Matt Simpson:  

Our Illustrious soon to be President is busy working hard to make this year’s Lobster Dinner the Best. He called this meeting to get the ball rolling on the dinner and establish the committees and educate the new members. He was introduced by no-one, as we all know that Matt needs no introduction.

Dr. Lutsch gave a presentation to our club on the practice of Anaesthesia both from a general standpoint and an overview in the province of BC. Tracy McDonald – chief nursing officer at the hospital joined Peter for this presentation.

Greg Wallace  introduced his son, Brendan Wallace.  He was off in Iceland learning about the penal system and now he is working with John Howard Society working in Restorative Justice.

Bill Sherlock sponsored Mark Abrahams and introduced him for his classification speech.

Mark was born in Ottawa in 1952 and had a great childhood.  Your mom sent you out after breakfast and said be back for dinner.  Played hard, baseball, football, and hockey and skated on the outdoor rinks and canal.  I started skating when I started to walk.  I grew up in an area on Grey Nuns Estate. 

Cam – introduced our guest speaker – Claudia Ceglarz fromGlobal Okanagan. Claudia grew up in Victoria and she was bornin Poland.  She speaks manylanguages and has a diploma from BCIT.

My story – is really my parent’s story.  They are the reason that I am here inCanada.  My story dates back to1973 and I was born in Southern Poland in a city the size of Kelowna.  Poland was a communist country and lifewas very tough.  It was a greatchildhood but for many people around me it was very difficult.  There was no middle class, people wereeither below the poverty line or were wealthy.  Life was tough on a day-to-day basis.  As a child we went to the bakery at 4amand often when you got to the front there was not bread.  There were food-rationing coupons andyou were allowed restricted amounts of items.  One day my father came home with oranges and they wereexotic fruits.  The store shelveswere empty – there were only corner stores where you ordered from a counter.

 Lynda Pasacreta is the President & CEO of the BBB Mainland British Columbia organization (excludes Vancouver Island but includes Yukon) and she presented a look inside the Bureau and its work. The Bureau has been operating since 1912 and there are 10 regional offices in Canada. The BC organization was started by businessmen such as Jim Pattison and Fred Deely and other Rotarians as well. It is run similar to a franchise operation. The two-fold goal is to help the community by providing information on businesses to those wanting to find a reputable company and to process complaints and concerns from consumers about businesses they have dealt with.

BBB collects and reports information about businesses to help consumers make informed decision before they buy. They develop programs to encourage companies to review their own advertising and selling practices and they act as a neutral third party to help settle disputes between a customer and a business. Companies are accredited by the Bureau after a review that details who they are, what they do and how to find them, length of time in business and when there are no registered complaints about the business. What they do for business is to enhance the company's image with a name that is publically tyrusted, keep the review results accessible to the public and develop and promote an ethical marketplace.

Consumers are hoping to find businesses that they can trust even when they don't know them. BBB accreditation shows the consumer the company's committment to:

• Build Ttrust
• Advertise Honestly
• Tell the Truth
• Be Transparent
• Honor Promises
• Be Responsive
• Safeguard Privacy
• Embody Integrity

When complaints or negative comments are received from consumers, they are recorded against the company name whether they are accredited or not. When there are disputes that need resolution, BBB gives the business an opportunity to solve the problem. The BBB is not an enforecement agency so they cannot fine or close a business down. They report on business practices and are proactive in getting into the public and media to make people aware about scams and frauds and other marketplace issues. Their goal is to educate and inform. When it is deemed necessary to assist in a problem resolution they will attempt to get the parties together to come to an acceptable agreement on the solution.

