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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jan 21 2010
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Swan City Rotary, along with Servus Credit Union, sponsors the Grande Prairie Composite High School's Attendance Incentive Program – Miss School/Miss Out.
Winners of $50.00 each for having perfect attendance for the month of December 2009 are:
L-R Clayton Kelly-Dirksen, Faiza Abdi Weli, Brittany Fraser
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Dec 23 2009
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Swan City Rotary, along with Servus Credit Union, sponsors the Grande Prairie Composite High School's Attendance Incentive Program – Miss School/Miss Out.
Winners of $50.00 each for having perfect attendance for the month of November 2009 are:
L-R Taylor Chateau, Mary Solomon and Dorian Massier
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jan 20 2010
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It a regular meeting Swan City Rotariarn and Assistant Treasurer, Melodie Sample presented a cheque for $4,500.00 to the Alexander Forbes Recreational Society for the purpose of purchasing playground equipment for their ECS students.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Dec 18 2009
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The new greeter schedule for January to March 2010 has been in the downloads section on the right.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Dec 3 2009
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And his Rotary Exchange Elfs :-)
Exchange Students from the Grande Prairie Rotary Clubs had fun riding in a Fire Truck bound for Mazatlan and participating in the annual Santa Claus Parade.
Ho Ho Ho!
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Nov 25 2009
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Swan City Rotary, along with Servus Credit Union, sponsors the Grande Prairie Composite High School's Attendance Incentive Program – Miss School/Miss Out.
Winners of $50.00 each for having perfect attendance for the month of October 2009 are:
L-R Tiffany Hutt, Shanoah Jones, Joseph Psikla
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Posted
by Allan Kuechle
on Nov 18 2009
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We would like to thank the Town of High Level for donating a fire truck to our Highway to Mexico Project. Ric Conrad is seen here accepting the keys from Mayor Peter Ernst and Fire Chief Rodney Schmidt. Ric said the truck drove very well on the trip back to Grande Prairie.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Nov 9 2009
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As part of the Swan City Rotary Miss School Miss Out initiative, three Grande Prairie Composite High School students, Micheal Siggelkow, Jarett Tomshak, and Nicole VanderVoort were recognized for perfect attendance in September 2009. Thank you also to Servus Credit Union, the program co-sponsor.
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Posted
by Allan Kuechle
on Oct 18 2009
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The Rotary Club of Slave Lake along with the Town of Slave Lake just donated a 1980 IHC Fire Truck for the Highway to Mexico Project. This truck will meet many needs in Mazatlan.
Thank you from the Swan City Rotary Club.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 16 2009
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Swan City Rotary hosted a Poker Fun Night at the Great Northern Casino on Thursday, October 15.
It was an extremely successful night. Everyone had a great time and the venue was perfect for this type of event.
Here is a slate of the winners for the tournament:
1. Chris Murray - Rotaract - Sony PS3
2. Tab Pollock - SCRC - Bar Fridge
3. Jason Lainchbury - Guest - Plug in Cooler 4. Geri Conrad - Guest - Jacuzzi Suite @ Service Plus5. Joel Park - GPRC - Shoe Polisher 6. Mike O'Connor - SCRC - $50 Casino + Golf Shirt
7. Cheryl Budjak - SCRC - Brunch for 2 at Quality Hotel
8. Drew Lamont - SCRC - Rotary Wine Case + Wine
More...
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Posted
by Allan Kuechle
on Oct 18 2009
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The County of Birch Hills recently donated two 1981 Chev Fire Trucks for the Highway to Mexico Project. These will form part of the convey which will be leaving in March 2010 for Mazatlan.
Swan City Rotary thanks the County for their great gifts,
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 7 2009
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Several Hat Trick Awards were handed out on October 7. Congratulations to Bill Given, Dawn Marie Crouse, Lori Pollock, Bea Boutcher, Karen Scribner, Jim Smith, and Angie Peters, all of whom received the Hat Trick Award for completing three things: induction, classification speech and involvement in one committee. Good job!
