Interest Groups Committees Program Scholarships Membership Accomplishments Links-Member Login Contacts
| |
Monthly Meetings and Program
All meetings take place at 7:30 pm on the 4th Monday of most months
in the Kinsmen Pavilion of the Richmond Nature
Park. Click here for a map
Generally
we open the meetings with a guest speaker followed by a social refreshment
break. Then a short business meeting is conducted to discuss and
support the current items and issues our members are involved in. Our
December and June meetings are very entertaining social events. The April
meeting focuses on CFUW National resolutions with a presentation from the BC
Council attendees and Interest Groups. Please feel welcome to come and join
us
For
more information please email our membership chair at
membership@cfuw-richmond.org
For
program information contact our Program Chair
program@cfuw-richmond.org
Upcoming
Meeting: Monday,
February 27, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Richmond's State of the Arts -- Are We
There Yet?
With government cuts to the arts and
culture sector in gaming grants, the future of the arts in Richmond has been a
concern within the Richmond arts community. Come and hear Vickie McLeod promote
and advocate for the betterment of the arts in Richmond as she presents:
"Richmond's State of the Arts -- Are We There Yet?"
Hostess: Frances
Lorenz Co hostesses:
Donalda Buie, Marnie Ridout, Debby Hodgson
Greeter: Arzeena Hamir
|
Past Meetings:
|
|
Our January meeting featured Kim
Winchell and Helen Davidson speaking on Poverty Reduction and Child
Poverty in Richmond. This topic has been a concern globally, nationally,
provincially, locally, and in the Issues and
Resolutions Committee of CFUW Richmond. Although poverty continues to exist, Kim
Winchell and Helen Davidson provided us with current information on their work
in Richmond.
|
|
Linda Hannah of the Nature Conservancy of Canada
shared an interesting presentation at our November meeting. Through slides of
beautiful preserved areas in BC we learned of the diligent efforts, both past
and current, to secure and protect natural habitat and forest land for future
generations.
|
|
Our
October speaker, Club Member Mary Smillie, entertained the members by
recounting her experiences as a Green Coat Ambassador at YVR. For 15 years Mary has
warmly welcomed and assisted travelers with directions, provided information on
services available in the airport, and even acted as unofficial tour guide at
YVR. Mary’s presentation will provided us with the history, services, and her
delightful personal experiences.
|
|
September 26th was a “Meet and Greet” evening and the first in a monthly
series of “Did you Know?”.
|
|
The speaker at our May AGM was
Georgina Patko, a former CFUW Richmond member, who is the director of community
relations at Richmond's Touchstone Family Association. She broadened
our knowledge of Touchstone, a non-profit organization
which helps local families in distress and encourages family values with more
time together enjoying meals and discussions. Volunteers are
always welcome.
|
|
The speaker in April was, Jill Wright of
Jill Wright Garden Designs who entertained and educated us with her expertise and knowledge on
planning a garden with regards to the quality of soil . She has studied at Van Dusen Gardens and at UBC and has
travelled to Provence in Southern France to study various varieties of flowers
and garden designs. We picked up a great many tips for this
busy gardening season as well as an abundance of lovely Korean Rock Ferns.
|
|
Our March speaker was Wendy Phillips, the
winner of the coveted Governor General’s Literacy Award for her book about
teenage angst, Fishtailing. Wendy, a Richmond teacher and librarian at MacNeill
Secondary School, received her award from Governor General David Johnston on
November 25, 2010 during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. All in attendance
were thoroughly entertained and found her presentation very engaging.
|
|
In February our speaker from
the Arthritis Society was very informative and interesting.
From the indication by our members present, Arthritis is a common problem
for so many. We learned that Arthritis is not curable, only manageable
thus having more information on coping with this disease was of benefit. By the age of 40, about 90 percent of all people have x-ray
evidence of OA in the weight-bearing joints, such as the hips and knees; but
most people don’t experience symptoms until later in life.
