Martin von Holst hosted our 2011-12 incoming youth exchange student, Lukas Viebahn, from Munich, Germany, along with his partner Beth & their beautiful new dog.  In one month, he’ll complete his MSc degree, & begin a PhD program focusing on the chemistry of beer-making.  He’s also working on a new method of malting in the production of whiskey, which he hopes to patent.  His university is close to the world’s oldest brewery, founded in 1040!  Lukas told us beer is made from water, hops, malt & yeast.  He took us through the steps in making beer, explaining how variations in the primary components, & different production methods, yield a huge variety of beers.  Lukas hopes to work as a rep for a beer-making equipment manufacturer, or eventually as an independent consultant to the industry.  Along with a few others, he recently helped found a satellite Rotary e-club.  

Colleen McEwan, a Kelowna Rotarian hosted by Rob Irving, is Director of Interior Health’s North Okanagan Mental Health & Substance Abuse programs.  She described our ongoing Opioid Overdose Crisis, which took over 1,700 BC residents in 2020 – more than suicides, road accidents, homicides & prescription drug overdoses combined.  In fact, opioid deaths have mostly outnumbered Covid-19 fatalities.  Since BC declared opioid overdoses a crisis in 2016, well over $300m has been committed to save lives, end stigma & improve access to services.  These measures succeeded in reducing overdose deaths by 2019, but Covid-19 impacts have led to a resurgence in deaths.  Over 80% of victims are male; over half occur in private residences, & less than 15% outdoors.  Almost 100 of these deaths took place in Vernon in the past five years.  Lifesaving measures include naloxone, overdose prevention sites (32 in BC), & a “Lifeguard App” for solitary users.  Treatments include opioid agonist therapy, new treatment beds, outreach teams, attempts to improve the safety of the drug supply, & (tacit) decriminalization of small amounts of drugs for personal use.  Vernon’s Overdose Prevention Site was one of the last in BC to open, partially due to significant local resistance.  Colleen says we should assume more & more toxic levels of fentanyl are in all street drugs, & that marijuana is no longer considered a “gateway” drug to harder substances, any more than alcohol.  Many people get addicted to pain killers after surgery or rehab, then turn to illicit drugs when their physician stops writing prescriptions.  Additionally, some physicians & dentists tend to over-prescribe pain medication, leading to addiction.  Clearly, this is a multi-faceted problem, calling for a variety of evidence-based solutions.

Colin Heggie shared Rebecca Knill: How technology has changed what it's like to be deaf | TED Talk  Rebecca is a business systems consultant with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.  She was born profoundly deaf, opting in 2003 to have a cochlear implant, ie- she has 32 computer chips inside her head, coupled with external devices, which allow her to hear.  5% of the world’s population have significant hearing loss – by 2050 that is expected to be about 900m people, including 1 out of 3 seniors.  Hearing people assume that the deaf live in a perpetual state of wanting to hear, but she just wanted to be part of a community like her – she wanted everyone else to be deaf!  Rebecca says “complete silence is very addictive.”  In the absence of sound, her imagination is free to “hear” it.  Plus, with control over her hearing technology, she has the option of turning it off.  Her biggest obstacle as a deaf person is the outdated way people respond to her deafness – with pity, patronization or anger.  Technology has been both a help & a hindrance for her.  Voicemail is a problem, particularly when those around her who know she can’t hear (well), continue to send them.  Email & texting, however, make her life easier, allowing her to participate fully.  She’s on a mission to promote visual options whenever there’s audio.  We need to be connected.

