Rotary Club of Sackville Bulletin October 27, 2016

 

Chairman John began a story of his father flying over Sicily in a bombing mission in 1943 when his B52 was brought down into the sea and he escaped in a lifeboat.  They headed for land only to be captured by Italians and sent to Rome where they got to live in style in a palace.  But when Germans took over from the Italians matters change drastically and the prisoners were sent to Stalag 17 in Poland where . . . (at this point the 2 minute bell rang;  for the rest of the story wait till the next time John is in the chair).

 

 

Guests:   Peter Lerette and his wife Marilyn who collected winnings of $1,141.00 in this week’s Gold Mine Draw. 

 

Pin Pal Story :  Susan F back from their trip to Croatia noted that at Zagreb airport there was a box for people to donate their loose change (Croatia is not on the euro); the box had a Rotary sticker on it.

 

 

50-50 Draw : Dale’s number was drawn but he failed to pick the Nine of Clubs.  For next week the pot will be at $150+.

 

Happy Dollars:  Charlie and Jean celebrated an anniversary on Tuesday, one with a zero on the end – their 60^th.   Ove reported that Pat is in Edmonton looking after a 5-year old and a 2-year old; challenging but enjoyable.   Wayne and Sandy will be at 7 shows in the next 6 weeks, starting at Dartmouth (a happy dollar ?).   Susan thanked John for organizing the bowling party with Rotaract last night; she was also happy with their trip to Croatia – a fascinating country with lots of history (also involved was driving through mountain tunnels).   Dale was glad he sold his trailer; this involved a visit to Bathurst where he met an old friend on the golf course.  As a PSA he mentioned his participation in the volunteer income tax program which helps low income families and seniors with their returns; more volunteers are needed.  John was happy to meet Joyce’s grandson Jonathan at the bowling event; he also put in an extra dollar to help make up for the fact that Wynn is away.

 

 

Next week:  Chair: David,  Greeter: Wayne.  Charlie reminded everyone of the IN-HOUSE AUCTION IN AID OF THE ROTARY FOUNDATION next week, 3 November. Come and bring a guest !  It would be appreciated if those who are donating items to the auction would bring them in good time before the meeting.  Payment will be by cash or cheque.  Over 40 items have been donated and there are some outstanding items.  On display was the jewelry from Portugal donated by Pam. 

 

Gold Mine Draw:  Susan F circulated a sign-up sheet for helping with the Gold Mine Draw in 2017.  Every member is asked to take a turn.

 

 

President’s Time :   Josh commented on the success of the joint meeting with the Port Elgin club last week.  He also expressed thanks to John for last night’s bowling event, and to David and Susan for their work with Rotaract.  There were more Rotaract students at the bowling than Rotarians, and they were more than happy to take away the extra pizza with them.

 

Speaker:  Wayne introduced Mark Murray, Sales and Marketing Manager for Enbridge N.B. (assisted in his presentation by Account Manager Mark Lanteigne) who spoke on “Natural Gas and the Next Energy Economy.”   He began as Enbridge employees do with a “safety moment” – in this case the need for winter tires for safe driving.  Natural gas is widely used in N.B. – in universities, schools, hospitals as well as homes.   It is, Mark claimed, safe, clean, reliable, versatile and less expensive than oil or electricity.  It is the ideal transition fuel in the coming shift from non-renewable to renewable energy.  Enbridge is now heavily involved with renewable energy – wind, solar and geo-thermal – and will be investing $44 billion in this in the next 3 years. 

 

 

Much was also made of Enbridge’s “Neutral Footprint” -  “We will plant a tree for every tree we remove to build new facilities”;  “We will conserve an acre of land for every acre of wilderness we permanently impact”;  “We will generate a kilowatt of renewable energy for every kilowatt our operations consume.”  Mark responded to a series of questions.  A halt was called 5 years ago to laying further pipelines in residential areas since this can only be done if the operation is to be profitable.  The industry is regulated by government, and the current franchise agreement will expire in 2019.  Enbridge supports a carbon tax and believes that in the long run it will create more jobs.

 

 

The speaker was thanked by Wayne for an interesting and informative talk.

 

The meeting closed with the Four-Way Test.