Events

We will be joined by fellow Rotarians, Kees van der Pol (PDG District 5080), Tony Sharma (IPDG District 1130 London, UK), Mohammed Ayyaz (Past AG District 1130 London, UK), Norm McCarvell (PDG District 5080) who will speak on their role with the Peace Park on the border of India and Pakistan.

You will be able to log in to ZOOM any time after 11:45am for fellowship with other club members. The meeting will begin at 12:00pm noon.

Please check Rotarwrites for the link or contact Chris Oliver at chrisrotarysecretary@gmail.com for the meeting details.

We will be joined by fellow Rotarians, Kees van der Pol (PDG District 5080), Tony Sharma (IPDG District 1130 London, UK), Mohammed Ayyaz (Past AG District 1130 London, UK), Norm McCarvell (PDG District 5080) who will speak on their role with the Peace Park on the border of India and Pakistan.

Please check Rotarwrites for the link or contact Chris Oliver at chrisrotarysecretary@gmail.com for the meeting details.

Kees van der Pol is a retired British Columbia high school principal, and has been a Rotarian for 17 years.  He was a two-year president of the Rotary Club of Nakusp from 2011 to 2013, and was Rotary District 5080 Governor in 2016-17.

Currently, Kees is Registrar for Pacific Northwest PETS (Rotary Presidents-Elect Training), Director on the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Association, President of the Indus Peace Park Society, Director on the Kashmir-Peace and Saving Paradise Board, and Treasurer of his Rotary Club.

His wife, Mayumi, is the third club member to complete a two-year presidency, and will become an Assistant Governor in July 2021.  Both are Paul Harris Fellows and Rotary Leadership Institute graduates.  Kees and Mayumi have been married for 43 years and have two daughters, both living in Calgary; and three grandchildren.

Born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Kees received a B.A. in Geography and German from the University of Victoria, and an M.Ed. from the University of British Columbia.  In 1974, he spent one year at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan, after which he travelled the full length of the Trans-Siberian Railroad.  In 1990, he spent a month in Indonesia examining the education system there.  A highlight was climbing to the top of Krakatoa. 

Kees has led seven student tours of Europe and one adult tour to Europe and Morocco.  In 2016, Kees and Mayumi went on a cataract surgery mission to Dembi Dolo, Ethiopia.

During a Rotary Polio Immunization and District 5080 Friendship Exchange tour to Pakistan in 2015, events occurred that led Kees to the idea of creating an international peace park on the India-Pakistan border.

Please check Rotarwrites for the link or contact Chris Oliver at chrisrotarysecretary@gmail.com for the meeting details.

Join us for the installation of your new board of directors for the 2021/2022 Rotary year.

You will be able to log in to ZOOM any time after 11:45am for fellowship with other club members. The meeting will begin at 12:00pm noon.

Please check Rotarwrites for the link or contact Chris Oliver at chrisrotarysecretary@gmail.com for the meeting details.

Be sure to join us for David Knoppert's presentation about the Ride for Nicaragua.

Please check Rotarwrites for the link or contact Chris Oliver at chrisrotarysecretary@gmail.com for the meeting details.

Join us for a presentation from Holly Williams about Abby For All.

Please check Rotarwrites for the link or contact Chris Oliver at chrisrotarysecretary@gmail.com for the meeting details.

Tune in for an update on the City of Abbotsford's Cultural Plan, as presented by Sue Federspiel.

Please check Rotarwrites for the link or contact Chris Oliver at chrisrotarysecretary@gmail.com for the meeting details.

Learn more about The PEKA Project - the plight of older, unadopted children in Lesotho -  from this week's speaker, Josh Lockington.

Please check Rotarwrites for the link or contact Chris Oliver at chrisrotarysecretary@gmail.com for the meeting details.

Josh has been a contributing resident of Abbotsford for 21 years. He is a middle school teacher in the public school system and holds a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership. Being married to his wife, Tara, for 18 wonderful years is one of his joys in life. They have 3 engaging and energetic children. Josh and Tara have traveled to over 90 countries on 6 continents together and volunteered and given back in many of them. Working with the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) in The Gambia, West Africa and caring for children at a malnourished children's clinic in El Salvador are 2 of the ways he has given back. It was his most recent overseas trip that truly impacted him the most though: travelling to receive his newly adopted five year old son from Lesotho, Africa! It is this experience that has ignited a passion within him about the plight of older, unadopted children in Lesotho. His presentation will share about a solution to this problem- The PEKA Project.

Please check Rotarwrites for the link or contact Chris Oliver at chrisrotarysecretary@gmail.com for the meeting details.