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 7 2009
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Two new Swan City Rotary members were inducted on October 7, 2009. Sponsor, Miguel Lopez, welcomed DJ Golden to the club, while sponsor, Dan Drake, welcomed Cheryl Budjak. Incidentally, both new members are Oilers Fans:-)
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 7 2009
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October 7, 2009 also saw a number of Paul Harris awards given out by PResident Eve and International Service Chair, Chris Andersen. Congratulations to Kelly Boyd, Holly Sorgen, Angie Peters and Delayne Weeks. Paul Harris Awards are handed out when a Rotarian reaches $1000 in contributions to the Rotary Foundation.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Sep 19 2009
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The Food Bank Drive was a heart warming success and shows the generosity of the People of Grande Prairie and Sexsmith, and the fact that all we have to do is provide people with the opportunity to show their generous Spirit.
Thank you, too, for your strong support.
The Facts, as of Wednesday morning and keep in mind that all donations for the rest of this week will be credited to the Rotary Food Bank Drive, are:
2008:53,000 items
At $1.89 avg cost per item = $100,170 value
2009: 81,500 items, an 89.2% increase
At $1.89 avg cost per item = $154,035 + $273 cash
I think that YOU; and the people of Grande Prairie and Sexsmith, and all Rotarians need to feel good about this project, and I firmly believe that these numbers will continue to grow as we provide the opportunity for people to give and to have Corporate Teams and Community Groups to participate.
Thank you again.
Ken O'Shea
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 7 2009
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Rikke Aasbjerg, our new inbound exchange student, visited the club and spoke about her time in Canada, so far. She also distributed a wishlist of things she hopes to experience during her time in the country. Welcome Rikke!
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Posted
by Holly Sorgen
on Sep 30 2009
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Janice Chomik, Chair for the Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce, presented the Chamber update to the Swan City Rotary Club on September 30, 2009. Janice spoke about the many activities the Chamber is part of and the crucial role it plays in the community.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Sep 20 2009
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New PHoto Journals have beem posted for the Terry Fox Run, Food Bank Drive Kick Off, Food Bank Drive, Board Retreat and Cash & Camping.
Check them out by scrolling down and looking to the right of your screen!
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Sep 16 2009
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All of the Swan City Rotary Cash & Camping Lottery partners were on hand on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 for the cheque presentations. This year's recipients included the Beaverlodge Daycare, KidSport, the Grande Prairie Burn Society, the Wolverines Wheelchair Foundation, Grande Prairie & District YMCA, Suicide Prevention, Grande Prairie Heritage Building Society, HIV North Society & GP Gymniks.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Sep 17 2009
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The annual Swan City Rotary Board Retreat was held at Nitehawk Ski Hill on Thursday, September 17, 2009. All Board member were asked to first make a report on their progress to date and to then present on their plans for the year.
The day long activity was a wonderful opportunity for Board members to get to know one another better and to further focus the direction the club is taking this year, combined with short interludes of excellent team building activities.
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Posted
by Eve Lepinski
on Sep 16 2009
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Another successful Food Bank Drive was put on by the Rotary Clubs of Grande Prairie! As a beautiful night kept everyone's spirits up, many volunteers combed Grande Prairie & Sexsmith to help fill the Salvation Army's food shelves.
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Posted
by Eve Lepinski
on Sep 16 2009
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MC'd by Felix Seiler, this year's run was another success. Over $2700 was raised and 180+ people ran, walked or biked to help raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. Another great volunteer commitment from the Club!
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Posted
by Eve Lepinski
on Sep 11 2009
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The Annual Food Bank Drive Kicked-Off with a great event "The Interact Shopping Spree". Shown in the picture is the group "The Sleepers" sponsored and led by Past President Ken "Mr Hefner" O'Shea. See more photos in the Photo Journal on the right hand nav bar.
