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Guatlap Days June 21 through 23

Teresa Windsor sent us the following schedule for an excellent weekend coming up at Kitamaat Village! Unfortunately the watermark graphics were lost with this copy and paste.

Guatlap Days Agenda

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

Our 60th Anniversary Bench

Kitimat Rotary celebrated 60 years running in Kitimat. To celebrate and mark the day, Rotarians purchased a bench that was placed below the Haisla centre, right beside the beautiful totem pole in down town Kitimat. Much credit goes to Rotarians Gaureen and Jo for starting this project off, and carrying it through.

JIll Barrowman- Executive Director, Chamber of Commerce

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.

Installation of Officers

The weather changed back to sunshine, perfect for our Installation of Officers for the 2019-2020 year at our President Robin Lapointe’s home. On hand to do the honors at our installation were current Area Governor, Bill Parmar, Past Area Governor, Brian Downie and incoming Area Governor, Chad Sallenback. It was a delightful evening filled with Rotary goodwill. Robin even launched a drone that flew overhead taking pictures of all of us out on the lawn. Steaks and chicken on the BBQ, salads, dessert, wine compliments of all of us. Our best wishes go to Gareen Ball, president for Rotary Connects the World. We will connect J. Our thanks to Robin’s wife Melanie for taking photos.

Congrats to our Secretary/Treasurer Jo Hildebrant, as she received her third sapphire pin from AG Bill Parmar , the recognition for her support of the Rotary Foundation.

Helping at Meningitis Vaccination Clinic

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.

Helping Douglas Place

Brigit Manninen, Manager at Douglas Place in Kitimat, greeted Rotarians Linda and Eleanor warmly when they stopped by to see the new mattresses that were purchased for use in the two units now available for housing of the homeless when winter is upon us. Each unit contains a bathroom, shower, toilet, sink, ect. Clients are given toiletries, towels, blankets, for their nights stay then, for the most part, sent on their way with Tim Hortons gift certificates. Manninen searched for where to find the best mattresses for the purpose and found the answer through the Salvation Army in Fort St. John. They are easy to clean, bed bug proof, etc. Bridgit and Linda are proppoing one up. Linda is holding our Rotary Club of Kitimat check for $500.00 which went toward the purchase of 4 mattresses.

Teresa Windsor, The Haisla Culture

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.

thank you Gareen

Gareen, a few flowers for your desk, a small thank you from all of us for being our Nobel Wine Tasting Leader.

Wines of the World

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!

Lynda Rocha presents our District 5040 Youth Programs

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.

Winston Mitchell tells his story

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!

DG Darcy Long speaks to us on Tuesday the 9th

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

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.

The Year Ahead on Saturday the 6th
TheSunday the 7th - The Rotary Foundation-Putting it to Work for You

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.

Apr 6 - Foundation Dinner Terrace

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!

Our newest members

Jonathan pinned by Linda, Maryanne pinned by Jo, Meghan and Lucy (pinned by Eleanor)

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.

Christmas brunch and new member installations

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 Christmas

AGM December 4

Secretary 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.

Welcome to our Club!

Service Above Self

1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month
Hirsch Creek Golf & Winter Club

2000 Kingfisher Avenue
Kitimat, BC V8C 2L4
Canada

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President Elect

Secretary

Treasurer

Membership

Public Relations

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