Loredana Eisenhauer shared Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | TED Talk or “Start With Why.”  Simon drew three concentric circles, the smallest labelled “Why,” the next “How,” & the largest or outside one labelled “What.”  He says most people or companies describe their ideas or products by defining What they’re selling, whilst our most successful leaders (his examples are Apple, Dr Martin Luther King & the Wright brothers) start with the Why.  By defining Why we believe what we believe, people are much more attracted to What we’re promoting.  People don’t buy What you do, they buy Why you do it.  Simon says by addressing the limbic or emotional brain, we access decision-making at a fundamental level, where people who believe what we believe are seriously attracted.  He goes on to describe the “Law of Diffusion of Innovation,” with a graph showing typical sections of (idea or product) adopters, broken down into 2½% innovators, 13½% early adopters, 34% early majority, 34% late majority & 16% laggards, where a critical 15 to 18% adoption rate, or tipping point, must be reached in order for a product or idea to survive & have any chance of mass adoption.  (He described “laggards” as those who only bought a touch-tone phone when rotary dial phones were no longer made.)  Innovators & early adopters are those motivated by what they believe, not simply by what is available.  Those are the highly motivated folks who the rest of us look to when deciding if an idea of product is worth following.  They're the ones we want working for or with us.

Dr Craig Goplen hosted his daughter Laura, a respiratory therapist, to tell us about her career & how RTs are involved in Covid-19 treatments.  Following an undergraduate degree,  TRU in Kamloops offers a three-year program to train RTs.  This includes a year of hospital & community practical work, with a rotation through Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.  RTs work in various clinics; in care homes; in private homes assisting those with home oxygen; assisting with air & ground transport of patients; in hospital ER departments, neonatal, ICU, operating rooms & general wards – assisting with all cardiac arrests, & “wherever they’re needed quickly;” in diagnostics with bronchoscopy, etc.; & in rehabilitation, helping those with chronic lung disease.  RTs manage oxygen therapy, intubation, ventilation, extubation & tracheostomy tubes.  They’re often involved in the beginning & end of life issues.  Vernon’s hospital has ten ventilators, plus three transport ventilators.  Two RTs are always on shift.  The demands on RTs have skyrocketed through Covid treatment, which adds significantly not only to patient volume & complexity, but also to the requirement that medical practitioners change their PPE for each patient.  A change of PPE takes about five minutes, with a “buddy” to assist.  Covid patients also need negative pressure isolation rooms for safe treatment.  Because RTs are always working in patients’ faces, they’re exposed to a high risk of disease transmission.  Laura asks everyone to please follow mask guidelines, & use credible sources for information about vaccines.

Through our Zoom meeting, Teresa Bartel shared Nora McInerny’s 15-minute 2018 TEDWomen talk, at   Nora McInerny: We don't "move on" from grief. We move forward with it | TED Talk .  Nora is an author, speaker & podcaster, who makes her living talking to people about life’s hardest moments.  This talk is about grief – she says “We don’t ‘move on’ from grief.  We move forward with it.”  In 2014, Nora had a miscarriage, lost her father within a week & her husband within a few months.  She describes peoples’ discomfort dealing with her, & the range of emotional responses she had.  Nora’s wonderful sense of humour & humanity shines throughout this presentation.  Her 2019 book releases were “The Hot Young Widows Club: Lessons on Survival from the Front Lines of Grief,” & “No Happy Endings: A Memoir.”  (Colin’s note: spending 15 minutes to watch or re-watch this presentation is well worth your time.  Brilliant stuff.)

Michael Wardlow, a long-time season passholder at Silver Star Mountain Resort, hosted their Ginny Scott (Local Sales Manager) & Chantelle Deacon (Media Relations & Sponsorship Manager), for an update.  Silver Star began operation in 1958, progressing through several different sets of owners, & growing to become the 3^rd largest ski resort in BC, unique in having a “mid-mountain” village, with all ski in/out accommodation.  It was purchased in late 2019 by POWDR, a Park City, Utah based “Adventure Lifestyle Company®” owned by the Cumming brothers.  POWDR operates 10 ski resorts in the U.S., & has several other associated businesses.  Ginny previously worked at Whistler Blackcomb, which went through a sale in 2016.  She claims Silver Star’s sale has been a much happier experience for staff & locals, saying POWDR is focused on contributing to the communities they serve.  More investment in the ski experience is planned, though the impact of Covid-19 will likely slow new developments.  Chantelle says the mountain is planning a Dec 4^th opening for passholders only, with a parking reservation system in place to help control the number of people on the mountain, as they respect social distancing guidelines.  Staff accommodation on the hill must be lower-density, so supplemental rooms are being provided at Vernon partner hotels.  It looks like snow will be abundant, but everyone will need to adjust to new procedures designed to keep everyone safe during a Covid-19 winter.