Five sponsored teams of Interacters raced their way around Northside IGA Thursday September 10th, filling up a van full of food for the Salvation Army.
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Sep 4 2009
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A Drag Wars 2009 Photo Journal has been set up. to add your pictures or to check out pictures that have already been posted, scroll down and you will find all Swan City Rotary photo journals posted on the right.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Sep 3 2009
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Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Taken from Mariah's Blog: http://mariahintaiwan.blogspot.com/
All Girls Catholic High School!!
Okay so the weekend before my first day of School I was sent off to an all weekend orientation, it took two hours on a train (which by the way was my first time ever on a train). I didn't expect there to be so many exchange students at orientation, but there was around 38 other students, (over half of them were from the United States).
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Aug 27 2009
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The weather was great; the crowds were plentiful and the volunteers were awesome!
Drag Wars 2009 was an excellent event this year. Swan City Rotary teamed up with the North Peace Bracket Racing Association and Pat's Ato to host this year's event.
Held at the Grande Prairie Regional Airport, the three day event from August 21-23, featured several high powered showcases including King of the Street, the Ducati Urban Freestyle Team, the Prairie Gold Canola Bio-Diesel Jet Truck, the Her-O-Cane Jet Dragster, Solver Fox Jet Truck, the Under the Sun Mechanical Big Rig Shootout, Anger Management and the Wheelie Fun Wheel Stander combined with time trials for local drivers too.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Aug 23 2009
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Taken from Mariah's Blog: http://mariahintaiwan.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Taaaiiiiwwwaaan!!
Hello from TAIWAN!!
I have now been in Taiwan for 2 days, and have eaten enough food for 4 days, don't think that the Taiwanese are skinny because they don't eat. The lunches that I have had are more like suppers they have at least 10 dishes, and me being the foreigner I have to try everything… twice.
More...
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Posted
by Dan Wong
on Jul 24 2009
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Noemi Klarer was taken to Grande Cache on July 18th to experience a portion of the Canadian Death Race trail. Rotarians Ken Loudon, Dan Wong, Dan Drake and Cheryl Budjak as well as Karen Pascut, David Miller and Amber Miller all completed the 27km trek up 2 mountain peaks.
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jun 3 2009
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Swan City Rotarians welcomed two guests from Chile to the Changeover meeting on June 3. They brought greetings from their Rotary club in Chile and also presented President Drew with a hand woven club banner.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jun 3 2009
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Several Swan City Rotarians recevied recognition of 100% attendance at the Changeover event on June 3, 2009. Congratulations to all who attained this award and to those who have done so year after year!
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jun 4 2009
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Swan City Rotarians met on the greens of the Grande Prairie Golf & Country Club to mark the changeover from President Drew to President Eve. As always, the event was quite successful with all teams reporting a fun experience.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jun 3 2009
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Swan City Rotary club said farewell to 2008/09 President Drew Lamont and his Board and hello to 2009/10 President Eve Lepinski at the Changeover meeting on July 3, 2009. The event, held at the Quality Inn, was a celebration of the many successes the club has experienced over the past year and served to mark a great year for President Drew and his Board. All Board members took the oppportunity to report on their actitivities over the past year and a special gift was bestowed upon President Drew in thanks for a job well done!
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Posted
by Dave Cook
on May 20 2009
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"I just got back from this week. While we were there we visited some of the past Rotary Exchange students who were billeted by our Club. They are all doing great and credit their experiences with our club as having a major influence on their lives. I have a message from Gladys Rinasse an exchange student from who was with our club in 2003/04. Gladys has graduated from University, majoring in languages and is now working for an investment firm in . She is doing great and wanted me to share this picture and simple message to our Club. Please pass on to our membership. "
Dave Cook
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jun 25 2009
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Gerry Mazer, past Swan City Rotarian, was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow award for his contributions to Rotary. Marg, his wife, says that Gerry was very happy with his award.
