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September sailed by....

We had 3 interesting speakers this September.

We caught up on Zoom with our former exchange Student Muki who returned home to Vienna, heard from Gloria, one of our newer members as she presented her "Who's Who" chat, and Mike treated us to a a presentation about his most recent sailing adventures.

Rob thanks Gloria for her presentation. (photo by Gabor Gasztonyi)

Mike presents to a full house.

Bevies & Bites 2025

Club Citation 2023-2024

Thank you to all of our members and friends of Rotary who helped our club achieve our goals!

Past Co-Presidents Gaby Gasztonyi & Louise Perry.

Congratulations! Your club has earned the Rotary Citation, the most significant award a Rotary club can achieve, for 2023-24. This past year, your club demonstrated a commitment to achieve its goals, which ultimately helps strengthen Rotary and shape our future.

Sincerely,
Gordon R. McInally
2023-24 RI President

Who's who?

We love learning about our members.

Rick Folka presented his Who's who (member classification talk) at our meeting this week.

He has an impressive resume in the accounting field.

Fraser III is ready to serve!

During Covid we held an online Pet Show fundraiser called Power of Pets. The funds we raised were donated to Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS) so we were a naming sponsor for a puppy.

We are delighted to announce that

Fabulous Fraser III has got a job!

He passed his pre-placement testing and has been matched with a client. Fraser has been supported by an incredible village whose dedication deserves equal recognition:

School of Origin: Brigadoon Service Dogs

Puppy-Raiser: Cynthia Hlynski

Advanced Sitter: Marley McGonigle

Naming Sponsor: Rotary in New Westminster

Friendship and Fun!

We had a wonderful summer social hosted by our generous members Rick & Maxine. Beautiful weather, delicious food with great company! Yes, Rotarians do have fun.

A new Rotary year, a new President

Members gathered together, to say thank you to our outgoing presidents Gabor Gasztonyi & Louise Perry and welcomed our newest President, Jaimie McEvoy. He was installed by Bob Crawford along with the board of directors for 2024-2025.

The theme is The Magic of Rotary. We look forward to a wonderful year under the leadership of Jaimie.

Meet our newest member!

We were so pleased to have our District Governor Drew Antrobus and member, Past District Governor John Berry welcome our newest member Vick Vashisht.

We look forward to having him serve our community with us!

Photo courtesy of Gabor Gasztonyi

Goodbye Muki

We recently said goodbye to our outstanding Youth Exchange Student, Muki.

Thank you to all the host families and councillors that supported him. This wonderful program can't happen without you!

He has arrived safely home with his family in Vienna. All smiles!

Supporting our Community

We recently made a donation to Honour House Society to replace the mattresses to ensure the first responders, military personnel and their families have a comfortable night's sleep during their stay at Honour House.

Since it opened in 2010 Honour House Societyhas provided over fourteen thousand night stays for our heroes in uniform, free of charge.

Co-President Gabor Gasztonyi presents Curt Appleby with our cheque.

Rotary Scholarships & Bursaries

With the upcoming graduation season, we congratulate and celebrate the youth in our community who have worked hard and will be recognized with a scholarship or bursary.

The Rotary Clubs in New Westminster are proud to support the many outstanding students with one of our Rotary scholarships and bursaries.

“We acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.”

Japanese Cultural Conversations

We enjoyed a terrific presentation this week from Mari Kato and three Japanese students from Focus Education Services.

It's golf season!

We are seeking sponsors, prize donors and golfers for our annual Pot of Gold Golf Tournament on July 16th.

It's a great way to enjoy the day with friends, business contacts or make some new ones!

A few throw back photos from past years. Join us! Hope to see you at Mayfair Lakes!

https://www.rotarypotofgoldgolf.com

Highlighting Youth

Our meeting this week showcased 2 of the youth programs that our club supports. We had an inspiring presentation from Aiden, the recipient of The Grasby Family Bursary and celebrated 2 birthdays. Our exchange student Muki & our guest Sue. We were delighted to have Sue & Earl representing the Grasby family join us.

Annacis Water Tunnel Project

Rotarian Rick thanks Jeni, Regan & Serena from Metro Vancouver for their informative presentation about the Annacis Water Supply Tunnel project. Interesting speakers is just one reason to get involved with Rotary!

photo courtesy of Gabor Gasztonyi

Thank you!