Lynda provided some statistics about the BC organizations activities including the fact that in September they received over 99,000 calls from the public in BC and Yukon - these were either questions or complaints. In 2010 they opened over 10,000 complaint cases. Their web site gets over 900,000 hits a year. The top 10 businesses that raise complaints include:

• Moving companies
• Roofers
• Plumbing & Heating
• Renovations
• Fitness gyms
• Auto sales
• Landscapers
• Cable companies
• Florists
• Gold buyers

The top 10 Scams going around include:

• Door-to-door - roofing contractors, paving contractors, heating contractors, etc.
• Not-so-free Trial Offers - online ads for diet, acne cream, teeth whitener products, etc.
• Facebook & Twitter - targeted advertising and scams of all colors
• Advance Fee Loans - ads that "guarantee" loans once a fee is paid
• Phishing - identity thieves - phony websites, call toll-free numbers, collecting personal data
• Relative Scams - grandparents think they are talking to a grandchild who needs money
• Job Scams - work-at-home and mystery shopper opportunities - requiring an up front fee
• Business Opportunities - new investment presentations
• Business Directory Scams - typically small business owners receive an invoice for some non-existent ad space
• Overpayment Scams - online purchasers over pay for an advertised product and then ask for the repayment to be sent back but the original payment is phony
  

The best thing to do is to carefully research any company or "opportunity" through organizations such as the BBB and "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!"

For more information go to www.mbc.bbb.org; www.competitionbureau.gc.ca; www.consumer protectionbc.ca; www.bccpa.org; www.investright.org (securities commission)

 The first presentation was given by Alicia Johnson, the Job Placement Coordinator with ESTEEM (Enhancing Success Through Education, Employment & Mentorship). Alicia has a bachelor degree in social work and 11 years experience with various non-profit agencies including the Vernon Women's Transition House, Vernon Disability Resource Centre and Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives. She recently moved to Kelowna into her current position with ESTEEM which is a project sponsored by Project Literacy Kelowna, Service Canada and local employers.

Alicia calls herself a "matchmaker" - she matches youth with employment. ESTEEM is a work experience program for "at risk" youth which can include those with no work history, difficulties finishing high school, lack of job references or family support. The youth are both male and female and tend to be between the ages of 16 and 25 with their average client being 17 or 18.

The Program is designed to assist participants in developing marketable skills so they can:

• understand the characteristics and skills that support living indepenedently and apply these skills to the work place,
• gain experience in a field of employment that will build a reputation for reliability and productivity while supporting their efforts to become more independent, and
• earn a part-time income and move towards a full-time job or to return to academic studies.

The key component of the program is a five-week critical thinking course where students learn to interpret information, problem solve and understand employer expectations. Basically they are taught to think critically about everything in their daily lives. Following this course they have a week to job search before they start the work experience placement. They are offered 120 hours work experience paid at minimum wage. In return the program hopes the youth will be able to gain skills, develop a positive reference and start building a reputation in the work force. The employer completes one to two performance reviews and submits payroll details to ESTEEM.

At the conclusion of this process, participants receive:

• The choice of pursuing one of three outcomes - continuing their educations with part-time employment; part-time employment only; building a reputation to move towards full-time employment.
• Classes in communication, critical thinking and employers' expectations.
• The basic tools and clothing that are required to meet the expectations of a new employer should they be successful in their interview and be given a job.
• A bus pass until they receive their first pay cheque.
• Support of a full-time job placement co-ordinator.
• Training on how to conduct a job search and interview.

If any club members are interested in providing the employment component of the program, Alicia would welcome their consideration and will meet with them to discuss all aspects of the process. She states, "Even the opportunity to provide an interview experience would be greatly appreciated. I find that the more employers I have from the different occupations and areas of town the better to match with the youth. And, who knows, they may be so good you wish to hire them at the end!" You can contact Alicia at esteem1@shaw.ca or phone 250-762-2123. The office is located at 204 - 1456 St. Paul Street.

 Derald Oldring, President of the Society, told how there was worry that young people wouldn't have access to or take advantage of all the good music that is available in the valley, particularly that provided by Chamber Music Kelowna. The organization began in 1979 and in 1992 they established their Outreach Program to students to encourage them to attend the concerts for free and experience the first-class professional artists and their music. In addition they offer scholarship sponsorships. This season is an ambitious one and includes three outreach presentations, master classes plus collaboration with UBCO in their Minds and Music Concert Series.

Lorna Paterson, Co-Artistic Director, introduced one of the three scholarlship winning trios who played for us this morning. They are the Denton-Protsack Trio - brothers David on violin, Craig on viola and Nick on cello. They presented three pieces by Mozart, Ravel and Donatelli. The members enjoyed their wonderful interpretations of works by these famous composers. Following their concert, each brother commented on their most memorable experiences with and through the organization.