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Posted
by Lisa Lauzon
on Jun 13 2009
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On June 13th, the Swan City Rotary Club container team organized a work bee to load and document the current supplies into a container certified for international travel.
The Sexsmith Sabres boys and girls football teams provided lots of volunteers and the amount of work accomplished was absolutely amazing!
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on May 13 2009
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Holly Sorgen, Club Secretary, presented the Grande Spirit Foundation with a cheque for $1500.00 on May 13, 2009.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on May 27 2009
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On May 27, 2009 Felix Seiler with the Grande Prairie Ski Patrol was on hand to receive a cheque for $3,350.00 from Club Treasurer, Dan Drake.
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Posted
by Dan Wong
on Jun 24 2009
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This event saw over 20,000 international Rotarians from over 150 countries congregate to the city of Birmingham, England. Birmingham was host of the Rotary International Convention in 1984 and was said to be extremely run down and the crime rate was through the roof. 25 years later, the city has cleaned up its act and is now an international tourist destination and home to over 1 million residents. They were chosen to host Rotary's 100th International Convention and everyone will agree that they did an excellent job.
More...
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Posted
by Dan Wong
on Jun 10 2009
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on May 8 2009
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Man, it feels weird trying to form sentences in English now. Anyways, here goes:
Ahh, Brazil. It feels like my home country now. I know my way around the city quite well (which is no small feat in a city of five million), my accent is finally disappearing, and it feels like I've known my friends and family here my entire life. It finally happened to me: I'm not ready to go home! I know, though, that soon my exchange will come to an end (I'll be back in Grande Prairie on July 15th) and when I do come back to Brazil, I will never be on student exchange again. That said, I'm appreciating every moment I have left, keeping my schedule as full as possible.
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Apr 6 2009
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Members of the Swan City Rotary Club and their spouses traveled to Chile to put the finishing touches on two projects. They also took some time to follow up on past projects in the same region of Chile. The new projects took place in central Chile and were in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Lota and the Rotary Club of Arauco.
More...
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Posted
by Doug Bain
on Mar 29 2009
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Satdurday morning started with a hosted breakfast in our hotel.
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Posted
by Doug Bain
on Mar 29 2009
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Friday was a day off for all of us..
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Posted
by Rick Conrad
on Mar 29 2009
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A parade of the city with the units
More...
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Posted
by Rick Conrad
on Mar 29 2009
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On Wednesday we toured schools and had lunch at the Aquario
More...
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Posted
by Rick Conrad
on Mar 29 2009
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Met with Pepi's Club at 8:00
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Posted
by Doug Bain
on Mar 24 2009
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Our day started off with breakfast hosted by the Rotaract Club in a near-by hotel.
More...
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Posted
by Doug Bain
on Mar 24 2009
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After our late arrival on Saturday night, we were all looking forward to sleeping in on Sunday...
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Posted
by Rick Conrad
on Mar 24 2009
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Posted
by Rick Conrad
on Mar 21 2009
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Posted
by Rick Conrad
on Mar 19 2009
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Las Vegas Country Club Rotary Club
More...
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Posted
by Rick Conrad
on Mar 19 2009
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Posted
by Rick Conrad
on Mar 17 2009
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Sunrise Fire Truck is Hot (and loud)It's Greg's new Harley!
More...
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Posted
by Rick Conrad
on Mar 16 2009
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Left Lethbridge to not so speedy entrance into USA
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Mar 15 2009
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Just a quick update this time, for my favourite Rotary club!
The last few months, I feel like I'm getting into the "sweet spot" of exchange. I feel like I'm at home in Recife. I have a diverse group of friends, built of people that I know I can trust. I'm still adjusting to my new host family. They're very busy working and studying, so I'm glad that I've attained some independence here: things that were once difficult like calling people to go out and working the public transport system have become my way of life.
More...