Our 4th annual Bevies & Bites was a terrific success! We welcomed 300 guests and together we raised $15,000. Thank you to everyone who participated! A big shout out to our bevies and bites donors and our presenting sponsors!

Members' trip to Uganda

Several members and spouses travelled to Uganda in January to visit some of our international partners and projects including the Uganda Hearing Centre in memory of our member Dr. Irwin Stewart.

This project was executed in partnership with Makerere University Hospital & Hear His Voice Uganda. The project is pioneering an early intervention program for deaf & hard of hearing children, diagnosis & treatment of children with hearing loss, promoting advocacy for the welfare of deaf children as well as creating awareness for abilities & needs of children with hearing loss.

It received funding from our Rotary Foundation Global Grant program.

They returned and shared a wonderful presentation to our club members and guests. This is just one of the many ways our club and members Create Hope in the World.

More helping hands!

Welcome to our newest member James! Assistant District Governor Ron was on hand to induct him.

Thank you to Rick for introducing him to our Rotary.

It's a happy new year!

What makes a great meeting? Welcoming our newest member Gloria and presenting another Paul Harris Fellow level award to Gerda!

And of course fellowship among friends!

A Canadian Christmas for Muki

Muki, our youth exchange student from Austria, enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with the Stewart families.

He enjoyed the food, games and received some gifts!

Closing out 2023

At our final meeting for the year we held our Annual General Meetings and presented a membership plaque to Sheila Kirk.

We also took the opportunity to thank the Garth, the owner at Boston Pizza and his team for providing us with a great space and service during our club meetings.

Christmas Light Bus Tour

Several members along with their guests enjoyed a Christmas Light Bus Tour to check out some beautiful light displays in the Tri-Cities area.

Thanks to the Transit Museum Society for the comfortable ride!

Ringing the bells!

Several members including our President Gaby and our newest member Rick volunteered to ring the bells supporting the Salvation Army.

2 new Paul Harris Fellows

Our Foundation Chair Jeremy, presented John and Nancy Milne with a Paul Harris Fellow at our Christmas dinner

for their generous support of the Rotary Foundation and community service.

photo courtesy of Gabor Gasztonyi

Rotary Mingle & Jingle

Our Interact, Rotaract & Rotary Clubs partnered up to spread JOY to seniors in our community.

With the help of the Rainbow Chorus Choir, we brought the gift of music with cards and delivered reindeer bags to many delighted seniors to brighten their holiday season.

It was a terrific day with youth and seniors!

We are awesome!

We had a great club meeting to end November which is Rotary Foundation Month.

Our Immediate Past District Governor John Berry presented our club with several certificates including a MAJOR DONOR LEVEL 4 for total giving for the 2022/2023 Rotary Year.

Our members are very generous supporters of our Rotary Foundation making sure we continue to Create Hope in the World.

Our District Governor Visits!

Our District Governor Shirley-Pat Gale visited our club to deliver a very inspirational message.

She also had the pleasure of inducting our newest member Rick Folka who was introduced to Rotary by Mike Crean.

And our Past District Governor John Berry was on hand to thank Shirley-Pat

Interested in community service and opportunities to learn leadership skills? We are always seeking more helping hands to help us continue our good work in the local and international communities.

We also exchanged club banners with a visiting Rotarian, Adrian joining us from the South Tyler Rotary Club, Texas.

Rotary Youth Exchange Program

It takes a village to raise a child, or in our case continue to participate in The Rotary Youth Exchange Student Program. We are so fortunate to have partners such as the Royal City and Burnaby Metrotown Clubs who share the financial and host family obligations with us. We enjoyed a wonderful presentation from Muki about his home country Austria and his family.

Photos courtesy of our Co- President Gabor Gasztonyi

Lest we forget

Lest we forget

Several members and friends of Rotary volunteered as poppy taggers for New Westminster Legion Branch 2.

Thank you to our volunteers and the folks that stopped by with donations.

Food Security

One of the ways we support our community is to provide volunteers and financial support to @dontgohungryfoodprogram

Happy Halloween

Muki celebrated a Canadian Halloween with his counsellor Rob.

