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2nd Annual Rotary Exhibition Park $10,000 Ag Scholarship

On Thursday, February 27, 2020, the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East and Lethbridge Exhibition Park announced the two recipients of the $10,000 Ag Scholarships for 2020. This year's winners are Mallory Adams and Geni Witdouck. Mallory is studying agriculture at the University of Lethbridge and Geni is studying at the University of Saskatchewan. The two recipients of these awards gave powerful acceptance speeches that recapped their passion for agriculture and their academic, career and life journeys that led them to be named this years winners. No one in the Heritage Hall, sell out crowd of 204 had any doubt that these impressive women have been and will continue to be ambassadors for agriculture in Southern Alberta.

The entire evening was entertaining, stimulating and rewarding. The evening started with a reception with live music by The Bryant Watson Duo. Then, Lauren Machacek, last year's recipient of the $10,000 scholarship announced and introduced this year's winners: Mallory Adams and Geni Witdouck. After their very impressive acceptance speeches, everyone enjoyed the prime rib dinner. Following dinner, an original painting by Rotarian Lynn Gregson was auctioned off by the Perlich Brothers team. After a lot of bidding, the beautiful painting was purchased by Cor Van Raay.

Our speaker for the evening was Robert Saik. Robert took us through a his long, colourful and action packed career in agriculture. We were entertained and enlightened by Robert Saik's studies, stories and experiences in agriculture that included starting 15 companies. Robert started farming as a boy on a family farm at Innisfree, Alberta where their first tractor was a one cylinder Marshall. Robert arrived in Lethbridge from Phoenix just in time to speak to us after hosting the DOT Autonomous Farm Technology Field Day the day before. Robert Saik encouraged all the young people in the crowd to pursue a career in agriculture as the challenges and opportunities are exciting.

Presentation of the $10,000 Ag Scholarships to Geni Whitdouck and Mallory Adams.

L to R: Rudy Friesen (CEO Exhibition Park), Geni Witdouck, Fran Leggett (Rotary Club of Lethbridge East), Steve Leavitt (Rotary District 5360), Mallory Adams, Bev Lanz (Director Exhibition Park)

The original painting by Rotarian Lynn Gregson which sold by auction to Cor Van Raay.

Auctioneer Justin Perlich kept the sell out crowd in Heritage Hall bidding on the Lynn Gregson original.

Robert Saik was our guest speaker and he did a great job of inspiring the young adults in the crowd to consider a career in agriculture.

A great evening was had by all 208 in attendance. The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East and Lethbridge & District Exhibition Park would like to thank our generous sponsors and all who attended.

Sponsors were: Allied Marketing Group, University of Lethbridge, Dhillon School of Business, Rotarians for Agriculture, Viterra, Perlich Brothers, Country 95.5 and the Lethbridge Herald.

For further information about this scholarship please contact Andrew Bronson through this website.

Restoring Learning Technologies for Students in the Commonwealth of Dominica

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Nov 29, 2019

The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East is celebrating the realization of their goal to restore information technologies to 23 schools in Dominica. Our Rotary Club partnered with host club, the Rotary Club of Portsmouth (Dominica), the Rotary Club of Bracebridge (Ontario) and the IT for Dominica Foundation on this Global Grant funded project. The need for this project arose after Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 hurricane, caused wide spread damage to Dominica in 2017. This damaged included the destruction of almost all of the computers and much of the libraries in Dominican schools.

A donation of more than 1700 used Chromebook computers and other pieces of technical equipment was secured by the IT for Dominica Foundation from partners in Alberta, Canada. The new value of the donated equipment (Chromebooks, switches, wireless access points, projectors, cables, weather safe cases, transport, and installations) is in excess of $1.5 million CAD ($3 million ECD, $1.1 million USD). Current/used value estimate 1 million CAD ($2 million ECD, 0.76 million USD). The transportation of this donated equipment, the C Can, tools, Vocational Training Team (VTT) expenses and additional hardware created a budget of over $142,000 Canadian dollars. These funds came primarily from Rotary Club donations that were generously matched by the Government of Canada program and The Rotary Foundation.

From November 11 to November 22, the team worked in schools across the island. The team included Hans Schilders and Lise Van de Kamp from the Rotary Club of Portsmouth, Andrew Bronson from the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East, as well as Dr. Maurice Hollingsworth, IT for Dominica Foundation Co-Founder and President and the VTT technical team from Alberta, Canada. This all volunteer team included Jason Yaremchuk, Director of Technology from Northern Gateway Public Schools, Chris Sluggett, Lead Network Analyst from Wolf Creek Public Schools, Jake Cameron, Systems Support Specialist from the University of Lethbridge and Chris Hollingsworth, IT for Dominica Foundation Fundraising Committee Chairperson. Their efforts were fully supported by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources in Dominica and their technical team led by ICT Coordinator, Timothy Lavinier.

