Meeting Highlights: March 1, 2018

Wishing our Fellow Rotarians Well

Mark Your Calendars

• Interact Annual Dinner & Auction – Thursday, March 8th
Brian Mather is reminding everyone that one of our most important Rotary events takes place next Thursday …. the Interact GALA! If you haven’t already purchased a ticket, please do get in touch with Brian … and let’s support our wonderfully committed, wonderfully accomplished Mark R. Isfeld Interact Club, which is working so very hard to make this fundraiser a huge success!

•  Limerick Contest – Tuesday, March 13th
Where: High Tide Public House 268 – 5th Avenue, Courtenay
Time: 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Organizer: Rotary Club of Courtenay
Prizes for the best costume and limerick.
Need more information? Please contact Henrie Beaudoin.

• St. Patrick’s (early) with Liz Datoo – Thursday, March 15th
Come ready with some Irish jokes on March 15th … Liz will have some libations for the brave story-tellers!

• Soup Making  – March 20th
We have John’s Your Independent Grocer and the The Butcher’s Block to thank for their generous contributions to our most recent soup making event.

And kudos to the Community Service Committee for agreeing to “backstop” this effort for the rest of the school year. What does that mean? It means … come with apron in hand and ready to work … but the previously required $20.00 donation toward the cost of food is no longer in play. Thanks Team Community Service!

• Club Social – Thursday, March 29th
Hannah Rail encourages all of us to get those teams going in preparation for a rollicking evening of games and fun! And let’s be sure to welcome and include our wonderful new club members when putting our groups together. Hannah assures us that there will be popcorn! … and as if that weren’t enough … there will also be pub fare.

The winning team gets to donate their prize booty to the charity of their choice.

• Women and Men working Together in Rotary – Thursday, April 5th
Our Guest Speaker will be Dean Rohrs. The link below gives us a hint … just a hint … of what an inspiring message we will be privileged to hear.
https://portal.clubrunner.ca/…/Stories/dean-rohrs-ri-vice-p…

Announcements

• New Member Announcement ~ Valerie Fetherston
At its February meeting, the board approved Valerie’s membership application. As is Rotary practice, members have seven days to advise our President of any concerns. Already Valerie is showing great commitment. She has been attending meetings and regularly helping out with the soup-making activities.

• Community Paul Harris Award Nominations
Foundation Director, Rod McKenzie, is encouraging us to think about who in our very caring community is deserving of a Community Paul Harris Award. Please see Rod’s email of Saturday, March 3rd for further information. Any questions? Rod’s your guy! / Community Paul Harris Fellowship Awards

• The Ducky 500 After Party – Committee Members Needed
We all work hard to get those tickets sold! And those members who keep putting together winning parade floats! Amazing! And we all work hard to put on a thank you event on July lst for our sponsors … and then we get to party ourselves. But … parties require planning and people to help pull it all together. Willing to lend a hand? Please get in touch with Hannah Rail. Thanks!

• March is Water and Sanitation Month on the Rotary Calendar
… but we have to wait until May to hear of the many initiatives in this area of service that the World Community Service Committee (WCS) has undertaken on behalf of our club and in partnership with our fellow Rotarians in Comayagua. Delaying the World Community Service Committee Report until the end of May will allow us to hear from Brian Mather and Cathy Snyder, who will be travelling to Honduras in April … again escorting two Mark R. Isfeld Interact Club students so that these young people might see our shared projects in action – and our past water projects.

• Comox Valley Coldest Night of the Year (February 24th)
Comox Rotarians Leif Jason (and his partner Laura Mytting), Joanne Coyle and Harry Panjer joined Rotarians from other clubs and many caring members of our community by participating in the Coldest Night of the Year Walk. The result? Over $50,000 was raised that will help find homes and safe housing for Dawn to Dawn: Action on Homelessness and Comox Valley Transition Society clients.

• Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Networking Show
Thanks go to Henrie Beaudoin and Dennis Richardson for putting together a display and participating in this event, which took place on February 22nd. Their task … engaging passing attendees in discussions about Rotary.

Guest Speaker
Hans Peter Meyer
(aka HPM)

HPM spoke about the important role mentoring plays in supporting creative people with creative ideas … our entrepreneurs. For those who had yet to be introduced to LIFT startups / #wearevanisl, the presentation provided an overview of the many ways and the many benefits of LIFT entrepreneurs working together, supporting each other, and growing opportunities in a challenging business environment.

For more information
~ visit liftcomoxvalley.com
~ contact Hans Peter Meyer at 250-792-1408
~ or chat with our very own Leif Jason.

Rendezvous Dinner Kudos

President Jo acknowledged the many club members who contributed to the success of the Rendezvous 2019 Comox Valley experience for our Rotary Exchange Students: Dawn Postnikoff, Les Postnikoff, Charlene Davis, Sukhman Sidhu, Hannah Rail, Brian Mather, Harry Panjer, Dree Pascoe, LaCosta Squires, John North, Liz and Azim, Norma and Fred, Henrie and Pat. Interact parents were also thanked for their assistance: Julie Matthews, Ken and Marnie Heinrich, and Ken Erickson.

And speaking of Rendezvous …

We’ll end the Meeting Highlights this week with a thank you note received from Scott Agur
YEO Strathcona Sunrise Rotary
Rendezvous 2018 Convenor

The gathering locally of 31 Rotary International Exchange Students February 21-25 was a great success!

Warm thanks to our friends at Hot Chocolates, who made our students feel so welcome! Thanks are extended to the staff at 97.3 The Eagle, to Rotarians from the Strathcona Sunrise, Rotary Club of Cumberland Centennial, Rotary Club of Courtenay and Comox Rotary Clubs, the courteous and helpful staff at the Filberg Hall Office and the Kumugwe Dancers.

We are grateful to the downtown businesses, the DCBIA, The Comox Valley Record Newsroom, the staff at the Curling Rink, school administrators and teaching staff at Mark R. Isfeld Secondary School, Highland Secondary and Georges P. Vanier Secondary School schools.

We are appreciative of Lori Mazey and her amazing Improv Theatre students, drivers from Forest Bus Lines and First Student Bus lines, Akiko Shima our yoga leader, the Mount Washington Alpine Resort Staff, the cheerful folks at Codes Country Lanes LTD and J. Murray Presley of Presley & Partners.

We thank the Comox Rotary Club for their planning of our fabulous dinner in the Native Sons Hall. We thank many Rotarians and friends of Rotary and visiting Rotarians from the State of Washington, who supported Rendezvous Week and gave it life!

We are grateful finally to our fabulous students!

Thank-you!

See you in 2019!