Aug 21th 2004
Our Job With Habitat is Officially at an End

Our Job With Habitat is Officially at an End. Twenty-nine members of the Rotary family, including Laura Griffith-Cochrane, turned out to provide coffee, several thousand bottles of water and over 600 meals to most of the 183 registered volunteers who worked on the first Habitat for Humanity home in the Comox Valley. Many Valley businesses contributed all the necessities and will be recognized in a full page tribute in an issue of the Comox Valley Echo in the very near future. Past President Sue Finneron worked tirelessly to coordinate all the arrangements and Ken Webster was our Rotarian on scene who looked after the final details arranged by Sue. In addition to coffee breaks and lunches, Sue coordinated all the logistics to serve dinner to 115 people on Saturday, 14 August, to help Habitat say "thank you" to the volunteers and sponsors. Many makeups were earned by our members! Our profile and a better awareness of Rotary in the community was the result of our involvement. A new Rotarian or two might appear on our roster through the connections we made. Well done everyone. As the Habitat folks said "OYEA Rotarians!".

Aug 12th 2004
Habitat Build Progress Amazes Everyone

Aug 8th 2004
More Than 600 Meals Served!

We can't make the same claim as McDonald's volume of meals served yet but more than 600 members of the Piercey family saw Sunriser teamwork in action as they enjoyed breakfast and lunch on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. At least a dozen Rotarians and family members turned out for each of the three meals and had lots of fun. The Piercey family members paid us many compliments for the tasty fare. Many of us got to learn something about this proud family whose ancestors settled in the Comox Valley in 1874 after making the long journey from New Brunswick! President Chip and organizer Bob McQuillan thank everyone who responded so well to the request for help two weekends in a row. Watch this space for news of the Habitat build, which begins in earnest on Monday.

Aug 2nd 2004
Nautical Days Pancake Breakfasts A Big Success

There was a tremendous turnout of Sunrisers at 7 AM on Saturday 31 July and Sunday 1 August to cook and serve pancake breakfasts at Marina Park in Comox. At least a dozen Rotarians and family members showed up each morning and served the hungry crowds with ease. One of our newest members, Brad Warren, emerged as the star pancake chef on both days. Treasurer Ron Weir reported that the club realized around $1,000 in net proceeds for our youth programs. Thanks to Bayne for making sure we had all the supplies we needed. Thanks to everyone who contributed their time and talents to this successful event. We had lots of fun and fellowship and great public visibility.

July 28th 2004
Pat and Mike a Big Hit at Glacier View Lodge - by John Challender

The goal of part two of the Glacier View sidewalk project could not be completed on Wednesday evening despite the best efforts of the two people who were able to turn up. Pat Lewis (Wendy's husband) and Mike Collins, joined later by the guy with the camera, were able to get the rest of the gravel spread and compacted and almost all of the forms made before the nine o'clock curfew on power tools took effect and work ended. Project director Mike said we'd need one more small work party for a couple of hours to complete the forms before the cement could be poured to complete the sidewalk. Construction of a fence in the area will be the final phase of the work at Glacier View Lodge.

July 21th 2004
Good Turnout for Glacier View Manor Project - by John Challender

Under Mike Collins' able leadership and tireless energy and the help of a very skilled bobcat operator named Gilles, Janice, Ryan and Hayden Thorburn, Wendy and Pat Lewis, Larry Rennison and the club photographer, levelled, compacted and built frames for sidewalks around part of the building just above the new garden our club planted on the bank earlier this year. Lots of laughs, great fellowship and no injuries, topped off with cookies and juice from the Manor staff completed the 2 1/2 hours work party. Check out the cool compactor operator as she controlled the vibrating beast over the new gravel base for the sidewalk! Madame Secretary, this crew deserves a makeup credit if they need one.

July 21th 2004
Exchange Student Returns - by John Challender

This morning, Victoria Bell, the Rotary Youth Exchange student we sponsored for a year in Austria, paid our club a visit. Victoria, who returned to Canada on Monday, graduated from Highland Secondary School in 2003 and was selected by our club for the life-changing experience of being an exchange student. During her time at Highland she served as the president of the Highland Interact club and demonstrated her enthusiasm and leadership in the completion of international and community projects. She plans to attend North Island College in the nursing program in the fall. Prior to her departure for Austria, Victoria was awarded a bursary by our club to help her with her studies. Victoria will be back for a formal presentation of her exciting year in the very near future.

July 19th 2004
Ground Broken for Habitat Home - by John Challender

A large crowd turned out at 10 AM Monday morning to witness the breaking of ground for the first Habitat for Humanity home in the Comox Valley. Her Worship, Starr Winchester, Mayor of Courtenay, was at the controls of the power shovel that removed the first soil from the site to signal the start of work on the project. Following the groundbreaking, the site will be prepared for the pouring of the footings and the foundation walls for what Jon Toogood, Habitat for Humanity Board Chair, calls two single family dwellings situated side by side. From 9 to 20 August, crews of volunteers will bend their efforts to complete construction so that the Guignard family can move into their new home on time.

July 18th 2004
CYMC Friday Finale - by John Challender

CYMC Pacific Jazz Workshop wrapped up on Friday with a 4-hour finale in front of about 300 people at Filberg Park. Adventures in Music students paid special tribute to the support they have received from the Rotary clubs in their communities who sponsored them and to the host families with whom they stayed while they were here in the Comox Valley. Today the second wave of Adventures in Music students arrives to begin the Orchestra/Chamber program during the next two weeks. Since the program started in 2000, 80 students have benefited from the support of Rotary clubs from Ottawa west and have stayed with Rotary families while attending CYMC. CYMC has received more than $50,000 in tuitions through the program from students who might never have had the opportunity to attend. If a student attends CYMC on their own and are billeted as "resident" students in the Comox Community Centre, in addition to their travel, each student pays $650 tuition and $480 for two weeks room and board.

July 14th 2004
Rotary District Governor's Annual Visit - by John Challender

The Rotary Club of Strathcona Sunrise welcomed their District Governor, Dick Drew of the Rotary Club of Duncan and his wife, Aline, to their breakfast meeting at Crown Isle on Wednesday. Drew, a Rotarian since 1975, leads Rotary District 5020, one of the largest districts in Rotary International, with 84 clubs on Vancouver Island and Washington State made of of 5300 business and professional men and women who place Service Above Self. From 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005, the Drews will visit every club at least once bringing the message of service to others during the year that 1.25 million Rotarians in 32,000 clubs in 166 countries celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Rotary club meeting in Chicago on 23 February 1905. Drew encouraged the Sunrisers to celebrate Rotary throughout the year through their service to others and to feel proud of being part of the oldest purely service organization in the world.

July 14th 2004
Rotarians Help Repair Cleft Lips and Palates - by John Challender

Janice Thorburn, International Service Director of the Rotary Club of Strathcona Sunrise, presented a cheque for $1,500 to Bent Harder of the Rotary Club of Courtenay in support of a humanitarian effort begun by the Rotary Club of San Francisco called ROTAPLAST. The acronym, which stands for ROTAry PLASTic surgery, identifies the program within which Rotary volunteers, plastic surgeons, nurses and other medical specialists journey to third world countries to provide free corrective surgery to people born with cleft lips and palates. The procedures help remove a disfiguring condition and restore dignity and normalcy to children whose families cannot afford the cost of the surgery. All volunteers pay their own travel and living expenses and collect donated medical supplies to support their efforts. Two years ago Thorburn and Harder were volunteers on a mission to the Philippines and this year Harder joined a team in the People's Republic of China.