APRIL, MAY, JUNE 2017

Your Gyro International News Magazine DIGITAL ISSUE /NUMBER 30

~ photo highlights of outgoing President Dana & Barb Davidson’s term in office, page 2 ~

GyroScopeArtist’s depiction of the Summer Solstice

President Dale Woodroffe 340A Eagle Heights Canmore, AB T1W 3C9 dale.gyro@gmailcom First Vice President

Matt Johnson 6720 94th st ct nw Gig Harbor, WA 98332 matt.j@rm-law.us

Second Vice President

Ted Shewchuk Box 1013 Red Lake, Ontario P0V 2M0 shewchuck.gyro@gmail.com

Immediate Past President Dana Davidson 2030 3 Greystone Walk Dr. Toronto, ON M1K5J4 d.davidson@rogers.com

Secretary-Treasurer Emil L. Baijot 1903 Ponderosa Drive Bellingham, WA 98229 emil@baijot.guru

District I Governor Randy Tarrier 7294 Scioto Parkway Powell. OH 43065 District II Governor Neil Baker 714 Holdorf Drive Blue Grass, IA District III Governor Ned Barber 210 Lincoln Blvd. Buffalo, NY 14217District IV Governor Peter Evans 7250 W. Saanich Road Brentwood Bay, BC V8M 0A3 District VI Governor Ed MacDonald PO Box 970 Windsor, NS B0N 2T0District VII Governor Blanton Bessinger 2155 N Rosewood Ln St. Paul, MN 55113District VIII Governor John Hodgson 339 Avonburn Rd SE Calgary, AB T2H 1N9District IX Governor Lowell Gist 4326 N. Delno Avenue Fresno, CA 93705District X Governor Al Sinicrope 3946 Doral Drive Tampa, FL 33634

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

DISTRICT GOVERNORS

GyroScopeEditor: Emil L. Baijot, Secretary-Treasurer

Gyro International – 1096 Mentor Avenue – Painesville, OH 44077-0489Headquarters Phone: 440/352-2501 Fax: 440/352-3882

e-mail: sheila@gyro.org - or - baijot@comcast.net

April, May, June 2017 ~ Volume 99:Number 2

Gyro International

- 2 -

ABOUT THE COVER: Photos covering highlights of the outgoing President’s four years.

Painting backgrounds on several pages depict the Summer Solstice

ABOUT THIS DIGITAL GYROSCOPE: This issue is in .pdf format. To print a copy, simply select PRINT and the printer will start with pages in order. To open properly, use the free Adobe Acrobat 7 or higher

Summer

has arriv

ed!

PAGE 2 Photo Memories from IPIP Davidson

3 Gyro Officers / Contents 4 President’s Message 5 New President visits D-VIII in Wallace, ID 7 From the Editor’s Desk 8 Open Letter from PDG Howie Stevenson 9 D--IV Installation 10 2018 AGM Flyer - Early Look 11 District IV Interim Report - Kitiimat 11 Kitimat’s New Members / Honors 12 District I Interim Report 13 “Never Forget Your Friends” / Humor 14 Kelowna Report 15 Upcoming Meeting Dates

CONTENTS

- 3 -

The President’s Message

Fellow Gyros, Gyrettes, Ladies, Partners and Friends of Gyro - WOW!

rdIt was three years ago in Wallace, Idaho I was chosen to be 3 Vice President (VP) at our International Convention. Boy time flies!

It is a not only a pleasure, but an honor and a privilege to become your President of one of the world's best Fraternities for “Fun and Friendship “and “One of the best kept secrets”.

I am looking forward to working with the Past International Presidents (PIPs) and the members of our Committees to move forward with looking at ways we can help each other encourage new membership.

I would like to wish Chris Snyder my congratulations on his five years of service on the Gyro International (GI) Executive Committee (EC). He did a great job, especially starting the Presidents Bulletin which I hope everyone has had a chance to read periodically.

