Sunrise bulletin for the week of January 8, 2014

Happy New Year! We started 2014 with a bang, as 19 Vancouver Sunrise members survived Auld Lang Syne and turned up for eggs Benedict today. Also with us were 2 new-members-in-waiting (see below), plus Exchange Student Luisa Godoy, AG Tom Smith and PDG Hans Doge. And, Lori Pobuta brought a guest, Pablo Varhola, who is originally from Ecuador and now lives in Vancouver. Pablo is a kinesiologist who works with Zientte, a contemporary furniture provider in Gastown. Check out their interesting products (some from Colombia) at www.zienette.ca.

So President Ann-Shirley Goodell presided over a full house. It may be different next week, as several of us are escaping to warmer climates and sunnier beaches. 

Club and district news

Our 2014 District Conference will be in Squamish the weekend of May 23-25. Only $290 for the opportunity to mix and mingle with other BC clubs and to find out what's going on in the bigger world of Rotary. For the best deals book early at rotary5040.org.

The District's annual Foundation Dinner will be in North Vancouver on Saturday, February 1. This is always a good event. Make your reservation online at rotary5040.org.

Bill Sheddy advises that everyone should be ready for a special meeting on January 22 when the club will celebrate Robbie Burns Day with bagpipes, haggis and, perhaps, a wee drappie o' the whisky.

2 new members!

Joshua Green is a financial advisor with Sun Life and Iozef Miskolczi is a geotechnical engineer with SRK Consulting. Both applied for membership and have been approved by the board. AG Tom officially inducted them into Rotary and we all welcomed them to the club, bringing our membership count to 26. Josh is single and brought his date Alix to the Christmas party. Iosef is married to Natalia and has a young daughter Emma. Welcome to Rotary!

Annual General Meeting

We elected officers and directors for 2014-2015 at our December 18 meeting, but today was the AGM. We had brief, but separate, annual meetings for the club and our Sunrise Foundation. Motions were passed to approve the minutes, confirm the elections, and approve the financial statements. Susan Neale reported that both the club and the foundation are in strong financial positions. 

In the business meeting that followed, Larry Belsito urged each member to visit at least one other club during this year. 

Sheila Anderson reported that Cleo Perez had hosted a committee meeting to organize our Colombian Fiesta for March 15. Each member should contribute at least one item for the auction, either personally or by persuading a local business to donate a product or service. More on the Fiesta below and on the club website.

Abigail Turner and Milie Taing are looking for high-school candidates to attend RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) and the youth contingent at our District Conference. If you have someone to suggest, let Milie know in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

Upcoming meetings

Past President Julie Mantle will be running the show while Ann-Shirley and I are away. If anyone needs us, you'll have to send a carrier pigeon to search the beaches of Bali, the river boats of the Mekong, and among the temples of Angkor Wat. Eduardo de Santiago has agreed to do the bulletin when he can. We'll see you in early March.

Rob

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Colombian Fiesta!

A gala Colombian Fiesta is planned for Saturday evening, March 15, 2014, at the Century Plaza Hotel on Burrard Street, in support of a new international service project of the Rotary Club of Vancouver Sunrise. Our goal is to raise $35,000 in the next two years for expansion of two privately-funded schools serving refugee children and their families in Bucaramanga, Colombia.

The festivities on March 15 will include South American music, salsa dancing, a Colombian-style dinner and a silent auction. Four representatives of the non-profit Fundacion Estructurar, which operates the schools, will be in Vancouver for our Colombian Fiesta, including President of the Board Jorge Cabrera Cortissoz and senior staff members. We are also inviting representatives of the Consulate of Colombia to join us for this important evening.

Here are some of the students with Ann-Shirley when she visited the schools in 2012.

Please plan to join us for this fun-filled evening at the Century Plaza and support the education of refugee children in Colombia. Bring your friends and enjoy the Fiesta!

For more information on the schools, the project and Bucaramanga, visit our club homepage. Just click on "Home" above.