The Rotary Club of Winnipeg West acknowledges that our meetings, held virtually or in-person, are held on Treaty One lands. We do this to reaffirm our commitment and responsibility in improving relationships between nations and to improving our own understanding of local Inuit, Metis, and First Nations Peoples and their cultures and rights.
We recognize that the clean water we are drinking is sourced from the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.
March 26 ChickenFest Campaign Launch
We had a great night at the ChickenFest launch party, featuring live entertainment, dignitaries, special guests and a great job by celebrity emcee Nicole Dube. Foghorn & Panchito apologize for the continued use (overuse?) of bad chicken yolks jokes.
Thank you to everyone for coming out and a special shout out to Chicken Delight for a great meal & CRF for providing a fantastic venue.
Here are a few photos from the evening:
Chicken Toss
Art - Champion
Bert tosses
Kelly & Nicole
Resting between rounds
Larissa & Monique - CRF
Panchito & Foghorn
Food line starts here
Team CRF
Hon. Malaya Marcelino Minister of Labour and Immigration
Nicole Dube
Our Emcee for the night
President Bob
Greets our guests
CD Crew
Nicole & Bruce
Golf Leader Board
Thanks to Brook Jones professional photography services for all the above photos.
April 2 Meeting Program - Brook Jones
President Bob introduced our speaker and member Brook Jones.
Brook recently rejoined our club and is a 4th generation Rotarian.
Brook has been passionate about photography since he got his first camera in grade one. As a track athlete at U of M he always has his camera in hand and wrote for the Manitoban.
Brook said that because of cutbacks at many newspapers there were fewer and fewer jobs available to photographers during the middle 2000’s. He started his own business for a while but in 2010 started working for Interlake publishing. He really enjoyed his work at the paper especially laying out the paper before publishing.
In April 2020 he received notice that the paper was closing and he was out of a job. Since then, he has been free-lancing for the Winnipeg Free Press and said that he was available for private events.
Brook said that he really enjoys meeting and interviewing people and did a mock interview of Bruce McKenzie.
Brook showed several pictures and articles in various newspapers that he had published and some of the camera equipment he uses.
One of his most embarrassing moments was when he was taking pictures of the Lieutenant Governor and realized after a few shots that the camera card was missing from his camera.
Bob thanked Brook for his presentation and for rejoining our club.
50/50
Promote, promote. promote and buy your own tickets. Don't wait until the last minute to buy your 50/50. The earlier you buy, the more momentum we build and it encourages others to buy. Help create the frenzy! Make the pot grow!
We recently received a formal acknowledgement from Red River College Polytech acknowledging our Indigenous scholarships. Here, in part, is there letter:
"Thank you for your generous contribution to Red River College Polytechnic. Your gift of $5,000.00 is going directly towards helping students through RRC Polytech's Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries program and will be allocated to the Rotary Winnipeg West Award for Indigenous Students.
Your investment has an impact on the future of learning at RRC Polytech - for today's students, and for generations to come. As Manitoba's only polytechnic, we appreciate your support as we find new ways to connect students to industry partners, mentors and potential employers and adapt our programs to meet the demands of our changing economy. Together, we are building momentum to serve the urgent labour market and skills-training needs of our communities."
WWRMW - $500
Next Draw Date:
April 16, 2026
Fines Master
Today's fines master was Bruce McKenzie, and while we had to endure a couple of dumb jokes, Bruce got down to the “serious” business of fines with the theme mostly related to antics from last week's ChickenFest Launch.
Chase the Ace
That Ace of Spades remains elusive. Bert Wold had the pleasure of drawing the wrong card today.
Family of Rotary
We are very sad to announce the passing of Ernie Halligan on Sunday, March 29, 2026. Ernie was a long time RCWW member and a friend to all. Ernie's many talents and outstanding contribution to Rotary are too many to list. A celebration of Ernie's life will be announced shortly.
In the meantime, it has been made known that Ernie's wishes are that donations be made to RCWW's “Golden Rainbow Fund”. Please consider a donation in Ernie's memory:
April 9 - Bites & Banter - Informal Lunch at Smitty's 1017 St James St, Winnipeg MB R3H 0K6
April 23 - Regular Meeting - generators for schools in Ukraine video
April 30 - Regular Meeting - program TBA
Looking for speakers for May. Ideas, suggestions? Please contact Bob.
Did You Know?
RI President-Elect Yinka Babalola’s theme for 2026/2027 is: Create Lasting Impact
And Rotary’s strategic priorities are:
Increase our IMPACT
Expand our REACH
Enhance participant ENGAGEMENT
Increase our ability to ADAPT
Homework For The Week - All Rotarians
Sell, sell, sell ChickenFest 2026.
Buy 50/50 tickets
Thought For The Day
Bob’s words of wisdom.
Sun Tzu’s “ The Art of War”, circa 5th century BC, is thought by some to be the most important book on strategy ever written. Many people think it has applicability today, in politics, business, sports, education, and even in approaching everyday personal conflicts. Some Japanese companies make the book required reading for their key executives. NFL coach Bill Bellichick, with the most Super Bowl wins in history, is an admirer of the book.
One of Rotary’s strategic priorities is: increase our ability to ADAPT. Let’s see what Sun Tzu has to say on adapting.
You must be creative in your planning
You must adapt to your opportunities and weaknesses
You can have a variety of approaches and still have a consistent goal
You must be able to adjust to a variety of problems
Our “Friends of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg West"
Terry Cooper
John Forrest
Recognizing individuals in the community who choose to be associated with the Rotary Club of Winnipeg West for the purpose of making a difference without a full time rigid commitment. Can be individuals, businesses, friends, family, spouses.
“Friends of Rotary” are welcome at any of our Rotary events, lunch meetings, projects, & committee meetings.
Know anyone who fits the bill? Please send your nomination to any Board member for consideration.
