl was thanked by Mike Ryan