Congratulations also to Dana Davidson on moving onto the position of Immediate Past International stPresident. His input and experiences will be needed over the coming year. I am very lucky to have our 1

VP Matt Johnson with his legal mind and attention to detail and I am also lucky to have Ted Shewchuk as 2nd VP with his team spirit and can do approach.

And Matt, Ted, Dana and I are very fortunate to have such wonderful support from our wives, who without their 100% support, we would not be here today. Thank you Lisa, Annwyl, Barb and Mary Ann. Filling out our Gyro Executive Team, we have Emil Baijot, Ken Baker and the 9 District Governors. S/T Emil as everyone knows has given many, many years of service to Gyro, not only as PIP but also as Secretary/Treasurer, Director and Gyro Historian. I look forward to working with him along with sheila and Gloria at the HQ’s office.

Ken has taken over the accounting work and has done an excellent job updating our accounting system.Not to be over looked is our Director of Membership, Larry Duba PIP and an inspiration to all Gyros for his hard work and continuous communications on Health and Welfare, as well as his photographic skills at conventions.

No team would be complete if it was not for our Past District Governors, existing Governors and Club Presidents and their Gyrettes, wives and partners who create a lot of the fun in Gyro.

At our recent Gyro International Convention held in the lovely City of Vancouver, British Columbia, the Board of Governors (BOG) and Executive Committee finally eliminated the 3rd VP position and cancelled the Gyro International Interim Meeting which will help Gyro International create a balanced budget for 2017/18. In lieu of the Interim Convention and the reduction of the 3rd VP on the EC, the BOG and EC created two committees. The first committee is a communications committee consisting of Randy Tarrier (District 1), Saul Hilchey (District 4), Ed McDonald (District 6), Blanton Bessinger (District 7) and myself who have been working over the past year to find a platform for conference calling and presenting information to the EC, BOG and other committees. The recommendation is to use WebEx for the next year as a first step to coordinate communications for the betterment of Gyro.

- Dale Woodroffe, President, Gyro International

- 4 -

- cont. on page 6 -

New Gyro International President makes first officialstop at the District-VIII Convention in Wallace, ID

- submitted by Dale Woodroffe, International President

- 5 -

All roads led to Wallace, Idaho, Centre of the Universe, for the Gyro District VIII Annual Convention June 14 -18, 2017. The Wallace Club has sponsored annual Gyro Days and the Lead Creek Derby since 1942, promoting community fun as well as a method to raise funds for a worthy cause, initially to help the war effort and more recently to support educational scholarships for high school students in the Silver Valley.

This convention was dedicated to Past District Governor Archie Hulsizer, who has been active in the Wallace Gyro Club for 67 years!

Many Gyros and their partners attended the convention with members driving from Nelson, BC, Sherwood Park, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Calgary, AB.

On Wednesday, local Gyros took control of the local radio station, KWAL to promote the convention and all the activities.

Many attendees arrived on Thursday for registration as well as the Past District Governors' meeting. Everyone enjoyed dine around at the various restaurants and bars in town and then met at Nite Rock for hospitality. Once again Dave DeRoos so kindly and generously provided his private bar for many " happy hours" throughout the convention. And Archie was there to join in the dancing and celebration!

Friday was a wet day in the mountains but there were no dampened spirits. The men attended their annual general meeting while the ladies enjoyed a lovely lunch in a Tea and Antique shop. Everyone enjoyed the fashion show of beautiful hats, ranging in price from $500 to $5000, as modeled by two lovely local girls.

Convention wouldn't be complete without the Bocce tournament, and because of the rain, we played indoors, in the DeRoos' establishment! Always good to have a new challenge.

The sun burst forth as the annual parade led by the local Elks and Bugle Corps (many Gyro members) marched through town and from bar to bar, intermittently playing their drums and blowing their horns, with Gyros parading behind them. It gave a whole new meaning to dine around!

