EyeOpener
December 14, 2021 – Vikings Hockey
 
This Meeting was via zoom
 
Alan opened with O Canada played by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
 
Odell read the Acknowledgement of Treaty 6 Land:
We acknowledge that the Rotary Club of Camrose Daybreak is located on Treaty 6 land. This is the traditional territory and an ancient gathering place of many Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. 

We recognize that we are all Treaty people and have a responsibility to become aware of our shared history, understand the Spirit and Intent of the Treaties and by doing so we can honour the past, be aware of the present, and create a just and caring future built upon Peace, Friendship, and Understanding.
 
Guest Speaker
Odell introduced Verlyn Olson, partner in Olson & Rau Law and former MLA for Camrose Wetaskiwin. He was on the Viking Cup Steering Committee and the Camrose Sport Development Society. He told us about the Augustana Vikings Hockey Team. The Vikings Hockey Team Alumna formed a non-for-profit society over 5 years ago. 2 years ago, the U of A announced the end of the Vikings Hockey Team as part of their budget reductions. The Alumna began negotiations with the university to save the team.  The university wanted them to take over total responsibility for funding and running the team—but they would have to follow all university policies. They had to go from raising $20,000 per year to over $170,000 per year and find coaching staff. They have raised $160,000, recruited Tim Green a local hocky alumna and son of a former Vikings player as coach, developed a website, started a 50/50 lottery as a fund raiser, approached foundations to raise grant funds, and obtained $35,000 in sponsorships from 40 businesses. Verlyn noted the hard work of Tyler Bellamy, Dave Ritz, and Deon Prpick for the Viking Alumna organization.
 
Verlyn then spoke about LeRoy Johnson’s book about the Viking Cup. LeRoy has pledged some of the money from the book to the Vikings. The book tells the story, not only of the tournament, but of the resulting Community building and the long-term relationships formed between Camrose residents and players who are now well-known international players and coaches. He asked us to remain vigilant and continue to support Augustana. There would have been no Viking cup without the Viking Hockey Team, no Viking hockey team without Augustana. He was thanked with a certificate denoting the immunization against polio of 10 children.
 
Food for Thought
Larry told us about November 1 All Saints Day and in Mexico, the Day of the Dead. They view death as part of the normal life cycle. Shops and markets are full of skeletons and skulls made of everything from paper mâché to candy. Communities have processions sometimes with a coffin and lots of skeletons. They share food, flowers and talk about those who have died. 
 
Happy Bucks for:  no serious injury when his wife fell taking cookies to a neighbour, for their trip to Mexico—their testing on arrival in Mexico was $100 USD each and was negative, when they came back to Edmonton there was no testing or delays; their third shot booked for today, the trip to his land to find a tree and the fun his grandchildren had sliding on the ice, finding an old Hustler magazine from April 1989 in his house—better than the syringes he found in a previous house, coffee with Odell and receiving his third Paul Harris award, the new Days for Girls organization in Brampton (Carol P. joined us from Brampton, Ontario for this meeting), for the snow.
 
Foundation Moment
Rob told us about the Goal of Rotary Foundation Grants?
During the past 100 years, the Foundation has spent over $3 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects. With your help, we can make lives better in your community and around the world. The Rotary Foundation impacts communities through our grants program, which offers four opportunities for funding. Let’s look at the first two grant options:
District Grants – fund small-scale, short-term activities that address needs in your community and communities abroad. Each district chooses which activities it will fund with these grants. How it works: Districts may use up to 50 percent of their District Designated Fund, based on the amount of DDF generated from a District’s Annual Fund giving three years prior, including Endowment Fund earnings.
Global Grants – fund large-scale international activities with sustainable and measurable results that support Rotary’s areas of focus. Activities include humanitarian projects, scholarships, and vocational training teams. How it works: Global grants have a minimum budget of $30,000 and a maximum World Fund award of $400,000. Grant sponsors can use a combination of District Designated Funds (DDF), cash, and/or directed gifts and endowment earnings to fund a global grant. The Foundation will
provide an 80 percent World Fund match for all DDF contributions. There is no minimum World Fund match.
 
Announcements
  • Mike McGovern, Chair of the Rotary International PolioPlus Committee, was able to visit Pakistan. 2021 has been a great year for polio eradication. We can count the cases of wild polio virus this year on one hand. The global number of vaccine-derived cases which are found in unvaccinated children is about 1/3rd of what we saw a year ago. It has been the unceasing focus of Rotarians around the world working with our partners to end polio once and for all and we have never been closer.
  • The Chase the Ace Draw with proceeds to the Flagstaff Community Foodbank is Wednesday December 15. We have agreed to top up the proceeds to $1000 for them.
  • The delivery of Christmas Cheer hampers is Saturday starting from the firehall.
  • Abby Mallard, Communications Director at the Bethany Group (and former Rotary Exchange Student and Rotaractor), has contacted the Augustana Rotaract Club to work with her on the Bethany Group Centennial in 2022.
Reminders of Upcoming Events
  • Board Meeting for this month is Cancelled
  • Joint Meeting on December 20 at the Casino. Doors open at 5:30 with supper at 6:30 pm.
  • This is our last meeting of 2021. We wish you all a Happy Holiday Season
  • Next Meeting Tuesday January 4 via Zoom, program TBA
Alan led us in the 4 Way Test to close the meeting.
 
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