Bev Rundell hosted Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming (elected Oct 20^th, 2018), who observed that inadequate spending on infrastructure repair has led to a need for substantial remedial work over the next few decades.  Municipalities look after their “5 P’s,” being Plumbing (water, sewer & storm drains), Protection (RCMP), Planning, Paving & Parks.  Other expectations include Promotion & Housing.  Smaller upcoming projects include an extension of the bike path to Village Green Mall, repair of the failed drainage on the south side of Vernon Toyota, & construction of a dedicated sewage line for the OK Springs brewery.  Large projects include redevelopment of the Kin Race Track & Civic Arena properties, plus a plan for the Cultural Centre approved by referendum.  Victor enjoys working with City staff, whom he feels are doing a good job.

Club member Lt. Stefan Reid explained his recent absence, saying he recently returned from a Salvation Army assignment to disaster relief, following Hurricane Michael in Panama.  He came back in time to dive into their House of Hope kettle campaign, with a goal of raising $500,000 to support needy Vernon area families.  Kettle locations are all indoors, & we’re invited to sign up for shifts.  Red “Hope bracelets” are being handed out province-wide to donors, indicating their support of poverty relief.  Our Vernon House of Hope has hired a new men’s addiction counsellor who’ll start in Jan 2019.  On Wednesday this week, local realtors will conduct their annual food drive, hoping to collect 40,000 pounds of food to fill the Food Bank shelves.  For the second year, Christmas food hampers for needy families will be replaced by Save-On-Foods vouchers, which may be redeemed for the items most wanted.  Children’s toys, teen’s clothing & treats from Rancho Vignolo will still be available to supplement the food vouchers, & volunteer drivers will help transport people with their groceries, as needed.  About 600 to 650 families are expected to receive Christmas help.  Finally, Stefan has order a new moving truck, & work is progressing on their warehouse addition to the 24^th St Thrift Store.

Don Miller hosted Dick Auty, a retired Kelowna fireman who leads the Freemasons of Kelowna in their partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society, to provide free round-trip transport for Okanagan cancer patients.  Patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation treatments at the Kelowna Cancer Centre are eligible, based on need & availability.  Passengers must be mobile, & flexible about pickup times.  This unadvertised program is jointly financed directly by Masons, & by donations.  The annual operating budget for the Okanagan area is about $375,000.  This supports four seven to nine passenger vans, plus unpaid volunteer dispatchers, drivers & a maintenance team.  Over the past twenty years, the Vernon part of this operation has served about 8,000 patients, through 28,000 trips, covering 900,000 kms!  Our former member, Brenda Erickson, who joined us today, is one of the volunteer drivers.

BC Hydro’s Southern Interior Community Relations Officer, Dag Sharman, explained the crown corporation has 4m customers, 30 hydro-electric power plants, 79,000kms of transmission lines, & delivers 98.4% “clean” (non-fossil fuel) energy.  The Vernon plant is Hydro’s largest facility outside the Lower Mainland.  Major upgrades in the past couple of years include a new 85,000sf office building, & new shops.  Over 300 local employees work all over BC.  The Kalamalka Rd site includes one of three provincial control centres, a call centre, engineering & other staff involved in design, construction & maintenance of transmission & distribution assets.  Two new 500 megawatt generators were recently added at the Mica Dam, & plans call for addition of a sixth similar generator at the Revelstoke dam by 2026.  The West Kelowna Transmission project will add a secondary line to serve West Kelowna.  Hydro works with Emergency Management BC to manage power supplies through extreme weather events, & with provincial biologists to protect pesky ospreys building nests atop power poles! 

Rob Irving hosted Jane Lister, Regional Dean at the Vernon campus of Okanagan College.  OC currently has about 1,200 students, including 200 aboriginal & 50 international, plus 112 faculty & support staff.  Students are eligible for about $45,000 in annual awards & bursaries.  OC markets its smaller classes, good instructors, & lower costs to students.  Their new trades building is now operating – it will cycle through several different trades by semester, & offers “samplers” of several trades, particularly to women & aboriginals.  A new residential insulation course is offered in response to an industry shortage of trained workers, & a pilot “aboriginal support worker” program is coming.  Early childhood education is another popular program.  More “technical” courses are being planned.  OC is always seeking opportunities to partner with businesses, to provide applied research & job-related training.  Upcoming OC projects include a deck off the cafeteria, & construction of a +/-100 bed residence.

Jordan Bateman is the Communications Director for the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association, a group that represents more than 2,300 B.C. businesses and 50,000 employees. ICBA is a major public policy force in B.C., advocating for free enterprise issues, as well as a third-party administrator for group benefits for hundreds of companies, and the single largest sponsor of trades apprentices in B.C., with more than 1,100.

Martin von Holst pins new member Calvin Reich, a commercial insurance broker with Capri CMW Insurance.  His work includes aviation insurance, & he holds a commercial pilot licence.  Calvin was involved in youth sports when his children were younger.  He mountain bikes, snowboards, & works with the VSS Panthers Football team.  He’s also a Director with “Unmanned Systems Canada,” a non-profit representing the interests of unmanned aerial, marine & ground vehicles.  Welcome Calvin!

Chris Hart, President of the Literacy Society of the North Okanagan, introduced their Executive Director, Wendy Aasen.  Our club has a history of periodic support for their programs.  Wendy explained they work with a variety of local partners to fill gaps in literacy services, mostly to children, but also to adults & seniors.  Funding comes from government grants, donations, & the popular annual Adult Spelling Bee.  The proven One to One reading program for youngsters is now “Reading Together.”  “Skills Boost” uses teachers for more intensive tutoring & after-school reading practice.  Adult Computer Support is aimed at seniors, to build their competencies.  Other programs include Financial Literacy for Families, Screen Smart Tools for Families, & Books for Babies.  The Literacy Society is planning to expand their offerings through a New Learning Centre at the People Place, which will be partially funded through some fee for services programs.  

Dr Craig Goplen hosted the North Okanagan’s newly appointed RCMP commanding officer, Supt Shawna Baher.

Bob Clarke described the trip to Prague he & his wife Debbie enjoyed recently.

Rob Whitelaw told members about his life & vocation.