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SPEAKER: Leslee Lucy – President of the Rotary Club of Merritt, BC. 
Leslee Lucy, joined the Merritt BC Rotary Club 4 years ago and become Secretary, VP and then President. The Club has been in existence for more than50 year and their presence is felt all over town. Many donations to the community over the years. The fires this summer were bad, mainly in the mountains, but the absence of trees laid the foundation for the devastating floods in November 2021. 400 homes were destroyed. The entire town was evacuated for three weeks. There was no loss of life in town, but a lady did die on the outskirts of town. There was, however, many pets and animals lost. Homes were actually split in have as the floods descended on the town when the dikes broke. 
The United Way and Red Cross were excellent first responders. Many people wanted to make donations from all over and the town asked the Rotary Club of 14 members to help. They decided that they could help . The Rotary club set up donor account in the credit union since they were a registered charity. They set up a process to receive money and hand out the money too. Their goal was $100,000. So far they have raised $800,000. Disaster Aid Canada and Pharmasave were just two of the organizations that matched donated funds. And not done yet. They have given $2,000 to each of the 400 home owners who lost their homes. They are now working n Phase 2, a process to hand out funds to those who need it the most (those with no insurance, etc). The Rotary name made this possible. The entire community of Rotary, right across Canada , including our Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood, made donations. Leslee thanked our Rotary Club for our donation. There have been 500 different donors, each receiving a receipt and the 400 home owners all received cheques - -all done by two Rotary Treasurers. They already have two new members. There are still 900 people homeless who are located 1.5 to 2 hours away (Kamloops, Kelwona, and Salmon Arm). Three of the four schools were also destroyed. There is going to be a huge fundraiser to help the 4 communities in the BC interior hardest hit and Merritt is one of the 4. Here is a link to the fundraiser on March 13 called “Hell or High Water” Concert and Telethon Fundraiser in aid of the BC Forest Fire and Flood Relief Fund. https://hellorhighwater.ca/ 
British Columbia communities, villages and people affected by the fires and floods of 2021 have endured terrible loses and heartache. The “Brothers of Tourism” at EH Canada Travel, Kenny Hess (Founder of Rockin’ River Music Festival), the Citxw Nlaka’pamux Assembly representing the Nooaitch, Coldwater, Shackan, and Cook’s Ferry Indian Bands, Tourism Nicola Valley, Experience Nicola Valley and the Rotary Club of Merritt are all proud to step up and present the “Hell or High Water Fundraiser”. Hell or High Water is an all out two-for-one 12 hour online fundraiser consisting of a live streaming telethon with musical performances, messages, vignettes, videos from dignitaries, locals and musicians, as well as, a live concert from the Clarke Foundation Theatre in Mission, BC, Canada. All in an effort to raise money for the people of the fire and flood ravaged communities of Merritt, Lytton, Princeton and Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, as well as, the surrounding First Nation communities. Musicians, celebrities, dignitaries, media, corporations, companies, and people just like you and us are all coming together to raise money for our friends in trouble in British Columbia, Canada. We are accepting donations now, prior to our fundraiser. Donate today, so you can enjoy the show. It promises to be an event filled with music, special guests, entertainment, shout outs, personal messages, videos, live streaming, and, we hope, some much needed bloopers bringing smiles to our faces when we could really use some. You can even donate today: https://hellorhighwater.ca/donate/ Here is a link to the Rotary Club of Merritt BC website: https://www.rotarymerritt.com/ Sue MacKinnon thanked Leslee for her inspirational talk to our club. Meeting adjourned Approx 7:50 pm UPCOMING MEETINGS: FEB 1- Regular Weekly Meeting – ZOOM MEETING 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM FEB 8- Regular Weekly Meeting – ZOOM MEETING 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM FEB 15- Regular Weekly Meeting – ZOOM MEETING 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM FEB 22 – BACK AT THE OSHAWA GOLF CLUB STARTING AT 6:30 PM – Be sure to tell Hilda your menu choice by Feb 20 MORE ROTARY INFORMATION: OUR REGULAR WEEKLY MEETINGS STILL ON ZOOM AND WILL NOT BE AT THE OSHAWA GOLF CLUB UNTIL FEBRUARY 22. FEB 1 , 8 and 15- Regular Weekly Meetings – ZOOM MEETINGS - 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM . Thank You to Eric Guernsey at Durham Workforce Authority for hosting Zoom Meeting. Click to Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82525576783?pwd=NkV2eE9PZEpTTnJoQ2J4MUp4YUtpdz09 Meeting ID: 825 2557 6783 Passcode: 118812 Dial by your location +1 778 907 2071 Canada +1 204 272 7920 Canada +1 438 809 7799 Canada +1 587 328 1099 Canada +1 647 374 4685 Canada +1 647 558 0588 Canada Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbrn4No8ir FEB 9, 16 & 23 – Rotary Leadership Institute – (3 nights) 6 to 8 pm - Part ONE – Spring 2022 - Join us for an engaging session to learn and grow your knowledge of Rotary. RLI is a three part course and each part consists of three 2 hour sessions. When registering here for session # 1, you are registering for all three sessions. Register here: https://rotary7070.org/event/rli---part-1---spring/ FEB 17 – District 7070 New members Zoom Session- We are excited to connect! Get to know Rotary and other Rotarians in District 7070. Join for the third membership session of the 2021/2022 Rotary year. Register right here: https://rotary7070.org/event/membership---new-members---session-3/ FEB 22 – BACK AT THE OSHAWA GOLF CLUB STARUNG AT 6:30 PM – Be sure to tell Hilda your menu choice by Feb 20 FEB 23 – ROTARY'S BIRTHDAY AND WORLD ROTARY DAY FEB 23 – 8 PM - VIRTUAL GALA AND FUNDRAISER FOR THE ROTARY FOUNDATION - Join our hosts, Rotary International Vice President Valarie Wafer, and Rotary Foundation Trustee, Dean Rohrs, for our Fundraising Gala on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, at 8:00 pm ET. Special guests include RI President-Elect Jennifer Jones, Director-Elect Drew Kessler, and our MC for the evening, Past-Director Jeffry Cadorette. This 90-minute, fast-paced event celebrates the work by every Rotarian in the 43 Districts of Zones 28 & 32 to support and raise funds for The Rotary Foundation. It is simple for your District to participate. Tickets to the virtual event are available by following the link on the Zone website or clicking this link to Buy Gala Admission Tickets. Each Gala ticket includes a contribution of $100 USD to The Rotary Foundation, allocated 75% to the Annual Fund and 25% to PolioPlus. Your gift will be a fully credited donation to TRF - and you will receive a charitable tax receipt, and related Paul Harris Fellowship points. Plus, each donation is credited towards your District's Foundation Goals. OUR REGULAR WEEKLY ZOOM MEETING LINK: Topic: Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood Weekly Meetings on ZOOM, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE Time: 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Click to Join Zoom Meeting Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82525576783?pwd=NkV2eE9PZEpTTnJoQ2J4MUp4YUtpdz09 Meeting ID: 825 2557 6783 Passcode: 118812 Dial by your location +1 778 907 2071 Canada +1 204 272 7920 Canada +1 438 809 7799 Canada +1 587 328 1099 Canada +1 647 374 4685 Canada +1 647 558 0588 Canada Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbrn4No8ir IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT, MAKE UP: Go online at www.rotary.org go to the club locator and find a club or clubs near your destination. Or you can add the free App Rotary Club Locator to your phone for instant look up of any club in the world. Please mail or fax your make-ups to Secretary Robbie Larocque, or give your make-up card to the attendance/registration officer at the next club meeting.
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