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Eye Opener

mouthpiece of the

Rotary Club of West Vancouver Sunrise

Proceedings of the meeting on: 12/11/08

O Canada

Invocation: Jacci

Guests/Visitors:

Regrets:

Morning humour:

Rotary Moment:

- Brian Martin told us a few details about Rotary during and after World War II: during the war Rotary provided emergency relief for many. In 1942 Rotary convened a conference that led to the eventual founding of the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). In 1945 Rotary was instrumental in the establishment of the United Nations.

Club Business/Announcements:

- President Ardath welcomed all.

- Remebrance Day ceremonies will be held at the West Vancouver Cenotaph, Nov. 11th. President Ardath will lay a wreath on behalf of the Club.

- Jacci Mctavish brought news of the Bahai Awards for Diversity: this year’s winner is the Universal Outreach Foundation which our Club worked with in support of El Hogar school in Tegucigalpa Honduras.

- The Club Executive will meet with Dist. 5040 Governor Rebecca MacPherson Nov. 14that the Upward Construction boardroom. Board members are requested to submit their reports as early as possible. DG MacPherson will meet with the Club at our regular meeting on the 15th.

- Park Royal’s Starry Nights holiday shopping event takes place Nov. 16that the north mall and Nov. 21st at the south mall. Brian M. has tickets and remember: all proceeds from ticket sales go directly to our Club.

- The Dist. 5040 Foundation Dinner will be held Sat. Nov. 24th at the Westminster Quay, tickets are available through the District website:www.rotary5040.org.

The annual Seniors’ Christmas Luncheon

- place Sat. Dec. 8th at the West Van Seniors Activity Centre. Setup begins at 09:00h. Vicki and Roland Haller will host a potluck dinner for all Club members later that day.

- Club night for Operation Red Nose is Dec. 21st. Brian Martin has background check forms available and the North Van RCMP detachment will do the checks free of charge.

- Karen Harrison reports that the Rockridge Interact Club is once again collecting for the PolioPlus campaign and will participate in the Rotary Foot Clinic for the downtown east side residents.

- Karen also notes that an Ethics and Values training seminar will be held at Rockridge Secondary Nov. 21st.

- Rotarian and friend of our Club Don Evans invites one and all to ride the Polar Express at the West Coast Heritage Railway Park in Squamish. The holiday event takes place Dec. 1st, 2nd, 8th and 9th. Fun for the whole family.

Guest Speaker:

Ken Wilson introduced today’s guest speaker: Club member Bob Michieli gave his ocational talk. Bob’s family came to Canada from Italy in 1920 and his grandfather was employed by the CPR. Bob’s father bought a grocery store in Sioux Lookout ON in 1957 and the family and business prospered. Bob’s father expanded the business in the early 1980’s to a 13000sq. ft. operation. Bob graduated from University with a degree in Business Admin. and returned to Sioux Lookout to work in the family business. When it came time for Bob’s father to retire Bob bought the business from him in 1990 and began to expand the operation. A new 42000 sq. ft. store was built in the early 2000’s and Bob embarked on a program to make the store less dependent on the whims of his suppliers. Bob built the business to the point where it became the largest employer in Sioux Lookout. Eventually Bob and his wife Deb began to consider leaving Sioux Lookout for the big city and decided that the West Coast had the greatest appeal for them. Bob and Deb have three grown children and a young daughter. They moved to North Vancouver when they first arrived here on the coast and soon after bought their home in West Vancouver. Both Bob and Deb, who has a Masters degree in Sociology, served as Presidents of the Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout. Ted MacCormac thanked Bob for telling us a little about himself and his family.

50/50/fines/happy/sad:

- No winners, no losers, we laughed, we cried, we were fined and paid.

Meeting adjourned.