Gossip Sheet #28 - January 18, 2007

Prez rick also told us that he had conveyed 91st birthday greetings to Betty Complin, who was reportedly delighted to receive such wishes from the club.

GRACE: Ralph Watters

COMMITTEE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Marg Jarrell told us about the ad hoc Special Committee on Landmines that Prez Rick had asked her to set up. They are planning, as part of the country-wide initiative, a special “Evening of 1000 Dinners” to focus on the landmine issue. The Niagara event will be at Club Roma on March 31 and the guest speaker will be Scott Fairweather, the founder, President and CEO of the Canadian Landmine Foundation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Rick Merritt

Pat Rooney is holding Program Committee meeting On Monday January 22 at Rodman Hall at 5pm.

World Community Service Committee – Wednesday January 24, 5:15 pm at Sullivan Mahoney boardroom.

Rib Fest Committee – Tuesday January 30 at 5 pm at Rodman Hall

Prez Rick announced that the Valentines Day meeting on Thursday February 15 th would be moved to the evening for a dinner at the Golf Club, with entertainment by Brock University.

He also announced that the District is organizing a Katrina Relief project in Mississippi. They are looking for working volunteers, who can pay their own way and do hands-on relief work, likely in April. Contact Rick or Joyce Western

There is a Group Study Exchange likely coming our way from East Africa, including an airline management executive, a hydro engineer, a university teacher, an architect and a health management professional. Update to come.

Rick also read us a thank you letter from Nick deLucco, a student at Brock, who had just received our Ted Lancaster bursary.

HAPPY DOLLARS

Terry Wilkes

Were solicited by Terry Wilkes who appeared in formal attire, just for the occasion. He told a suitably proper joke and in spite of the meager pickings, was eloquent and entertaining in managing the process.

John Snowling pointed out that we are now the #2 club in District 7090, with a membership roster of 150.

Dave Stevenson noted that he hoped that it was not the case that the suit that Terry Wilkes was currently wearing was “on loan” from George Darte.

Graham Kennedy noted that all was not intensive prayer and seriousness at his church and that, to prove it, he was now offering “Fire and Sex” meetings on a regular basis.

George Park finally managed to get a word in and was very happy because he had just picked up the keys to his new house.

50/50 Draw: Rick Evans drew the Ace of diamonds and missed out on $1,236.95. The suspense continues.

PROGRAM

Ted Usick

Ted Usick introduced Ray Bukovec, indicating how proud he was to be a part of a club with members like Ray Bukovec.

Ray told us a deeply moving story about his early life as he escaped from Slovenia to Canada, following the end of WW2.

He talked about the terrible events that followed the end of hostilities as he watched the defeated German army and sympathizers retreat from Ljubljana to Austria, only to be sent back by the British 8 th Army. There were 12, 000 soldiers and 6,000 civilians. Just about all of the soldiers were murdered by partisans upon their return. Ray said that the British Parliament is now considering an apology for this disaster.

Ray credits the actions of a Canadian officer, Major Paul Barre of Montreal with saving the 6,000 civilians, but in an act of historical irony, the Major was demoted when he returned home, in stark contrast to the celebrity of a later Canadian soldier who distinguished himself in Srebrenica.

Ray said that in this settling of accounts, 10% of the population was eliminated.

Ray Bukovec

Ray told us about the years 1945-48, when he lived with his mother and stepfather, who owned a large ornamental steel and construction business. Ray was somewhat insulated from their eventual tragedy because his surname was different. In 1948 the Yugoslav government nationalized the family business and looted their apartment. He never saw his stepbrothers again. At that time, at age, 15 Ray went to work in a bowling alley to support his family and worked there for 3 years, before they moved first to Tirana, where Ray learned to be an electronics technician. In 1955 they escaped to Trieste, in Italy, where they began their life as refugees, living in deplorable conditions, living in stables with little or no food or medical attention. The next year, they were almost ready to leave for Canada, when they were “bumped” by refugees from the Hungarian uprising. They lost their booking on a ship named the Andrea Doria, and as a result saved their own lives. They eventually arrived in Canada in November 1957, and were greeted by some ladies in uniform, who gave them $5 cash, which seemed like an incredibly confusing gift to someone who was used to paying 5000 units (lira or dinars) for a loaf of bread.

When arrived in St. Catharines they had great difficulty with the language, especially the Scots. Ray is very proud of the great discipline and commitment that all Slovenian immigrants and refugees have made in Canada, pointing out that you will not likely find a Slovenian in jail or on welfare.

Bill Cole thanked Ray for telling us his story and noted that it was unlikely that Ray would ever go to hell, because he had already been there.

Ray Bukovec and President Rick Merritt

ROTARY MOMENT

Rick related our membership stats, echoing John Snowling’s comment about our #2 status in the District.

Total Club Membership – 150, up from 139 in January 2006.

125 male, 25 female and, get this, 2 of them are under 30!

The average age of our club is 55. The men average 56 and the women average 51, but it was quickly noted by several of the aged men, that the women are probably lying about this.

NEXT WEEK: Robbie Burns Day

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