Bev Rundell introduced our City of Vernon Director of Recreation, Doug Ross, a 37-year City employee, looking forward to his retirement, perhaps next year.  Doug was following up on a previous presentation, with Covid & project planning updates.  Recreation facilities closed in March of this year, due to Covid-19.  Over 100 employees were laid off.  Previously, only the Acquatic Centre closed annually for two or three weeks for maintenance & cleaning.  This long unplanned closure has been used for deep cleaning, painting & more complicated repairs of all facilities.  All facilities have now partially re-opened, with far fewer users.  Each user group, ie. swimmers, ringette, hockey, etc., must follow a myriad of rules set by various levels of government, health authorities, sports organizations, etc.  The City, as a facility operator, must be familiar with everyone’s rules – a full-time job for one or more employees!  Hopes for a "new normal" are anticipated for Fall 2021.  Doug also talked about planning underway for our “Active Living Centre,” which will include a 50m pool, leisure pool, double gymnasium, fitness centre & a walking/running track, occupying about 8 acres of the 38 acre former Kin Race Track site.  It’s projected to cost about $90m.  The agreement the City has with Coldstream & Electoral Areas B & C, calls for 100% buy-in on major facility decisions, so there’s a lot to negotiate.  The feasibility study recommended a “phased” build, however Vernon City Council voted in favour of a full buildout, expressing concern that second or third phases would be at risk of not being undertaken.  At this time, the City's partners have expressed they don’t want to proceed with discussions on the ALC project until construction of the “Cultural Centre” (museum, art gallery, etc.), is underway.  Financing of the $40m budget for that project is a "work in progress."

Jim Kanester arranged an onsite meeting at the Allan Brooks Nature Centre, catered by Dominic Dlouhy’s wife Marilyn’s “Boarding House Café.”  It was a perfect fall morning for an outdoor meeting.  Jim introduced ABNC’s new Centre Manager, Cheryl Hood, & their Board Chair, Jim Popowich.  Cheryl started with ABNC in February 2020, almost immediately diving into uncharted “Covid-19 territory,” & navigating a multitude of operational restrictions, safety protocols & major revenue reductions.  She credits a talented Board, adaptable staff & a dedicated group of volunteers for their success in pulling through a very challenging year of reduced visits.  Our late long-time SSR member, Ken Barton, & current member Bob Clarke (with wife Debbie), were founding members of ABNC.  Cheryl described adaptions made to their “Ken Barton Learning Centre,” & a new childrens’ play area, with unique log climbing structures, sponsored by the Kal Tire Foundation.  Walkabout tours, led by Cheryl & Bob, revealed numerous improvements to the buildings & property, including the amphitheater used for live raptor shows & other events, plus a large sundial, explained by Jim, who built much of the structure himself, along with colleagues from his Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Okanagan Centre.

President Teresa (left) introduced newly appointed Assistant District Governor Dr. Carmen Larsen. Dr. Larsen was Kalamalka Rotary President 2019-20 and their Rotarian of the year in 2017 before taking on her new roll as ADG. Carmen became a Rotarian in 2014 after her family relocated to Vernon BC, she is married to Jacek Szudek (local otolaryngologist) and they have three daughters. Larsen is a family physician who works in Vernon and Armstrong as a locum physician, operating room assist, walk-in clinic physician, site director for the Southern Medical Program, Vernon Cadet Training Centre medical officer and training of 3^rd year UBC medical students. Carmen initiated the Rotary Starfish Pack Program that provides a backpack full of food for underprivileged children in the area to take home for the weekend.

