President Doug Fleming began the meeting on a somber note, with a moment of silence to remember our friend and fellow Rotarian Glen Presley, who passed away on Saturday evening. Glen was a member of the club for almost 15 years, had taken on a number of roles in service to the community and the club and we mourn his lose. Glen was predeceased by his wife Carolyn by only 2 weeks, so our thoughts and prayers go out to the Presley family, who will be grieving the loss of both parents over a short span of time.
Funeral arrangements will be announced in the near future, RIP Glen.
President Doug followed his monthly routine and recited a land acknowledgment to open the meeting. Doug was also presented with a plaque from Redi Enterprises, for the club's sponsorship of the Citizen's Walkabout last weekend, to celebrate diversity in the community.
Doug also advised that the club had received a thank you card from the Yuill Family Foundation for the use of our canopy at their recent charity golf tournament and showed a photo to those in attendance.
President Doug encouraged a few more members to accept the invitation to the "Reach the Summit" workshop being held on Tuesday Sept. 29th. He has two Rotarians joining him, but he'd be pleased to welcome a few more. An invitation to the event was sent out last week. a reminder will go out this week.
Doug also advised that next week's meeting, on September 28 will feature Natalie Sauer and members of our club giving a retrospective review of the recent Summer Special Olympics held in Medicine Hat.
ROTARY AT MEDICINE HAT LEVEL: MONARCH 1911 SOCIETY
The Monarch is hosting a musical event that might interest Rotarians:
Our club will try to keep track of events on at the Monarch, and will give members a heads-up about opportunities to serve. If you are interested in volunteering at the Monarch, please let Rotarian Janessa Anderson know (403-952-1907) and she will provide details of available shifts and responsibilities.
Volunteering at a show is a great way to connect with the community and support our historic local landmark.
Ideas for Future Programs
The Rotary Club's Program Committee members are Jillian Koch (jkoch@jmhca.com), Margie Booyens (margiebooyens@gmail.com), Alain Guerard (aguerard@telus.net), Sharon Hayward (sharon.hayward@medicinehatymca.ca).
PLEASE NOTE: Suggestions for club meeting programs are always welcomed and appreciated! Keep on giving us your ideas! You don't have to wait for a survey to give us your input!
The Rotary Club spent our Monday meeting discussing fundraising. Sometimes a dry topic but it was led well by Alain Guerard, Tarek Williams and Gail Halderman. There is no doubt that in the current economic climate, family funds are tight and every kind of fundraising is harder to do.
Gail Halderman spoke about our general budget, where the funds come into the club and where under some general headings they move out. We do have some reserves and in general are in a solid financial position, but larger, more impactful projects can eat up significant funds, and raising those could be a challenge.
Tarek spoke about how the funds are currently raised for the Rotary Music Festival, how that mechanism has some flaws or could be improved and how funds are spent, about how we make an impact in the community and how we have some legacy projects which take significant resources. All three gentlemen led a wide-ranging conversation about where funds are spent, on a few idea's for raising funds and how the community needs can be assessed.
Thanks to all three for their work, and leading the discussion. Also thanks to everyone who contributed. A lot more work will be done on this as our annual budget is brought forward.
With fund raising in mind, Anne Carrier made a motion seconded by Dick Bide, that “The Rotary Club of Medicine Hat apply for an AGLC raffle license for our 2027 Music Festival, under the terms and conditions we have used in the passed.” That motion was passed.
ATTENDANCE: 19 members attended the meeting in person, and we had 4 online Rotarians.
GUESTS: There were no guests at today's meeting.
MEETING DRAW:
Igor Gujic won a bottle of rose wine, kindly donated by Mike Christie.
BIRTHDAYS:
Vujovic, Milan - September4
Bide,Dick - September5
Walcer, Kevin - September24
Sakamoto,Stan - September30
ROTARY ANNIVERSARIES:
Brand,Dieter - 32years, Sep.011994
Anjelic,Brian - 1 year, Sep.152025
WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ROSE RUNNER FOR SEPTEMBER 2026:
The Rose Runner for September is Dick Bide.
NEW MINUTES AND REMINDERS:
BINGO - Dave Stalwickadvised that our next bingo session will be on Saturday October 17th in the evening beginnig at 4:45 pm, and volunteers are needed to make up a team of nine. Dave also thanked those Rotarians who worked our last bingo on Sunday afternoon, and he congratulated Gail Halderman on winning the guess pot within $5 of the pool profit of $500.
ROTARY CLUB OF MEDICINE HAT DINNER CLUB: Milan Vujovic is helping out Odessa Vermee is away on a family emergency. If you are interested in signing up or want more information on the Dinner Club please contact Milan.
ROTARY CASINO: The casino is ongoing this week, thanks to everyone who volunteered for a shift and we are looking forward to a successful fundraiser.
THE 2026 TERRY FOX RUN: SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER: Last weekends run was a huge success, blowing by the organizers fundraising goals. A small group from our club participated, and helped raise of $45,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation.
REACH THE SUMMIT WORKSHOP: On Tuesday September 29, Karen Blewett and Danielle Skogan will be leading a workshop for all Rotary clubs in Medicine Hat. Venue: Cypress Club. Time span: 6:00-8:30pm. The purpose of the workshop is to help Rotary Clubs create a strong vision for what they want to achieve this Rotary year and beyond, using the supportive framework of the Rotary Action Plan. It is hoped that at least 3-4 members per club would attend, preferably including the President.
NEW GENERATIONS SERVICE EXCHANGE PROGRAM PARTICIPANT - Davi Pereira from Brazil is coming to Medicine Hat from 1 January until the end of February 2027. Terry Brekko, the Craciun family, and Peter Mueller and Gwen Dirk are hosting Davi, possibly also a member of Saamis Rotary Club. However, additional hosting of different sorts would be great. You could for example opt to have Davi for a weekend, for a meal and/or a day trip. Please contact Margie Booyens (403.952.7340) for more information. Davi is studying to become a school teacher. His English is very good!
MEETING OF OUR CLUB WITH DG: DG Darcy will be attending our club meeting on Monday 19 October at noon.
DISTRICT GRANT WEBINAR: Online, on Saturday 24 October, from 9-12. Our club needs at least one member to participant in order for the club to qualify for grant applications - but anyone interested in District grants is welcome to register.
CLUB SHIRTS: Club t-shirts and golf shirts are available at $25 and $30 respectively. If you ordered, please pay and collect from Anne Carrier or Odessa Vermee!
Family of Rotary:
The Presley family, we send our best wishes to the children who are mourning the lost of both Glen and Carolyn. Sincere condolences to the Presley family.
Deb Best is home and on the mend, and worked the casino on Tuesday afternoon. Great to see you back Deb.
To all, our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Please keep a Board Member informed about members health and/or any other changes, so that information can be provided to the club through the Weekly News.
Our first meeting of every month is a business meeting, but all meetings are both in person and available on ZOOM. Check the club calendar, which is usually up to date for our meeting locations and program.
