Events

Dan Trayler began sharing his love of gardening in Abbotsford in 1986. He is the owner of Homestead Nurseryland and Florist in Abbotsford. Born and raised in Vancouver, gardens and landscape were a part of his early life, working with his parents at their East Vancouver home.

Pursuing a law degree, Dan worked part-time in various garden centers for tuition. It was at that time that he realized his passion for plants and people, which led him to take another career path. He has been working in the garden community in BC for over 41 years.

As a BC certified Nurseryman, he has hosted many radio and television garden shows. He is a frequent gardening columnist for several local publications. Over time, he has become known as the local garden authority.

Besides his passion for gardening, he is an avid photographer and angler, and loves living and working in the beautiful Fraser Valley.

The Archway Urban farming is both a functional farm garden, and teaching space, to engage the community in learning about where our food comes from. The Urban Farm focuses on both Food Security and Food Justice in our community. We believe that engaging community members in the production of their own food can create lasting change to how food is purchased, eaten, and have a wider environmental impact. 

Ron will be presenting an overview/update of our global grant project for Transitions Foundation in Guatemala and future planning. He will also provide a brief overview of Probigua Guatemala (library bus in Antigua, Guatemala).

Fraser Valley Gleaners takes donated produce that would otherwise be thrown away and converts it into dehydrated soup mix to help feed those in need in developing countries around the world.  FV Gleaners is 100% donor-driven with hundreds of volunteer hours contributed each week.  Gleaners is also a ministry to our volunteers who are primarily seniors, providing them with meaningful work in a social setting. 

Dr. Hall will provide a brief history of Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society and an overview of the services provided. She has insights into the challenges faced by both the Society and the people they serve. She will leave us with suggestions on how local non Aboriginal individuals and groups such as Rotary can make a difference in the people they serve.

Cathy Peters is a former inner city high school teacher raising awareness about "Human sex trafficking, Sexual Exploitation and Child Sex Trafficking", and since 2014 has made 550 presentations to over 20,000 people.  She presents to politicians, police and the public. 

Monika was born into a family with a refugee background and experienced the joys and challenges of growing up in a host-country, and later immigrating to Canada. As a result, Monika learned to appreciate and celebrate people’s diverse cultural differences from an early age. Since 2019, she has been working with Archway Community Services, first as a Youth Worker and then as Program Coordinator, to support and help immigrants and newcomers to Canada thrive in their new home. 

Born in Vancouver in 1952, Richard joined the 15th Field Artillery Regiment, Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery in 1968 as a 16 year old bandsman.  Over the following 42 years of part-time and full-time service, Richard rose through the ranks to Chief Warrant Officer and then commissioned to Captain in 1985 on his appointment as Director of Music.  He also cross-trained into the combat arms working as a signaller, artilleryman, gun tractor driver, artillery detachment commander, parachutist, civil-military cooperation operator, NATO tactical and operational CIMIC instructor, casualty assisting officer and family deployment support coordinator.  Richard was released medically from the Canadian Armed Forces in 2011 as a result of Operational Stress Injuries related to his service.

Dean, her husband Rhino and their 3 children emigrated to Canada from South Africa 32 years ago.  Dean grew up in Zambia and after marrying Rhino lived in Malawi, Namibia and South Africa.  Dean was born into a Rotary family and when Rhino joined Rotary in 1986, he became an active Rotarian until she joined Rotary in 1989.  On arriving in Vancouver both Dean and Rhino joined the Rotary Club of West Vancouver and at present are members of the Rotary Club of Langley Central in District 5050. Her best experience is leading teams of Rotarians, Rotaractors and Interactors to Africa, and seeing how this volunteer experience changes their lives.

Community organizations that are the recipients of our club's Community Service Grant, will provide a brief overview of how these funds are applied in the work each does in our community.

Richard Thiessen is Executive Director of the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, BC. Previously, he was Librarian at Mennonite Brethren Bible College / Concord College, and Library Director at Columbia Bible College. He has served as president of both the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada and the Mennonite Historical Society of British Columbia, and was also active for many years with the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society. For 20 years he has been involved with GAMEO: the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (www.gameo.org). He created the website www.mennonitegenealogy.com in the late 1990s to help make Mennonite genealogical resources available to the public. Richard has served on a number of local, provincial, and national church committees in both Mennonite Brethren and Mennonite Church contexts. At present, Richard is preparing to co-lead a Mennonite Heritage tour to Poland in the summer of 2023. Richard and his wife, Karen, love to travel and to learn more about the places and people they see and meet. They have visited over 40 countries and have travelled extensively through both Canada and the United States. They believe that one of the best things they ever did as a family was to spend two months in Ethiopia volunteering at the Meserete Kristos College. Richard loves photography, visiting museums, listening to music, collecting stamps, growing lilies, and cheering for the Montreal Canadiens. 

