Wayne was in the chair and extended a special welcome to Wynn. He then gave a long list of what Happened On This Date In History, including Rudolph Hess’ flight to England on 10 May 1941 (fake news: he flew to SCOTLAND).

 

 

50-50 Draw:  George drew a Spade but not the Queen, so the pot of $46 carries forward to next week.

 

 

Paul Harris Fellow:  As a follow-up to the Paul Harris Evening two weeks ago, Pam presented Jamie for recognition as a Paul Harris Fellow, highlighting especially the great work he has done as chair of the Fund-Raising Committee and for the Gold Mine Draw. David made the presentation.

 

Visiting Rotarians: Chris Nagle from the Moncton (Sleepy Hollow) club, another lawyer, who is taking courses at Mount A.  We hope he will become a regular visitor to the club.  Sharon from South Lake County Club, Florida.

 

 

Gold Mine Presentation:  Susan Lafford was on hand to receive from David a Gold Mine cheque for $621.50 on behalf of Tantramar Regional High School. In expressing her thanks, she drew attention to the Learning Centre at the School, and to the new Virtual Co-Op Placement program.

 

 

Presentations: Everybody likes people who come home from a trip with presents for their friends. Pam brought back from Portugal a signed book of poetry and art work for Charlie, a calendar for Jean, and a banner from the Silves Rotary Club for President John.

 

Happy Dollars: Wynn got home yesterday after a spell in hospital with a blocked artery; he has to take it easy and not drive.  It could have been a lot worse.  George remembers this day in history 10 May 1997 – the day he was hired by the Town of Sackville. He was also glad that his Port Elgin property was above water. Stacey was happy that her son was discharged from hospital.  Dianne was glad to be out in the garden yesterday, followed by a game of golf.  Bill feels for his daughter and partner near Fredericton Junction, who are suffering from the aftereffects of the flood. He’s having a wonderful time with a visiting grand-daughter.

 

 

PSA:   Bill drew attention to the annual Walk in the Park for Alzheimer’s on the afternoon of Sunday 27 May.

 

Next Week: 17 May 2018:   Club Assembly.  Greeter:  Wayne. Induction of Lesley.

 

 

Community Club:  Susan F reminded members that we need to be “Rotarians at Work”, serving in the community, not just fund-raising. Saturday 16 June will be the Salem School Send-Off when helpers will be needed.

 

 

Speaker:  Dianne introduced guest speaker Laura Bretherton, a marine biologist and Ph.D. Graduate of the University of Essex who is now a post-doctoral fellow doing research at Mount A in collaboration with Dr. Zoe Finkel.  Her subject: “Deepwater Horizon: What Happened to the Gulf of Mexico.”

 

The explosion on a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on 20 April 2010 triggered the largest oil spill in history. 11 people were killed, it took 80 days to plug the well, and 1000 kms of coastline were contaminated.  Losses to tourism and the fishery ran into the billions of dollars. Chemical dispersants were sprayed on the oil from planes, but the ecological impact of this is not fully understood.

 

 

Laura is part of a research group called ADDOMEX = Aggregation and Degradation of Dispersants and Oil by Microbial Exopolymers which is funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (independent of BP). They study phytoplankton which is vital to life in the ocean and which is affected by oil spills. Although Laura has worked in Texas, some of the research which involves mixing oil with sea water can be carried out in the lab here at Mount A.

 

The Gulf of Mexico has proved to be surprisingly resilient, although different areas are recovering at different rates. The research should help in learning how better to react to any similar future events.

 

 

Marita expressed the club’s thanks to the speaker for a most interesting talk, and the meeting closed with the Four Way Test.