January 6, 2009

Paul Power chaired the meeting. He was born in Charlottetown but moved to Summerside at a young age. Growing up, Paul was very much involved in sports.  He always hoped he would be inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame for his baseball skills, but made it as a Junior Ladies' Curling coach.  Paul attended UPEI. Following graduation, he spent twelve years working for Schurman's and then PEI Mutual where he remains.  Paul has been married to Jill for five years and has a step-daughter, Emily.

Singsong - With the help of Gabe Chaisson on the keyboards,Vance Bridges led the singing of Frosty the Snowman.

Makeups - Gordon Coffin had two makeups in Windsor, Ontario and presented a banner to the Club. Fourteen Rotarians attended the Premier's Dinner in Charlottetown on January 5, 2009.

Guests - Shawn, son of Ron Gallant who is home from Waterloo, Ontario.

Queen of Hearts Draw - Katie Irwin handled the duties assisted by Gerard Greenan. Gerard coincidentally picked his own number but missed the jackpot of $637.

Attendance - Ron Gallant reported an outstanding attendance of 105%. 

International Toast - Afraid of mispronouncing names, Dale Sabean took the easy way out and delegated the duty to Estefy who toasted her home club of Los Chillos Milenio, Pichincha. 

Sunshine Reports - Leo-Paul Arsenault did not regret missing the Premier's Dinner last night.  He stayed home and watched Canada win the gold medal at the World Junior's. Arnold Croken reported that his wife Debbie spent four days in the ICU over the holidays because of internal bleeding.  Fortunately, she is now home and doing well. Arnold mentioned that the care Debbie received at PCH was second to none and that we are to be proud of our hospital.  He also reminded everyone of the importance of giving blood. Estefy had another busy week.  She spent New Year's Eve in Charlottetown with other exchange students.  They were to leave early for Halifax on January 1 but Mother Nature had other plans.  The group was able to leave on Friday afternoon at 1:00 but because of road conditions, they arrived in Halifax at 11:30 pm. They spent Saturday exploring the City and went out for supper.  She came home on Sunday and moved in with her second host family, the Rundle's.  She also had a good time at the Premier's Dinner and took lots of pictures.

Sargeant at Arms - I (Yolande Richard) had the pleasure of handing out fines this week.  The first fine was for Dave Poirier who skipped his mini-classification last week.  Lucky for him, the Chief was not present and got away with a "warning".  Paul Power was fined for not finding a replacement to thank the guest speaker last week when he knew he wasn't going to be present.  Steve Cudmore was fined for being late.  And because I thought I arrived at the meeting early, everyone who arrived before me paid up.

Committee Reports

Dale Sa bean distributed application forms for Adventures in Citizenship.  Young people between the ages of 16 and 19 can apply.  Forms will be sent out to the four high schools in the Western School Board and to Ecole Evangeline.

Wayne Thompson announced that the Polio Plus commitment from our club so far is $19,000 US over three years.  His goal is to have every member participate even if the contribution is as little as one dollar per week. 

Wayne asked for a show of hands of those who would be interested in playing hockey sometime.  He  is also planning our annual sleigh ride with the Stratford Club.  Club members should make an effort to attend the sleigh ride and bring along any children or grandchildren.  It was an enjoyable event last year with a sleigh ride, toboggan hill and hot chocolate.

Luc VanHul reported that the membership committee will be emailing a short survey to club members and asks that everyone take time to fill it out.  The table shuffle will also be put in place again in the coming weeks.

Derek Key asked Rotarians to think about whether they would be interested in traveling to Nigeria.  Plans are in the works for a team from our district to make a trip to Lagos, Nigeria this coming spring to view wells sponsored by our district and to prepare for the expenditure of a further $50,000.  Accommodations in Nigeria will be in the homes of Rotarians and travel will be arranged through Rotary International.

Bill Kendrick reported that he and I have taken over as website administrators, and that we will be making a presentation to the club on February 10.  In the meantime, we invite all Rotarians to visit the website as we will be keeping it current. The address is http://www.clubrunner.ca/CPrg/home/homeD.asp?cid=4107 or it can be accessed through the link on the top right-hand side of this newsletter.

Ted Cross is looking for billets for the annual winter weekend for the exchange students. Anyone who is interested in taking in a student (or two or three) can let him know.  The students will have to be picked up at 8:00 pm on the Friday evening and dropped off again on Saturday morning at 9:00 am.  He will also need a few drivers for the Saturday. And those who want to help out with the curling can talk to Paul Matheson.

Guest Speaker

Antoine Richard introduced Wayne Linkletter, owner of Linkletter Welding who is also very much involved in the community.  Mr. Linkletter spoke to us as president of the YMCA about their upcoming expansion.  The new facility will be housed at the County Fair Mall, and plans include new fitness and child care facilities.  To make this project a reality, the YMCA must raise $750,000.  They would be interested in forming a partnership with the Rotary Club to raise these funds. Mr.Linkletter was thanked by Catherine Rankin.

President's Report

President Sandy Rundle reported that the Premier's Dinner was a great evening and that Tom Davies is this year's recipient of the Tweedy Award.  He informed the Club that the Easter Seals Telethon will be held on March 1 and that Jordan Cotton of Alberton is this year's Ambassador. Sandy also thanked Bill for updating the website and encouraged all members to take a look. He informed us that his family is happy to have a new daughter; Estefy is in the process of moving in. 

Our Club has a busy year ahead with the pancake breakfast soon being upon us, and plans for the mulch sale, golf tournament, RotaryPark and other activities soon being in full gear.

End note - I want to thank Malcolm who gave me suggestions and provided me with precedents of past bulletins. If anyone has any comments or questions in regards to this bulletin, you can email me by clicking on my name at the top left-hand side of this page.  Any suggestions for future bulletins are also welcome.  Yolande.