The following video shows students in Dominica using the Chromebooks for the first time. It was amazing to see how quickly the students adopted this technology. The third clip in this video shows Chromebooks in use in a high school chemistry class. This occurred just minutes after the wireless access points and Chromebooks were installed at the Dominica Community High School.

Rotary Volunteers Packing Chromebooks in Lethbridge 1,760 Donated Chromebooks

VTT volunteers Chris Sluggett (left) and Jason Yaremchuk (far right) train ITC staff

Timothy Lavinier and his staff worked alongside the VTT installing wireless access points in classrooms

Timothy Lavinier, ICT Coordinator, Ministry of Education, Commonwealth of Dominica explains how the project went in the video below. Timothy refers to 21 schools. There were 21 Primary Schools completed, 1 High School and the Dominican Teachers Association office (for training purposes).

In the following video, Kimani Giraudel, principal of Bagatelle Primary School explains the importance of internet based learning technologies in schools.

In the next video, VTT volunteer Jason Yaremchuk, Director of Technology from Northern Gateway Public Schools explains his reasons for volunteering and his enthusiasm for this project.

IT for Dominica has an almost 20-year history, working with the Ministry of Education, schools and teachers on the island providing technology focused professional development through their Summer Institutes. The selection process involved schools completing a comprehensive online application. Each school was also asked to participate in a Community Needs Assessment, gathering input from stakeholders including students, teachers and parents. In total 38 schools (29 primary and 9 secondary) completed the online application. Of those, 23 also completed the Community Needs Assessment. The information received in each application was carefully considered with a focus on identified needs and the plans each school shared for using the new technologies to improve teaching and learning. Twenty-three schools were selected to receive learning technology installations as part of the IT for Dominica Foundation/Rotary Global Grant partnership. Each school received Chromebooks, weather safe case(s) for storage - particularly in the event of severe weather - one or more digital projectors, wireless access points, switch(es), and power bars for charging.

The Canadian team left Dominica on November 23rd, and leaves behind installations in 20 primary schools as well as at CALLS, an alternative school for at-risk youth in Portsmouth. Two primary schools that successfully applied are scheduled for major reconstruction and will be cabled and networked once this work is complete. Technologies were also provided to the Dominica Association of Teachers. These will be used to support teachers island wide as they work to develop skills and access resources to serve higher level learning in their schools. In addition, technologies were provided to Dominica Community High School in recognition of their ongoing support for the work of the IT for Dominica Foundation and as a trial program that will help the foundation explore the use of Chromebooks at the high school level. The foundation has a three-year plan to replace learning technologies in all schools on the island that still need them. Their work over the next year will focus on raising the funds necessary to install technologies in more schools in November of 2020. IT for Dominica and the Rotary Clubs of Lethbridge East and Portsmouth plan to team up again and complete the installation of Chromebooks in all the primary schools in a Phase 2 Global Grant.

In addition, the IT for Dominica Summer Institute offering professional development to Dominican teachers, is scheduled for July. This year will mark the eighteenth time that teams of volunteer Alberta teachers have travelled to Dominica to offer summer courses. More information on the foundation, its history and its work in Dominica can be found online at www.itfordominica.com.

The Rotary Club of Portsmouth, DM is the younger one of the two Rotary Clubs in Dominica (Rotary Club of Dominica, Roseau celebrates 45 years). It’s 21 members, of which 6 live off-island, are still very active with recovery projects post Hurricane Maria. Next to the 23 schools mentioned above they have provided learning technologies to 4 more primary schools and a secondary school. They have also donated new roofs, fish pots, water filters, and various donations to primary schools. The RCP Recycle Project was created together with Recycle Rebuild SCIO from Scotland, and currently the club is preparing a diabetes awareness project for the Portsmouth region.

The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East was very pleased to participate in this project. Our 28 members of our 59 year old club fund raise in Lethbridge through our Rotary Roses, Dragonboat Festival and Agricultural Scholarship projects. Funds for this project were then matched by our Rotary District 5360, the Government of Canada and The Rotary Foundation . We are looking forward to participating in the next phase of this project in 2020. The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East would like to thank the Rotary Club of Bracebridge for their financial support. Our club is looking for other Rotary Clubs that would like to participate in the Phase 2 of this project in 2020 including clubs in District 5360 that could be Type C Global Grant participants. Please contact Andrew Bronson for further information.