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Posted
by Rick Conrad
on Mar 15 2009
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Mar 10 2009
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The following email was received by Drew Lamont:
"My family and I went on February 11, 2009 to Mazatlan, Mexico. We were taking our grandchildren to the Aquarium and we were so proud to be from Grande Prairie, AlbertaCanada when we come across the bus that your organization donated. Pictures attached.
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Mar 10 2009
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Swan City Rotary's exchange student, Catherine Hilgers, was recently accepted to Montreal's McGill University Faculty of Science. Congratulations, Catherine!
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Feb 11 2009
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On Wednesday, February 11, 2009, Swan City Rotary was recognized for its contributions to providing employment opportuniites for Persons with Disabilities. Club President, Drew Lamont, was on hand to received the Frank Declyn Employment Partnership Award on behalf of the club. Several Swan City Members were also recognized for their involvement in the program.
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Posted
by Catherine Hilgers
on Feb 17 2009
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Hello everybody!
Well, it's been another amazing couple months of exchange. I passed Christmas here in Recife with my family. Brazilians do most of their celebrating on Christmas Eve, where we eat (and eat, and eat..) until midnight, then open our presents with the entire extended family. Specific to my host family, applause is required every time someone opens a present. Christmas wasn't so much about the presents here, though, as it was about spending time with family. I liked that it was less commercial than it tends to be in Canada.
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Feb 2 2009
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As sent to the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie:
I have just returned from a month long rotary sponsored trip to the northeast of Brasil and found this a perfect time to catch up. Basically this trip started in Rio De Janeiro and we (more than 40 exchange students) went up the Brasilian coast until the city of Fortaleza for 27 days. It was a great chance to see more of Brasil and now I can proudly say that I have been to 17 of 27 Brasilian states. Just in case any of you were wondering put the jellyfish on your list of animals that you never want to get stung by. I will personally tell you that after four hours of pain you learn fast that those little guys pack a punch. As well as my jellyfish encounter I had a chance to surf, ride the highest waterslide in the world, learned a little more about samba, danced capoeira, and did a tour in Roçinha, Rio´s most famous favela. Now I am safely back in Unaí with a months worth of dirty clothes and it lookes like I will get to know the waithful washboard a little better in the next few days.
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jan 30 2009
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Almost twenty Swan City Rotarians and their guests gathered together at Better Than Freds on January 17 to show off their Pool prowess. Victors for the the evening were Shannon Preus and Carmen Haakstad. All in all, though, a good time was had by all!
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jan 29 2009
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Swan Citry Rotary has the pleasure of hosting the 2008 Peace Country Idol, Renee Golemba, on Wednesday, Janaury 28, 2009. Renee wowed the crowd, playing a four song set followed by a fifth song in reponse to the encore call. Her "Pregnany Blues" and 'Divorce Song' had club members smiling and nodding. Renee also took an opportunity to play the song that won her the title of Peace Country Idol.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jan 29 2009
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Representatives from the Wolverine Wheelchair Sports Association were on hand on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 to receive a cheque for $2600.00 from Swan City Rotary. The money will be used for the purchase of a custom built wheelchair for the player pictured here.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jan 21 2009
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The January 21, 2009 meeting of the Swan City Rotary Club saw the induction of six new Rotarians to the Club. Welcome to Angie Peters, Bea Boutcher, Sharon Laverick, Paul Daba, Brad Jones and Dawn-Marie Crouse! The new inductions bring the club membership to 115 strong.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jan 14 2009
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Darwin Eckstrom, Dean of Fairview NAIT, was in on January 14, 2009 to tell Swan City Rotary more about the future plans of the post-secondary institution, how it will blend with the new Grande Prairie Regional College plan and the types of programs and services that will become available.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jan 7 2009
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Classification Talks continued with Frank Wright telling his story at the January 7, 2009 Rotary luncheon. Thank you, Frank, for your humourous speech!
