Tags
Belize Literacy, District Governors, Rotary Club, Rotary District 5370, Rotary Foundation, Service Above Self, Vegreville AB, World Class
There may be a strange twilight zone triangle east of Edmonton that swallowed up my blog post about the Rotary club of Vegreville in November. I remember writing it, Tim remembers my multitude of questions, we remember reading it and choosing the photos, we both remember what a wonderful day it was, but it has disappeared from by blog posts! Gentle reader, please indulge me while I reminisce of kinder, gentler days spent at a lunch buffet table straining under the weight of delicious Ukranian dishes provided by those heavenly beings, “the ladies of Mundare”.
There is more than meat and potatoes when it comes to the Rotary club of Vegreville. Tim and I made the drive out for a mid morning meeting with executive before the luncheon meeting where Tim spoke his inspiring message to the masses. We were immediately struck by the number of women in the room. For an organization that is yearning to attract more women to Rotary, our international friends should look no further than this club. The ratio of men to women is 30:70. Makes no difference really, they all roll up their sleeves at the same time and get down to the business of serving their community.
Rolling up their sleeves involves their members in many avenues of Rotary service. In their own community they spent days cleaning up community parks. They worked on Rendezvous park ( clock and gazebo) and Peace Park. We visited the lovely Peace Park just as the winds picked up and it turned nasty cold outside. That didn’t stop us from admiring this large community site that is widely used throughout the year. Currently this Rotary club is looking for up to date signage for the park and to expand the shelter and create accessible paths and toilets. Last year they built a permanent BBQ structure that gives groups and families a great facility to enjoy.
A strong commitment to the local food bank is fostered at every weekly Rotary meeting. Members are encouraged to bring non perishable food items to drop off at every meeting and there are several businesses around town that support this Rotary initiative by having drop off boxes in the office.
Tim and I were thrilled to visit the St Joseph’s Hospital in Vegreville to view the comfortable and serene palliative care room provided by the Rotary club of Vegreville. The room was large and homey, with a comfortable bed, sitting area and small tea making facility as well as a new tv and video player newly supplied by Rotary. The hospital staff were so pleased to show us the room and were quick to remark on how grateful they were to have Rotary involved.
This club is remarkable for its friendships. They really do like each other! This camaraderie is fostered by a weekly newsletter called ‘the Buzz’ that highlights the weekly meeting and invites members to participate in the 5th Tuesday fun and fellowship activity. This might mean a park clean up or a trip to Edmonton to cheer on the Oil Kings. Members are encouraged to bring their own ideas and flavour to the club. They are looking for new members and with that kind of attitude I know they will find more new friends to join them.
The club commitment to the Rotary Foundation is fueled every quarter with a special luncheon.
Members are billed the regular lunch price but are served a simpler low cost meal. The extra funds are channeled to the Foundation.
On the international front, this club is committed to making a difference in Belize. They were one of the first clubs to sponsor students to go to high school in San Ignacio, and send Interactors to build playgrounds. We met a few Interactors recently returned from a playground build who were just beaming about their time spent there. Currently, Rotary in Vegreville is looking for partners to start a water project to bring clean water to families. If your club is looking for an international project perhaps you would want to contact them to find out more. Renee Senko would love to hear from you.