RCLE in 2019 Whoop-Up Parade

Posted on Aug 20, 2019

Rotary Club of Lethbridge East members joined in the 2019 Whoop-Up Parade on August 20, 2019, to celebrate the Whoop-Up spirit and to share some Rotary love with the community. The antique Model-T is owned and driven by RCLE member Frank Johansen. In the car with Frank is RCLE Past President Bob Jones (back seat), and Lauren Machacek - winner of the inaugural Rotary Exhibition Park AG Scholarship valued at $10 000. They are all wearing green t-shirts in support of the Honorary Parade Marshalls, the Boulet Family, whose son Logan was one of the members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team who was killed in a bus crash in April 2018. All proceeds from the parade entries will be donated to the Logan Boulet Fund.

Also joining in on the Whoop-UP fun was Rotary District 5360 Past District Governor Dan Doherty, and his wife Marlene, driving their Rotary inspired motorhome.

Lethbridge East Cook Off at the Food Bank

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Jun 12, 2019

Our meeting this week was at the Lethbridge Interfaith Food Bank. The club divided into teams and each team was challenged to come up with a dish for our group meal. The catch was that the ingredients had to come out of a food hamper only. Each month, the Interfaith Food Bank distributes 750 hampers to needy families in Lethbridge. Preparing meals from a food hamper is a challenge that needy people unfortunately have to face in everyday life. Our club members did it as a fun challenge. Lucky for the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East, we have some talented cooks in the club. Our meal turned out to be quite good and nutritious. We started with a bowl of Gerry's Gumbo and had Vonnie's meat loaf (stretched with oatmeal) and Bill's famous spuds for a main course. Dessert was a real treat. We had Cheryl's Cruchy Stuff and well iced and decorated muffins made by Nina.

At the end of the evening, Echo, staff member of the Interfaith Food Bank judged the dishes and decided that Gerry's Gumbo ( with help from Wayne and Glenn) was the overall winner.

Rotarians busy in the kitchen.

Bill and Dave peeling the spuds.

Wes clowning around while Nina baked muffins.

And now for the meal - quite good considering the challenges...

Our club president, Bob Jones, presented Echo and the Interfaith Food Bank with a $400 donation.

Rotary Exhibition Ag Scholar for 2019 is Lauren Machacek

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Mar 06, 2019

The first Rotary Exhibition Park Scholar was announced on Thursday, February 28, 2019. Lauren Machacek was the first recipient of the $10,000 Rotary Exhibition Park Ag Scholarship. The entire sold out crowd of 182 people was in awe at Lauren's accomplishments, stage presence, sincerity and passion for agriculture. Everyone present felt that the Ag Scholarship committee had selected an amazing young person who will be an outstanding advocate for southern Alberta agriculture now and in the future.

Rudy Friesen and Wayne Lindwall presenting a cheque for $10,000 to Ag Scholar Lauren Machacek

Trevor Panczak and Ed entertaining during the reception.

Heritage Hall, Exhibition Park was an inviting place on a cold February evening.

Place setting featuring a card with Lynn Gregson's painting on it.

Lauren Machacek made an amazing thank you speech.

John Perlich auctioneer assisted by MC Bonnie Farries and Bev Lanz with the Lynn Gregson painting.

Steven Koeckhoven, Nutrien made a very informative and entertaining presentation.

A very attentive crowd listen and learned.

Rotary Club of Lethbridge East and the Lethbridge Exhibition Park are looking forward to next year's Ag Scholarship Dinner. We hope to see you there!

Introducing The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East and Exhibition Park $10,000 Agricultural Scholarship Award

Lethbridge, Alberta – Lethbridge Exhibition Park and the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East announced today a new scholarship award program for $10,000 for one of Lethbridge and District’s top agricultural students.

The scholarship is to further recognize the importance of agriculture in our community by supporting a top student in their pursuit of an agricultural career.

Inspired by Nature

Posted by Andrew Bronson

The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East is co-sponsoring this year's Inspired by Nature program along with the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. This program allows young people under 18 years of age to exhibit their art work at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre in Lethbridge's river bottom park. Fran Leggett, a long time member of our club has been instrumental in getting this program started in Lethbridge. We look forward to seeing the exhibits and putting some of the art work on this website.

Please click on this link to learn more: https://www.lethbridge.ca/Things-To-Do/Nature-Centre/Pages/Inspired-by-Nature.aspx

Rotary Clubs Very Involved in Whoop-Up Days Parade 2018

Posted by Andrew Bronson

The 5 Rotary Clubs, Rotaract Club and Interact Clubs that call Lethbridge home joined forces in the Whoop-Up Days Parade on August 21, 2018. 2018 is the 100th aniversary of Rotary in Lethbridge and this was one way to let the community know our story. The Rotary float looked great and several Rotarians took turns pushing and spinning the float down the street. Rotarians and other volunteers handed out 3,000 colouring books to youth. The colouring books highlighted 100 years of Rotary involvement in Lethbridge.

