Ivy Liao, one of our 2019 Rotary-Strathcona Hoop-A-Thon scholarship recipients, was our guest speaker on January 31st.  A few years after her parents enrolled Ivy and her brother in a local table tennis club, Ivy became national champion of her age group at 10 years old, and a key member of the Canadian National senior team at age 14.  

 

Ivy completed her undergraduate degree at UBC while continuing to compete internationally, and also giving back as a coach with BC Provincial and UBC teams.  She is working as a project manager at ShEvalesco, a not-for-profit leadership organization for youth, as well as volunteering as a mentor with the Girls Who LEAP and the Face of Today Foundation. She will be start her law degree at the Allard Law School in the fall.
 

Read more about Ivy and her remarkable athletic, academic and career accomplishments here.

 

 

We closed out the month of January by officially welcoming Cheryl Thomas as the newest member in our club.  Cheryl is an accomplished business professor and Rotarian who transferred to our club from the Rotary Club of Victoria Harbourside.  

 

We look forward to learning more about Cheryl in her upcoming classification talk and through sharing service activities and fellowship events in the weeks and months ahead!  

 

 

We launched the new calendar year with a presentation by former District 5040 Governor Chris Offer.  Chris is the Chair of the Rotary Peace Major Gifts Initiative Committee whose goal is to raise $75 million for the Rotary Peace Centers and Rotary’s peace area of focus. 

 

In addition to updating us on the contemporary impact of Rotary's Peace Centers mission to train peace leaders from across the world, Chris walked us through the legacy of Rotary International's peace work from its early 20th-centry influence in the formation of the United Nations.  Learn more about Rotary's Peace Initiatives here. 

 

 

We hosted speakers Karen Gray, VP of Marketing for Parq Vancouver and Marina Andrew, Manager of Municipal Relations for the BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) at our January 24th meeting.

 

The BCLC sets the standards, policies and procedures for the operation of all gambling facilities in the province to ensure a high standard of security and integrity within a regulated, controlled market. In 2022/23, BCLC generated $1.6 billion in net income from lottery, casinos and sports-betting which went back to the Province to help support healthcare, education and community programs all across BC.  

 

BC has 36 casinos in 33 communities across the province, the largest of which is Parq Vancouver. Parq focuses on providing a luxury gaming, dining and hotel experience in downtown Vancouver.  We appreciate the advice from Marina on applying for funding from the BCLS's community grants program and the generous Parq donation to our annual Valentine fundraising auction provided by Karen. 

 

One of the best features of Rotary membership is the "open-door invitation" that automatically extends to all Rotarians who want to visit another club anywhere in the world.

 

Whether you're travelling near or far - for business or leisure - you can check out options to visit or do a make up meeting (online or in person) using the Rotary Club Locator App or here on the Rotary International website.