On this Sunny warm 21-degree October Monday, with a large attendance of 40 people at The Grey Eagle and some on zoom, President Linda called the meeting to order at 12 noon. She shared a Rotary moment by mentioning that in 1917, Rotarians built public toilets in the city of Chicago; and that was our first service project!

Steve Strang introduced our five guests.

Guest Speaker Joel Cowley, CEO of the Calgary Stampede and Exhibition talks about The Stampede Story.

Guest Speaker: Joel Cowley

Introduced by Bill Quinney, Cowley hails from the USA and has only been in Calgary for one year. He has over thirty years of experience and a strong background in Agriculture and Animal science. He comes to us from Colorado and Texas.

Highlights of his talk:

His amazement at the wonderful work that Rotary does around the world
The Stampede exhibition celebrates a tradition that is over a century old. Started in 1886
The initial “big four” Burns, Cross, McLean and Lane provided the money to launch the 1912 Stampede in Calgary. This was brokered by Guy Weadick, an American promoter
The Stampede fair insisted that the First nations be involved in the fair and exhibition and Weadick had to take his plea to the Federal government in Ottawa for approval. The stampede and the treaty seven nations have been involved in a collaborative effort ever since.
The stampede is recognized as the greatest outdoor show in the world, and brings in as many as 4 million people annually
The Stampede board owns a 22,000-acre ranch for bucking horses just outside Calgary
After the 1912 fair, there was very little interest and so Weadick took it to Winnipeg and New York in subsequent years, but it gained little support or momentum there, until after World War 1, when Weadick went back to the “big four” and asked for their support to create an industrial show and an agricultural show In early and late summer. In 1923 the two exhibitions merged to become the Calgary exhibition and Stampede. This was a first for chuckwagon races
Cowley commented on how involved and engaged Calgarians and Calgary businesses are with the Stampede, and how the collaboration makes for greater success and engagement
2020 the stampede was cancelled due to covid and the financial losses ($26m) they bore, as a result, but 2022 showed good progress, with a better than expected turnout which provided greater impetus and enthusiasm for it to be even greater in 2023.
The BMO centre is under construction and will serve to be the largest convention centre in Calgary and the second largest in Canada. With over 1 million square feet, the largest fireplace, a gigantic free-span grand ballroom, 38 meeting rooms, many exciting meeting places within and outside the building, and a main portal to the city through seventeenth Avenue SW. It is expected the centre will be ready in June 2024 and provide a massive impact to the city and a pivotal opportunity for the Stampede board to branch out into the convention business
A Youth Centre called the Sam Centre after Samuel Taylor, ancestor of the major donor, Don Taylor will house stampede artifacts and offer interactive facilities for year-round youth and public engagement. This centre is expected to be open and ready in March 2024
The future of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede will be quite different, engaging conventions, the public, the traditions of the first nations, agriculture and business as well as Western Heritage and Youth programs. They plan to create an entertainment district on the North side of the property and are working to engage a developer in bringing a hotel on site.
The funding for major programs was provided by The City of Calgary, The Province of Alberta and The Federal Government.
Several good questions were posed, and Joel agreed to stay on after the meeting to answer any more questions and to meet the group informally.

Rod McMahon thanked Joel on behalf of the Club. A gift was made to ShelterBox in Joel’s name.

INDUCTION OF NEW MEMBER JENNY YU.

Dan Doherty introduced our newest member Jenny Yu, an exchange student from China, a Rotaractor, a member of toastmasters, now district Director, with a strong background in business development, now engaged with the CNOC in Calgary.

Sa’adat Keshavjee provided the new member induction Charge, and president Linda did the honours.

CLARENCE BUCKLEY TURNS 90 TOMORROW. Led by Don Edie, the club sang “Happy Birthday” to Clarence.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Jean Claude Munyezamu, congratulations on being awarded CTV's Inspiring Albertan for your amazing work with the youth soccer programs at Umoja Community Mosaic.
October 24^th is world polio day. Marlene Doherty wishes for every member to sign up for the 100,00 miles we need to log for polio. Please participate by logging your activities that qualify for miles and dollars.
Thursday October 13^th, we have our Clubs fall assembly at 5:30 pm at The Blackfoot Hotel. This is a member only event where we will be enlightened on the activities of the Club. Treasurer Don Edie has already posted the budget and the financials on our website. President Linda is hoping all members will attend in person please.

NEXT WEEK’S PROGRAM No program as we have Canadian Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving and see y’all at the club assembly at the Blackfoot on the 13^th.

President Linda’s Closing Quote: “A Day without laughter is a day wasted”

The meeting adjourned at 1 pm