Above is the Rotary float parading down 3rd Ave. South.

The Rotary float was shown on CTV News and Rotary Club of Lethbridge past-president Nick Nicolacopoulos was interviewed. Others Rotarians are shown distributing colouring books to kids.

Other Rotarians participated in the parade. This year's parade marshalls were the presidents and past-presidents of the 5 Rotary Clubs in Lethbridge.

Some individuals like Frank Johanssen from our club participated. Frank is shown here with his 1914 Model T Ford. Frank has owned this car for 60 years. He was accompanied in the parade by Gerry Colburn and Wes and Coral Skiba.

Armand Huneault in Ecuador - Service Above Self

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Apr 29, 2018

Armand Huneault, a Lethbridge prosthetist and humanitarian, spoke to our club about his trip to Ecuador to help with humanitarian efforts in the earthquake ravaged areas of North West Ecuador. A powerful earthquake struct this area in 2016 and many of the traditionally constructed buildings collapsed killing 687 people and injuring thousands. While Armand was in the coastal area, he made two trips back into the mountains to the Prótesis Imbabura clinic in Ibarra, Ecuador to fabricate prosthetic limbs for two men. One of these crippled men had a severely deformed leg and the other had had a motorcycle accident 18 years previously. Neither man had walked without crutches for years.

Armand Huneault has volunteered at the Protesis Imbabura clinic for many years. This clinic does amazing work and the need is great. Bob and Kit Frank from Ashville, NC have been instrumental in establishing this clinic. They have trained local people and the clinic is nearly self sustaining. If anyone wishes to donate to this clinic, click on this link and it will take you to the Go Fund Me website page that has been set up for Protesis Imbabura. Go Fund Me for Protesis Imbabura

Below are pictures of Armand and his work in Ecuador. We greatly appreciated Armand's talk and we hope that he will keep us informed of his amazing volunteer work in the field of developing country prosthetics.

This young man now has a prosthetic limb.

Armand and friend delivering water to earthquake victims.

This man has needed an artificial limb for 18 years.

Ten Rotarians With A Microphone: Stand-Up Comedy Event

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Apr 26, 2018

The Rotary Club of Lethbridge Mosaic held their 2nd annual Ten Rotarians With A Microphone: Stand-Up Comedy Event at their regular venue, Average Joe's in the Garage.

Our Rotary Club of Lethbridge East was represented by our very talented Bev Muendel - Atherstone.

You can watch Bev perform. Recorded by her husband Henning.

Play Day 2018 at the University of Lethbridge

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Feb 22, 2018

Play Day 2018 at University of Lethbridge has grown into a very fun way to celebrate Family Day. Play Day at the University of Lethbridge was started by Rotarian and club member Dr. Bev Muendel-Atherstone in 1979. Club members, Bill Mains, Bev Muendel-Atherstone, Han-Henning Muendel, Bob Jones and Ian McDonald volunteered with the cardboard box building extravaganza shown below.

Adventures in Agriculture

The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East partnered with the Lethbridge & District Exhibition in the Rotary Adventures in Agriculture program . This was the fourth year that we have teamed up with the Exhibition to send students to Regina to take part in this program. The students spend 4 event packed days visiting many agriculture related businesses, the Canadian Western Agribition, the Saskatchewan Legislative Building and several other events. The Adventures in Agriculture Program is hosted by the Rotary Club of Regina Eastview. Our hats go off to these Rotarians for providing a very educational fun filled opportunity for some bright students to see and experience agriculture related careers, businesses and exhibits.

From left to right, the Adventures in Agriculture 2017 students are Dawson Pahl, Erica Haugan, Alease Scholten, Adriana VanTryp, Nickola Haugan.

Rotary Club of Lethbridge East - Serving Humanity Locally and Internationally

Posted by Fran Leggett on Nov 08, 2017

Watch this short video that shows some of the highlights, projects and activities of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East over the last 56 years. These photos were compiled by this year's Co-President Fran Leggett for the visit of our current District 5360 Governor, Rick Istead. We are all looking forward to the next 56 years!

Passing of the Gavel and Farewell to Linette

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Jun 28, 2017

The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East met at Mike and Diana Greer's home to celebrate the end of a great Rotary year. Activities included: "Pass the Gavel" to the new co-presidents Chris McLean and Fran Leggett, a welcome back to Canada to last year's outbound exchange student Coral Skiba and a last chance to say farewell to this year's inbound exchange student Linette Kux. There was lots of great food and fellowship. Many thanks to Mike and Diana for hosting this event.

