Our Speakers this Month
September 30, 2020 - Holly Williams Told Us about Moneyball for Professional Soccer (Data Science)
Holly Williams is a Geotechnical Engineer at SRK Consulting in Vancouver. She obtained her first Degree in Civil Engineering in 2011 and recently obtained a Master's degree in Data Science at UBC. So what is Data Science? Continuously generated and collected across every domain, data is a vast and largely untapped resource of information with the potential to reveal insights about every aspect of our lives and the world we live in. UBC's 10-month program teaches students to uncover these insights (see https://masterdatascience.ubc.ca/why-data-science). Her presentation today focused on the program-ending assignment that she and 3 colleagues completed for the Vancouver Whitecaps. The assignment required the evaluation of copious quantities of data generated by individual Whitecap's players during matches that occurred over several years, all with the intention of analyzing/ranking the value of each player. It is reminiscent of the 2011 movie, Moneyball, in which Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt), manager of the Oakland Athletics, used sabermetrics to revolutionize baseball (albeit with orders of magnitude less data than Holly and her team used on behalf of the Whitecaps).
September 23, 2020 - We welcomed Rahma Naveed, from ADHD Kids Rock Foundation
Rahma Naveed is the grant writing and administrative assistant at ADHD Kids Rock, a charity that was founded by 14-year old Jeff Rasmussen to promote a safe and accessible online community for youth diagnosed with ADHD to share their experiences and access knowledge and resources - see https://www.adhdkidsrock.com. Now, several years later, the site and organization have expanded to include a blog by Jeff and learning and teaching tools developed with the assistance of experts. Rahma is currently in her last year at UBC, studying International Relations and Political Science, and is working with ADHD Kids Rock as a volunteer to promote the organization by increasing awareness and community engagement.
September 16, 2020 - We learned from Vineetha Nakka from The Centre for Epilepsy and Seizure Education in BC
Vineetha Nakka is the Education Program Coordinator at The Center for Epilepsy and Seizure Education in BC, a nonprofit organization and a member of the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance, a nationwide network of epilepsy support agencies. With 1 in 100 individuals being diagnosed with epilepsy, chances are that someone you know is affected by this condition. Implications on one’s daily life are many. They can range from memory issues, cognitive deficits, excessive fatigue and/or frequent seizures. Vineetha's presentation helped us gain a better understanding of the range of epilepsy symptoms and conditions, and the practical skills for responding to persons experiencing seizures and other symptoms.
September 9, 2020 - An Update on Project Amigo from Elly Contreras
Elly Contreras, Past District Governor for Rotary District 5370, and founder and past President of 
the Rotary
the Rotary E-club of Canada One, joined us to discuss what is happening during the pandemic with Project Amigo. Elly is
the Intermediary for the Project Amigo Canada Society initiative that our club and others have supported for the past decade. Donations provide educational scholarships, material support, enrichment activities, and health care supplies to students in the state of Colima, many of whom are from migrant farm working families.
While the Volunteer Work Weeks for Rotarians and other supporters are no longer happening due
to the pandemic, the program is still doing its important work in Colima through the staff on the ground.
Rotary club and volunteers from developed countries are also engaged in becoming
friends and sponsors of Mexican youth seeking the many advantages of education.
September 2, 2020 - Member Mark Pinnell Delivered His Classification Talk
Mark was born in 1954 in Kitchener, ON. His high school and early working years were spent in the Okanagan (i.e. owner of a TV repair business; tax preparer for H&R Block; life insurance salesman; the telephone company). He met Lee, his future wife, in Kelowna in 1974. They were married in 1975 and shortly thereafter, he was transferred to Kamloops. After multiple transfers before and after a shift to CIBC, he and Lee ended up in Cranbrook where they stayed for approximately 20 years (computer sales and repairs; “do it all” handyman at a photo shop; and information systems manager for the City of Cranbrook). He retired in 2017, at which point he and Lee moved to Vancouver. Over the next 2 years, they used Vancouver as a base for international travel (32 countries). In summary, many careers, many moves and lots of travel, and amongst all that, Mark has been involved with Rotary since 1996.
September Club Events and Member News
Trivial Matters
Congratulations to our Rotary Vancouver Sunrise Trivia Team of Ron, Mark, Carlos, Lorri, Ed, Matt, Rotaractor Sandra, and Diana who joined the bright young legal minds from Vancouver law firms in the first online Trivia Fundraiser to support youth basketball programs as part of the COVID 2020 version of the annual basketball HoopLaw fundraiser - see http://www.hooplaw.net/
Thanks to quick thinking, extensive basketball knowledge, and some creative interpretation of the 4-Way Test, the Rotary team was tied in the lead until the final round turned to science and general knowledge. With a strong third-place showing, Team Rotary Sunrise Trivia is sure to be back next year with the full, plain and true understanding that scorpions are in fact arachnids!
Paul Harris Makes a Virtual Visit....
Congratulations to President Carlos and Member Diana on receipt
of their Paul Harris Sapphire Awards this month.
2020 Stanley Cup Hockey Pool Winners
Congratulations to the Winners of our 2020 Stanley Cup Hockey Pool:
- Matthew Lynam and Gary Chomyn, compliments of the Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, have bragging rights for the next 12 months
- Lawrence Bicknell, thanks to his family in Texas, took 2nd place with the runner-up Dallas Stars
Thanks to everyone who participated.