Kitimat Rotarians had a fun filled day August 27th.  It started out with a potluck bbq at Delta King Place, Kitimats Assisted Living Facility.  Rotarians brought their favourite salad or treats and shared with the residents that reside there.  The greatest part of the day was having a visit from District Governor Bala Naidoo, his lovely wife Vasi, and Chad Sallenback, Assistant to the District Governor.  Chad was busy at work bbqing the hotdogs and hamburgers for everyone, thanks for that Chad!  Lots of socializing took place, and lots of questions answered about how Assisted Living facilities work.  We were able to show the District Governor, Chad and Vasi, how we spent fundraising monies in the last year.  Kitimat Rotary donated twenty thousand dollars to the  kitchen renovation project.     Kitimat Rotarian Eleanor Kendell told residents the background story of the peace crane, and gifted all residents with their very own crane.  

 

The Bbq was followed by a meeting at the Hirsch Creek Golf Course, where some great conversations and brain storming took place regarding membership growth.  We thank Bala, Chad, and Vasi for the visit, and hope to see you all again soon!

 

Friday, June 21st, 2019 
11:00am- “Walking for Strength,” parade  
          Our communities have been hit hard with a lot of troubling times and  losses. Let walk beside one another as a community to build our collective strength. 
12:00pm– Indian Taco Luncheon, fried bread + taco toppings 
1:00-4:00pm– Cultural dancing (detailed performance agenda to come) 
5:00-6:00pm– Community Potluck, please bring a main dish or dessert 
      Kitimat LNG  will be supplying BBQ Burgers, Hotdogs, chips, broccoli salad  6:00pm-10pm– Cultural dancing (detailed performance agenda to come) 
Vendor/Information Tables: Face painting, Kitimat LNG sponsored H.R. MacMillan Space Centre Star Lab,  Kitimat Disability Services-Sensory Friendly Tent, Haisla Nation Council  program information tables.  
Saturday, June 22nd, 2019 
9:00am-10:00am– Pancake Breakfast, put on by the Haisla Lightening Women’s Soccer team, sponsored by HNC 
10:00am-12:00pm– Reading by Haisla Author, Joseph Starr Day School Research 
12:00pm-1:00pm–  Lunch Refreshments served 
1:00-2:00pm- Soapberry Making Contest 
5:00pm– Guatlap Dinner 
6:00pm– Guatlap Awards Ceremony, Honoring our Language teachers, community      merits, Staff merits 
Sunday, June 23rd, 2019 
2:00pm– Movie Matinee showing– Totem: The Return of the G’psgolox Pole 1hr 10mins 
         -Totem: Return and Renewal 23mins 
Bus transportation (JUNE 23rd only) sponsored in kind donation of LNG Canada 

 

What's Kitimat about, This lady is the answer!  Much has been happening at the Chamber over the last year or so.  Anyone passing by will see the bright paint job at the Gazebos.  Walk inside and the vivid colours are there too.  We now have a "slogan" Kitimat Bound.  Focus has been placed on workforce attraction.  An amphitheatre will be going up this coming summer.  A carver will be working on a Welcome sign.  Access for the disabled is being addressed.  Kayaks can be rented from the Chamber this summer.  Members are working  on a new strategic plan.  Our thanks go to Jill for sharing so much information with us and for doing a bang up job at the Chamber.  

 

 

Rotarians were on hand to help with registration, and to give direction to any other help needed to Kitimat Grade 12 students who headed to Christ Church Anglican Church to receive  MCV4 shots against Meningitis A, C, Y, and W135.  

 

May 21st, what an interesting evening,  Haisla Nation Council community cultural coordinator Teresa Windsor walked us through a good deal of Haisla history backed by an excellent PowerPoint slide show.  We learned about the clans at Kitamaat Village.  Theirs is a matriarchal society, one where families are closely knit together.  Teresa grew up in Kitamaat Village.  She was sparked to research and share  the Haisla culture when her son came home from school reciting a prayer that he had learned in the Haisla language.  As we listened, her story 'came alive'. Now JHaisla kids are learning their language.  Like all of us, she shares the simple truth, they are our future.  Teresa invited us to come out to a gathering on the June 21st weekend.  It's called Guatlap Days (to help one another).  More to come from her later. 

 

 

Guests started arriving early on Saturday, May 4th, not surprising!  What a perfect night, lovely sunshine to walk in, summertime clothing even sandals, a great start to the evening.  This was topped off by the welcoming decor in the Christ the King Church Hall.  Wine barrels, grape arbors, Kerr mason jars and cross cuts of tree trunks on the tables. 200 wine glasses set out for the tastings.  Not to be overlooked the smiling faces of Rotarian greeters.

Background  music by the man himself, D. of K. councilor, Edwin Empinado, time for a couple of Rotarians to 'breath' before the action begins,

the behind the scenes action in the kitchen, exemplary staff of Seven Tables! 

We were privileged to hear our Hirsch Creek Golf and Winter Club's manager, Winston Mitchell, tell his story at our April 16th meeting.  Winston's sharing of his previous employment sites at elite golf clubs was impressive.  With this experience behind him, he brings a new vision to golfing in Kitimat and to the operation of this facility,  Growing the club is a priority, getting ahead of the game, having all staff part of the team, sharing their energy and recognizing their importance.  What a plus to have him with us with a goal one can see becoming a reality!

 

 Meet our 2019-2020 District 5040 Governor, Bala Naidoo.  He is a member of the Rotary Club of Burnaby Metrotown.  A financial planner by profession, Bala brings a wealth of knowledge to his role as our DG, a leader that lead us through "Change Readiness".  We talked about planning, vision, rewards, in particular the action plan. we looked at some case studies, highlighted People of Action, resistance to change, the journey ahead.  The PowerPoint used was one the best this writer has seen.  Using RI's resources from the website, Club Central (only effective if we use them) tracking our volunteer hours were highlighted, small things that will make a difference.  The day long session did not seem to be all that lengthy.  All those attending were sparked by the message he shared.

 

Sunday was spent with our Past District Governor Don Evans as he walked us through the what is it of the Rotary Foundation, when and why it started, recognition for those who make contributions, who can contribute to it, the ABC's of our foundation.  In this photo you see Don with his 'go to' slide behind him, the Rotary Foundation Grants, the two different biggies, District and Global, and some further arms that do make understanding easy.  We talked about good stewardship, heard examples. and shared stories.  Another well presented assembly.  At the end those attending were given the paperwork to take back to their club to be signed with their club president and president elect's signatures, the proof they had completed this step so their clubs can apply for a Foundation Grant this upcoming Rotary year.  These are to be returned to Don.

 

Brilliant sunshine outside, a perfect setting for the good news story told by Doug Thomson, Kitimat Valley Housing Society's spokesman, as plans progress for the Dementia and Alzheimer's Care facility. 

  Rotarian Maryann Ouellet introduced Doug, Rotarian Meghan Marshall presented our thanks.

One could say the vision here is state of the art, with every aspect considered when looking at the challenges that residents will be facing.  The model is a 'circular one' with no end of corridor walls to confuse, exterior walls built wide to improve energy efficiency, open kitchen areas for residents to make their own cup of tea, and specific training using a relatively new method for caregivers geared to allowing residents the means to use their own initiatives.  Watching and listening to Doug's presentation, one could not help but think, what a well thought out initiative.  Well done to KVHS.

 

We were also joined by Terrace Rotarian Brian Downie who gave us an update for the weekend of Foundation Dinner, starting the day with  the Year Ahead workshop and Foundation Grant the next day.