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Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Suren Gupta; A ‘Sage’ Member Talk – Working in Four Countries
Intro:  Gaye Moffett    Thanks:  Clive Talbot
Chairing in President’s Absence – PP Graeme Fraser
Greeters:  Ron Doll & Bill Morris      Reception:  Victor Mazzola
Grace:  Hadi Mortada   PP Draw:  Keith Fraser   Editor:  Don Butler
Sales/Attendance:  Mary Wattie
    PROGRAM:  Jes Francis: From Adventure in Citizenship to Arctic community greenhouses
     
    Gathering
    The greetings from Fred Sirotek and Ali Pahlavani matched the wonderful warmth of the weather that Ottawa was experiencing today. As was the case for the past several meetings a Past President, namely Ken Murray, presided over the meeting as President Pardeep Ahluwalia was absent on vacation. Mary Wattie collected attendance payments, Doug Rowlands recorded the presence of Rotarians from other Clubs and guests and Graeme Fraser sold Past President draw tickets.
     
    The Meeting
    Ken Murray invited us to the buffet at 12:00 and opened the 9th meeting of the Rotary Year at 12:30. We sang the national anthem with Rod Holmes on the keyboard, followed by grace from Bud McGinnisDoug Rowlands then warmly introduced visitors Teresa Whitmore of the Orleans Club and, Elizabeth from the Stittsville Club whose family name we apologize for not getting. The third guest was today’s speaker, so Doug left her introduction to Marilyn Letts who was part of the head table. We sang a rousing rendition of our Welcome Song.
     
    Graeme Fraser conducted the Past President Draw for a $50 gas card and this was won by Don Butler. Announcements followed:
    -Brett Brooking once again called for volunteers to help him at a Shoe Sorting event.
    -Gaye Moffett invited members to purchase tickets for an Oktoberfest event- Bach and Beer- by the Ottawa Bach Choir at St Bartholomew’s Church at 3:00pm on September 30.
    -Teresa Whitmore invited us to support the Youth Now Farm by attending its first Barn Dance on September 21; each ticket to cost $50.
    Meeting Chair, Ken Murray completed the Announcement portion of the meeting by conducting a lively quiz on articles from the Rotarian magazine, inviting us to congratulate Eric Armstrong on his upcoming birthday on Friday 7th. He then presented Doug Rowlands, not with a President’s Rose for his last-minute filling in at the Reception desk, but a President’s Tie, a tie from one of Canada’s major railways which he was anxious to remove from his expansive collection. He presented another tie from his collection to Hadi Mortada for contributions to the Club
     
     
    The Program
    Marilyn Letts then introduced our speaker, Jes Francis. The latter is a young lady who has an adventurous spirit, having taken many opportunities in her teens to participate in leadership events sponsored by Rotary Clubs across Canada. Ms. Francis was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory where she attended a French first language school. Several years later, her family moved to Drumheller in Alberta, but at 15 years old, disillusioned with the town, she happily participated in a student exchange adventure in Japan spending a whirlwind five months there with teenagers from around the world. This period was one of great enlightenment for her.
     
    On her return to Canada Jes immersed herself in learning as much as she could about international relations and political science. In 2017 she won a Loran Award, a four-year scholarship program valued at $100,000. A sojourn at the University in Vancouver did not last long, as she discovered that she really did not want to pursue an arts degree. Hungry to maintain her contacts with people working in politics, and sure that political science was her calling, she moved to Ottawa to attend the University of Ottawa. Required to do something in the public, private or international arena under the Take Risks Program of the Loran Award, she chose to spend a summer working on projects in Canada’s arctic communities. She joined the Inuvik Community Greenhouse project and worked with members of the community to expand the production of various crops in the town’s greenhouse and served as a tour guide when tourists visited the facility. She also had the opportunity to visit other greenhouse projects in other towns across the Arctic and helped train their staff. Fresh produce enjoys a ready market in the Arctic in competition with vegetables shipped from the south, the work was rewarding and Jes felt that she made valuable contributions to the greenhouse program.
    Conditions of work were not exactly a piece of cake as the greenhouse in Inuvik was not heated and properly insulated. Plots (8 by 5 feet each, with 149 in total) were rented to community members and produce was sold to individuals as well as sent to food banks. Fish remains was generally used as fertiliser, meaning that a fishy smell usually permeated the air in the greenhouse.
    Fortunately, her stay was not all about work, she had many opportunities to hike, explore towns and interact with the town folk. Ms. Francis’ talk was well received, and she was congratulated by many for providing a very interesting description of her experiences to date. Carol Bell Thompson thanked Ms. Francis for her excellent and informative presentation
     
    Happy Dollars
    Eric Armstrong collected happy dollars:
    -Jack Troughton – happy that Carol Bell Thompson drove out to Almonte to bring him home after he spent a wonderful time at his granddaughter’s wedding.  
    -Denzil Feinberg - happy to be off to Malaysia to participate in the 80th anniversary of the first Hash House Harriers run- with the ‘Motherhash’ in Kuala Lumpur
    -Marcia Armstrong - happy to report that the sales target for Mums has been exceeded by over 100 plants. 
    -Henry Akanko – was pleased to have been able to attend a lady’s soccer match at Lansdowne Park between Canada and Brazil, with Canada emerging as winner.
    -Ron Doll – was happy to remember a teacher who had made an important contribution to his education and invited us all to remember teachers important to our own development
    -Blair Armstrong – was very pleased to have had such a wonderful son, in the person of Eric. The latter has been of great help to him throughout his eventful life as a Dad and entrepreneur.
    -Alan Bowles – enjoyed a wonderful vacation to Disney with his grandchildren and reported that his granddaughter’s favourite Disney character was not Donald Duck but Donald Trump.
    -Don Butler – was happy to report that he had a wonderful time on his river cruise on the Danube.
     
    Closing
    Presiding Past President Ken Murray adjourned the meeting at 1:35 PM with the usual entreaty that we spend time working on the mission of Rotary and inviting others to join. Meetings to follow – International Services.
     
    Cash Calendar Winners
    The winners September 5-11 drawn on Sept 4 are:
    1221  $23    Talia Ducat, Ottawa, ON
    2600  $20    Ottawa Christian School, Ottawa, ON
    1324  $50    Joanne Lee, Ottawa, ON
    1171  $25    Victoria de Haaff, Ottawa, ON
    1440  $50    Jennifer Jackson, Nepean, ON
    2098  $100  Ross Taylor, Osgoode, ON
    1587  $25    Heather O’Reilly, Nepean, ON
     
    Tuesday, September 18, 2018
    Peter Fisher: 4 Way Test Award winners
    Greeters: Barry Wellar, Denzil Feinberg   Grace: Jennifer Ahde    Reception:  Ron Doll
    PP Draw:  Ken Murray    Editor: Graeme Fraser
    Ticket Sales/Attendance:  Mary Wattie
     
     
    Tuesday, September 25, 2018
    No Meeting
    MUMs Delivery