Meeting Minutes - Feb. 6th. 2020 - Edna and Ritchie: Ethiopia 2019
President Julian Sale opened today’s meeting at 9:58 am by welcoming all members present as well as guest, Bill Gaines, who has submitted an application for membership.
Julian further announced that Ed Herold is making good progress in his recovery.
Announcements
Activities – Ken Marchant
- Next Friday is our Valentine’s Dinner at the Symposium Restaurant at 6:00 pm and we are now fully booked to capacity of the number of people who can attend at 25.
- The Anniversary Luncheon on April 2 /20 is at a cost of $16 per person.
- A tour of the Waterloo International Airport is scheduled for May 19th, /20 and we will have to pay for the cost of a bus to transport us around at the airport. Spouses are welcome to attend.
- A tentative tour is being considered for Our Lady of the Bascilica.
- A tour of the local Waste Water Treatment Plant is scheduled for June 17th.
- Also being considered is attending a performance at Bingeman Park to see a show.
Coffee Gathering – Andy Curtis
- Next Thursday at the Symposium Restaurant and the Airpark Café.
Presidential opening comments – Julian Sale
He provided some current statistics on the CoVid-19 virus: There are 26,400 confirmed cases with a mortality rate of 2%. That compares to the SARS epidemic of 2%.
Topic:
A pictoral journey through central Ethiopia. We will see wonderful landscapes, real life and colourful birds and endemic animals.
Bio: Ritchie Zelk and Edna Mumford
Ritchie was raised in Toronto, Ontario and was always a traveller. He spent his working career in the coffee industry (34yrs.) as an independent distributor. His love of travel and now photography has opened a new chapter in his life. He has lived in Guelph since 2003 and is thoroughly in love with the City. His wife, Edna, is also a great traveller and they both are avid Ballroom Dancers and Hikers. Ritchie has been on various committees and boards and is currently the Communications Director for the RCMC.
Presentation:
(You can find the pictures of Ritchie and Edna’s trip to Ethiopia on the Club website under “More” then “Speakers Notes”)
Both Edna and Ritchie are naturalists interested in birds and animals. They indicated that Ethiopia is not a choice of destination for a tourist trip. Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months and is 8 years behind our calendar.
The main mode of transportation is donkeys and this what they encountered during this trip. They were advised for their travels there to stay away from the country’s borders in order to maintain their safety.
Ethiopia is known for its Arabica coffee and this is where coffee originated from but Ethiopia is not the biggest coffee producer in the world. Ethiopian coffee is quite good however it is how coffee is roasted that makes the difference.
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia and they showed a video they took while in the city.
The country’s former emperor, Haile Selassie was a defining figure in Ethiopian history and they visited his burial site. They showed pictures of the market place which they described as one of the craziest places they had ever seen and you could not go through market without a guide for fear of getting lost. It was difficult to determine the nature of the economy in the market place like who was the buyer and who was the seller. There were lots of spices and coffees for sale.
Many of the people living there routinely washed themselves and their clothes in the nearby creeks and the people’s biggest daily chore was getting water for drinking and cooking.
Ritchie and Edna explained the pictures they showed of the culture, people, animals and birds.
(See the pictures on the website)
Following Ritchie and Edna’s pictorial of their Ethiopian tour John Sneyd thanked them for sharing their experiences and pictures with us.
Next meeting: Thurs., February 20th, 2020 with Laura Sullivan on Seniors at Risk
Adjournment: 11:01 am
Recording Secretary: Kerry Gennings
Julian further announced that Ed Herold is making good progress in his recovery.
Announcements
Activities – Ken Marchant
- Next Friday is our Valentine’s Dinner at the Symposium Restaurant at 6:00 pm and we are now fully booked to capacity of the number of people who can attend at 25.
- The Anniversary Luncheon on April 2 /20 is at a cost of $16 per person.
- A tour of the Waterloo International Airport is scheduled for May 19th, /20 and we will have to pay for the cost of a bus to transport us around at the airport. Spouses are welcome to attend.
- A tentative tour is being considered for Our Lady of the Bascilica.
- A tour of the local Waste Water Treatment Plant is scheduled for June 17th.
- Also being considered is attending a performance at Bingeman Park to see a show.
Coffee Gathering – Andy Curtis
- Next Thursday at the Symposium Restaurant and the Airpark Café.
Presidential opening comments – Julian Sale
He provided some current statistics on the CoVid-19 virus: There are 26,400 confirmed cases with a mortality rate of 2%. That compares to the SARS epidemic of 2%.
Topic:
A pictoral journey through central Ethiopia. We will see wonderful landscapes, real life and colourful birds and endemic animals.
Bio: Ritchie Zelk and Edna Mumford
Ritchie was raised in Toronto, Ontario and was always a traveller. He spent his working career in the coffee industry (34yrs.) as an independent distributor. His love of travel and now photography has opened a new chapter in his life. He has lived in Guelph since 2003 and is thoroughly in love with the City. His wife, Edna, is also a great traveller and they both are avid Ballroom Dancers and Hikers. Ritchie has been on various committees and boards and is currently the Communications Director for the RCMC.
Presentation:
(You can find the pictures of Ritchie and Edna’s trip to Ethiopia on the Club website under “More” then “Speakers Notes”)
Both Edna and Ritchie are naturalists interested in birds and animals. They indicated that Ethiopia is not a choice of destination for a tourist trip. Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months and is 8 years behind our calendar.
The main mode of transportation is donkeys and this what they encountered during this trip. They were advised for their travels there to stay away from the country’s borders in order to maintain their safety.
Ethiopia is known for its Arabica coffee and this is where coffee originated from but Ethiopia is not the biggest coffee producer in the world. Ethiopian coffee is quite good however it is how coffee is roasted that makes the difference.
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia and they showed a video they took while in the city.
The country’s former emperor, Haile Selassie was a defining figure in Ethiopian history and they visited his burial site. They showed pictures of the market place which they described as one of the craziest places they had ever seen and you could not go through market without a guide for fear of getting lost. It was difficult to determine the nature of the economy in the market place like who was the buyer and who was the seller. There were lots of spices and coffees for sale.
Many of the people living there routinely washed themselves and their clothes in the nearby creeks and the people’s biggest daily chore was getting water for drinking and cooking.
Ritchie and Edna explained the pictures they showed of the culture, people, animals and birds.
(See the pictures on the website)
Following Ritchie and Edna’s pictorial of their Ethiopian tour John Sneyd thanked them for sharing their experiences and pictures with us.
Next meeting: Thurs., February 20th, 2020 with Laura Sullivan on Seniors at Risk
Adjournment: 11:01 am
Recording Secretary: Kerry Gennings