Last Month  PDG Penny Offer, Magdalen Leung and PDG Chris Offer visited a school in the mountains of Taiwan to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for a water filtration plant being installed with a Rotary Foundation Global Grand with support from the RC of Richmond Sunset and RC of Prince George. A tree was previously planted by the children in DG Rebecca MacPherson’s name to say thank you to District 5040 for the support. Later Penny signed a friendship agreement at the D3500 conference between D3500 and 5040.

Hello Everyone,

Everything has been pretty good over the past month, it may have been this month or last, but i had to make a trip to the hospital after getting hit in the forehead with a baseball. No damage, just a large goose-egg between my eyebrows and headaches for a few days.

I changed host families last week, so now I am in my third family and they are Super nice. Always giving me snacks and sweets, I think they may be trying to fatten me up for when I go home so that you guys will be able to recognize me. Thursday they gave me a large calligraphy to bring home with me and it's really beautiful.

Taiwan's weather has been really tricky lately; one day it's really nice and sunny out, the next it's 28 and raining so you can't even wear a jacket without feeling like you need to change because you just sweat straight through everything.

Recently my Chinese has skyrocketed and the thinking about what to say next doesn't really come into play anymore, I just kind of blurt it out now...it's is the correct Chinese though...most of the time.

It's crazy that i have just under two months left, its gone by so fast. The past eight months have been amazing and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I can't wait to see what my last eight weeks bring me!

Thanks again!

  Joshua Doherty

The Rotary Club of Prince George Downtown and generous supporters such as Canfor are spearheading a men’s health initiative in Northern B.C. The Men’s Health Screening Day on Saturday, February 16th will be full of information for men about their health and, in particular, prostate cancer and the tests to detect its presence. Following an information session, pre-registered men will be able to obtain free PSA testing following a completed DRE. Further screening dates are booked quarterly throughout 2013.

Prince George family physicians and urologists will be speaking on prostate health and the importance of regular check-ups. Prostate cancer is a leading medical concern for middle-aged men, with 1 in 7 men being diagnosed in their lifetime. The DRE is the physical component of examination to evaluate the possible presence of cancer, followed up by a PSA blood test, a crucial early indicator of possible prostate cancer.

Many men avoid their health issues or regular checkups until something goes critically wrong with their bodies. According to recent statistics, 4 out of 5 men wait too long to see their family doctor, resulting in treatable illnesses such as prostate cancer causing them unnecessary distress and additional weight on our already-burdened medical system.

This testing is being provided at no cost to participants, and registration is now open. Please visit www.thebigblueball.ca or call 250.617.2711 for more information and to register.