The Westerner for October 24, 2011

Posted by Al Sanderson 
on Oct 25, 2011
 

 Meeting:   Chair:  Sherry;  Music:  Jerome;  Grace:  Danny

 Attendance / Guests:  34, including Kim Matthews, Rod Phillips, & Al Hamilton (Al is actually an Honorary Member rather than a guest)

Announcements:

  • Remember that next week we are meeting on Tuesday instead of Monday.  Invite guests to the Tuesday, November 1 meeting to hear the President of Northern Gateway Pipeline talk about this exciting project. 
  • By now, all those who are attending the District Conference at the River Cree Resort this Friday and Saturday should have registered.  It is Club Policy for the Club to pay the registration fee for members in good standing.  You can claim the fee after the fact by submitting an expense claim to Treasurer Lily Fong.
  • John Blimke provided conceptual drawings for the proposed Windsor Block at Fort Edmonton Park.  This new building will sit between and connect to the Selkirk Hotel and the Capitol Theatre, and will provide complimentary facilities for both of those existing buildings, as well as office and meeting space for Rotary District 5370.
  • John Blimke believes that our Al Hamilton & Friends Charity Golf Classic raised a record amount of funds, but this is yet to be confirmed by Treasurer Wayne Ellis.
  • Al Hamilton spoke about progress on the McCauley Park (Inner City) Rink development project, and thanked Brian Thompson for assisting in getting the City to approve the Development Permit for the project.  It is expected that construction of the underground utilities will commence within the next two weeks, followed by site grading, the placement of a large trailer (temporary rink changeroom and washrooms), the building of a deck and some fencing modifications.  Al is very pleased with the donations of construction expertise and materials worth some $150,000 by OML Construction, Focus Corporation, O'Hanlon Paving, Waiward Excavating and others.  Al thanked the Club for our donations, and there will be opportunities for "hands-on" assistance once the rink is up and running.  Edmonton West has committed $10,000 to this project (to date).
  • John Blimke presented a Paul Harris Fellowship to Rod Phillips.  Rod has donated his time to every one of the Edmonton West Golf tournaments since 2002 as MC, and has done a great job.  The Club has donated $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation for Polio Eradication in Rod's name.  While Rod wasn't speechless, he was obviously moved by the presentation and the standing ovation from those in attendance!
  • 50/50 Draw - Bill Arnold and Chris Gowers did not match, so $124 is carried forward to next week.
  • Finemaster John Blimke extracted $2 from pretty much everyone for being an Eskimos or Oilers fan & even for being a Saskatchewan Roughriders fan (for them failing to beat Calgary).

 Program - Canadian Cancer Society Volunteer Driver Program

Fred Kraft, who has been a volunteer driver for the past 3 years introduced Kim Matthews, Coordinator of the Edmonton area Volunteer Driver Program for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Kim has worked for the CCS since 1994.  It is a national non-profit society which receives no Government funding, and relies on donations from the public.  The volunteer driver program for the Edmonton area has some 60 volunteers who will provide roughly 1000 rides for patients who need to go to the Cross Cancer Institute for their treatments.  The CCS also provides subsidies for those who have to travel to Edmonton from other areas, including hotel costs.  It also has a program of matching patients with cancer survivors for support communications.  It also funds research at the U of Alberta for roughly 18 to 20 researchers.  Most people don't realize that there are over 100 types of cancer.

This is getting into the tough time of year for Kim, because roughly 25 of the 60 volunteers are Snowbirds who go south for the winter.  The typical volunteer driver is a retired male who wants to get out of the house.  Some drivers do one drive per week, while others do several.  Generally, a treatment takes about half an hour, so a driver may wait at the Cross to take the patient back home, or may go and pick up another patient while one is receiving treatment.

The drivers make a big difference in the lives of the patients.  The attributes required of the volunteer drivers include compassion, a sense of humour, and available time.  Anyone who is interested in volunteering can get in touch with Kim through Fred. 

Al Holmes thanked Kim for her presentation, and spoke highly of the staff at the Cross Cancer Institute.