Above: Rotary Club of Lethbridge East and exchange students Coral Skiba and Linette Kux behind the flag.

Coral Skiba (left) has recently returned from a year in Austria.

Linette Kux will be returning to Austria in July after a year in Lethbridge.

Linette Kux receiving gifts. She sure liked her moccasins and Tshirt. We're trying to make her as Canadian as we can before sending her home. Left to right: Chris McLean and Fran Leggett (incoming co-presidents), Audrey King (outgoing co-president) and Linette.

Audrey King getting ready to pass the gavel to Fran and Chris.

Mike Greer, our host, was also celebrating his 65th birthday. Mike (left) with Roger Rampling and Cheryl Mains.

Among the Paniyas One Last Time (50 years later), Dr. Henning Muendel

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Jun 04, 2017

Henning Muendel, a member of our club, gave an amazing presentation on May 30, 2017, about his recent return to the Paniyas of the Nilgiri Hills. This was Henning's 7th trip to visit this colony. The colony was established as a tribal area for Paniyas people 1966. These Paniya people, prior to receiving this land, had been indentured servants and had almost no material possessions, no education and limited skills. The NGO, NAWA (Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association) was responsible for the establishment of this tribal farm community. Dr. Narasimhan was one of the key people in NAWA at the time of Henning's first journey to the Nilgiri Hills. On this visit, there was a celebration of Dr. Narasimhan's 100^th birth anniversary at NAWA headquarters in Kotagiri and a few days later at the Paniya colony, nearly 200 km from Kotagiri.

Henning, through the Canadian CUSO organization became the first farm manager for this tribal farm. This incredible story is too long to tell in this format. Readers are encouraged to read Henning's book on this subject. My Life Among the Paniyas of the Nilgiri Hills which can be purchased on line through several vendors. : e.g. via from time to time via Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Life-Among-Paniyas-Nilgiri-Hills/dp/0978359305

Below are some photos from Henning's first visit as farm manager in 1966 through to his latest visit in 2017. Many of the children in the 1966 pictures are now grandparents and some are shown with Henning in 2017.

Grain preparation in 1966

The tea plantation on the Paniyas' land has added a source of cash which has enhanced the lifestyles of the community.

Henning was sent to India by CUSO as fresh Masters in Agronomy/Plant Breeding and International Agricultural Development. His duties included managing a farm and a newly created tribal area. Henning realized that this group of Paniyas needed education and Henning was instrumental in getting many of the people education.

Henning with “his” first students in 1966.

1966: Narayini – third from right in back row; Ammini – her sister – third from right in front row; Kurian – their brother, 5^th from right in front row (looking backwards)

2017: Narayini – front left; Ammini – her sister – beside her; Kurian – their brother, on right; with H-Henning Muendel in centre rear

Henning with Paniya school children in 1967; second from right is Vellikan C.

Above is Henning and Vellikan C. in 2017.

Above is Henning with some of the "children" from 1966. Many of these Paniyas now have nice clothes, improved diets and education thanks to Henning's initial work and from the continued support by other organizations over the years.

The picture above was taken at the inauguration of the community hospital that is shown in the background. The Nilgiris Adivasi Golden Jubilee Hospital was built and equipped with funds donated by several organizations and Rotary Clubs including Rotary Club of Lethbridge East which was the lead club on this project.

Location of the colony.

Above, farming by hand and with oxen in 1966.

Above, Henning and children in 1966. And, 50 years later they remember how much Henning has helped them.

Some of the "grandchildren" in the computer lab on the colony. The computer lab was established with donations by Henning and Bev Mundel.

Some of the children have gone on to post-secondary education.

Above and below, Henning with some of his students from 1966.

Henning Muendel's presentation was very heart warming and thought-provoking. We had some discussion after the presentation. This Paniya colony is now self supporting. Many of the residents have started their own businesses. Several of the young people have gone on to post-secondary education. There are many lessons to be learned from the continuous 50 year involvement of the local NGO, the Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association with the Paniyas of the Nilgiri Hills, including Henning's (and his wife, Bev's) enduring commitment to the Paniyas . Long term commitment, continued support, planning, integrity and empathy were all factors in helping a group of people go from indentured servitude to self sufficient people with a positive view of the future. All Rotarians and others interested in international development can glean important information from this success story.

The following video was sent to the Rotary Clubs in Lethbridge in April, 2018. Rotarians in Lethbridge are celebrating 100 years of Rotary involvement in our city. It great to get recognition of our 100 years of projects and services from the NAWA Hospital in the Nilgiris of India.