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Posted
by Kurt Robinson
on Jan 20 2009
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Holy toys!! Batman. The Big Toy Box was an overwhelming success this year. We had a large donation of toys, which found they way to us from Shoppers Drug Mart doing a change over. This along with the generosity of Grande Prairie residents and businesses who donated tons of toys and $19000.00 cash.
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Dec 18 2008
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Swan City Rotary hosted its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, December 17, presenting the financial statements for the 2007-2008 fiscal year and electing its new board for the 2009 - 2010 term which will commence July 1, 2009.
There are still two openings on the board, including Club Service II and Community Service. Interested members are asked to speak Ken Loudon or any member of the nominations committee.
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Dec 12 2008
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The Spouses Luncheon on December 10 also served as the backdrop to a rare occurence - a cheque presention TO the club. The 100+ guests welcomed a representative from the GPRC Marketing class who told the club about the huge success of the Peace Country Idol project completed in November. It was so successful that a cheque for $11,436.97 was presented to Chris Andersen for Swan City Rotary's Ethiopia project of which the Club was proud to be the recipient.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Dec 5 2008
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Noemi Klarer, Swan City Rotary Club's Exchange Student, took some time to orient the club with her country, community and favourite pasttimes. Her Powerpoint was both educational and informative and was an excellent snapshot of her home life.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Dec 5 2008
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Swan City Rotary generosity continued with two more cheque presentations on November 26, 2008. A cheque for $4950 was awarded to the Forbes Homestead and a cheque for $1000 was awarded to the Lake Saskatoon Preschool.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Nov 30 2008
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Another round of Paul Harris Awards were given out near the end of November 2008, with a few special ones of consequence, including Paul Harris awards to Dan Pearcy, Grant Taylor, Dennis Grant and Stewart Wilson and Honorary Paul Harris awards to Karen Pascut and Dawn Marie Crouse.
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Posted
by Catherine Hilgers
on Nov 23 2008
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Here on the other hemisphere things are so amazing, I don't even know where to start. I went on my first Rotary trip for exchange students at the beginning of the month. It was ten days in the Pantanal, a huge wetlands area covering much of central/southern Brasil. Every day we had so many activities: horse riding, trekking through the forest, seeing waterfalls, wetlands safaris... We got up at 6:00 am every day, and barely slept at all. It was definitely one of the best trips I've ever taken, and the most tiring. I know that everyone says this, but the best part was being with the other exchange students, the only other people who have experienced the exact same things I have, felt the same things. Our whole group became very close, very quickly. And now, if I want to go to Taiwan, or Austria, or the Czech Republic, I have someone to stay with and show me around. What an experience!
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 14 2008
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Delayne Weeks presented a $1600.00 cheque to the Sexsmith Sabres on October 8. The cheque will help to purchase equipment, team trips, etc. Thank you to the Sabres for their contribution to the recent Food Bank drive that occurred concurrently in both the City of Grande Prairie and the Town of Sexsmith.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 14 2008
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President Drew presented the Grande Prairie Gymniks with a cheque representing their share of the Cash and Camping Mega Lottery proceeds at the October 8, 2008 meeting.
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Posted
by Catherine Hilgers
on Oct 11 2008
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I've started regular school now. It's really interesting, learning about tourism from the other perspective. I've always been the tourist, but now that I'm actually living in a foreign, touristic country I see things differently. School has been good for making more Brasilian friends as well. Today I went to a "churrasco," a traditional barbeque party. Delicious! It's not Alberta beef, but it'll have to do. At least we have sun, sand, and tropical weather here to make up for it. This week I went to visit a neighbouring city with my host sister, staying at my aunt's house. It's really nice how close Brasilians are with their extended families. There, I saw traditional artesans at work on pottery specific to that region, and did a little shopping. Not a bad way to pass a couple days!