Anyone interested in learning more about
the 6 week Arthritis Self-Management Program taught by Val Taylor may get more
information from Joan Vyner of the Arthritis Society. Joan may be reached by
telephone at 604-875-5002 or e-mail at JVyner@bc.arthritis.ca
. The program will be available in Richmond in May this year.
|
Alexa Loo, Richmond’s own Olympian, presented an
excellent and engaging talk at our January meeting. As President Cheryl
phrased it so well, "Alexa’s story of training as a snowboarder had us
feeling as if we were standing in the gates waiting for the signal to
race."
Amazing to witness the
renewal of the Olympic spirit as the club members sported classic red mittens, Olympic
clothing and of course
the Alexa Loo bags. Many thanks Alexa.
|
|
Our speaker for November was Sylvia Gwozd, a Richmond School Trustee
and member of the
Sister City Committee. Through a slide presentation Sylvia shared highlights of each Sister City and Richmond’s official
delegation visit to Asia culminating in Richmond Day at the Canadian Pavilion at
Shanghai Expo on September 25th.
|
|
The October Meeting featured Margaret Sarkissian, M.A. (Education) and
Certified Executive Coach, an experienced trainer and facilitator, who discussed
the integration of some key concepts of
positive psychology and appreciative living into an engaging presentation
outlining the necessary steps for positive personal change. Workshop to be
arranged.
|
|
Our September meeting was an Open House set up to
start up the new season and display all our club accomplishments, activities and
events. As incoming President, Cheryl says, "for our returning
members it was a time for reconnecting with each other and sharing our summer
adventures".
It was a terrific venue to highlight our committees,
interest groups and welcome several guests as potential new members. It is always amazing to see how many familiar faces one
will meet again in our vibrant and friendly group.
|
"The
speakers have been excellent and always surprising. Even when I think I might
not find them interesting, I’ve been surprised.
It makes me think I can learn more.
"
Previous
Guest Speakers include:
Sally Houston
and BC Seniors Games
Board of
Directors, discussed the upcoming games
to be held in Richmond, September 16-19, 2009 and
our possibilities for participation.
Rafe Mair
and Damien Gillis,
Official Spokespersons for Save Our Rivers Society, presented critical concerns and
plans for action.
Jacques Beaudreault,
Architect for
the sustainability portion of the Vancouver Convention Centre discussed the the unique design
features and marine habitat built into the building
foundation.
Gudrun H, international
educator who developed Online Learning
for classes within the Burnaby School District
Jeff Norris,
Executive Director, Kwantlen Polytechnic University Foundation
Lynn Batstone,
a Horticulturalist/self proclaimed "Plant Nut" who discussed preparing our gardens
for Spring
Arzeena Hamir,
an
agrologist with the Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project
Carolyn
Topp Vranesic,
presented supportive ideas to encourage exercise for both health and fitness
Farah
Nazarali, our guest presenter at the January Meeting, entertained us all
with a fun filled interactive presentation on Laughter Yoga - It’s In
Every One of Us!!
Gerry
De Cicco, Manager of the Olympic Oval,
provided an interesting presentation of the current status of the new Olympic
Oval
Mary
Gazetas, an instructor, gardener, artist and writer, and her column appears every weekend in The Richmond
Review.
Belinda
Boyd, Community Engagement Coordinator for Richmond Health Services
Debbie Kemp,
Life Coach & Consultant, speaking on Living by Design, an Introduction to the Human Design System.
Curtis Eyestone,
owner of the McKinney House
discussed the history of
the house and the trials and tribulations of moving the house to its present
location on Dyke Road in Steveston.
Ursula Johannson, Master Gardener and garden designer, addressed “The
Elements of Garden Design” and discussed five garden design changes.
Edith Davidson a member of the Citizen’s Assembly for Electoral Reform
explained the voting system recommended for BC.
|