Carmen’s involvement in community began at a young age helping her parents with church fundraisers; she was a candy stripper at the local hospital in Courtney BC and was indirectly involved with Rotary through her Dad’s 24 year association with the Courtney BC Club (1986-2010). That involved hosting Rotary Exchange Students, car rallies and Rotary Group Study Exchanges etc.  Carmen was selected, after a competitive speech at the Courtney Club, to be their selection as a RYLA participant in 1988 in Tacoma Washington, 1990-91 she was selected as a Rotary Exchange Student to Belgium, later Carmen worked for a mining company in China, then after entrance to medical school Carmen. After each of these events she would return to speak at her Dad’s Club. Carmen also spoke one week after her fathers’ untimely death at age 65 of a sudden heart attack in 2011. In addition to Carmen’s Rotary involvement her brother is also a member of the Parksville Club.

Today Carmen spoke to us about heart attacks, the importance of being aware and not ignoring even the sometimes mild warning signs. Changes in one’s health, chest tightness, discomfort or pain, shortness of breath where three months ago there was no issue, pain in your arms or jaw, feeling of unusual indigestion or gas. Having to sit longer to catch your breath after activity, for women the feeling is often more a feeling of indigestion or gas. Do not wait to see if it will go away, do not wait because you might feel silly or embarrassed if it turns out that you are not having heart-related pain. Do not feel you are wasting the doctor’s time or health care resources or that it is unsafe to go the hospital in the time of COVID-19. Just go it is better to be wrong in the hospital than dead at home, your family, friends and community need you. In closing Dr. Larsen thanked Silver Star Rotary for our long association with our mass CPR initiative and the importance of its continuance.

Member Dominik Dlouhy & his wife Marilyn Courtenay, who opened her “Boarding House Café” early this year, hosted our club’s first “in person” meeting since March 10^th.  The spacious layout allowed social distancing, & we appreciated the “no host” breakfast goodies & drinks.  Assistant District Governor Bev Rundell presided over the handover to our new Directors.  Shown above are Bev Rundell (President Elect), Penny Trudel (Public Relations), Keith Johnston (Membership), Don Miller (Sargeant at Arms), Gillian Canniff (International Service), Teresa Durning Harker (President), Paul Philps (Past President), Loredana Eisenhauer (Secretary), Jim Kanester (Rotary Foundation), & Leigh Hewer (Director at Large); missing is Michael Wardlow (Treasurer).  Teresa outlined her objectives for the next year, & presented outgoing President Paul with an impressive basket of goodies, & thanks for his leadership.

President Paul Philps hosted Dan Proulx, representing the Vernon Chamber of Commerce, to our online meeting.  The Chamber is a non-profit with over 600 members, supporting economic development of our region.  Funding comes from a combination of member investment & Chamber-hosted events.  During the current Covid-19 pandemic, events are cancelled, but the Chamber remains active.  Their regular work includes training & education for members, business advocacy to all levels of government, & support of local business through online listings & gift certificate programs.  An important new initiative: “Relaunch Vernon Toolkit,” at https://www.vernonchamber.ca/relaunch-vernon , gathers a wide variety of information & tools local businesses can use to help them survive the pandemic.  Components include creating a back to work task force, preparing your office or workspace, preparing your employees, & preparing to do business.  Members are encouraged to “Be Prepared” for a second wave of the pandemic, for the loss of government subsidies, for employees working at home, & to initiate or expand their online & virtual presence.  Everyone is asked to patronize local businesses when possible, remembering that, unlike Amazon or other multi-nationals, they in turn support our local causes.

Sara Morgan (L) is Program Coordinator for Teen Junction in Vernon, & Sarah MacKinnon (R) is a Regional Director of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Okanagan.  BGCO “adopted” Teen Junction at the request of the Literacy Society in about 2017, bringing extensive experience & partnerships in running a wide variety of youth programs.  Teen Junction is open to 13 to 19 year olds, Monday to Friday, from 3:30pm to 7:30pm, with two staff members offering services, typically including kitchen prep instruction, a hot meal, employment & job search help, computer skills, games, discussions, individual support, & sometimes just a safe place to hang out.  From an average of 11 to 15 daily clients initially, attendance jumped to over 50, & has settled back to about 30.  Many attendees present problems with addictions, homelessness, etc.  Teen Junction aims to provide a refuge & learning opportunities for youth with minimal support elsewhere.  An example of a successful strategy is their “Youth in Residence” program, which gives selected participants responsibility for keeping others safe – they essentially take the role of staff members, intervening when trouble arises, & sometimes engaging outside help from first responders or parents.  This can quickly show them the burden of responsibility, & teach valuable life lessons, while being shadowed by real staff.  Our club’s connection with Teen Junction goes back to its beginnings, & we continue to help finance the 4,400 meals served in 2019.

