Message From the President – October 2025

We are just entering our second quarter of the Rotary year, and already we have seen a whirlwind of activity! What an exciting and beautiful summer, where we all enjoyed wonderful weather and great opportunities to get together with friends and family. We had some excellent speakers that captivated your attention, such as Sam Sammadar from the Kelowna Airport giving us updates on the airport expansion and the new five star Sutton Hotel to be built at the airport. Quite a marvelous feat with an estimated 2,500,000 potential visitors next year!

Murray Wilson displayed his passion for the forest industry, with his presentation on B.C. wildfires, in the B.C. Burning trailer which exposed our lack of preparedness for the extent of wildfire activity we are seeing in our province. Our Mayor, Victor Cumming, gave us an extensive update on the events and projects going on in front, and behind the scenes in our busy little community. Vernon is definitely on the move! We learned about the CHMA Okanagan Foundry Project, and learned the secrets of genealogy from our very own Clark Brewer. Not to be outdone, we finished it off with an uplifting and amazing presentation from Imant Raminish, a virtual gem of the music industry and we were entertained by two recordings that brought silence and tears to our ears and eyes! To top it off, Justin Sharma, a former student of his, gave the glowing introduction and thank you. What a first three months!

As we enter quarter number two, we brace ourselves for the unfolding and preparation for the 41^st Annual Kalamalka Rotary Dream Auction, to be held at the Prestige Vernon Lodge on Saturday, November 15^th. We anticipate a sellout, and all early indications are that the enthusiasm from last year is again contagious! Congratulations to Faith and her committee for the tireless hours and preparation behind the scenes to make this event happen in such spectacular fashion!

Peter Evans unveiled the amazing news from the Legacy Committee regarding the location of the new Science Centre, which will be located on Kal Lake Road, in the original Kal Tire location, founded by Tom Foord in 1953. It will have over 14,000 square feet and twenty-foot ceilings to be the backdrop to a T-Rex, or any other exhibits that grace its walls. Truly exciting and wonderful to have an actual disclosed location to aid in our fundraising.  Stay tuned for the announcements regarding the synergy with the Science Centre and the Dream Auction plans. Our club has pledged $1,000,000 to make this Science Centre our own, with naming rights for Kalamalka Rotary. What a Legacy!

As you co-conspire with your auction teams, have fun and make those calls to obtain a special dream item for the auctioneer, Don Raffan, to proudly auction off on that special Saturday night. Don’t forget as well, as we are embroiled in the auction frenzy, to remember that October 24^th is World Polio Day, a cause deeply engrained in Rotary International to eradicate this awful disease.

 We are entering a magical time of year, so enjoy the spotlight of the auction, our chance to socialize, embrace our Legacy partner and enjoy the warm feelings of belonging to Rotary and making that difference when the world turns cold, that you provide the warmth for our community.

Personal regards,

Brian Reid
President, Kalamalka Rotary 2025-26