Lots of excitement on Saturday for the Lead Creek Derby. Anyone needing transportation could hop on the Sheriff's bus or the Gyro trailer which held lots of fluids for hydration. This year, Gyro International President Dale Woodroffe and his wife Mary Ann had the honor of dropping the Gyro Ball into the creek. It took a few hours for the ball to make its way down the 6 k to Wallace. A wonderful event with lots of community support.

Saturday evening we all attended the Governor's Ball. The theme was Gangsters and Molls and the costumes did not disappoint! The new district officers were installed by President Dale Woodroffe as follows:

Governor Peter (Eileen) Carter, Edmonton, Lieutenant Governor Larry (Betty) Fenton, Calgary, SecretaryTreasurer Mike (Sharon) Matei, Edmonton, and Immediate Past Governor John (Laura) Hodgson.

Special thanks was given to Past District Governor Allan (Tara) Pentney and Ken (Ann) Baker for many years as District Secretary Treasurer.

Sunday was farewell to our Gyro friends. As always, the Wallace convention did not disappoint! It epitomized the true meaning of Gyro - fun and friendship. Many thanks especially to Dave and Bonnie DeRoos who worked tirelessly to make this convention a success!

This package could be used by the Governors and the Presidents of the Clubs to expedite business issues.

President’s Message, cont.

The second committee was formed to review the duties and responsibilities of the Secretary Treasurer, Director of Membership and other positions in Gyro. The committee consists of Ed McDonald (District 6), Al Sinicrope (District 10), Peter Evans (District 4) and myself.

On behalf of Gyro International, I would like to thank the Gyro Clubs of the Vancouver Area for all the time and effort they put into making the District IV Installation and the Gyro International AGM a success. And for showing all Gyros great hospitality.

Let's make this year the “Year of Invitation.” Let's invite more of our friends, acquaintances and nice people we meet, to share our Gyro fellowship by bringing them to one, two or three of our meetings and events. Let's share the fun and friendship and make this be one of your best and exciting years in Gyro. I look forward to working with each and every Gyro in some way. If you wish to contact me with positive suggestions for the good of Gyro, you can email me at dale.gyro@gmail.com

Wishing everyone “Fun, Joy, Friendship and Peace for 2017 and a warm Cheerio!

- 6 -

more from District VIII

From the desk of the Editor ...

Letters to the Editor & Trivia of Interest

- 7 -

You will note that several of the pages within this GyroScope magazine have rather artistic

backgrounds. They are in fact copies of the work of several famous artists. Why did I use them? Well, as I was preparing to begin on this issue I was consumed with wondering why our summer seemed to be so late in arriving. Since out here in the great Northwest, our weather is very much modulated by the ocean, we are at it’s mercy. Sometimes it is slow in coming. But eventually just, at the Summer Solstice, the warm weather arrived - causing me to use these paintings - they are all titled Summer Solstice - as backgrounds. Not only do you get Gyro news, but a little education as well.

Vancouver Convention was the place to be a couple of weeks back. Well organized by several

D-IV clubs on the lower mainland, the venue provided the all-in-one convenience of the hotel, and a number of eateries within a short walk. Although not in the forecast, the weather cooperated with mostly sunny and moderate days. The Gyro business activities were packed into each day, leaving the socializing to the evening hours. Although the days were full with the meetings and seminars, it did show that a Gyro convention could work with one day less on the schedule.

Among the lengthy discussions, the major issues were discussed and somewhat resolved. A

proposal from D-IV requesting a study be done re: changing the Secretary-Treasurer position to a volunteer position was assigned to a committee to consider the details and report to the member- ship by the end of the year. The amendment to eliminate the position of 3rd Vice President was formally adopted. An excellent effort by PDG Alan Pentney detailing new rules re: dissolution of a district or club was set in motion. And a motion from the floor to raise Gyro dues by $6 to perhaps adequately resolve future financial needs. The motion was seconded and required a tally by clubs to resolve. The motion failed narrowly, 323 vs. 317. You will note PDG Howie Stevenson’s open letter elsewhere in this issue. FYI - before dues can be raised, there is a provision in the Bylaws that requires the dues limit to be set in advance. This was duly done and approved some years back when the last dues increase occurred. The maximum amount presently is a raise of $10.