Chamber Music Kelowna has increased exponentially the amount of innovative youth education and community outreach programs. These are offered annually and are presented free of charge. Outreach events include performances for public, private and home-schooled youth, workshops, as well as performances in seniors residences. These education/outreach programs engage the same artists that are featured in the main concert series.

CMK also supports youth in offering free and or highly subsidized tickets to main series concerts for students and continues in the presentation of three annual student scholarships from funds generated from the George Hyde Memorial dedicated Scholarship Endowment Fund.

Derald, on behalf of Chamber Music Kelowna, thanked our Club as a sponsor of the Youth & Community Outreach Program. Our name and logo are featured in the 2011-2012 Season Program material.

 ADG Bruce Falkins introduced Gary Hollingshead who has a Phd in Engineering. He began in Rotary up north and is now located in the Summerland club. Both Gary and his wife Marion are multiple Paul Harris Fellows.

Bruce also presented pure gold lapel pins to Bill Sherlock and Henry Beesley for their club service.

 Elaine Crebo introduced the team from Project G.R.O.W. including Phil Bond, Cindy Bourne, Jan Gattrell and Vida Yakong here in spirit and on the ground in Ghana.

Phil related that he joined the staff at UBCO five years ago in the discipline of community service learning. One of the highlights of his first days there was meeting Cindy Bourne and hearing the inspiring stories of the project in Ghana. He said that Cindy is the heart of Project G.R.O.W. and she travelled to Ghana this year on an assessment mission to scope out children's schools.

 Murray Ramsden introduced Tish Smith, the Project Manager for the KGH expansion program, with the question, "What's that building that's going up on the east side of Pandosy across from the other new building on the west side?"

Tish has been, among other positions, a nurse and educator in the health care field and is now managing the expansion project at the hospital. She was also a member of the 1996 Rotary G.S.E. group to Brazil. She prefaced her KGH update with an overview of that trip and her experiences which included a visit to Sao Paulo for 4 weeks. She was excited to learn about family life and the cultural and business environment in Brazil and in that city. She discovered that it is an intriguing country with major extremes between the rich and the poor, who's daily lives intermingle, side by side in constant daily contrasts. There is physical beauty and obscene poverty co-existing along side one another throughout the city.

Rotary has accomplished many great projects over the years in the area of child health care and polio eradication in Brazil.

 Aimee Thompson, the agency co-ordinator, has been with the society for 9 years, first as a volunteer and then in an executive position. Aimee introduced Brittany Bavers who is volunteering as part of her practicum work experience.

Brittany received her Associate Arts degree at Okanagan College and her Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in Psychology and is now working towards her Masters at University in New Brunswick. She chose the Society for her practicum as she wanted to give back to her community and do something relevant to empower women, children and families. She totally supports the goals and activities of the Society in encouraging women who are struggling to achieve their full potential.

 Our guest speaker, Dr. Malvinder Hoonjan, is an Opthalmologist and Vitreo-Retinal Surgeon with a practice in Kelowna. He opened his presentation with a slide show comparing eye care in rural and urban India today. These are two very extreme situations. He and a team of eye specialists set up a camp staging area in Rajasthan (the desert area of northern India) for poor villagers who came from miles around to attend the eye check up exams they offered. They waited patiently all day to see a doctor. Vision screening was done in the makeshift camp with the aid of a flashlight. They did refraction tests checking for those that need glasses and they further checked for eye diseases. They saw somewhere between 200 and 300 patients. They did blood sugar and blood pressure screening to determine surgical candidates. Those selected were taken to a clinic near Delhi and then returned to the camp where they were checked again to ensure there were no complications. Many of the poorer classes of people will go blind or lose eyes as a result of untreated diseases.

By contrast, the modern care available to the upper class and foreigners in the major city centres has access to all the latest in equipment as well as many brand new hospital sites. An important trend is medical care tourism where patients from Canada and the U.S. travel to India for relatively inexpensive but top rated procedures and enjoy a vacation before or after their treatment - not just for eye care but for any physical conditions. The care given is nothing but the finest but the majority of the population never get to see it or even know about these services and facilities.

