Gareen, a few flowers for your desk, a small thank you from all of us for being our Nobel Wine Tasting Leader.
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 pleased to have our former Club Member Lynda taking the time from her busy schedule to to bring us up to speed on the youth programs offered in our District. Using an excellent PowerPoint presentation, she showcased the programs that exist. Lynda now lives in Squamish. She's a member of our the District's Youth Committee. Whenever possible she heads north to participate at RYLA Lakelse. We learnt about the newest program Earlyact, ages 5-12, Interact - middle/high school age youths, Rotoact, young adults up to 30 years of age. RYLA, Youth Exchange, ROSE, Adventures programs, New Generations Service Exchange. Lynda brought along a SURPRISE. We were delighted to see her present young Luca and Eva Columbo with a certificate of recognition. The children gave their stuffies to the Korle Bu Neurocience Foundation in West Africa. How very special of them to do this.
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!
Be the Inspiration is a perfect fit for our DG Darcy Long. Her enthusiasm inspires us! She covered a wide range of everything we have in Rotary, mentioning more than once our using the yearly Presidential Citation as a goal in our Rotary Clubs. Our President Robin jotted down the topics covered. Here they are friends:
1. Rotary Vision Statement
2. Firesides
3. Core Values
4. Fellowship and Service
5. Foundation
* PolioPlus
* Annual giving
* Matching grants
* Global matching grants for International projects
* Endowment Fund - World fund, Share, Rotary Peace Centre
6. Past District Governor Don Evan’s offer to come to Kitimat this Fall to help us prepare a Strategic Plan - we should book a date as soon as we can.
7. Things we can do to improve our Public Image
8. Ideas for Fundraising
9. Peace and Conflict
2. Firesides
3. Core Values
4. Fellowship and Service
5. Foundation
* PolioPlus
* Annual giving
* Matching grants
* Global matching grants for International projects
* Endowment Fund - World fund, Share, Rotary Peace Centre
6. Past District Governor Don Evan’s offer to come to Kitimat this Fall to help us prepare a Strategic Plan - we should book a date as soon as we can.
7. Things we can do to improve our Public Image
8. Ideas for Fundraising
9. Peace and Conflict
An impressive list. Darcy is a strong supporter of our Rotary Club of Kitimat (and all other clubs in 5040 for that matter.
). Much Rotary love goes your way from us Darcy.
). Much Rotary love goes your way from us Darcy.
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.
What a gala evening. Pictured below are Kitimat Rotarians Eleanor, Meghan, Jonathan, husband Ivan and Gareen smiling for the camera. Much credit goes to Rotarian Evan VanDyk for the creative handling of the reverse draw to win the $5000 ticket prize. And then there was the professional cruise ship auctioneer, a lovely young woman who moved the bidding higher keeping the atmosphere in the room full of laughter and energy. The chefs at the Skeena Valley Golf Club did themselves proud. The dinner was excellent.
Appreciation came from all Rotarians to our Skeena MLA Ellis Ross. Ellis put up an amazing auction item - dinner for six here in Kitimat with seafood fresh from the Douglas Channel. Every type of fish from our local waters was mentioned, crabs, prawns, even a taste of oolichan to be presented. The bidding went up and up. Some $3000+ was paid for this dinner at the close of bidding. Yes Ellis, we thank you!
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.
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Tuesday, February 26, 2019 proved to be a noteworthy evening for us when we listened to Linda Slanina and Michelle Martin share the work the people do with their organization. There are several programs beyond the service many people know them for - providing a safe haven for women's suffering from abuse. Their presentation described them, then continued with a detailed overview of the project proposed for construction on Quatsino Blvd. Where exactly it is proposed to be built, what borders the property, facilities that will be provided under one roof, the shelter for women, office space for all their programs, low income housing, transition housing, a cafeteria, furniture exchange, needle exchange and a play area for children. They also shared some of the concerns voiced by people living in/owning neighboring properties. The province has committed 103 million dollars to this project to be used for construction and operating costs once completed. For the most part, people are in favor of what the facility will provide, just not this proposed location. A final public hearing will take place Monday, March 4th at 6:30 p.m. at the Luso Canadian Hall.
