Meeting Highlights: April 19, 2018
Hi everyone … the Meeting Highlights for April 19th are going to be short and sweet. 
☺ Why? Your scribe found herself enjoying her tablemates too much to take a lot of notes. Michael Bergob … so nice to see you … and to the rest of the back-of-the room group, thanks for a pleasant evening of camaraderie.
President Elect Russ Wigle
Russ, thanks for filling in for Jo, who was enjoying a well-deserved break celebrating a special time with friends and family. Russ, you did a good job!
Rotary Moment: Wendy Stewart-Fox
Thanks Wendy for speaking to the importance of volunteerism and how well Rotary fulfills that desire to work on behalf of our community … as was evidenced by the hard work (and I do mean hard work) digging those holes for the 100 beautiful trees in the North East Woods on Sunday (Earth Day).
Paul Harris Fellow Awards
Our Foundation Chair, Rod McKenzie, oversaw the presentation of three Paul Harris Fellow Awards. Julia M. Loo (x 3) Dennis Richardson and Joan Collinge. Always a lovely moment.
Fines
Our Sargeant-at-Arms admitted to being rather uninventive when it comes to fines … so invited the more creative amongst those present to devise fines for the good of Rotary ☺. It worked! And thanks to Vanna (aka LaCosta) for scooping up the coins for us.
Hats Off to New Member Christene Evanochko
Christene, so pleased to have you join the World Community Service Committee, which met on Thursday prior to the general meeting. And for being a greeter so early in your Rotary career! We’re looking forward to seeing all those photos you took throughout the evening as part of your greeter duties. Lucky us to have join the Rotary Club of Comox!
Guest Speaker: Paul Horgen (Chair, Project Watershed)
It was good to welcome Paul Horgen back to the club … this time to speak about the Kus-kus-sum: Unpave Paradise. For those newer to the Valley, I thought this short bio may be of interest.
Paul Horgen is a retired Biology Professor from the University of Toronto. During his 35 years there, he served as Associate Chair, Department of Botany, Chair Biology Executive Committee U. of T at Mississauga, Director Centre for Plant Biotechnology, and Director Master of Biotechnology Program. His research was in microbial genetics and environmental microbiology. He has published over 140 scientific articles and has co-authored 3 books. Since moving to the Comox Valley in 2005, he served as science coordinator for Comox Valley ElderCollege and is currently Chair of the Board at Project Watershed. He is also a member of the Vancouver Island CNIB Board of Directors.
Paul’s presentation focused on Kus-kus-sum, an initiative of Project Watershed’s Estuary Stewardship program that is dedicated to restoring the Field Sawmill site. The vision is to create a vibrant and productive habitat and to connect it to Hollyhock flats (adjacent to the site and one of the most productive areas in the Estuary).
The presentation was excellent … so informative. There are several online resources that provide further information. Here’s a start …
https://projectwatershed.ca/estua…/fields-sawmill-kuskussum/
That’s it until next time …
