Miscellaneous
Repeat from last week or until no longer relevant:
Hanging Basket Fundraiser is live so please send the letters emailed to you to at least 10 family and friends. The hanging baskets are a great price and there is no tax as we are a charity. Also we will need a good turn out on May 1 to help unload and disburse the baskets.
Adventures in Citizenship from May 1 - 5 2021. Applications have to be in by March 15th 2021. If you know someone between 16 and 18 who is interested have them contact Chris Pughe at cpughe@shaw.ca and send her a short essay (250 words) on "What does a Canadian Citizen mean to you." Also they must have excellent academic standing, volunteer service to their community and leadership skills.
Zoom Meeting Rules
THE LINK TO OUR THURSDAY MEETINGS WILL NO LONGER BE EMAILED BUT ACCESSED THROUGH THE LINK BELOW.
Meeting ID: 868 5522 9058
Passcode: 473892
1) Mute your microphone if you aren't already muted. Background noise is distracting.
2) If you are not engaged in the presentation, turn off your camera.
3) Chat function should only be used to address the speaker, not for Club member remarks during the presentation
4) Unmute when harassing the Sergeant at Arms or taking your turn during Sergeant at Arms.
Presidents Report
All meetings will be by zoom until further notice.
Avery Chu has resigned from the club. We wish her the best.
Please direct any questions to me or a board member of your choosing and we will discuss any and all questions or concerns during our board meeting. Also please refer anyone who may be interested in attending a meeting or joining the club.
Be kind and be calm and safe...
Send in your volunteer hours to Sandra
Announcements
Current Balances as of February 26, 2021:
Operations Account: $55,715.39
Foundation Account: $53,443.14
$13,442.52 - GIC
$40,000.62 - chequing
We are up to hanging basket sales of $9,560.00 as of Thursday and tomorrow is the last day so get your family and friends or yourselves who have not bought yet to do so today or tomorrow.
See it in your hand to hold it in your mind!
Visitors
Chris Loat, member of ShelterBox Canada Volunteer Council & Regional Leader for BC and Yukon
sergeant At Arms Tidbits
Bobby is reading Obama's book Promise. Setting up an event at the banquet hall now involves 39 emails instead of a conversation and handshake. Congratulations to Dalbir on his CPA fellowship as 1 of 14 receipiants.
Debbie M. had a good week and it was nice to see all at the Ghirra's for Ralph's Memorial.
Dick has had some covid fussing but it is not as bad as Saskatchewan.
Kal was happy to see everyone Saturday.
Joyce is happy to be back golfing.
Marg is now watching three tennis tournaments at midnight, and at 3 AM and has enough energy left for yoga.
Peter(aka Gary Bannerman) thought is was a nice send off for Ralph and amazing to see all the neighbours out to honour Ralph along the last drive.
Sam was still having breakfast, moving next week so his zoom virtual background will be different. He will be out of the closet so to speak.
Dalbir was impressed with the procession for Ralph. He is getting a lot from the Peace Conversations program and coming to appreciate how we all have different perceptions of what is being said. Once he is certified he will be presenting to other clubs and someone will come and present to us on Peace Conversations. The description of the program is:
Peace Conversation Facilitation Program (PCF) is a key initiative designed for Rotarians to engage in positive peace within their own clubs and communities through facilitated conversations and dialogue. In the 3-month program, Rotarians with varying levels of experience are trained to become PCF Facilitators and Coaches.
John: 
FREE ME
Mark who was sitting in a booster seat is recovering from surgery and back at work today. Had to get out of the house apparently. Daughter getting rave reviews for her infomercial at Bell Safety Group's web site. It is really cool.
Gordon enjoyed the lovely morning but it came with a frost warning.
Elena had congrats for Dalbir and is still collecting books, gardening and walking.
Melinda was happy to see everyone on Saturday and ended up following the procession and saw all the neighbours out waving in Ralph's honour.
Judy thanked everyone and said she was overwhelmed. She was happy with the celebration for Ralph and he would have appreciated it. Larry did a excellent job of organizing everything.
Debbie T. was honoured to be there for Ralph. Transitional learning in the schools until the end of the year. Drew is no longer stoned. Has a campsite reserved.
Bill said it was great to see Mark and Judy and congrats to Dalbir.
Sandra for her the Megan/Brittany show was like the super bowl for women.
Kathy, apparently Gary Bannerman part Deux, when daughter Rachel was learning to drive she warned everyone how dangerous the roads were. Now watch out golfers husband Don is learning to golf.
Pat had a special event at daughter in laws birthday.
Micheal was happy to see so many people Saturday. Apparently all the brothers live within 100 metres of each other. And they are still talking to each other. Found out a neighbour was keeping his lights up until the end of February so his lights were up longer than Micheals. He vows lights up to the end of March next year. The Ghirra's Dad had he still been with us would have been 80.
