What’s better than a regular Friday meeting? One that kicks off a long weekend, that’s what! Laz and Su are up front taking names and cash and Cathy is the designated hugger. Ash is looking as chill as Johnny Bravo, or maybe the Big Lebowski aka The Dude; his inspirational moment reminds us that Service above Self is a commitment for Rotarians, because that’s how we roll baby! On this day in 1882, Australia defeated England in cricket for the first time. Ed brought that up specifically for Dooley, who wasn’t there, so sad. We’ve got a couple of guests and they’re lucky enough to hear the Welcome Song and it's off for breakfast.
Ed’s up to introduce our guest speaker – he apologizes for interrupting breakfast, but he doesn’t look too sorry. Today’s speaker is our very own Khorusha Naidoo who is here to tell her story. As a child growing up she dreamt of being both a mother and a teacher. And so it came to pass, just not as envisioned; her son Uriah was born deaf. She went on to describe how he received cochlear implants (CI) – which allow people with profound hearing loss to hear speech by bypassing the ear – and how it has affected them both. Uriah has been through 13(!!) surgeries to date, and she has had to change her mindset to choose resilience. We have had some truly inspirational speakers before, but Khorusha’s story hits close to home – thank you for sharing with us this morning.
Sandra is up to recognize a few folks: Darel, Andre, Jim W, Donne, Ian and Sandra herself all receive their Every Rotarian Every Year badge. Ian receives his first PHF, and Kevin gets his Paul Harris Society pin – a commitment to donating $1000 US annually to the Foundation. Well done everyone!! Andre admits that he’s been drinking from the firehose trying to learn as much as possible as the District Governor Nominee Designate. Say that five times quickly! Anyways, District 5370 has monthly committee meetings in the same manner as clubs (Community, Membership, etc), and he’s encouraging our members to participate as it is mutually beneficial. Also, his International Committee will meet on 2 September, see the bulletin for details. Guest Jaelynn from Inclusion Alberta gives a shout out to Ann for a lead which led to employment for one of their clients. Another (Jerome) is looking for employment in either a grocery or hardware store; be like Ann and help hook him up! John happily reports that we’re at 621 flags. He held a Ways & Means meeting on Tuesday, lots of great ideas. Ed reminded all members to join a fundraising task force (flags, Ribfest, garage sale, whatever) as we need members to participate in our fundraising projects. Mason arrived safely in Mexico and is now attending school. Darija shows off a shiny new Club Excellence Award that we got from District, how nice. And while recruiting for the PE Search Committee, she mentions that members cannot serve as president, so immediately Shelly and Daniela volunteer. Work avoidance at its best! And Lily arrives on 30 August from Germany, we will see her soon! Finally, the Corn Roast will now be on 14 September, not the week earlier as previously advertised.
Jim is back at work after a few weeks away. He thanks the Secret Sarges for covering for him, most of whom were nice (no, not you Craig!). The wine is drawn for, and the boy in red (aka Kevin) is the lucky winner. I mean all he’s missing is a red stocking cap and he could pass for a summertime version of Elf on a Shelf. Some people get fined for their fashion choices, but Jim’s got a thing for dudes in red so Kevin is safe. There are plenty of fines to go around though: Ed tries to pre-pay his fine but Jim’s having none of it, his crack about Khorusha’s slide deck gets him booked. The elf’s comment on her pom poms draws a fine, as does Donne’s arrival (last in) and Charlene’s pic on the front of the Gazette. She gets a jab in for her troubles though – she pays the Gazette so we don’t have to!! That’s it GF, stick it to the man! Or Jim, whichever. Craig gets tagged for being a lousy slide bitch, but Ed’s got him covered as a loyal officer of the regime. There’s plenty of Happy Bucks as well: former exchange student Enni made the Finnish national ringette squad and Kevin ran a profitable garage sale. Andre’s opening comment “I’ve been drinking…” has Jim P seeking directions to the Firehose Tavern and Daniela likes Craig’s bulletins so she contributes some Happy Leus to the kitty. Mark’s sad though, his daughter turned 16 is now driving. Cheer up Mark – you had breakfast with four lovely ladies! Dressing like you’ve got a job interview probably helped, women do like a sharp dressed man. Finally, John shouts out the SAiF Red Shoe Gala will run on Saturday 18 October at the Doubletree in West Edmonton. And with that, the Sarge is out. We’ll finish up with the Four Way Test and that’s all she wrote.