Sunrise bulletin for the week of April 3, 2013
After a glorious Easter weekend and increasing daylight in the early mornings, we assembled 15 members for this week's Rotary meeting, plus Steve McGrandle and Jose Riga, both of whom have visited in recent weeks. President Julie Mantle gonged crowd to order and we stumbled through the 4-Way Test before breakfast.
Rotary moment
John Haley took us down Memory Lane, recalling the club's participation in a sailing program for disabled sailors during the 1990s. We understand the program continues at Jericho Sailing Centre and the modified boats sport the Rotary name in large, clear letters. More recently, several Canadian clubs organized a 2011 sailing regatta for the handicapped. Amazing what Rotary can do!
Personal stuff
It was great to have Banu Tulumen with us, after several weeks devoted to the complications of moving to a new condo. And Lawrence Bicknell is back from his business travel to all the tropical islands he tells us about.
Larry Belsito has been checking out his family tree to see if there were any bank robbers among his English ancestors. So far he hasn't been able to claim any of the reward money.
Matthew Lynam reports that Simon Hauck, now 19, who was our club's most recent Youth Exchange student for a year in Italy, has been accepted for admission to Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Congratulations, Simon!
Club news
David Parsons has submitted his resignation from the club, as his new work assignment precludes regular attendance at our meetings. Hopefully, he'll rejoin as soon as he's able.
For the June 15 Hoop-a-Thon, Gary Chomyn reports that club members' response to the 100% participation challenge is going very well. The planning committee will meet again on April 9 at 5:30 pm.
Today's program -- business meeting
President Julie reviewed the highlights of the updated Operational Plan, which had been emailed out in advance.
Membership ideas were brought back from the recent district-led workshop on this topic. The emphasis this year is on retaining existing members, as well as looking for a few new faces. Our attractive and persuasive Corporate Membership brochure is available for businesses (or families) where one person could be the "official" Rotary member and someone else could be an associate member and attend when the primary person is unavailable. Who do we know who might be interested in this kind of participation? Julie will get samples of shirts and hats we can wear on project days and other public events proclaiming "Rotarian at Work." For more membership ideas, check www.rotary5040.org and go to 20 Ways to Increase Membership. Also at www.greatideastoshare.com.
Service project activity continues. The schools in Colombia are revising their application for matching grants from The Rotary Foundation and their district. Our Strathcona Youth project is focussed on the Hoop-a-Thon for June 15. And we continue to collect change to contribute to Polio Eradication.
Social events, always a highlight for our club, will include a changeover dinner, perhaps in a different format, probably in June. The committee planning this event will meet this Thursday.
The financial reports for March 31 were distributed earlier. John Haley summarized the financial situation by indicating that the club operational revenues are $5,000 over expenses year-to-date, although we have some expenses still to be paid. A fund of $6,000 has been set aside for next year's inbound Youth Exchange student expenses. John noted that we have some accounts receivable, which means that some members are behind in paying their dues, meal costs and/or commitments from the Valentine's Day auction. Pay up or else!
100 Years of Rotary in BC will be celebrated April 20 with a Rotary showcase at the convention centre. Our club will have a booth highlighting our Strathcona Youth work, particularly the upcoming Hoop-a-Thon. Volunteers are needed to staff this effort, so talk with Julie before she volunteers you for the 3 am shift.
The formal (is that a word that ever applies to this boistrous group?) meeting ended early so there was lots of time for members to use one of the laptops in the room to donate to The Rotary Foundation online and help meet the goal of Every Member Every Year. It's simple, although we did hear a few squawks about passwords, incorrect emails, and general confusion. I find it's easy to donate online from a home computer and the Canadian tax receipt arrives in the mail about 2 weeks later. Piece of cake!
That's all the news that fits. See you next Wednesday.
Rob