Dr Craig Goplen, our Queen Silver Star Excellence Program liaison, introduced our 2019 candidate, Madison Barrett.   A 15-year old Seaton French Immersion student, she’s keen on soccer, drama & riding (horses, we presume!).  Madison aspires to be a forensics specialist, & hopes to study at Simon Fraser University’s Criminology Faculty.

Assistant DG Bev Rundell hosted District Governor Sherry Chamberlain & her husband Jim, from Kamloops, BC.  Sherry is a commercial account manager for Chubb Fire & Security.  She has a long list of interests & accomplishments, headed by golf, motorcycling & a strong commitment to Rotary.  We’re all invited to Kamloops, May 2^nd to 5^th, 2019, for our District 5060 Conference.  Sherry suggested we think of our Rotary Club as a home, & challenged us to make sure it’s warm, inviting, inclusive & supportive – a place where new (& long-term) members have a job, a place to learn, grow & be valued.  She’d like to see a Rotary Peace Garden in each of our communities, & encourages us to tell our Rotary stories, perhaps through open houses.  Sherry told us a little about her rewarding volunteer work in Thailand, where she built friendships over many years.  “Eagle” pins were presented to Martin von Holst & Colin Heggie for helping attract new members, & to Gillian Canniff, Keith Johnston & Bev Rundell for their District leadership work.

Anneke Sauer was our club’s outgoing Rotary Youth Exchange Student for 2017-18.  She talked about her experiences in Austria.

Tannis Nelson, RDNO Community Services Manager, was hosted by Leigh Hewer.  She described the proposed Greater Vernon Cultural Centre, intended for the City of Vernon’s former Coldstream Hotel site.  The emerging plan is to accommodate our museum, art gallery, & a +/-150 – 200 seat multi-purpose performance venue (& perhaps other features) in a +/-57,000 gross square foot three-story building using roughly one-third of the site.  The remainder of the site would be intended for mixed residential / commercial development.  The projected $40m cost would be split between $15m in government grants, donations & partnership funding, plus $25m in borrowing approved through an Oct 20, 2018 referendum accompanying our civic elections.  A loan of this magnitude is expected to increase taxes for a residential property with an average assessment by about $12 net per annum, following the 2020 retirement of debt associated with Kal Tire Place & the Performing Arts Centre.  Questions were raised about costs to non-residential taxpayers, the additional or competing costs of a new pool & RCMP building, the suitability of the downtown site, & whether there’s a “vision” to go along with the proposed new facilities.    

Janet Green hosted Chris Smith, who works with seniors, including dementia patients, at Heron Grove.  With 131 residents in several different unit types, & forms of tenancy, Heron Grove is one of 31 BC & Alberta sites operated by the non-profit Good Samaratin Society.  Chris & his team of recreational therapists fund-raise for “extras” like a duet bike, pergola, glide swing, sound system & iPads to keep residents active, engaged & healthy.  Tours of their facility are held each Thursday at 1pm.  Our club members are welcome to attend an Oct 13^th fundraiser.

 

Bob France hosted Don’s daughter, Robyn Miller, who attended Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) North America in Washington, DC, July 1^st to 6^th.  Of 125 participants, Robyn was selected “Ms RYLA,” earning her free registration for the 2019 event – now she just needs to figure out how to get there!

After breakfast & business, Givonna DeBruin arranged a visit next door at Gateby.  She appreciates the day program activities & socializing, which her father has been attending.  Givonna introduced staff member Brenda,  who described the many programs & facilities intended to help transition hospital patients back to their homes, or support folks who are trying to stay in their homes.  The facilities include an activity room, a dining area, a large exercise room, & a lovely covered patio area for family & social gatherings.   

Former President Martin von Holst & Assistant DG Bev Rundell inducted new member Teresa Durning Harker.  Teresa started out in the healthcare field, before studying business at Kamloops’ TRU, & working as a licensed property manager.  She came to Vernon in 2008 to run our Visitor Centre.  When the City of Vernon took over the regional tourism function, Teresa became a private contractor, running our Visitor Services.  Past volunteer activities include positions of responsibility for 55 Plus Games, Toastmasters & Vernon Winter Carnival.  She’s currently involved with Vernon Golf Spectacular, Special Olympics & Kindale.  With her husband Harvey, she shares a blended family of five children & three grandsons.  She enjoys hiking, fishing & camping, but we suspect this lady rarely sleeps!

Dave Weatherill arranged for us to be hosted on-site at Tekmar Control Systems, designers & manufacturers of high quality controls for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning (HVAC) & snow-melt systems.  General Manager Greg Leupin described their history & product offerings.  Tekmar was founded over fifty years ago in Germany, by Kurt Knuever.  In 1980, Kurt established Tekmar in Vernon, with his daughter Ulrike & son-in-law Don Gibbs.  Greg joined in 1995.  The present building opened in 2003.  In 2012, Tekmar was purchased by Watts Water Technologies, a large U.S. supplier of a wide range of plumbing-related products.  The Vernon operation concentrates on the hydronic side of the HVAC industry – ie. radiant floor heating.  Tekmar has about 75 – 80 employees housed in a “state of the art” building, using horizontal-loop geo-thermal radiant floor heating.  They’ve recently introduced a “technology acceleration group” (TAG) to focus their innovative design capabilities on an expanding commercial market for Wi-Fi enabled controls.  Their new robots, assembling & "cooking" printed circuit boards, are really cool !

Gerard Kampman, pharmacist at North End Pharmacy Remedy’s Rx in the Railway Plaza, was Teresa Bartel’s guest.  He spoke about BC’s Pharmacare & Fair Pharmacare plans, beginning with a graph showing how the number of beneficiaries, compared to total population, increases substantially with age.  Pharmacare was introduced in the early 1970’s, with the publicly-funded income-based “Fair Pharmacare” program beginning in 2003.  For 2019, deductibles will be reduced or eliminated for those with low incomes, meaning they’ll have better coverage.  Gerard believes most low-cost generic alternatives to brand name drugs are reliable, with some exceptions, particularly for those suffering from allergies, or reactions to some non-pharmaceutical components.  He encouraged everyone to be sure they’re registered for Fair Pharmacare, if they qualify.