Thank you from all of us LInda and Michelle for 'telling all'.
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Sunday the 27th, what an enjoyable afternoon. New members sat back at Eleanor's to see some 'pages' of Rotary picture stored on her computer. The joy of technology was used by having her laptop hooked into the television so the album went big screen We saw club youth projects, club support of Polio Plus, Peace Fellows, guest speakers, international projects, all moments worth sharing. International projects, The Rotary Foundation, fundraisers, District 5040 conferences, Rotary International Conventions and more. It was a good way to see Rotarians in Action.
Happy New Year - our first meeting in 2019. To say we started it off with a bang could lead to some questions on best choice of words, we certainly started it off with smiles! Lucy Borges induction 'shone' and we now have pictures. Welcome Lucy. We are thrilled to have you with us.
To say we started it off with a bang could lead to some questions on best choice of words, we certainly started it off with smiles! Lucy Borges induction 'shone' and we now have pictures. Welcome Lucy. We are thrilled to have you with us. Our newest members 
Jonathan pinned by Linda, Maryanne pinned by Jo, Meghan and Lucy (pinned by Eleanor)
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The calendar for the our meetings up to the end of March is set; planning for the balance of the year to continue at our next meeting. Eleanor asked new members if they would like to have a showing of "Rotary moments past'. The answer was 'yes' so the plan was to meet at her place to watch the picture show.
What an enjoyable time! In fact so much fun for everyone that our picture taking p.r. gal completely forgot to take pictures!. Cheryl poured the champagne and orange juice or just plain juice for all of us, The coffee was also on, then stratas, fruit salad with yogurt, home made muffins and more. Games followed, Maryanne ending up with the pass the parcel teddy bear. Her immediate Random Act of Kindness was giving it to Jon's delighted son. Seeing his bear hugs and delight is a memory to cherish.
Then it was putting on our thinking caps for answers - a Christmas Trivia Game, Michelle outshone us all with a high score total for most answers given. The highlight of the day, was the installation of our new members. Gareen read their inductions. We are honored to now have Jonathan Borgens (pinned by Cheryl Rumley) Maryanne Ouellet, pinned by Jo Hildebrandt, and Meghan Marshall, pinned by Eleanor Kendell - part of our team. No better way to finish off our coming together than the 'backwards' draw for the bottles of wine that we all brought if we wanted to be involved. Jonathan ended carrying "the stash"home. Kudos to everyone for a spread to be proud of! Merry ChristmasSecretary and Treasurer's report were presented and approved.
Election of new officer 2019/2020 Rotary Chair - President - Gareen Ball, Secretary/Treasurer - Jo HIldebrandt, Public Relations -Eleanor Kendell, Membership - Cheryl Rumley, Fundraising - Linda Campbell, Sergeant at Arms - Eric Bottah, Foundation - Robin Lapointe.
Rotary Connections continued on November 20th with many guests joining us for the evening to hear our guest speaker, Ruth Sulentich. Ruth is the senior consultation and community advisor for LNG Canada. She gave us an excellent overview of the project, the work that is now moving ahead, housing for employees, when to expect to see the plant visibly on site. Fluor Corporation is joint venturing with LNG Canada to handle, engineering, procurement and construction. We have since learned LNG Canada and Fluor have established an information centre at the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce. Without question, there was a cheer from all of us when we heard on November 2nd, the project is a go! Our thanks go to Ruth for an excellent presentation and her offer to keep us up to date whenever we may wish her to do so.
We finished off the evening by asking guests to share some questions passed out to us by Cheryl. Answers certainly enlightened us about others at our tables AND what fun telling stories. Guests were also asked to fill in the blanks answers to a few questions for Rotary Connections 2.
