Sergeant at Arms emeritus Reggie goes Undercover!

Image

Reggie acquired a new weapon in his role of Sergeant to keep order and punish wrong doers; Shades. Now if Reggie is eyeing you as a potential miscreant, you’ll never know it, until your fine money hits the cup.

 

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”

                                                                                                -Margaret Atwood

Meet your new Rotarians

 

This month: Rob Whitfield

 

I was born in the South West of England in the country of Cornwall. I have been married to Julie for 43 years and between us we have 3 sons, 1 daughter, 9 grandchildren and 3 great granddaughters.

 

We moved to Canada in January 1977 with Nestle, the Swiss food manufacturer. In 1980 Nestle moved me to Calgary to run the operation out west. In 1995 I left Nestle after 28 years and went into partnership in an auto business. In 2002 I went on my own and started up my current company, Mastergard Enterprises Inc., a company that is involved in the manufacturing, distribution, etc for our Mastergard M6000 Vehicle Immobilizer. To date we have over 500,000 immobilizers protecting vehicles from being stolen and we have not one report of a vehicle being stolen.

 

In 2009, Julie and I moved to the Montrose subdivision of High River. We did this because we liked what we know of High River and due to us having been members of the Highwood since 1986 (We are glad we moved out of the big city). Since moving to High River I have been heavily involved in our local church where I serve as an Elder.

 

 In September 2012 I transferred from the Rotary Club of Calgary Chinook, after 31 years, to High River.  During my time at the Chinook Club I served for 18 years on the club’s International Rotary Youth Exchange Committee, most of that time as a Chairperson. I have also served as a Director, VP and in 1996 as the club President. In August of 2013 I will have completed 10 great years on the District Youth Exchange Committee and at that time I will finish my involvement on the committee.

 

I am so pleased to be a member of the High River Rotary Club and I thank everyone or making me so welcomed.    

 

“Holding back is so close to stealing.”

                                                -Neil Young

 

CHILDREN OF ROTARY

 

Some of the best things we do is support education for children in poor areas of the World.

 

Nathaly is far right in the front row and is in a youth mariachi band.

Image

 

Our club financially supports poor High School students in the State of Colima, Mexico through Project Amigo. These students live in poor areas of this State and would probably not be able to continue with their High School education, save for this help. I have spent a volunteer week there for the last 4 years. I have arranged for one of the students, Nathaly, to visit us in Canada July 6th-20th, she will be at our Rotary meeting July 11, 2013. Nathaly just turned 18, is graduating High School this month and has applied to attend Law School at the University of Colima on a Project Amigo Scholarship   

   

Children of Annapurna

Image

Through the efforts of Chris Wilson, we financially support, with others, 27 to 30 students in Nepal which allows them to stay in school. Children who display desire, promise and a work ethic are handpicked by the teachers to receive this help. I think it’s one of the most enduring and best things to do.  One of those students is this girl with perhaps her mother or probably her teacher. She has an expressive face and beyond the obvious intelligence and Buddhist gentleness of her tradition, I see some pride, a pride of accomplishment, which shows in the way she wears her school uniform. She may be the first of her family to have gotten this far. I also see from the direct gaze into the camera the beginnings of a confidence. Perhaps she has come to understand education is power.  She wants to become a doctor. Her life in poverty stricken Nepal will have challenges we in the Western world can scarcely imagine. I wish for her a life of options.

 

“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          -Mary Oliver