Garth sadly had a friend pass but beautiful at Whistler even though he had to meet with his contractor.
Danny reminded us of the risk for the front line health care workers and he has had his first dose of the vaccine and although some had side effects not Danny.
Mary Lou introduced us to Oscar while Sean did a cameo appearance and on her way to Summerland to pick up her RV. Intends to park it outside Kal's man cave.
Debbie S. thanked Larry for the Clubs celebration Saturday and let Judy know that the Club is there for her.
speaKER
Chris Loat told us how heavily involved Shelter Box is throughout the world because there are an estimated 104 million displaced people and recovery starts with shelter and a home. Only on in five of the displaced receive shelter after a disaster. Shelter box is committed to hand deliver shelters as a foundation to life. The shelters help the displaced to start rebuilding. The shelters also provide protection and privacy. This has been particularly important this year because of the need to social distance which is made easier by shelter. Shelter Box communicates with the communities affected by disaster so as to provide the right tools in a given situation. Chris gave an example of a blind woman who needed to stay in her home because of her familiarity with her surroundings and so they made her home waterproof. They try to provide support from the beginning of a disaster through their logistics and contacts. Shelter box has equipment stored in different areas around the world to respond more effectively particularly in this time of restricted travel and deliver shelter to those who need it most. Shelter box has helped with hand washing and reduction of space sharing to slow the spread of covid. Shelterbox has partnered with several different organizations to deliver assistance to many countries around the world including lake Chad, Ethiopia, Honduras, Nigeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and India. The types of the disasters include flooding, hurricanes, cyclones, landslides and internal violent conflict. Shelterbox in addition to tents have provided tarpaulins, hygiene kits, and buckets. They have created a donation hero program with a Bronze, $1,200, Silver, $3,600 and Gold, $6,000. To Donate or learn more go to: https://www.shelterbox.org/about/how-we-work/partnerships/rotary
Meanderings
Those who enjoyed "My Octopus Teacher" will be interested to know that we are about to be taught more by Octopi. According to the latest Scientific American we are more closely related to dinosaurs then octopi as we split from them a half a billion years ago. Octopus brains lack any of the anatomical features of vertebrate brains and their neurons are distributed across their arms. They are extremely intelligent, capable of high order cognitive behaviours including tool use and problem solving. Some researchers are suggesting the combination of smarts and sheer difference from humans could make them an ideal model for inferring common rules governing complex brain function. In 2015 the first octopus gene was sequenced giving scientists the opportunity to see how the brain works and exploring their evolutionary development. Of particular interest is the incredible camouflage ability, separate learning and memory systems (which may assist in machine learning) and regeneration of arms and nerve cords. This may help in developing therapies for brain or spinal cord injuries or lost limbs.
Ralph's passing was recognized by our Club on Saturday March 6th with many members and friends gathered at the Ghirra's Riverside Ballroom. The whole club is saddened by this tragic event and remembers Ralph as a great supporter of our club and a good friend. Our hearts go out to Judy and her family.
Upcoming Events
All meetings by Zoom until further notice.
Please note the new date for the Auction
Friday September 24, 2021 Auction Fundraiser with final details to be determined but anticipating live and in person.
Hanging Basket Fundraiser ending March 15th. Here is the link to our shopify site: https://rotary-club-of-richmond-sunrise.myshopify.com/
Committee (and other) Updates
Volunteer hours have been received from 9 members (4 board members and 5 club members)
2020 hours total 615 hrs, Jan - 42hrs, Feb - 31hrs
Club members are reminded to submit their total volunteer hours (no dates required) to Sandra as soon as possible after the month’s end.
International Service
The Global Grant for a maternity Unit in Armenia, through the Sydney, N.S. Club, has been approved by The Rotary Foundation. Our donation was C$3,000 and Carolyn is arranging to remit that amount to TRF.
As part of a Global Grant to support RC Sunshine Coast of $3,000CND for hand washing stations and improved toilet blocks at 8 schools in the Kyaithani Kenya area. RC Sunshine Coast is raising US$15,000 to be part of a US$90,000 Global Grant for this project. We have supported projects in this area before including sending two Richmond Teachers to assist with implementation of effective teaching methods.
TODAYS CHUCKLEs
🤪
America is the only country where a significant proportion of the population believes that professional wrestling is real, but the moon landing was faked and the election was stolen.
I've been married to a communist and a fascist, and neither would take out the garbage.
- Zsa Zsa Gabor
A nurse walks into a bank totally exhausted after an 18-hour shift. She grabs a deposit slip, pulls a rectal thermometer out of her purse, and tries to write with it. When she realizes her mistake, she looks at the flabbergasted teller and, without missing a beat, says, “Well, that’s great…some asshole’s got my pen!”