Ward Mercer, with Community Futures, was Janet Green’s guest today.  Ward was recently hired to administer Vernon’s Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program, “designed to spread the benefits of economic immigration to smaller communities by creating a path to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers who want to work and live” here.  We’re one of 11 Canadian communities selected as a pilot.  The program will run for three years, beginning Feb 1^st, 2020 & each of the 11 sites may approve up to 100 applicants.  Federal eligibility guidelines specify education & language requirements, at least one year of continuous work experience, an intention to live in the community, & proof of finances to support the transition.  Further, local program committees set additional requirements for qualifying employers, minimum wages ($25/hr in Vernon), & award applicants priority points for recommendation.  Our local committee is most interested in mid-career applicants with families, who have skills for “hard to fill” local jobs.  This program is not for family unification, or refugees – it’s intended to supplement existing routes to permanent residency & citizenship for skilled workers & their families who will add to the economic health of the pilot communities.   

Cindy Masters, Executive Director of the Vernon & District Community Land Trust, was hosted by Teresa Durning Harker.  The Land Trust seeks & manages public & private donations & purchases of land & buildings, which will contribute to a permanent supply of affordable rental housing.  They work with a variety of partner agencies, such as BC Housing, Habitat, Heartwood Homes, Okanagan College’s construction trade program, etc., to identify, acquire, design, build & populate modest housing for families & individuals whose income is insufficient to cover the market cost of housing.  Successfully completed projects include a 2010-built six-plex, & a 2012 major renovation of a 75-unit apartment block.  A new project is expected to be announced next month.  The Land Trust is always pro-actively working on a “shovel-ready” project or two, in anticipation of funding being made available.  They are also looking for new Directors, with experience, skills, & an interest in affordable housing.

Leigh Hewer introduced Teresa Bartel’s speaker, pharmacist Gerard Kampman, owner of North End Pharmacy Remedies Rx.  He spoke about medical uses of cannabis, which contain over 450 compounds, including 80 to 100 phyto-cannabinoids, the best known being THCs & CBDs.  Cannabinoids are often used to treat chronic pain, especially neuropathic pain; spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis; chemotherapy triggered nausea & vomiting; & epilepsy.  Studies have shown that cannabinoids are less effective than most pharmaceuticals in treating neuropathic pain, but interestingly, these same studies show panaceas being more effective than any treatment!  Cannabinoids also present more side effects than conventional drugs.  Separating medicinal from recreational marijuana is complicated, but a clear danger of using non-medicinal grade product is the growing use of inappropriate anti-mildew or anti-fungal products in the growing process, leading to some highly undesirable results.  (This was attested to by Dave Weatherill, who knows about agricultural supplies.)  Where people are seeking medical treatment or pain relief, using a pharmacist to help with selection, dosage, monitoring, records & sourcing, is likely to produce better results.