Volunteering at the Lethbridge Food Bank

Posted by Andrew Bronson

On March 21, our club met at the Lethbridge Food Bank in lieu of our regular meeting. We were put to work in 3 different areas of the Food Bank.

1. Packaging Oatmeal that our club had donated previous.

2. Sorting donated food.

3. Serving Clients

This volunteer project gave our club a better understanding of the day to day operations of the Lethbridge Food Bank. It also gave our club a chance to interact with the dedicated and friendly staff. We have gathered more knowledge of the system and its needs so we can improve our donations and projects with the Lethbridge Food Bank.

For 7 years, the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East has made bulk food donations to the Lethbridge Food Bank. The bulk food has included: Quick Oats, Frozen Peas, Bulk Potatoes, Dry Great Northern Beans. We have worked with the Rotary Club of Lethbridge, Frito-Lay, Viterra, Bonduelle, local farmers and others to provide over 63,000 pounds of healthy economical food in the past 7 years.

Below are some action shots of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East at work. The pictures of the unloading and stacking of the pallets of Quick Oats are from previous loads of oats.

An Evening of International Stories

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Mar 07, 2017

At our regular meeting of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East, we were treated to some heart warming stories by our in-bound exchange student Lynette Kux and by club member Dr. Chuck Galambos and his family.

Lynette recently returned from a trip to San Diego and to Tijuana, Mexico where she helped build a house for a very poor family. Below are some pictures of Lynette hard at work, her house building team and a picture of a very grateful family that received the house. Well done Lynette!

Our main speaker for the evening was Dr. Chuck Galambos. Chuck with help from his daughters, Diana and Daniella and his Cuban born wife Leydis did a lively job of telling us about their recent trip to Cuba. Chuck gave us a brief history of the island which included the long history of American involvement and the rise to power of Fidel Castro. We learned about the Island of Youth ( Isla de la Juventud) as it is called today. Leydis was born on this island and left for Canada 15 years ago. The local economy is quite impoverished and there are many challenges for the people that live there. It is difficult to live as there is very little cash in the economy and it is a challenge to find parts and equipment. For foreign visitors it is extremely inexpensive. There are beautiful beaches and great fresh fruits and vegetables. Below are some pictures of the Galambos' trip to Isla de la Juventud.

We all learned some new things about Cuba. Incredibly beautiful country with lots of history and political issues. Thanks again Dr. Chuck and family.

Microcredit Program in Honduras - presentation by Steve Rickard and Ken Montgomery

Posted by Wayne Lindwall on Nov 03, 2016

Carol Kundrik (Sunrise) introduced from the Calgary West Club to speak about the long-term and very successful micro-credit development project in Honduras which is now in Phase IV since it started in 1984 at the 10^th Int’l RI Convention. Steve reviewed the long and impressive history of the project that is linked RI’s commitment with the UN to reduce world hunger and poverty. In 1989, more than 40,000 children were dying daily from hunger and malnutrition related diseases. Today that number is less than 10,000 but still far too many children are suffering.

The micro-credit program has had more than 200 million borrowers and impacted more than 1B people by providing only $1.25/day to minimize hunger. UN’s goal is to eliminate child poverty and hunger by 2050 and RI and the global micro-credit program is playing a key role in this effort. Ken Montgomery is a retired engineer and active in the project for many years. He has visited more than 67 countries but is very committed to the Honduras project because it is the 2^nd poorest country in Latin America with more 800,000 people suffering from hunger.

This HECD IVth phase of the project lead by his Calgary Club are attempting to raise $150K to be matched by RI and funding partners Opportunities Int’l Canada and IDH in Honduras. This involves providing family business loans as small as $150 for various entrepreneurial ventures. Repayment of loans have been very successful > 90% and had a major impact on reducing poverty and increasing their standard of living. Families do not have access to reasonable financing locally given the high interest rates (40-80%). They are focusing larger SME (small to medium enterprise) projects of about $5K/each that will create 30-80 jobs over the next year and benefit more than 250 family members.

They are hoping to raise up to $5K from interested clubs. In this regard Sunrise announced a $5000 contribution to the project and hope that RCLE will be able to contribute as well.

After some lively discussion about the challenges with corruption in countries like Honduras, Ken convinced the group that their efforts in due diligence and oversight have minimized these concerns.

Andrew thanked Steve and Ken for their passionate and informative presentation and wished them every success. Our club will discuss this initiative further and hopefully be able to contribute in some meaningful way.

Progress on the Sugar Bowl Playground

Posted on Oct 30, 2016

The playground construction crew made great progress on the installation of the new equipment this week. Weather should allow completion of the project in early November thanks to some mild weather.