Future conventions are now set for several years into the future. D-II will host the 2018

meeting at the beautiful Abby Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in June. D-IX will host the 2019 AGM in downtown Reno, Nevada, June 1-6. Victoria, BC will be the venue in 2020 to coincide with their 100th anniversary in Gyro. Finally, Winnipeg is perhaps offering to host in 2021. All are great venues and Gyro will be well served by having these long-term commitments well in advance.

Finally, Governor (and PDG) Ed MacDonald has replaced PDG Andy McDougall as a member

of the Betterment Fund board along with PIP Dana Davidson replacing PIP Mike McNally; and PIP Chuck Field has agreed to be the new Trustee.

I invite any Gyro who has something to say for the good of Gyro, or a submission regarding

his club or district, to send me the input prior to any issue’s published cut-off date. It will become part of that issue. Without communication, we cannot survive.

Congratulations and thank you for accepting this leadership role in Gyro. By taking this step

you have agreed to lead Gyro at the District level through the term of your office.

This will mean different things for each of you as you have formed ideas and plans as you began this part of your journey through Gyro.

One common thread, in my opinion, has to be the betterment and general health of Gyro. You will talk with other Governors about growth and the strength of the clubs in your District and all of Gyro.

The strength of the total organization and our hierarchy has also got to be an area you consider.

Our founders Paul, Gus, Ed and others built an organization that has lasted over 100 years. This is in large part due to a hierarchical structure that has provided a vision and purpose for Gyro.

I recently attended a Convention in Vancouver Canada at which several Governors stated that the grass roots membership in their District and their home club did not recognize the value that Paul, Gus and Ed's structure provided to them. This dialogue took place in the context of discussion regarding raising the dues each member pays to Gyro International.

The motion to raise this portion of our dues failed to pass.

The failure of this motion requires that our Executive Council do their job with less resources and/or fund the task from their own pocket. Revenue is down because membership is shrinking and we are losing clubs and the $Can is low, (oh yeah and inflation too).

Gentlemen, I believe this is our failure. If our members do not see the value of Paul, Gus and Ed's organization, I believe it is because we are failing to endorse and support the idea.

When next we are asked to speak at a Founder's night, I hope a part of our speech will talk to the value the Founders built into our organization. Without structure and leadership we could not have survived 100 years.

Of course Gyro strength is in our individual clubs and the friendships and relationship we form there. But hey, without Paul, Gus and Ed's structure, we would not call ourselves Gyro and would not have your specific club and all the Gyro friendships in neighbor clubs far and near.

Sincerely,

Howie Stevenson, Golden Ears Gyro Club and PDG District IV

An Open Letter to all District Governors,Lt. Governors & Past District Governors

- 8 -

D-IV Installation ~ with Bling, Baby!

Peter Evans takes over from Saul Hilchey

- 9 -

2018 International ConventionAbbey Resort

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Water Sports / Golf / Trails / Boating / Winery / MoreDetails to Come - Check Website

Plan ahead now!

- 10 -

June 25-29, 2016

Kitimat hosts District IV Interim

The District IV Interim Convention was held at the picturesque Rod & Gun situated along the Kitimat River. This event was extremely well attended by approximately 96 persons and special thanks go out to the many guests who traveled from other clubs to contribute to the weekends success.

It all started with registration, the “Nifty Fifties” Friday night gathering, snowball punch, great appetizers by Chez Enterprises, games and dancing to DJ Steve Little. On Saturday daytime activities included the District IV meeting, Ladies Tea Party, Fishing Charter, Golf, Rio Tinto Tour and Kitimat Townsite Tours. This was followed by the formal banquet on Saturday evening which included an exceptional dinner by Chez Enterprises and dancing to DJ Steve Little. On Sunday mornings Moosemilk breakfast included a “cook to order” breakfast prepared by Bill Blair and his crew along with Kitimat’s signature Moosemilk.