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 9 2008
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Peace Wapiti Academy recognized Swan City Rotary Club President, Drew Lamont, with an award at their awards ceremony held Thursday, October 9, 2008. President Drew will speak more about the award at the regular Wednesday, October 15, 2008 meeting.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 9 2008
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On Sunday, October 5, 2008, several Swan City Rotarians took our Exchange Student, Noemi, to Dunvegan.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 9 2008
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The following are some comments received from our Interact friends on their foodbank drive experience:
Ken & Friends,
I must commend you on your fantastic organizational effort and success with the food bank drive. 500 volunteers, 100 teams, fifty two thousand plus food items valued at over $100,000, and food till next spring. Truly amazing! Thank you for letting us participate.
More...
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 9 2008
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The Rotary-delivered Fire Trucks have come in handy for the community of Mazatlan. Pictures here: Firefighters fighting a cruise ship fire with equipment and trucks supplied from Rotary.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 2 2008
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October 1, 2008 was a busy meeting for cheque presentations to our Cash & Camping mega lottery partners.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Oct 1 2008
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The annual Terry Fox Run was held at Muskoseepi Park on Sunday, September 14, 2008. This year's goal was to raise participation and awareness in the event. We met with great success. In total there were 153 attendees - 128 participants and 25 volunteers. To date, our great community has raised $8,484.50 towards this noble cause. Final numbers will not be available from the Foundation until early 2009. Factored into the Grande Prairie numbers will be the School Run Day and Terry Fox Works Day.
More...
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Posted
by Catherine Hilgers
on Sep 12 2008
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Olà Rotarians!
I'm still loving my exchange. It's hard to believe that I've been here for a month already! I've been able to go to one Rotary meeting here so far. Rotary in Brasil is very different from in Canada. My club here meets at 8:00 at night. They don't have a meal, they just get straight to business. And the club doesn't do a lot of fundraising. Their main focus is going to the favelas (the rough shantytowns on the outskirts of Recife) and doing what they can to help, with food, clothing, education, etc. This is a big problem here.
I'm keeping busy, taking piano and portuguese second language classes. In two weeks, I'll start school. The school I'm going to is like a cross between high school and college. I'm going to take tourism. With this program I can travel around the province as part of my curriculum. I look forward to starting: I'm going to be the first exchange student ever to go to this school.
I had student orientation two weeks ago at a beautiful beach town near my city. There, I met the other 45 exchange students from my district. It was really fun to meet all these people from different nationalities, and to learn about the trips I'm going to take later in my year. I can't wait to visit the Amazon!
Thanks again to Rotary for everything. This is the chance of a lifetime!
If anyone wants to email me, again, it's gocatherine@hotmail.com
Catherine Hilgers
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Sep 3 2008
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Ken Loudon presented Relay for Life with a cheque for $1000.00
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Sep 3 2008
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Sep 3 2008
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Drew Lamont, Swan City Rotary President, awarded Bridget Hennigar with a Honorary Paul Harris in recognition of the time and effort she puts in to Swan City Rotary accounting and year end financial statements. Thank you Bridget!
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jul 9 2008
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Those who were not in attendance at the changeover meeting were awarded their perfect attendance pins on July 9.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jul 9 2008
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President Drew awarded another set of Paul Harris Awards. Thank you to the recipients for their ongoing support of the Rotary Foundation!
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Posted
by Catherine Hilgers
on Aug 10 2008
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Everything is going great in Recife! My host family is wonderful, very warm and accomodating. They have taken me to the beach, to a concert, shopping, all in my first three days! This evening we are going to my first soccer game (Go Nautico!) I will, of course, be supporting my host familys favourite team. They told me I could leave otherwise (theyre kidding, I think.) My portuguese is getting a lot better. I probably know about 80 words now. Thanks again to the Rotary club for this opportunity. If anyone wants to email me, my address is gocatherine@hotmail.com
Tchau! (Goodbye for now!)
Catherine
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Jun 16 2008
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5 new Rotary members were present on June 11 to be a part of the induction ceremonies. Welcome to Darcy, Amanda, Glenda, Frank, and Bill!
