Meeting: JUNE 3 2025
21 members in attendance. Perry led us in O Canada and Sheila gave the invocation.
Colin's Rotary Minute:
HONORARY MEMBERSHIP.
"Honorary" is one of the types of membership a person may have in a Rotary club. Honorary members cannot hold office and are exempt from attendance requirements and club dues.
Many distinguished heads of state, explorers, authors, musicians, astronauts and other public personalities have been honorary members of Rotary clubs, including King Gustaf of Sweden, King George VI of England, King Badouin of Belgium, King Hassan III of Morocco, Sir Winston Churchill, humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, Charles Lindbergh, composer Jean Sibelius, explorer Sir Edmund Hillary, Thor Heyerdahl, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, Bob Hope, Dr. Albert Sabin, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and many of the presidents of the United States.
Guests: Michele Kraft, John Holzworth, Aaron, Gabriel and Barb dela Espriella, Ron Willis, Niki, Matt and Alexis Rosenthal, Julie and Trent Horwood, Rikke Brandsborg, Doug and Melissa McGuire. ( Parents and host families of the exchange studetns)
Exchange Students:
Inbound - Camila Morales (Mexico) , Julie Opatrna (Czech Republic), Laura Brandsborg (Denmark) and Lucy Fernandez ( Spain).
Outbound (2025/2026) - Hunter Rosenthal ( Finland), Jack Armstrong ( Germany), Chelsea Armstrong ( Netherlands) and Marshall McGuire (Japan).
Rebound Gabriel dela Espriella (Thailand)
Announcements:
Jim -( recently returned from his 4 week trip to UK and Iceland) reminded us of the Beer & Burger night on June 22nd. He is rill looking for items for the Silent Auction and gift cards.
The Family Fun day on August 31 is a GO and we will need at least 18 volunteers. So mark the date on you calendar to help out. If you are aware of food truck owners - make sure they know of the event.
Don - next meeting on June 17 is Installation lease invte your significant others and book and pay early.
Greg reported on the Bayview 75th anniversary event. Over 300 hotdogs were sold and Ed had to go home to get more popcorn! A very successful event and the Rotary Volunteers received mountains of thanks.
Birthdays: John Pike received a loud rendition of Happy Birthday from the crowd.
Program:
Paul introduced the students and gave a short background on the Exchange Program which has been in effect for 50 years. The concept is to promote peace, one student at a time, breaking down borders and building bridges.
Each of the current inbound students gave an illustrated presentation about their backgrounds and their stay in Nanaimo. All thanked Rotary for the opportunity to send thier year here.
Julia from Czechia talked about traditional foods and sports - soccer and Hockey ( of course)
Camila from Mexico talked about her family, Mexican traditions and the food which she misses.
Lucy from Spain talked about her family and the beautiful part of Spain that she is from.
Laura from Denmark compared the size of her country to Canada and talked of how big everything is here.
The outbound and rebound students quickly introduced themselves. There will be a Welcome BBQ for the new Inbounds on August 28 at the Curling Club. Get your tickets before they are sold out.
MEMBER PROFILE - SANGEETA ( Geeta) SHARMA
I was born in a city called Chandigarh, the capital of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. My father was an accountant and my mother a homemaker. I have 1 brother and one sister, both younger than me. My family all still live in India.
I studied computer Science at the University of Staffordshire in England, but returned to India where I worked for 7 years as a software developer at Smart Data Enterprise which is located in Mohali , a city next to my hometown.
I wanted to move out of my hometown. I researched some other cities in India and other countries too. At that time Canada was taking applications for Software Developers to apply for immigration. It was a point-based system. I calculated my points and I was eligible, applied, was accepted and moved to Nanaimo in January 2020. I am working as a Programmer Analyst at VIU.
These days I love listening to podcasts on spirituality, politics and history in my free time. Also, I love to go hiking in the summer.
I keep looking for volunteering opportunities
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