President's Message                            

This past week, after a call with the County Cider Operations manager and with the contact information provided by Dick MacArthur, I was able to catch up to Bottles Larry’s sister, Kathy. Larry is in the Belleville hospital and not doing very well, and his wife Teresa is in the Picton hospital. At Tuesday’s meeting I’d like to discuss their situation with you to see what we can do as a Club to help them.

At Bottles on Wednesday, three of the crew were Friends of Rotary. One of them asked if it’s possible to receive a Rotary hat which I think is a great idea, especially considering all the help a number of FoR have provided to keep our Bottles Depot operating. I have added this item to next week’s Board agenda. 

On Saturday, I stopped by the Memorial Garden and there was Bill Mitchell working away on the stone trim pieces. The Garden looks fantastic, and it’s a wonderful credit to the Club that so many members came together to get the Memorial Garden built in such a short period of time. Congratulations and thank you to all. Of note, Alastair was having too much fun operating his Kubota excavator – everyone should have one!

I have sent out the list of possible projects for further discussion at Tuesday’s meeting. As part of the next steps, I’d like to have volunteers for a committee to flesh out the potential projects, present them to the Club for prioritizing, and develop the selected project(s) into an actionable state. The committee could then decide if they wish to implement the project or arrange for a separate implementation team.

Thank you to Margo who has offered to bring in her Keurig coffee maker since it’s a more practical option than buying the Tim Horton’s coffee carton at about $22 a box each week – cups are available but you may want use your own mug. I will continue to bring muffins for munching, but I’m open to suggestions on other food items. 

At our Tuesday Aug 18th meeting, I will implement a suggestion from Dick where I will sit at the other end of the room to be closer to the viewing screen. This will make it easier for members in the room to view ZOOMers as well the president, when he’s speaking.

In closing, our ZOOM session with District Governor Mark Chipman is set for Wednesday Aug 26th at 07:00 am. Quinte Sunrise will be participating along with us. Please note, there will not be a regular Tuesday meeting on August 25th.