Sunrise bulletin for the week of August 8, 2012
Posted by Rob Goodell
on Aug 8, 2012
It was a dark and stormy night, the story goes, when Vancouver had one of its infrequent thunder and lightning shows on Tuesday evening. Wednesday dawned grey and drizzly but 12 members made it to the Coast Hotel for our weekly Rotary meeting. President Julie Mantle welcomed Matthew Lynam's guest, Cleopatra Perez, and two visiting Rotarians, Shail Mahanti from Vancouver Arbutus and Vincent Tan from Manila, Philippines. Vincent's business takes him back and forth between Vancouver and Manila, and he has visited our meetings a number of times in recent years. This time, he tells us his son has graduated from Emily Carr University of Art and Design and has had some early success in his career as an artist. Good to see you again, Vincent. Please come when you can.
Rotary moment
John Haley described an historic first in Rotary, when a number of clubs worked together to help out after the 1913 floods in Indiana and Ohio. This was the first time that Rotary provided disaster relief and was the beginning of a long history of Rotary helping disaster victims.
Club news
Julie modelled the new reversible Rotary vests and is taking orders at $30 each. Matching shoes and handbags are extra.
The club received a remarkable letter of thanks from one of the King George students who won our club scholarship in June. She'll be studying pharmacy at UBC and wrote a very nice letter describing what the financial help means to her and her family. Let's hope we can get her to be a speaker at our meeting after she starts her studies.
Ann-Shirley Goodell described the mechanics of Guess Who's Coming for Dinner which will be held October 20. Basically, it's a potluck dinner for members, spouses and guests -- with a twist. No one knows who is going to whose house for dinner. At the last minute, an address is provided and everyone is surprised when the doorbell rings. It's a popular event among members, so sign up early by emailing Ann-Shirley and letting her know if you prefer to host a dinner or be guests.
Personal items
Lawrence Bicknell is busy learning nursing skills, as Bev recently had extensive foot surgery and will be sidelined (in a wheelchair) for a number of weeks. Unfortunately, the hospital sent her home the same day, which turned out to be much too soon for the pain and discomfort she experienced. Please let us know, Lawrence, how club members can help.
John and Marni are off to Chicago next week and then to Australia after that. Yesterday, they were forced to paddle kayaks up and down Indian Arm until they dropped from exhaustion. Fortunately, there was plenty of wine available to revive them.
Abigail Turner and family are back from their holiday in Osoyoos where, as we all know, there is no wine available at all. But the kids had fun anyway. Sheila Anderson and Patrick were also in the Okanagan and claim they didn't consume any wine, either.
Today's program
Our speaker this morning was Alexander Hoffmann, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar from Germany. He's a 26-year-old graduate of the University of Karlsruhe, now working on a Master's degree in Management Finance at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Having just finished his first year, he's using his summer holiday to see parts of North America, visiting with Rotary clubs and Rotaractors along the way.
Alex narrated a 10-minute film he put together to showcase Rotary District 1930 where he lives in southwestern Germany. This area is home to the cuckoo clock, many small breweries, several outstanding universities, hundreds of castles and castle ruins, as well as many highly-regarded companies in the automobile, engineering, medical and technology industries. Ann-Shirley and I have bicycled in this area and can confirm that it's a beautiful and interesting place to visit.
Alex also gave us his views on the current financial problems being experienced in Europe. He says the German economy is driven by exports and that the European Union has been very good for his home area. He believes that Germany feels some responsibility to help other countries, particularly since Germany received considerable assistance after the war. But, he says, "It's hard to understand why Germany has to pay" when other countries are not being fiscally responsible. In the end, he feels, "the EU will stick together" but the structure of the EU needs to be redefined to provide more political and fiscal union. He's optimistic that Spain is already on the right track but is concerned about Greece.
It's obvious that Alexander is doing a great job of fulfilling his role as a Rotary ambassador. He's actively engaged in a cultural exchange between Germany and the places he visits in the US and Canada. It's encouraging to see a thoughtful graduate student doing his best to promote cultural understanding and world peace.
Rotary moment
John Haley described an historic first in Rotary, when a number of clubs worked together to help out after the 1913 floods in Indiana and Ohio. This was the first time that Rotary provided disaster relief and was the beginning of a long history of Rotary helping disaster victims.
Club news
Julie modelled the new reversible Rotary vests and is taking orders at $30 each. Matching shoes and handbags are extra.
The club received a remarkable letter of thanks from one of the King George students who won our club scholarship in June. She'll be studying pharmacy at UBC and wrote a very nice letter describing what the financial help means to her and her family. Let's hope we can get her to be a speaker at our meeting after she starts her studies.
Ann-Shirley Goodell described the mechanics of Guess Who's Coming for Dinner which will be held October 20. Basically, it's a potluck dinner for members, spouses and guests -- with a twist. No one knows who is going to whose house for dinner. At the last minute, an address is provided and everyone is surprised when the doorbell rings. It's a popular event among members, so sign up early by emailing Ann-Shirley and letting her know if you prefer to host a dinner or be guests.
Personal items
Lawrence Bicknell is busy learning nursing skills, as Bev recently had extensive foot surgery and will be sidelined (in a wheelchair) for a number of weeks. Unfortunately, the hospital sent her home the same day, which turned out to be much too soon for the pain and discomfort she experienced. Please let us know, Lawrence, how club members can help.
John and Marni are off to Chicago next week and then to Australia after that. Yesterday, they were forced to paddle kayaks up and down Indian Arm until they dropped from exhaustion. Fortunately, there was plenty of wine available to revive them.
Abigail Turner and family are back from their holiday in Osoyoos where, as we all know, there is no wine available at all. But the kids had fun anyway. Sheila Anderson and Patrick were also in the Okanagan and claim they didn't consume any wine, either.
Today's program
Our speaker this morning was Alexander Hoffmann, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar from Germany. He's a 26-year-old graduate of the University of Karlsruhe, now working on a Master's degree in Management Finance at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Having just finished his first year, he's using his summer holiday to see parts of North America, visiting with Rotary clubs and Rotaractors along the way.
Alex narrated a 10-minute film he put together to showcase Rotary District 1930 where he lives in southwestern Germany. This area is home to the cuckoo clock, many small breweries, several outstanding universities, hundreds of castles and castle ruins, as well as many highly-regarded companies in the automobile, engineering, medical and technology industries. Ann-Shirley and I have bicycled in this area and can confirm that it's a beautiful and interesting place to visit.
Alex also gave us his views on the current financial problems being experienced in Europe. He says the German economy is driven by exports and that the European Union has been very good for his home area. He believes that Germany feels some responsibility to help other countries, particularly since Germany received considerable assistance after the war. But, he says, "It's hard to understand why Germany has to pay" when other countries are not being fiscally responsible. In the end, he feels, "the EU will stick together" but the structure of the EU needs to be redefined to provide more political and fiscal union. He's optimistic that Spain is already on the right track but is concerned about Greece.
It's obvious that Alexander is doing a great job of fulfilling his role as a Rotary ambassador. He's actively engaged in a cultural exchange between Germany and the places he visits in the US and Canada. It's encouraging to see a thoughtful graduate student doing his best to promote cultural understanding and world peace.