Stories

Presentations from Young Leaders

Three young leaders gave presentations at our club on January 19th. Luke Mendonca and Kaleb Langton attended the Rotary Alberta Youth Entrepreneurship Camp at Eagle's Nest Ranch in the Cypress Hills in August and shared their experiences. They were two of 58 campers supported by 10 leaders and 24 volunteers who learned hands on about entrepreneurship. In teams, they developed business plans, got loans from teams of bankers, and created their products. At the conclusion of the Business Day, when families came to pick up their campers, all the loans were repaid with interest and fees. Each camper went home with $20 to $120 and some teams made donations to charity on top of that.

Eve Pigat attended the Zone Interact Convention sponsored by the Rotary Club of Calgary East in October. The four day convention was attended by over 50 Interact members from Districts across Canada and the United States. Speakers included Rotary leaders like RI Director Drew Kessler and RI Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Vice Chair Brian Rusch. Eve really enjoyed the program and meeting Interactors from across the Zone.

Community Kitchens

Rotarians from Calgary Easy teamed up with 7 other Calgary area Rotary Clubs to help replace the Community Kitchens delivery truck. The new truck was unveiled on December 19 and Rotarians from the clubs involved were present. Rotarians from all 8 clubs provide volunteers monthly to prepare food boxes for the Good Food Box program.

An Evening at Yuk Yuk's

Calgary East Rotary Club presents "An Evening at Yuk Yuk's" on December 1, 2022. Tickets for $20 are available on our website. Doors open at 6:30 and the show starts at 7:30.

Todd Ness has quickly become one of the top stand up comedians in Canada. He has headlined clubs across the country including Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Ottawa and seemingly everywhere in-between. His ability to deliver smart, funny and original material earned him a prestigious spot on Canada's largest comedy radio program, CBC's Laugh Out Loud. He has opened for some of the biggest names in comedy including Bryan Callen, Theo Von, Doug Stanhope and SNL’s Sasheer Zamata. He is also the winner of Yuk Yuk's 2014 funniest comedian competition which featured a starting roster of over 100 comedians.

Zone Interact Convention

Calgary East Rotary Club sponsored the Zone Interact Convention at The Calgary Plaza Hotel on Oct 20 - 23, 2022. The convention was two years in making due to delays due to COVID. It was attended by over 50 Interact members from Districts across Zones 28 and 32. Speakers included Rotary leaders like RI Director Drew Kessler, and Rotary Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Vice Chair Brian Rusch. There were awesome speakers and great programs developed by Rotaract members from Zones 28 and 32 many who were former Interact members. This first of its kind convention is a great platform to develop future Rotary leaders and the next convention is already being planned.

Iyethka Trading Co

Renette Kurz was our guest speaker on Oct 13. Renette teaches at the Morley Community School and leads the Entrepreneurial Academy. Grade 10 and 11 students volunteer in the school's Mini Thni Mini Mart where they sell clothing they helped create through the Iyethka Trading Co. The clothing icludes quality T-shirts and hoodies with unique logos designed by local artist Tyson Crawler. Calgary East Rotary members purchased the orange T-shirts being modelled from the Iyethka Trading Co.

New Blood Presentation

New Blood was presented at Arts Commons on September 30. It featured poetry, music, and contemporary and traditional dance. This powerful presentation was inspired by the life of Chief Vincent Yellow Old Woman, his experience as a child in a residential school, and how he reclaimed his way of life and became chief of his people. Calgary East Rotary provided volunteers ticket takers and ushers for the performance and provided sandwiches and drinks for the performers and attendees after the performance.

Day of Truth and Reconciliation

Volunteers from Calgary East Rotary and University of Calgary Rotaract manned the Rotary District's information booth at Princess Island during the celebration of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. Over 300 people joined in the Pokaiks Commemorative Walk to remember the children followed by traditional drumming and dancing performances, remarks from Indigenous community members and a reconciliation panel discussion. The Rotary and Rotaract volunteers encouraged attendees to write on a post-it note "What they will do for ReconciliAction" and got over one hundred responses. Great team effort!

Rotary Ribfest YYC

Volunteers from the Calgary East Rotary Club and from the Marlborough Community Association joined volunteers from five other Rotary and Rotaract clubs for Ribfest YYC. Three ribtruck crews provided the ribs and Rotary volunteers ran the beer garden and sold 50/50 tickets to raise funds for Rotary's causes. Live bands provided entertainment and the weather was great! The event was a huge success and will become an annual event.

Challenger Park Golf Tournament

Members from the Calgary East Rotary Club played in the Calgary Rotary Challenger Park golf tournament held at the Bearspaw Golf and Country Club. The annual event raised about $48,000 for the park this year and the total raised in 16 years is about $750,000. Calgary East Rotary is one of many sponsors for the golf tournament.

Thanks to the volunteers from the Calgary East Rotary Club who joined volunteers from other Rotary clubs for the Challenger Park fundraiser at Elbow River Casino on August 9 and 10.

Marlborough Community Clean Up

4 volunteers from the Calgary East Rotary Club joined volunteers from the Marlborough Community Association for the annual community clean up. A steady stream of community members dropped off garbage, yard waste, and metal and electronics recycling. This annual event helps keep the community clean.