Here we are bundled up in front of the Cenotaph on November 11th, friend Tom Balfour, Eleanor Kendell, friend and MLA Ellis Ross, Gareen Ball and Linda Campbell. Linda placed our Rotary Club of Kitimat on the cenotaph; Gareen recited the words we know so well from In Flanders Field.
2018 was the best year ever for the Aluminum City Telethon. Rounded up total of dollars donation - $134.654.00. Available Rotarians were on the phones answering calls for a normal one hour stint again this year. What an exciting end of day on October 21st!
Jill Barrowman's request from the Chamber found several of our members helping on the evening of September 26th. Linda Campbell's smile was infectious, encouraging people to write down their questions. A few other Rotarians joined her to look through the many that were submitted looking for 'duplications' and a good cross section of questions that were put forward. They did an admirable job! The evening moved along quickly, answers from candidates were enlightening; in some cases thought provoking. Sincere thanks came to us from those in the Chamber
Just after September 21st, Our club's Peace Champion was delighted to receive an e-mail from Janelle Hittel, principal of Kildala Elementary School, Kitimat's first Rotary Peace School. Students has faithfully marked the United Nations International Day of Peace every year since 2011, the year it first met the Peace School's criteria. Here's what she shared, "We did it a bit different this year as our school start-up was different. The first 2 days of school the students went into groups and worked on Peace Day activities and read Peace Day stories. We even practiced a Peace Day song to the tune of BINGO. We also painted rocks and added them to our school garden. Just wanted to let you know that Peace Day wasn’t forgotten here we just didn’t do an official assembly this year ☺"
From those of us in Rotary, thank you for remembering peace.
It’s a tradition! Every year our Rotary District 5040’s District Governor travels our area visiting the 51 clubs that are included. This covers a significant distance, north to Mackenzie, Bowen Island in the south, Prince Rupert and ourselves in the west. 100 Mile in the east (an attempt to ‘pick’ smaller communities). It was with pleasure that we hosted DG Darcy Long and her husband Doug at a BBQ on August 28th.Their hometown is in Sechelt, population similar to ours 10,000 people. Darcy shared their story, one built on random acts of kindness. Why Rotary? They saw the devastation after the tsunami hit Thailand. What could they do to help? There was a huge sign, six Rotary Clubs of Phuket working together to rebuild the local fishing fleet. A fleet meant small boats, rather like dugout canoes. From this a door opened, the way to help was answered. Rotary helps.
Be the inspiration is this year’s Rotary theme. Darcy is an inspiration. We’ve been invited to be at Sun Peaks for this year’s convention, to continue our efforts with Polio Plus, and encouraged in our efforts to grow Rotary in our hometown.
Many thanks go to Robin’s wife Melanie, our hostess for the evening. Everyone pitched in to make the evening special but the big credit goes to her for such a nice evening. The setup on the deck was so inviting! We were joined by guests, like-minded people who have done and continue to do good in our world. Particularly delightful were the children, Jonathon and Melissa's, having fun in the play area that Robin and Melanie have for their granddaughter Elsie.Darcy says she has been inspired making these visits. She will be taking many things to do ideas back to Sechelt to try.
It is possible to have a vision, believe in it, and have it realized. The director at Delta King Place has proven this! Lucy's dream was always to see their residents having home-cooked food at every meal. This meant a significant upgrade to the facility's kitchen. Past president of our club, Gareen Ball, recognized this before she presented our contribute to this work. Using our theme for this year Be the Inspiration, she commented on Lucy's 'perfect fit' when it comes to the meaning behind the words. Always smiling and caring, Lucy exemplifies its message. Congratulations to you Lucy and to the members of the Delta King board's members. Well done. Pictured above, a few of us along with some members of the board as Gareen is about to present the check (rolled up in her hand).