Our club will be hosted by club president, Deanna, for our annual Christmas lunch social.

Edward Ansah Akuffo is an Associate Professor of International Relations, and chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, Canada. He is also the immediate Past-President of International Studies Association, Canada Branch.  Edward is an Adjunct Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of New Brunswick-Fredericton, and a member of the University of Waterloo based Defense and Security Foresight Group.  Edward’s research focuses on Canada’s foreign and security policy in Africa, African Union-NATO interregional security cooperation, and maritime security in Africa. His work has appeared in several academic journals and edited books. He is the author of Canadian Foreign Policy in Africa: Regional Approaches to Peace, Security, and Development (Ashgate/Routledge, 2012).

Brent is a veteran of 31 years of police experience and extensive emergency background in disaster preparation, response, mitigation, planning, and training. Brent is President of Strategic Emergency Management. 

Raj was born in the south of India.  He has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree and Masters in Hydraulic Engineering (India) and a Masters in Mechanics and Hydraulics (USA).  He came to Canada in 1973 and now lives in White Rock. He is retired but still provides worldwide assistance in subjects of his expertise.

Raj has extensive experience at senior levels in the World Bank, United Nations Specialized Agencies, and private sector. Raj is a Director of the Sources Foundation in White Rock which operates various facilities to meet the needs of the community. He is a Director of New Bridge Academy, helping to build bridges between the incoming Chinese immigrant community and area residents.

Raj is a multiple Paul Harris fellow and a major donor to the Rotary Foundation. He is Chair of the Canada-Tunisia Inter Country Cultural Committee of the Rotary International.  He is also a member of three Rotary Action Groups: Water and Sanitation, Environmental Sustainability, and Honouring Indigenous People as well as a member of the Whisky Dram Rotary Fellowship Group. 

Christina has worked in the community social services sector for 43 years, providing services and programming to older adults, persons with disabilities, low-income & and their families.  Along with a retired pastor, doctor, and teacher, she was involved in starting Abbotsford Association for Healthy Aging in 1989. The primary goal is to enhance the lives of our older adult community and ensure that senior individuals can retain their dignity and independence during the latter stages of life.  We strive to be aware of the needs of our older adults and address this by creating programs that are thoughtful, engaging, and fulfilling to support our older community.

Mary was born and raised in Abbotsford and has strong connections to the community. She has been involved in numerous organizations over the years and has sat as a member of the Smart & Caring Community Grants Committee for the past five years. Mary was the recipient of the Community Builder of the Year in Abbotsford (2017) and was a two-time recipient of the Abbotsford Arts Council – Arty Awards for her passion in theatre. She was the founder of Business in Black which entertained audiences for the Business Excellence Awards for 15 years; the Director of the Abbotsford Heat ‘Fever’ Dance Team; and the Director of Ceremonies for the BC Summer Games in 2016. She is thrilled to be taking the role as President for the 55+ BC Summer Games to be hosted by Abbotsford this summer!

Heart and Soul was founded in late 2015 by two like-minded people whose love for animals was like no other. We started as a small group and have now grown to the point where we are able to help 100’s of animals in need every year. Our main focus is educating on spaying and neutering so that we can help reduce the number of animals in need of help. Last year alone, we were able to find loving homes for 846 dogs and cats, as well as spay and neuter many more through our program. 

Jo Holland is a career Firefighter for the City of Abbotsford and is also the Chairperson for Harvest Fest, an annual event hosted by the Abbotsford Firefighters Charitable Society. The presentation is aimed at promoting the event to a wider audience, thereby improving the effectiveness of this fun and worthy fundraising event. 

The Abbotsford Community Foundation commissioned a Vital Signs report for 2022.  Areni, will review the survey findings, local data and indicators on the topics of community belonging, health and wellness, housing, safety, work and economy for our local community.

Sylvia came to Abbotsford in 1969 as a first year teacher.  Abbotsford became her forever home and she had a rewarding 35 year career as a Business Education and Career Preparation Teacher. 

Sylvia is committed to giving back to her community through many volunteer positions including BC Games, Disability Games, Seniors Games, Abbotsford Sports Hall of Fame, and the BC and Yukon Breast Cancer Foundation.  Currently, she works as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Skills Canada BC Provincial Competition held yearly at Tradex, is the Registrar for Zone 3 BC 55+ Games, and, with husband, George, coordinates the Senior Mixed League at the Abbotsford Curling Club.

Sylvia has inspired and mentored hundreds of young women in Abbotsford as a teacher and community leader. She has won numerous awards and citations for her outstanding work, including being named the 2021 Order of Abbotsford winner.