World Polio Day

Hiking with Muki

Our exchange student Muki from Austria enjoyed a hike with Dave.

Members are our greatest asset

A big turnout at our evening meeting tonight. We always enjoy new member classification talks. Tonight we heard from Bijoy and Neha. Chu thanked them and presented our Four Way Test coin.

Guests are welcome!

A reason to join Rotary!

One of the many reasons to join Rotary is the meetings! We have visitors from other clubs and countries stop in and share their stories and have presentations from other community groups! This week we heard from Sarah from the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce and exchange club flags with Sunil from India.

Guests are alway welcome! Check out our meeting schedule.

Save this Date!

Falling back to Rotary

We are back after our reduced Summer schedule.

We enjoyed exchanging club banners with Rotarian Clayton Lam who visited from Rotary Club of Hong Kong South and had a terrific presentation from Steve Rutledge sharing the Adopt a Village in Laos project.

Learn more at

https://aavil.org

Meet Muki!

We welcomed our new Exchange Student Muki, from Austria at our Summer Picnic at Queen's Park. We look forward to a terrific year hosting him.

Thank you to our host families! We can't do it without you!

Dr. Irwin Stewart Rotary Memorial Hearing Centre

The Rotary Club of New Westminster in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Kololo in Kampala, Uganda, are currently implementing a teaching program at the Dr Irwin Stewart Rotary Memorial Hearing Centre in Kampala, Uganda. The clinic and programs are operated and administered by our partner, Hear His Voice Uganda. Currently a Vocational Training Team consisting of a speech therapist, Rosie Gardner from Dublin Ireland, and an Audiologist Selma Karsan of Vancouver, are in Uganda training staff and clinicians and working with hearing impaired children to build resources and skills for the hearing disabled community of Uganda. The program will last three weeks and has been very well received and supported thanks to this very effective partnership.

Supporting our Seniors

Our club members work hard to raise funds and were delighted to share some of it with the vulnerable seniors in our community.

We recently provided funding to the Seniors Services Society to purchase fans for distribution to seniors in our community to help keep them cool during the hot temperatures.

We appreciate all the ways SSS supports our seniors.

Learn more about them at http://www.seniorsservicessociety.ca

Fellowship, food and fun!

Perfect weather for a lovely evening of fellowship.

Thank you to our generous members Rick and Maxine for hosting.

See you next year!

Thank you to our generous sponsors, golfers and volunteers for making our 27th Annual Pot of Gold Golf Tournament a great success last week at Mayfair Lakes!

Our beneficiaries appreciate it so much.

And thank you to Gabor Gasztonyi for capturing these stellar images.

And will it be FUN?

One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a member of your local Rotary Club is making new friends!

Several members gathered together for a sushi making class with Rotarian Ron Suzuki (Vancouver Sunrise Club)

A new Rotary year!

Our first meeting for the CREATE HOPE in the WORLD theme chosen by Rotary International President Gordon McInally.

Co-Presidents Gabor Gasztonyi and Louise Perry are looking forward to another great year for our club!

Thank you to our outgoing DG and Club President!

At our Installation event we said a BIG Congratulations and thank you for their service to our member/District Governor John Berry, his wife Pat, Club President Laurie Stewart and her husband Jamie for their terrific leadership and support in the Rotary Year 2022/2023.

2 more sets of Helping Hands!

Our President Laurie and District Governor John welcome our two newest members!

We look forward to serving with Neha and Bijoy!

May is Youth Service Month

Congratulations to the Youth Committee of both Rotary Clubs in New Westminster who received The Adult Ally Award at The New Westminster Youth Awards last night. This award recognizes an adult mentor or service club who provides support and services to youth.

3 members of the youth committee attended the event.

Supporting youth in our community is a top priority for our clubs!

Photo courtesy of Natalia Botero. nataliaboterophotographer@gmail.com

District 5040 Conference

Several members and guests gathered at our District 5040 Conference in Vancouver. The theme was Connecting Clubs with Communities.

We we inspired by many wonderful keynote speakers and heard about some terrific projects happening in our district.

There was some terrific entertainment throughout the weekend as well.

Congratulations to Nancy Eidsvik who received a District Governor Award from DG John Berry and Louise Perry who was recognized as Rotarian of the Year!