Dr. Hoonjan presented photos and graphics of the retina and its structure and the various diseases and conditions that can cause damage and blindness if untreated. Many of these problems are age related macular degeneration, both wet and dry, where the retina becomes detached and which, again, can lead to blindness. Other problems are caused by infections.

Retinal Surgery or Vitreotomy is performed at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops or at Vancouver General. There is no surgery facility at Kelowna General, just a clinic. Some of the problems associated with having to get patients to Kamloops or Vancouver involve the potential for the macula to detach fully by the time they get to those locations thus leading to permanent vision loss. Kamloops is often overwhelmed with the numbers and patients may be required to go to Vancouver for treatment. The majority are elderly who have their own travel problems and issues and the procedure may require them to stay at a hotel in the area for up to 5 days and this can be expensive. If they are required to go to Vancouver, there is no allegiance to the Okanagan patients by the eye specialists - it's the "doctor du jour" syndrome.

Dr. Hoonjan suggested that it is vital that we have a local facility within KGH to not only do these surgical procedures but to provide our Okanagan seniors better eye health care. He stated, "If they're able to do it in Delhi, they surely should be able to do it here in Kelowna. It is very inexpensive to set up the necessary facility and equipment compared to the costs associated with the cardiac and cancer care centres. Alberta is more advanced in this regard than we are here."

For more information on Dr. Hoonjan's practice check out his web site at www.okadvancedeyecare.ca.

Doris Wilson presented "A Working Solution to Global Poverty". She mentioned that there was a Rotary convention in Lethbridge and much mention was made of Bill Fennell and all of his work.

Doris stated that meeting basic human needs is a global issue. She presented a video of Banking in Africa. 75% of Africans live on less than $2/day. Opportunity International is establishing a network of banks across Africa to transfer lives of sub-Saharan Africans. The vision for the campaign is to open micro-finance banks that help lift people out of poverty by mobilizing capital. Savings are loaned out. For every one loan there are 3 to 4 savings accounts. The goal is to increase deposit-taking banks to allow more people to bank and take out loans.

We were privileged and delighted to have the GSE team from Bangladesh visit our club this morning.

GSE is one of the most popular and rewarding programs of The Rotary Foundation. The program provides educational experiences for business people and professionals. The program pairs Rotary districts to send and receive study teams. It is an opportunity for team members to meet, talk and live with Rotarians and their families in a warm spirit of friendship and hospitality. In addition to learning about another country through visits to farms, schools, industrial plants, professional offices and governmental establishments, GSE team members serve as ambassadors of goodwill. They interpret their home nation for the host Rotarians and others in the communities that they visit.

The team began their presentation with a wonderful video that highlighted the beauty of Bangladesh and its people.

Dr. Bill Nelems, has been to Zambia 8 times over the past 5 years as he and others have been developing health innovations in the Western Provinces - the poorest area of the country. Half the population is affected by HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. However, Bill's organization, the Okanagan Zambia Health Initiative, is not working in these areas. They are working to develop teaching programs in nursing and medical schools to work with those suffering from non-infectious diseases such as hypertnesion, diabetes, maternal health and trauma. 

Cam McAlpine introduced Dr. Neil Hanon, MD FRCPC DABPN. He graduated medicine in 1983 from the University of Alberta and was in general practice for seven years. He returned to U of A in 1992 to specialize in Psychiatry. His career took him to teaching family practice residents and psyciatry residents at Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton and the U of A until 2004 when he moved to Kelowna.

Dr. Hanon was the Physician Co-Manager of Adult Programs at Kelowna Mental Health from 2004 to 2009 and was Head of the Department of Psychiatry from 2005 to 2008. He is currently site leader for Clinical Clerkship in Psychiatry for the Southern Medical Program of UBCO and, in addition, works at KGH as well as in private practice, primarily with patients experiencing severe and persistent mental illness. Further he works at Outrach Urban Health with street entrenched, homeless people with psychiatric illness and/or substance abuse issues.