Saturday, March 17 - Prince Rupert Foundation Dinner - It was a beautiful sunny day in Prince Rupert on Saturday, March 17 as a group gathered (led by club president Karen Basso and Rotarys Trail Project Lead Bill Nicholls) to do a preview walk of the Rotary Club of Prince Rupert's major project over the past couple of years - the Rushbrook Trail.
The club has worked well with many partners in this development, and the trail - which connects Seal Cove to the City Waterfront - is about to officially open in just a month or so. It is a delightful walk that follows the former Grand Trunk Pacific Railway right of way along the water. Now well graded and gravel surfaced, the major work remaining to do is the installation of three new bridges and final details. The community is excited to have this new trail connector and it will be well used.
That evening, the lobby of the Lester Centre is transformed into a gala setting for the Rotary Club of Prince Rupert's annual Foundation Dinner. There is a great crowd on hand as the event gets going with a silent auction and lovely dinner - home made Irish Stew is perfect on this St. Patrick's day! MC Lyle McNish presides over the evening's events. I have the privilege of talking about the Rotary Foundation and why we support this as our charity, and then provide a couple of tangible examples of how our Foundation works. The first is to present a Rotary Foundation District Grant in the amount of $10,000 to the club towards the trail project. The second is to recognize two outstanding Rotarians with a Paul Harris Fellowship in recognition of their great service - congratulations to Barb Gruber and Ellen Witherly.
The festivities continue, with the silent auction closing and a live auction conducted by three Irish Leprechauns - the net of the event is the raising of over $10,000 for The Rotary Foundation. A great evening by one of our great Rotary clubs in District 5040.