Special thanks to the Rotary Rabbit (Bunny) who kept us all on time!

And finally a big thank you to our photographer Gabor Gasztonyi!

International Project in Arua

Rotary Arua Prison Mattress Project - District Grant # 2341394

In an effort to ensure that prisoners in Arua have a more dignified stay, we partnered with the Arua Rotary Club to purchase 300 mattresses and covers. This will allow those who are incarcerated to no longer sleep on the floor, and provide a small modicum of dignity during their stay in the facility.

Meet Miss New Westminster 2023

The Rotary Clubs in New Westminster are proud supporters of the Hyack Ambassador Program.

We are delighted that Miss Rotary, Jadyn Gibson was awarded the title of Miss New Westminster 2023!

We congratulate Jadyn and the other candidates and wish them a terrific year representing their city.

Event photos by Lydia Nagai Photography.

Member Classification

A great member classification from Rob Stewart at this evening's meeting.

John Berry thanks him and presents our Rotary Coin with the 4 Way Test.

A visit to the RC of Ladner

Our member Nancy Eidsvik stopped in at the RC of Ladner.

She is holding the Rotarian of the Year Banner with Past President, Denis Denischuk and Peter Roaf.

Nancy received this special recognition in 2010-2011.

The banner is on the way to the upcoming District 5040 Conference where another Rotarian will receive this honour.

Club Offsite Meeting

Club members had a meeting offsite at Massey Theatre to hear what is new and upcoming at this City of New Westminster Venue.

We had a presentation and a tour from the Executive Director, Jessica Schneider and enjoyed a light lunch from Green's & Beans Deli.

Another set of helping hands!

District Governor John Berry, and Nancy Eidsvik welcome our newest member Krista Ediger to the club!

Youth Exchange Student enjoying Whistler

Our exchange student from Sweden had a terrific time up at Whistler Blackcomb!

Our club co-sponsors an exchange student with the Royal City Rotary Club.

Meet Jadyn Gibson, Miss Rotary

We are proud to sponsor Miss Jadyn Gibson. She was escorted into the recent President's Tea by Alan Wardle, a Past President of the Hyack Festival Association.

Photo credit: Paul Fuoco

Over $15,000 raised at Bevies & Bites!

Welcoming New Members!

Scholarship & Bursary Program

Our members are very proud of the extensive scholarship and bursary program we provide to students graduating from New Westminster Secondary School.

On behalf or the clubOur President - Elect Gabor Gasztonyi accepted a certificate from MP Janet Routledge.

With thanks, we acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia to provide this program.

Ring the bells....

Several members supported the Annual Salvation Army Kettle Campaign again this year.

A great opportunity to serve our community while sharing fellowship.

Christmas Cheer at Rotary Tower

Members of the Rotary, Rotaract and Interact Clubs of New Westminster joined together to decorate our Rotary Seniors Tower and sing some carols.

Christmas celebrations

Members and their guests gathered for some Christmas cheer.

A lovely evening!

Youth Exchange Student adventures

Our youth exchange student from Sweden is enjoying the outdoors with her host family and friends. Playing in the snow at Dog Mountain.

RC Legion Poppy Campaign

Thank you to the members and friends of Rotary that volunteered as poppy taggers in the community supporting the New Westminster Royal Canadian Legion.

Youth Exchange Student meets Fin!

Our exchange student and members of the morning club met Fin the Mascot for the Canucks at the New Westminster Firefighter's Charitable Society/Canucks Alumni Hockey game this past weekend.

She is the one that got away!

Meet Rick Carswell

Member classifications make wonderful programs.

We recently heard from Rick Carswell.

We learned that not only does Rick have a degree in classical music and an accomplished career in banking he also ran his own business in making finely crafted furniture AND he has played in several symphonies, including the Russian Circus. Rick plays the trombone, the piano and the cello and he can read Treble, Bass, Alto, and Tenor clef music (which is not common).

Rick is a very active member of our club, volunteering regularly at Don't Go Hungry Food Support and hosting a social for our members.

Trick or Treat

Interact, Rotaract and Rotary Clubs joined forces to decorate our Rotary Tower for Halloween.

PDG David Kirk passes away

With sadness we share this news.