- submitted by Steve Revell / excepts from the Kitimat Newsletter

Overall, the weekend was a remarkable success thanks to the efforts by all of the Kitimat Gyro’s and Gyrette’s who gave their time and ideas to ensure everything went smoothly, and to President Mike Steponavicius who’s belief never wavered in our ability to pull this off

We are pleased to welcome our newest Gyro’s and Gyrettes Lou Bedard (Brenda), Lloyd Eastman

(Angela) and Darrin Stamper (Brenda)

Congratulations also go out to fellow Gyro’s Ken Minifie and Don (D.K.) Reeves who were presented with their 40 year pins at the District IV Interim

“One of the greatest gifts of life is friendship, and through GYRO we have achieved it”

- 11 -

The District hosted its Interim convention, themed “Maintaining Excellence of Service and Friendships” the weekend of April 7 -9, at the Sheraton Four Points hotel in Columbus, OH.

As one might expect, the focus of this year's Interim was on combining the Leadership training services provided by the District Executive with the traditional format of promoting friendship through hosting social events.

The weekend began with the Powell club welcoming guests at the hotel, with a regimen of snacks and drinks, served by our dynamic bartending duo of Kelly Keller & Maria Boyden.

Saturday morning featured the PDG meeting & business meeting for the guys, while the ladies enjoyed a “Scones & Mimosas” breakfast hosted by D1 “Governess” Debra Tarrier.

After a catered lunch, we resumed with several Club Officer training sessions presented by Governor Randy Tarrier, Lt Governors Bryan Flanigan & Jim Glassmeyer, and IPG Pat Rynd.

There was a lively discussion of Pat's proposal of combining recruiting events with Medal of Honor recipients presentations, a very worthwhile concept pioneered by District X PDG Steve Anderson. D1's own Army General Dan Hahn (ret) provided us with some valuable insights on some of the hurdles a club or District would need to overcome to make this a success – these are actually very large-scale events, and some form of co-sponsorship may be a more realistic goal.

Saturday evening we enjoyed a buffet dinner catered by a local restaurant, the food was quite good & the company of friends was fantastic as always. Games played during the evening featured “Shut-box” – a dice game played by any number of participants, and 50-50 drawings to help fund our fall convention.

.

Many thanks to our

Powell club members and

District Officers who

contributed to make this a

great event!

District One Interim ~ April 7-9, 2017

PIP Chris Snyder & PDG Jim Boyden

Dick Wray (Canton) andPowell VP Steve Reed

The event was attended by nearly 50 people, which slightly exceeded our goal. We had club officers from Akron, Canton, Cleveland Heights, Marion, Powell and Wheeling in attendance - which was a major goal - to provide leadership, training and exposure to Gyro culture to the club officers. We also achieved our other goal of providing a totally user-funded social event to provide an opportunity to make and renew friendships across the district.

Governess Debra Tarrier (center left) hosts the ladies coffee, with Marion Gulic, Kelly Keller, & Lee Barnaby.(rear) Linda Snyder, Diane Glassmeyer, Sure Lause, Gloria Rynd, Carol Hahn & Beryl Wray

- 12 -

Many years ago, a newlywed young man was sitting on a couch on a hot humid day, sipping frozen juice during a visit to his father. As he talked about adult life, marriage, responsibilities, and obligations, the father thoughtfully stirred the ice cubes in his glass and cast a clear, sober look on his son.

"Never forget your friends," he advised, "they will become more important as you get older."

"Regardless of how much you love your family and the children you happen to have, you will always need friends. Remember to go out with them occasionally, do activities with them, call them ..."

"What strange advice!" Thought the young man. "I just entered the married world, I am an adult and surely my wife and the family that we will start will be everything I need to make sense of my life." Yet he obeyed his father; Kept in touch with his friends and annually increased their number. Over the years, he became aware that his father knew what he was talking about.

Inasmuch as time and nature carry out their designs and mysteries on a man, friends were the bulwarks of his life. After 60 years of life, here is what he learned:

Time passes. Life goes on. The distance separates. Children grow up.

