Sunday, December 19, 2010

Annual Christmas Lunch in Chinatown


Harbour Light Brass Band
On December 15th I attended my own club's, RC of Vancouver Chinatown, annual Christmas dinner with the Salvation Army Harbour Light. We were joined by 200 Rotarians and friends of Rotary for this great event. PDG David and Lis Kerr (5040), PDG Dave and Bev Robinson (5050) and AG Rob Goodell.
DG Penny & Henry Fetigan
Sienna Fetigan made her first public appearance and lead us in singing the National Anthem. No big deal except Sienna is just 2 years and 5 months old and really enjoys singing our Anthem. We understand she started while watching this year's Olympics on TV with her father!  
DG Penny, Tung Chan, Chris Offer
 I presented PP Henry Fetigan with an eight multiple Paul Harris Pin, who continues to maintain his commitment to District 5040 Paul Harris Society. This was followed by PDG Chris presenting a Paul Harris Award from our Club to Tung Chan, who recently retired as CEO of SUCCESS. Tung, as an Honorary Captain in the Canadian Navy, appeared in his full dress uniform of a Naval Officer. Tung has been a strong supporter of Community Service and served as a member of Vancouver City Council. He retired from a career in banking before serving SUCCESS in the CEO role. He would make an excellent addition to our Club.

Music was provided by Salvation Army brass band along with the Harbour Light Joyful Noise Singers. A couple of the male singers told their experiences of how the Army and Harbour Light in particular, has saved them and changed their lives. This is always a moving time to hear of the successes experienced at SAHL, particularly at this time of the year.
At last count we heard that we raised $4,540.00 with more still coming in.
Great job by one and all with a very special "Thank You" to Linda Wong for all her hard work taking care of registrations etc.

Monday, December 13, 2010

West Van Seniors Lunch


On Saturday, December 11th I attended the annual seniors Christmas lunch sponsored by the RC of West Vancouver Sunrise. More than 100 seniors from the community were served a full Christmas, turkey dinner. The local MP, MLAs and acting mayor joined the lunch. They thanked Rotary for all the work they do in the community locally and internationally. MP John Weston thanked the RC of West Vancouver Sunrise and all of Rotary for the work that is being done to eradicate polio. He described Rotary's work as a remarkable accomplishment.

The assembly line

Club members served lunch to the seniors.


The grade 4 class from Mulgrave School entertained the seniors with Christmas carols and then everyone joined in to sing traditional Christmas songs.
Mulgrave School

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Bowen Island


I shared two days on Bowen Island on December 9th and 10th with the members of the Provisional Rotary club of Bowen Island. Bowen has a unique history in our community. From the early days of the Union Steam Ships to today's travel on BC Ferries people have gone to Bowen for the tranquility and beauty of the island. The tranquility is preserved even with the pressures of development.
 

Penny & Prov Pres Piers Hayes
 Provisional Club President Piers Hayes and other club members took Chris and me on a tour of Rivendell Retreat Centre. Rivendell is located on 6 1/2 acres atop Cates Hill on Bowen Island. This is truly a unique place for quiet reflection.
I learned the difference between a maze and a labyrinth. Bowen has a labyrinth designed and built by a member of the Bowen Rotary club. We walked the labyrinth. The labyrinth does not have a hedge rather it has a stone path to follow in an intricate pattern. 
The centre of the Bowen Labyrinth

In the evening the 15 members of the provisional club were joined by eight members of the sponsoring club, West Vancouver Sunrise, led by President Jason Bowman and 10 local residents interested in learning more about Rotary. The club meets at 7:30 PM on Thursday at the "Snug" in Snug Cove.
I had the opportunity to explain the basic principles of Rotary to the group; Jason Bowman gave an outline of the 4-Way Test and Rotary's commitment to high ethical standards. RRFC Chris gave an overview of The Rotary Foundation.
I am looking forward to the Charter night of the new Rotary Club of Bowen Island. I know they will charter in the near future.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

London-Steveston Interact Club


Ms Donovan, DG Penny,
James Westmacott

 On December 1st, I had the opportunity to attend the annual installation dinner of the Steveston-London Interact Club at the Quilchena Golf and Country in Richmond. The Interact club is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Richmond Sunset and has over 100 members.
President James Westmacott and I, presented Interact pins and the 2010-11 Rotary theme pins to this enthusiastic group of grade 11 and 12 students. Many thanks to Ms. Donovan the teacher sponsor and to Adriana Zylmans the Rotary club representative.
The future of Rotary and the future of our community are in good hands when you meet with these wonderful young adults. Rotary is helping them to learn the importance of volunteer service and giving them the opportunity to take on leadership positions.

We have 20 Interact clubs in District 5040. This is excellent but the majority of high schools in our district do not have an Interact club. This is a great place for clubs to practice our new 5th Avenue of Service.

Interact is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young people. Made up of middle school to high school age members, Interact gives young people an opportunity to participate in fun, meaningful service projects. The word “Interact ”stands for“ international action and today nearly 200,000 young people in more than 110 countries belong to some 8,700 clubs, making Interact a truly international phenomenon.

Interact clubs organize a variety of projects and activities, depending primarily on the interests of the club members. The projects enhance leadership skills, serve the local community, and expand international understanding. An Interact club’s service projects are designed to improve the quality of life at home and abroad.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

New Class of Rotary Peace Fellows selected

This year 264 applications were received by The Rotary Foundation for Rotary World Peace Fellow scholarships. The district 5040 candidate was not selected. We feel we put forward a very good candidate but the scholarship is very competitive.

Each application was read and scored by two of the Rotary Foundation committee members or advisors. The selected Class 10 fellows represent the most promising peace builders from across the globe. The average age is 32 years old with an average of 7 years of professional experience. A third of the selected Fellows are coming from work with an NGO and another 20 percent come from backgrounds in education or peace building. Class 10 Fellows are from 44 different countries. 44% of the Class 10 Peace Fellows are from low-income countries.

For applicants and clubs interested in reapplying, the 2012 Rotary Peace Center application will be available on line in mid-December 2010 on the Rotary website. 2012 Rotary Peace Fellowship applications are due 1 July 2011. I encourage every club in District 5040 to look in their community for the best possible person to put forward. District 5040 has had three successful candidates since the program started.