Our honorary member and Past District Governor David Kirk passed away recently.

Dave joined our club in May 1982, was President in 1990-1991 and served as District Governor in 2000-2001.

Our thoughts are with his wife Sheila and their family at this time.

We will remember Dave for his contributions as a Rotarian and to the community.

Rest in Peace Dave.

Qayqayt First Nation

In the spirit of peace and reconciliation we donated these special memorial markers that were unveiled at St. Peter’s Cemetery.

The resting place of Chief Rhonda Larrabee’s

Ancestors are now recognized.

We are grateful to be included in this emotional ceremony.

Also we thank Stewart Monumental, Kearney Funeral Services and St. Peter’s Cemetery for their generous support.

Partnership with Don't Go Hungry

Members our our local Rotary and Rotaract Clubs were delighted to present $10,000 to the hard working folks at the Don’t Go Hungry Food Support Program.

We raised these funds at our Bevies & Bites Fundraiser.

Thank you to all the volunteers that donate their time to help out every Saturday, including several of our members!

To learn more:

https://www.dontgohungry.ca

We're back!

It was terrific to have so many members and guests back after the reduced summer schedule.

Our member James Wise thanks Yuri Larsson for her presentation about the New West Hospice Society.

We recently donated some much needed funds to support the services they provide in our community.

Photo courtesy of Gabor Gasztonyi

August is Membership Month

August is membership month. We celebrate our members and invite others.
Graphic courtesy of Rotarian and graphic designer Debbie Vance

Westminster House Presentation

Throwback to last week's meeting. We had a presentation from the folks at Westminster House they offer addiction recovery services for youth girls, adult women and their families delivered both residentially and virtually.We are delighted to support their good work and donated funds to assist with a renovation. For more information about their impact in our community please see https://www.westminsterhouse.ca

Photo courtesy of Gabor Gasztonyi

POG Golf 2022

A beautiful day at Mayfair Lakes for the Rotary Club of New Westminster and Royal City Rotary 26th Annual Pot of Gold Charity Golf tournament.

Thank you to our sponsors, golfers, prize donors and VOLUNTEERS!

Here are a few terrific photos courtesy of Gabor Gasztonyi.

Hope to see you again next year!

It's a new Rotary Year!

We say thank you to our outgoing President Mike Crean for a terrific year and look forward to an exciting year with President Laurie Stewart as our new enthusiatic leader!

We can only imagine how exciting 2022-2023 is going to be!

Thank you to our Rotarians, families and friends of Rotary for the support!

Another beautiful Rotary graphic courtesty of Debbie Vance

Welcoming our new District 5040 DG

We had a wonderful District 5040 Installation Dinner last night.

Thank you to our outgoing District Governor Lorne for his great leadership this past year and Congratulations to our member John Berry as he takes on the role of District Governor!

Here are a few of the terrific photos courtesy Gabor Gasztonyi

Supporting those that need us!

Today at our meeting our President Mike Crean made a presentation to George McAffer from the Volunteer Cancer Drivers Program.

To learn more about this great organization please go to their website.

https://www.volunteercancerdrivers.ca

International Convention 2022

Our member, District Governor Elect John Berry, accompanied by his wife Pat attended the Rotary International Convention in Houston this week.

He is getting ready for the new Rotary Year!

Road trip!

We took our club meeting on the road today. Our President Mike arranged at tour of the Powerwood Cedar Plant in Agassiz then a delicious lunch at The Black Forest Restaurant owned and operated by our member Sunny Manihani.

Mayor Leo Facio stopped in to welcome us.

Rotary District 5040 Conference 2022

President Mike Crean, and several members and guests attended the District 5040 Conference in Prince George.

It sure looks like they had a great time!

Spring Gardening at Rotary Tower

Several members of our Rotary and Interact Clubs did a spring clean up at the gardens at our seniors' low income housing building -Rotary Tower.

Another set of helping hands!

Past District Governor Del Paterson was all smiles at our meeting as he welcomed our newest Rotarian, Robert Stewart!

We are Proud Rotarians!

Our meeting this week was outdoors at Queen's Park checking out some of our past legacy projects with the City of New Westminster. Our Rotary Club has been serving the community since 1928!