Below: Cement work October 26.

Pouring cement October 27.

Equipment installation getting started October 30.

Construction of the New Sugar Bowl Playground Is Underway

Posted on Oct 23, 2016

"RCLE Sugar Bowl playground equipment in boxes at site readied for construction: October 23, 2016.

There will be further updates to this story as progress is made on the Sugar Bowl Playground. This is the second "refit" of the playground since it was intially built by members of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East in 1971. Photos by Bev Muendel-Atherstone.

Playground area has been prepped. Original plaque is still there.

New playground equipment is in boxes.

Boxes of playground equipment.

Another look at the site preparation.

National Immunization Day in India - presentation by Kim Derksen

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Oct 11, 2016

Kim Derksen won a travel voucher a couple of years ago and used the proceeds to go to India to take part in National Immunization Day. The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East had Kim speak to the club on October 12, 2016. Kim, who is a nursing instructor at the University of Lethbridge, took us all on a short version of her trip to India in February of this year. It was a very informative and interesting presentation.

Kim is a member of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge Sunrise. She joined a group of Rotarians from California for the trip as it was the most convenient time to travel. Kim arrived in Delhi and spent a few days seeing the amazing sights which includes lots of temples. It was also a shock to Kim's senses to take in the sights, smells and income disparity.

Kim travelled to a the city of Hathras with 4 of the volunteers. In Hathras, they vaccinated up to 300 children per day in temporary clinics that were set up in businesses and government building. Kim and her small group went out to a very primitive small village to vaccinate the children there. Living conditions were very tough and unsanitary.

Kim then travelled back to Delhi and visited several Rotary supported clinics. One Rotary supported clinic provided free blood services to needing people of India. They visited a government supported hospital that provided surgery and prothetic support to Polio sufferers. One doctor had dedicated his career to helping Polio sufferers and he had preformed over 25,000 surgeries.

In 1988 there were over 200,000 cases of Polio in India. In 2013, India was declared Polio free. There are still a lot of people suffering from Polio and the country must keep vaccinating as there is Polio in neighbouring Pakistan.

Kim Derksen dressed in her "National Immunization Day" outfit presenting

to Rotary Club of Lethbridge East in the Saddle Room.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF have done an incredible job

in India's Polio Erradication Program.

Kim and other Rotary volunteers gave drops at various booths

on National Immunization Day in India

Posted on Oct 09, 2016

The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East received the letter posted below from the Superintendents of both Glacier and Waterton National Parks. This workshop preceeded the annual Rotary International Peace Park Assembly. Many club members have been active in theWaterton - Glacier International Peace Park Association for many years. Please visit their website to learn more: www.watertonglacierpeacepark.org

Rotary Roses 2016 - 475 dozen roses delivered - that is a lot of smiles

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Oct 07, 2016

The Rotary Club of Lethbridge East did it again! 475 dozen roses were delivered to wives, family, friends, staff members at their homes and offices on October 6, 2016. It was a very busy day that started early with wrapping the roses and finished with the last deliveries in the evening. We greatly appreciate all the hard work from club members and other volunteers and we want to give special thanks to Chris McLean who lead this project this year for our club.

Please watch the video below. We received some great coverage by the Lethbridge CTV crew. This video appeared on the CTV Lethbridge Evening News on October 7. Chuck Galambos is shown delivering roses to the Royal Bank in downtown Lethbridge and there is a great interview with Bev Muendel-Atherstone.

Below are some pictures of the roses, the card that is delivered with the Roses and some U of Lethbridge volunteers.

Audrey and Evon Wrapping Roses

Bill Mains getting loaded up for another delivery run

Wes and Andrew - just visiting Trinity loading up Chuck's car

Bob Jones getting ready

Trinity and Chuck presenting roses at RBC

Meet our new Inbound Youth Exchange Student - Linette Kux

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Oct 05, 2016

Our Inbound Youth Exchange Student for 2016-2017 is Linette Kux. Linette, dressed in a traditional Austrian dirndl, gave our club her first formal presentation of the year. Linette is 15 years old and comes to us from Austria. Linette is from the village of Leogang which is famous for its proximity to the Saalbach – Hinterglemm ski resort which receives 23 million tourists annually.

The club received an excellent presentation filled with beautiful photographs of scenery and historic castle from Austria. Linette loves animals and sports which includes soccer, horse back riding and skiing. Linette's English is very good and is sure to improve during her stay in Lethbridge. Our club is very pleased to host Linette for this year and we look forward to having her at our meetings, club events and family functions throughout the year. Linette's sponsoring club in Austria is the Rotary Club of Zell am See (banner shown below).

