"Jungle Jamboree" was the theme of the parade at the 128th annual Ladner May Days 2024 on May 26th. Rotary Club of Ladner got into the community spirit and participated on a rainy Sunday morning, coming away with 3rd Place ribbon in the School and Club Category. Despite the rain many hundreds of people crowded the sidewalks along the parade route and enjoyed the annual event through the centre of Ladner.
David Rushton became the 67th President of the Rotary Club of Ladner at the club's Installation Dinner on May 21, 2024. Rotary 5040 District Governor Elect Drew Antrobus swore him in as well as the board of directors for 2024-25, effective July 1, 2024.
Rotary International President 2022-23 Jennifer Jones, now Rotary Foundation Trustee 2023-27, believes in the power of storytelling to move the world forward. Here is her story, as part of her presentation at Pacific North West PETS (Presidents Elect Training Seminar) in Seattle in February 2024, about her first hand experience with a polio vaccination team of women visiting a home in an impoverished community of Pakistan during her year as President. She also finishes with Rotary's determination to achieve a milestone in building The Rotary Foundation's endowment fund to $2.25 billion -- which supports many of Rotary's projects worldwide -- likely to be reached in time for the international convention next year in Calgary.
The Rotary Foundation created the Brazil Flood Response Fund in response to devastating flooding in the country's southern region, affecting more than 1.45 million people. The fund will support disaster response grants for member-led projects that provide relief supplies to people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul who have been displaced from their homes, or lack power and access to clean water.
Rotary Club of Ladner sponsors the Interact Club at Delta Secondary School. Interact members provide hands-on service projects, make international connections, develop leadership skills and have fun. Ten years ago there were 15 members in our Interact club. Now there are over 100. We thank the current teacher leader, Carla Day, and Delta Secondary School for making Interact such a success. Our Interact Club is one of 23 Interact clubs in Rotary District 5040. It is one among almost 15,000 in 145 countries, with membership of 343,000.
Ladner Rotarian Larry Pretty, a member of Rotary for 40 years, including 25 years as a member of Ladner Rotary, the last three years as an honourary member, passed away recently after a lengthy illness at the age of 82. Larry is survived by his wife Denise and family. He served the club as Director of International Service and the Richmond Rotary club as President in 1991. As a man of the world, Larry was also a member at one time or another of the Rotary Clubs of Monterrico Surco in Peru, Islamabad Cosmopolitan in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Richmond, BC.
Blue Zones are thriving communities with a high concentration of people between the ages of 90 and 100. The concept of Blue Zones has been popularized recently in Dan Buettner’s series of books and a Netflix special based on his research into the secrets of living longer. Haresh L. Ramchandani, past district governor, member of the Rotary Club of L.I.F.E., Jamaica, and a member of the RI Membership Growth Committee says that he became aware of Buettner’s research and began studying it, He says he was struck by how several of the commonalities of these Blue Zones overlapped with Rotary’s core values and that perhaps Rotary membership is a gateway to living a long and fulfilling life.
Ladner-based BC & Alberta Guide Dogs (BCAGD), in Delta, BC, founded with support from Rotary Club of Ladner to serve those who are blind and visually impaired, and which now also supports the growing need for companion dogs for children with Autism and for Veterans and First Responders with an Operational Stress Injury, such as PTSD, receives phone calls daily from people seeing a Guide or Service Dog. The current wait lists for professionally trained dogs is three years and demand continues to grow. In response BCAGD has announced plans to develop a new state-of-the-art Breeding & Training Centre. As the first of its kind in Western Canada, the new Centre will immediately increase the availability of Guide and Service Dogs across British Columbia & Alberta, doubling the number of people served.
Former paramedic and volunteer firefighter, pharmacist Paul Gibbons, owner of The Medicine Shoppe in Tsawwassen, who is a local marine lifeboat volunteer, works In a changing world where the roles of both pharmacists and pharmacies are evolving rapidly.
Mariel Anderson, having earlier started her own event production company which brought many fundraising events to Vancouver, BC, recognized the staggering number of people, who not only struggle with mental health but also those who lose their battles with it across Canada, could not be ignored any longer. Small acts change the world. Mariel realized that a community of people who are able to unite and take small actions towards creating positive impact in their own communities is powerful. Seeing the complete parallel between the passion for community and spirit of giving back -- with a focus on support of mental health and vulnerable youth -- Mariel and her team created a nonprofit foundation focused on 'communities supporting communities', showcasing local talent from a variety of artists.
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