Events

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.