North Okanagan Valley Gleaners board chair Brad Egerton was hosted by Marty Armstrong.  One of about a half dozen Canadian gleaner societies, the NOV group has now been operating for ten years.  In 2018, they collected 1.2m lbs of donated vegetables, which after processing, drying & mixing by 300 volunteers, produced dried soup mix for 7m meals, at a cost of C$0.02 per meal !  Large batches of soup mix are provided to a select group of vetted organizations, which organize & supply shipping to recipients in the Caribbean, Ukraine, North Korea & other needy destinations.  With the help of more mechanized processes, & more volunteers, NOVG hopes to increase production to 13m meals per annum.  The Canada-wide goal is 100m meals.  New gleaner societies are expected to open in Calgary & Montreal, but perhaps more importantly, a “test” society in Bolivia will hopefully begin production in a location close to where product is needed.  NOVG also collects serviceable used medical equipment for shipment overseas.  In the past five years, C$30m worth of used goods, at 20% of their original cost, have been recycled – again, using partner organizations to ship & distribute.  Both soup mix & medical supply operations, based in their donated rural Lavington facility, are partially funded by income from the Gleaner’s used furniture & appliance store, which relies on donated goods & volunteer labour.  The store also supplies free furniture & appliances to selected needy local families.  Our members may visit NOVG’s Lavington facility in the new year.  Meanwhile, any SS Rotarians interested in joining a small group of volunteers are asked to contact Colin.  

President Paul Philps showed a 2017 Rotary Foundation video, celebrating 100 years of contributions, & over US$3B in support for a wide variety of health, education, peace & leadership projects around the world.  Jim Kanester followed with an explanation of Foundation recognition awards & points.  Members can go to https://www.rotary.org/en , click on My Rotary, login, click on Manage, Contributions, Donor History Report, View report, Individual Reports & Donor History Report, to see an Overview of contributions.  A second tab shows all your Transaction Details.  Jim moved on to a review of our scholarship program, where our Community Futures endowment fund has achieved returns of 3.67% & 3.5% in 2017 & 2018.  He presented Don Miller with a bottle of wine to recognize his continuing support of Vipers 50/50 Raffle tickets, with support from his wife Anne.  Jim is surrendering management of our 50/50 ticket sales to Gillian Canniff.  A discussion of membership retention & recruitment, through new & varied options, for busy people, ensued.

Martin von Holst introduced the Kelowna Rotary Club’s Carol Eamer, who serves as International Service Director for both her club & District 5060.  She spoke about the extensive & chronic problems the people of Haiti have with lack of potable water, due to poverty, deforestation, corruption & other factors, all exacerbated by the 2010 hurricane.  She explained “HANWASH – Haiti National Clean Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Strategy – is a collaborative national initiative to provide thoughtfully managed & sustainable clean water & sanitation to all citizens of Haiti, along with the associated health, community & economic benefits.  The initiative is led by (Caribbean) Rotary District 7020 & DINEPA (The Haitian Government’s National Water & Sanitation Agency), along with other NGOs.”  Current RI President Barry Rassin, of Nassau, Bahamas, is a supporter of HANWASH.  To begin, four of Haiti’s 145 communes have been selected for pilot projects.  Meillac, a small village in the Ferrier commune, in the northeast, next to the Dominican Republic border, will be supported by our District 5060, led by the Rotary Club of Wenatchee.  They’ve asked all 5060 clubs to help.  The initial goal is to raise US$15,000 for engineering studies.  About 80% of this goal has been pledged.  Members approved a motion by Martin to contribute C$1,000.

Charlene Silvester hosted WL Seaton French Immersion teacher Stephanie Hewson, who spoke about her Okanagan Learning Foundation.  Seaton’s “feeder” elementary schools have “Starfish” programs, providing food to needy students each Friday, to supplement their weekend diets.  It occurred to Stephanie that these students’ needs don’t disappear when they move to secondary school, so in 2017 she began offering Friday food supplements to selected Seaton students.  At present, the Okanagan Learning Foundation serves 25 Seaton students, plus 10 at Fulton Secondary.  Plans are afoot to serve VSS, & in the future, more schools.  Proteins, carbs, fresh fruit, vegetables, some snacks, hygiene products, & clothes are offered on Fridays to one student at a time, to maintain privacy.  Students are involved in purchasing the food, & receive hints on meal preparation.  Teachers, counsellors & administrators make referrals to the program, then parents are contacted to complete annual applications.  OKLF also provides scholarships to students, & professional education grants to teachers.  About $35,000 has been spent since 2017.  Funding comes from private & corporate donations.