Children cease to be children and become independent. And to the parents it breaks the heart but the children are separated of the parents.

Jobs come and go. Illusions, desires, attraction, sex ... weaken.

People do not do what they should do.

The heart breaks. The parents die. Colleagues forget the favors. The races are over.

But, true friends are always there, no matter how long or how many miles they are. A friend is never more distant than the reach of a need, barring you, intervening in your favor, waiting for you with open arms or blessing your life.

When we started this adventure called LIFE, we did not know of the incredible joys or sorrows that were ahead. We did not know how much we would need from

each other. Love your parents, take care of your children, but keep a group of good friends. Dialogue with them but do not impose your criteria.

- 13 -

- submitted by PIP Ian Grieg“Never Forget Your Friends”

Spring has been rough on our region with the flooding of local rivers, creeks and Okanagan Lake. A number of Kelowna Gyros are personally affected as flood waters rise onto their lake front properties. Fred and Diana Behrner have been getting lots of help from city and wild fire workers, but they have the sump pump going full-time. Thanks to the members that came out to help Bill and Karin Arkinstall. We were able to get two loads of rock in place to try and hold back land erosion caused by rising waters. Fred and Nadia Brome lost their dock due to the windstorm worsened by the impact of rising waters

thOur April 25 meeting saw the return of many members who spent the better part of winter in the warm climate. The annual “Welcome Back Snowbirds” meeting, hosted by Miles Treadgold was a well-attended mixed event where winter experiences were exchanged.

Kelowna members (L – R) Dennis Denny, Monty Cordingley and Tony McCarthy share stories of a sunny winter down south

In May we welcomed new member Renald Bedard to our club. We’re happy to have Renald and Beverly join us!

Our first meeing in June was a packed house at the Eldorado Sunroon as Lady of Gyro Marian Grimwood made an outstanding presentation about her recent trip to France and the 100 year anniversary celebration of the

thbattle for Vimy Ridge on April 9 . Along with pictures from the celebration Lady of Gyro Diane McGillivray brought Vimy and artifacts from the first war including an 88 mm shell from the battleground. She also shared the story of her grandmother who found her way to France as a war nurse.

The Kelowna club is hosting the District 4 Yorke-Brimacombe Golf tournament at the spectacular Harvest

ndGolf Course on Saturday July 22 . We'll be welcoming golfers and spouses from Canada and the U.S. for the annual 2 man best-ball tournament. Last minute entries available, contact Ken at: ken.kilcullen@bellmedia.ca .

As we rap this season of Gyro, plans are in place for the annual summer party in August and the Kelowna Club Installation weekend taking place Sepetemb 15-17. Gyro Jeff Merrell is stepping up and will be taking over as the new President.

Smiling Kelowna members welcomed Marian Grimwood (front left)

- submitted by Ken Kilcullen

Waves crashing over barriers at Fred and Diana's home

Renald gets pinned… he's absolutely thrilled

- 14 -

Yorke-Brimacombe Golf Tournament ~ Harvest Golf Course ~ Sept. 15-17

Conventions & Interim Meetingsto learn more, go to http://www.gyro.ws

Future Deadlines for the GyroScope September 28 / December 28

DISTRICTS

INTERNATIONAL

?“HAVE YOUINVITED AFRIEND TO

GYRO”

- 15 -

September 2017 ............................................................................................ District III Convention

September 27-29, 2017 ............................................................................... District VI Convention

Super 8 Hotel, Windsor, NS

October 18-21, 2017 ....................................................................................... District IX Convention

Mariposa, CA

ember 2017 ..................................................................................................... District X ConventionNov

May, 2018 ...................................................................................................... District VIII Convention

Fairmont Resort, BC

June 25-29, 2018 .................................................International Convention Lake Geneva, WI - District II

No matter

how you do it ...

bring a friend

to Gyro!

LakeGeneva, WIJune 25-29

2018

AnnualGeneralMeeting/

Convention