Volume 48, Number 29 February 3, 2005

Rotary Club of Toronto West

Rotary Grace – O Lord, we stand for every race, for every creed from every place, to give our thanks and say our grace for food, for health. May peace embrace the world through Rotary?

Last Meetings – January 20, & 28, 2005

On January 20th, we held a Club Assembly at the Valhalla Inn. Most of the meeting dealt with a few rap-up questions to do with the Youth Impact Awards Dinner.

One very important question came up relating to the finances, and the lack of information being relayed to the Board of Directors.

Mark Dawber volunteered to help resolve this question, with the help of our past Treasurer John Sparks to ensure that two distinct accounts: The General Account, and The Trust Account are re-established..

President Jagjit asked for suggestions and recommendations for improving our club’s operation and image.

Concern was expressed on the operation of a telephone committee, due to members not returning phone calls when they are not available, and for those on the committee not really having an up-to- date members list.

We were all informed of pending litigation, in regard to the 2003 Etobicoke Club and the Etobicoke Sunrise Club Ribfest, more details are to follow.

Youth Impact Awards Dinner

The dinner and the evening that followed were a great success, and thoroughly enjoyed by all those in attendance.

It was a real treat to have Danelle Smith-Jakeman do the honours as M.C. for the evening. She started off by welcoming everyone to the 2005 Youth Awards Dinner, and then called upon Don Foster, Willis Rudy and Barbara McDowall to lead us in ”O Canada”, Ron Wayman followed to say our Rotary Grace, and to propose a toast to the Queen and Canada.

A special guest was our District Governor Lars Henriksson.

The dinner was followed by a short video on the World Youth Centre.

Chris Ostrovski made the first presentation to Tania Hetmanczuk for the Youth Under 18 Award. Tania has been an ambassador at Etobicoke School of Arts with more than 1000 hours of community service.

This was followed by Barbara McDowall making a presentation to Michelle Dagnino for the Youth Under 25 Award. Michelle was named in Maclean’s as one of the”25 Faces for the Future". Michelle has campaigned around the world against child labour.

The Award for The Individual showing the most exemplary achievements, was made by Danelle Smith-Jakeman. to Gordon Skinner. Gordon’s main achievements have been in the fields of sports and recreation, helping youth to direct their energies in a positive direction.

The Community Organization Award, was made to The Youth Action Network (YAN) by Susan McCoy. Susan said that the Youth Action Network is an organization that helps youth become more informed and actively involved in order to move towards a just and sustaining society.

Betty Carr spoke on behalf of Molly Johnson the recipient of The Lifetime Achievement Award. Molly sent her regrets about not being able to be with us.

It was not only profitable to have Valerie Corbin conduct the live auction, it was also very enjoyable to see her perform.

Special mention was made of the background music that was provided by Ron Manfield on the piano.

Paul Collier had the pleasure of presenting Danelle with a bouquet of flowers.

The evening wrapped up with the announcement of the winners of the items in the silent auction

Congratulations are extended to all the members of the Youth Impact Awards Committee for a very successful evening.

This Week:

We are pleased to have our own member, Mike Walker talk to us on Critical Infrastructure Protection

Christmas Cake Sales

Don Foster advised that the sale of all the Christmas products netted a profit of $2,500.00. While lower than was originally expected, it is still commendable.

Rotary Centennial Gala

The gala needs your support, 22 Rotary clubs in our district are working together to organize this gala to celebrate 100 years of Rotary.

The gala is being held on Wednesday February 23, 2005

Classifications:

1. Banking – Commercial.

2. Engineering – Management.

Habitat for Humanity

Help is required on the following dates on the Habitat for Humanity site.

Saturdays February 5th. 12th. &19th.

Please let Bob Sexton or Bryan Pett know if you are able to help out, or if you require further information. This is a most important club project. A real chance to get personally involved.

Birthdays & Anniversaries:

Joined Rotary – Albert Kezes – Jan. 27th.

Wedding Anniversary – Dave & Helen Chan – Feb. 2nd.

Members News:

Compliments were expressed to Brian Hicks on arranging for the ad. in the Etobicoke Guardian.

. A treat to see Dave Chan’s happy face last Friday, after it has been absent for too long.

New Members

New member prospects introduced to the club, but not sponsored by an active club member will not be accepted for consideration for membership. The correct procedure must be observed. Fill out the appropriate application form and forward it to the chairman of the membership committee, Albert Kezes.

Next Week- February 10, 2005

We will be pleased to welcome Fred Ho, Canadian Blood Services

Spoke Joke:

The ventriloquist was about five minutes into his act, when a blonde lady in the audience stood up and said “I’m fed up with you telling jokes about blonde ladies, and I want you to stop.’

The ventriloquist said “I’m sorry lady, they were in my repertoire and they are only jokes.”

The lady said “You sit down, I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to the little guy.”