Left to Right: Glenn Coulter Co-President, Linette Kux, Audrey King (Co-President)

Youth Exchange Students Attend Hands Across Borders

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Oct 03, 2016

Rotary Youth Exchange Students from several districts gathered at East Glacier to participate in the Hands Across Borders 2016. Transboundary & Peace Park Assembly. This was a tremendous experience for the exchange students as the Transboundary Practitioners Workshop brought conservation management people from all around the world to Glacier National Park. Our Youth Exchange Student for 2016-2017 Line Kux attended and had a lot of fun getting to know all the other exchange students from around the world. Futher information about the Waterton Glacier Peace Park Assembly can be found by clicking on this hyperlink.

Adopt-a-Highway

Posted by Andrew Bronson on Oct 03, 2016

On June 15, 2016, the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East served humanity, got some exercise, fresh air and had a few laughs doing it. For many years in a row, the club has been picking up garbage along Highway 4. So Rotary may be noted for projects such as polio erradication, international student exchanges, community develops such as spray parks and playgrounds but just so you know, we even pick up garbage! We had a extra laugh this year when Maria Trans, our clubs Youth Exchange Student from Denmark found one of Bev Muendel Atherstone's campaign signs in the ditch.

Dr. Bob Hironaka - Alberta Order of Excellence

Posted by Christen Franken on Nov 19, 2012

We are very proud to have long-time club member Bob Hironaka in our midst. Bob recently received the Alberta Order of Excellence recognition. Bob is an exceptional Rotarian, citizen, community inspiration and productive innovator.

Bob is an outstanding Rotarian, recipient of 5 Paul Harris Fellowships for his contributions to The Rotary Foundation, and a genuinely positive organizer for Rotary events. Bob has been deeply supportive of Group Study Exchange programs, through which young professionals visit other countries to learn in their fields and to build international relationships. Bob supervised a GSE group to Japan, and has hosted and planned visits and functions for countless incoming GSE groups.

For many years, Bob was one of the principal proponants and participants in the Young Voyageurs Program through which students from Quebec and Alberta participated in an exchange to enhance understanding within our Canadian culture. Bob has also been a strong supporter of the Rotary International Student Exchange, supporting both incoming, and outgoing Lethbridge students.

Bob has been a tireless organizer and supporter of Rotary community activities, and has held nearly every Executive / Committee Chair postion in the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East. He has introduced many people in the Lethbridge community to Rotary with his unique talent for identifying people's strengths. Bob is well known throughout the District and has become one of the "elder statesmen" for Rotary.

Bob is an outstanding citizen, a true inspiration to his community, and a very constructive innovator. Bob was behind the coming to fruition of projects such as the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, Communites in Bloom, and so much more for our community ! Bob has also contributed to educational advancement in our City, as Chancellor at the University of Lethbridge.

Click Dr. Bob for more information about this incredible man !

Click News Flash Dr. Bob for photo of the 2012 Award Recipients.

Recently a Celebration Dinner was hosted in honor of Bob's special recognition - click Celebrate Dr. Bob for photos of that event.

Laura Massicard - exchange student from France

Posted by Christen Franken on Jan 03, 2013

Laura is our Club’s inbound exchange student from Troyes (pop 61,200), the regional capital of the Champagne-Ardenne district in the North-East of France. The area is beautifully rolling land, inundated with vineyards producing the world-famous champagne. Troyes has old architecture including Cathedral St. Pierre et St. Paul and timber-façade buildings, and sits along the river Seine 150km southeast of Paris.

Laura lives in a rural type setting in a large house with her parents and an older sister. Laura’s high school is a converted hospital from WWII ; she lives in residence and goes home on the weekends. She says she likes her family because, “They are not perfect”. Her mother was a tennis pro and national winner when Laura was younger; she now is a tennis teacher and Laura is very proud of her. Her father works for the government ; he likes tennis - and that is what brought her parents together. Her sister is into horses and participates in competitive riding. The whole family enjoys tennis.

Laura's hobbies includes playing guitar, photography, reading and writing and she would like to learn to play piano. Her friends are her second family because they live together all week, Her best quote is, “It’s very important to have friends, because they are the best things in the world”.

When Laura goes home, she will take her final year of high school and will aspire to be a lawyer (avocat) specializing in International Law.

Laura is a delightful bright young lady, with whom we have shared various Alberta adventures - one that includied getting her gloves on fire over a Coleman stove pot when warming her hands after snow-shoeing with some of our club members …. . She is enthused and “agreeable” about the love our Club has for her and visa-versa, and she is learning a lot about life here. She is now 17 years old and is excitedly looking forward to becoming 18 in March of 2013.

Enjoy your year Laura, it goes quickly……