Givonna DeBruin hosted Ruth Hoyte, elected for the first time as a District of Coldstream Councillor in October 2018.  Though Ruth had no previous political experience, she was well-known for her work with the Downtown Vernon Association, the insurance business, dance instruction, & her outgoing personality.  Appointed to the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee, & alternate to the Regional District of North Okanagan Board, being a Councillor is serious business, requiring a lot of reading, preparation & research, aside from being a patient listener.  Ruth is enjoying her new role, & the daily challenges it presents.

On Sunday afternoon, Apr 28^th, 2019, a large gathering at the Allan Brooks Nature Centre honored the life & legacy of our long-time member, Ken Barton, who left us Jan 10^th.  Over a dozen of our current & past members attended.  The first part of the program, hosted by our club's Dr John Wheeldon, included contributions from Dave Weatherill, President Gillian Canniff, & past members Dennis Windsor & Keray Regan, about Ken's long & distinguished membership in Rotary.  ABNC Board Chair Jim Popowich, Director David Guscott, & past Director Ken Finch then spoke about Ken’s 24 years of contributions to their organization.  He held many positions, including Treasurer, Chairman, & most recently Director Emeritus.  It would not be an exaggeration to say Ken’s work with ABNC, in a wide variety of ways, was integral to its success.  In honour of his work, & particularly in recognition of his interest in educating youth about nature, ABNC has named their educational facility the “Ken Barton Learning Centre.”  A scholarship in Ken's name is also being established, to support a worthy student in an environmental field.

Kelly Fehr is a City of Vernon Councillor, & Co-Executive Director of Turning Points Collaborative, a local non-profit involved in support services, temporary shelter, housing, addictions recovery, harm reduction, interventions, etc., for less fortunate people.  With an annual budget of about $4m, & about 90 full-time & casual employees, they have a big impact on our community.  Most of their funding comes from government grants, but there’s never enough money to serve the many needs.  A particular short-coming is funding for addiction recovery – an average of 20 people per month are turned away, for lack of funds.  Private recovery program costs are measured in many thousands of dollars per week, but more modest publicly subsidized programs, costing much less, are hugely over-subscribed.  Turning Points believe a key strategy in helping their clients is to bring services to them, as opposed to asking disadvantaged people to find their own way to services.

Long-time 1^st Coldstream Scouts leader Glen Dick brought four of his charges to explain their upcoming July 6^th to 13^th Pacific Jamboree at Camp Barnard, on Young Lake, near Sooke, BC.  This event will include about 3,000 15+ year old participants from near and far – an opportunity for meeting other scouters from many places.  The 2019 theme is “Myths & Legends.”  1^st Coldstream has long been sponsored by the Coldstream Ranch, with additional help from the Coldstream Fire Dept.  About 25% of members are female.  About 60% of the estimated $10,000 cost of attending the Jamboree has been raised.

Keith Johnston introduced Wendy Majewsky, who gave us an introduction to several aspects of her “Life Mastery” coaching practice.  This follows a varied career in teaching & working in different capacities for municipalities, including Transportation Demand Management in Vernon.  Her purpose is to help people identify & achieve their goals, by looking at four key areas: vocation, health, relationships & time/money freedom.  Wendy believes there are two “signals” for personal growth – longings & discontent.  By finding clarity in our vision of the person we want to be, we also find the power to help make it happen.    

Charlene Silvester reported another successful “Project Save-A-Life” -- CPR Knowledge & Awareness sessions held Sat, Mar 2^nd at Fulton Secondary.  Vernon Fire & Rescue Services, who deliver the information, are keen to continue these sessions.  Charlene will meet with her committee soon to review & plan for next year.

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.