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Dazzling Vanna Granholm shows us how the Wheel of Fortune works. It’s a refreshing way to have fun at your meeting. Plus I won a great bottle of wine!
Edmonton Strathcona prides itself on being ‘the friendly club’ and they did not disappoint. Tim and I met up with them at a very important meeting. Twice a year, this club hosts prospective members to lunch and on this day the ranks swelled by more than 15 guests. Every person who walks through the door is greeted by an ‘official greeter’ but later we learned that they have a secret greeter. If you did not say hello or talk to the ‘secret greeter’ you pay a fine. These guys take fellowship and fun very seriously! p.s. Tim was declared the secret greeter. It was so secret he didn’t even know about it!
The friendliness extends to the work they do within the club, community, and around the world. One thing that really impressed us is that they go out of their way to make Rotary easy for its members. If you look at their clubrunner site you can find all the forms you need to donate to the Rotary Foundation, plenty of club forms to download, and links to all of their projects. Buttons to link to Facebook, inspiring videos and topped off with some fantastic pictures of Tim and I and you have an exceptional web presence. It is a powerful tool for all club members.
I learned that this is the original flag program club. Six years ago, this idea was brought home to this club from Houston Texas and it has been going strong ever since. This is an i
mportant fundraiser for the club and serves over 400 homes with flags throughout the summer long weekends. Several clubs in our district have used this model in their own communities and they have Strathcona Rotary to thank for that.
The community budget focuses on youth and education and covers a lot of diverse contributions. One of our favourites 
throughout the District is YONA-Sistema. Approximately 40 students enrolled at Mother Teresa Elementary School located in Edmonton’s city centre currently participate in an intensive after-school orchestra program. The free program encompasses nutrition and academic support and incorporates physical activity into free play time.
Another youth program that we fully endorse is the Interact program. We had the pleasure of meeting the J.Percy Page Interact club sponsored by Strathcona Rotary. Governor Tim spoke briefly to the students about Rotary and how we are here to support them. 
Tim handed out our contact information and within a couple of days we heard from their club president asking how they can be part of a committee to bring a youth conference to our District. Wow! We love their commttment and enthusiasm!
Speaking of enthusiasm, ask this club about their international focus. We have not met a club with more passion for the KIVA micro finance program. Kiva lenders, like Rotary Club of Edmonton Strathcona, combat poverty daily by making small loans to borrowers around the world. They believe in fair access to affordable capital for people to improve their own lives. By allocating 5% of the club budget to this program, they have made 248 loans over the past 3 years, 4 – 6 loans every month and have lent out close to $7000 to support education and agricultural programs. Strathcona is the 2nd most active club in Canada to support Kiva and they would invite any Rotarians or clubs to join their team.
Check out the link here or contact Patrick Gibson; gibsonpatrick55@gmail.com or Hans Granholm; hgrdane@telusplanet.net
–http://www.kiva.org/team/rotary_club_of_edmonton_strathcona
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