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on May 29 2008
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On Wednesday, May 21, 2008, several area teachers were given Swan City Rotary Excellence in Education Awards. Thank you teachers for all of your hardwork and dedication over the past year!
To see more pictures of the Awards recipients go to http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563643291UCUavw.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Apr 23 2008
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Harm Gerritts, Swan City Rotary Lottery Committee, awarded the GP Gymniks with a cheque for $139,691.60.
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Posted
by Sorgen, Holly
on Apr 23 2008
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At the April 23 Swan City Rotary meeting, members opened their wallets, with a little help from the Sargeant of Arms, to help fight malaria. $856.75 was rasied via fines and few generous members. Later in the day, the group working Bingo put forward an additional $160, bringing the grand total to $1,016.75.
The money will be sent to the Red Cross Malaria Bites campaign and will be used to purchase and distribute mosquito nets that have been sprayed with insect repellant. To find out more about the Malaria campaign, visit www.MalariaBites.net.
Pictured above: President Ken Loudon presenting cheque Red Cross.
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Posted
by Holly Sorgen
on Feb 9 2008
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On February 6, 2008, Swan City Rotary celebrated the addition of six new members via a member induction ceremony led by member Gerry Mazer.
Mario Pare, Lori Pollock, Karen Scribner, Jim Smith, and Sheldon Hannah were presented by their proposers and given copies of the four way test, Rotary principles as well as their Rotary memerbship certificates and pins. Darren Kjemhus, who was unable to attend, will be inducted by President Ken later this month.
Welcome to our new members!
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Posted
by Holly Sorgen
on Feb 9 2008
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The opportunity to develop an education program and a museum project simultaneously is a unique one, and palaeontologist Paul McNeil is all smiles at the prospect. McNeil has been hired by Grande Prairie Regional College, and in addition to his duties in course development and instruction will have an integral role in the development of the River of Death and Discovery Dinosaur Centre project at the Pipestone Creek bonebed. Funding for this initiative includes $35,000 donated by Swan City Rotary Club, and presented at their luncheon of January 23. The donation is eligible for the Access to the Future Matching Grants program, resulting in a total of $70,000 for the palaeontology initiative. GPRC President Don Gnatiuk, accompanied by Jim Smith, chair of the GPRC Foundation, and Paul McNeil as well as several College faculty, were present to express thanks to Swan City Rotary Club.
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Posted
by Holly Sorgen
on Jan 22 2008
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Swan City Rotary President, Ken Loudon, is presented with a cheque for more than $8,000.00 by the MArketing students at Grande Prairie Regional College. This year, the students chose the Rotary Ethiopia project as their charity of choice. Thank you GPRC Marketing students!
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Posted
by Holly Sorgen
on Jan 7 2008
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Tracey Vavrek, CEO Community Foundation, Andy Beal and President Ken Loudon, present Symon P'fau with the Service Above Self Endowment for $1750.00.
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Posted
by Holly Sorgen
on Jan 7 2008
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Swan City Rotary Member, Lionel Jones, honoured his wife, Marlene, with a Paul Harris award.
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Posted
by Holly Sorgen
on Dec 14 2007
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President Ken Loudon and Past President Dan Wong were present for the unveiling and grand opening of the Peace Country Health heli-pad at the QE II Hospital on December 7, 2007.
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Posted
by Holly Sorgen
on Nov 28 2007
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Swan City Member, Pete Merlo, presents a cheque for $2000.00 to the Golden Age Centre.
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Posted
by Holly Sorgen
on Nov 28 2007
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Lionel Jones, Swan City Rotary Member, presents a cheque for $4950.00 to the Wado Kai Karate group of Grande Prairie.
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Posted
by Holly Sorgen
on Nov 20 2007
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New and continuing Paul Harris Fellows.
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Rotary Club of Grande Prairie (Swan City) #22868
ROTARY LINKS
ClubRunner
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