- A Weekly Publication -

              Minutes of the October 5, 2004 Meeting  

John Burgess introduced our Thailand Exchange student Ratika Thakur, Wayne Schnobel and Barry Fraser from the downtown group.

Ratika Thakur pulled the winning ticket only to discover an error in the distribution of tickets stubs. In the end Ratika won $10.
 

Jim Steele loved his Polio flight last week .

         Jackie Bray had an un-happy buck due to a late night break in at her home. Her advice to all "lock your doors at night!".

Mike Hunter has been very pleased with the great promotion that has been afforded to Stargazers lately, both radio and newspaper attention. He also was happy to announce his son MJ's 1st birthday which is this Monday.

Roger McRae also enjoyed his recent Polio flight and had an opportunity to see the Toronto Blue Jays lose.

Harry Verhey enjoyed some fishing with his father. His father, 82, skillfully caught a Muskie.
 

Frank Saraka also recently enjoyed some prime fishing in the Muskokas.
 

Don Howard and Dave VanKesteren 

Joe Mares Special Plea.- In the face of world tragedy and suffering Canadians now face a horrendous disaster without measure. Through the recent lock out situation between the NHL players and team owners hundreds of 7 figure income earners are in jeopardy . We must ask ourselves, "How can we help?". Through a meager donation of $700 a day each one of us can ensure that these precious few remain in the lap of luxury. A wonderful piece of tongue in cheek!

Don Howard brought us up to speed on the annual banquet and asked for a count as to the number of tickets sold so far.  He encourages everyone to get out there and sell those tickets as this is going to be a great event with some wonderful entertainment this year.

President Walter reminded the group that Audrey Chavalier's mother had passed away. Visitation will be at Hinnegan's Funeral Home Tuesday with Funeral Mass Wednesday morning. Audrey had conveyed to Walter that she considers Rotary her family and appreciates our prayers and support. All of us are thinking of you Audrey even though we all can not be present to express our thoughts.
 

August of 2004 Max and his family enjoyed a fantastic trip to China. Max's son works in water treatment in China and this paved the way for the trip. Max reported that China is extremely clean, no litter anywhere. You can walk the streets at night without any fear. You can take photos of anything except the military. In China the food is quite diverse. They say they will eat anything that flies except airplanes. They will also eat anything on four legs except a table. Most formal meals are eaten from a lazy Susan. At times there can be as many as 20 plates. English is spoken most places except for taxis. Some advice given to Max concerning Taxi use, " tell the driver to turn the meter on", otherwise you never know what you'll end up paying. Hotels provide a photo for tourists to show taxi drivers for return trips. The largest religion in China is Buddhists. The people in general are short in stature, thin and love discounts.

Max's video:  Images of China set to music (special technical thanks to Steve & Brian Sadler) Their trip started in Vancouver and from there straight to Beijing China. Through the multitude of pictures Max was able to bring the complexities of China to the group. China is truly a world of extreme contrasts. Endless ultra modern cityscapes to ancient delicate shrines, palaces and temples. Unspeakable foreign cuisine and McDonalds side by side. Incredible monuments to the past ruling class, Buddha, and treasures from antiquity. Max and his family walked the Great Wall of China and received a stamped certificate to prove it. The site of the Terracotta Warriors is said to be the unofficial 8th wonder of the world. China is said to be the next world power. With a population of more than 1.3 billion and through commerce and democracy China is a force to be reckoned with.
Max found that the costs were reasonable but anticipates some big changes after the 2008 Olympics.

Ratika thanked max for his wonderful presentation

Meeting adjourned w/ the singing of O Canada.