The meeting was called to order by Past President Lyn at 7:07 am. 36 Rotarians were present (31 in person and 5 on zoom). Lyn welcomed back Colin, Tim and Ken back from extended holidays.
Lyn mentioned the recent death of Geoff Telling’s wife Sue. Tim spoke with Geoff recently and indicated that he is coping fairly well with this loss.
The Rotary song was sung. ‘O’ Canada’ was sung. David Hawkins recited an invocation. Breakfast was served.
Club Forum:
Chris provided a review of correspondence messages received and sent.
Bill provided a comprehensive treasurer report for the month of February 2025. Phyo noted that based on the numbers presented, the club is actually in a sound financial position. While they agreed with Phyo’s observation Bill and Yvonne both emphasized the need to be fiscally responsible given upcoming expenditures. Mike Lattner moved to accept the club financials for February as presented; seconded by Howard; approved unanimously.
Yvonne presented on fundraising initiatives. She reported that after only one week all of the maple syrup bottles have been sold. She congratulated everyone who assisted with this initiative. The final tally on monies raised for the local foodbank will be forthcoming.
The Canada Day Rib event this year will proceed with ribs prepared and purchased from the “Dugout” restaurant in Belleville. It was felt that this will greatly reduce the workload involved with rib preparation by our club members.
Norm and Mary Camp encouraged all members to do their best to sell the Diners and Duffers booklets.
The electronic recycling event will take place on April 6 at 10 am at the Home Hardware in Picton.
There was considerable discussion regarding the Dinner Dance fundraiser. Bill noted that Shawn Ellis has stepped forward with an offer to co-chair the event and take over the online auction component. Ken commented that the Dinner Dance takes a lot of work to organize and if there isn’t member engagement we might consider cancelling the event this year. Most members felt that the Dinner Dance should continue this year however it is probably worth ‘spicing up’ the event rather than persisting with the same formula. Bill will call a committee meeting in 2 weeks and discuss concepts further with Shawn.
Norm provided an update on his literacy portfolio. MJ Patel from PECI has been sponsored by our club to participate in the upcoming RYLS event. In the coming few weeks the story book boards will be cleaned and laminated book pages will be installed. The story boards will then subsequently be placed onto the Wellington Beach boardwalk. Norm noted the upcoming Spelling Bee schedule and reminded those who had agreed to participate to speak with Dawn Cutler.
Ken initiated a follow-up discussion on the proposed changes to our club bylaws. He specifically highlighted two changes: 1) the establishment of a two member financial oversight committee that will provide an annual report on club finances and 2) the proposed mechanism whereby club voting may bypass board deliberation in an ‘emergency situation’. Ken thanked Lyn and Margo for their efforts in this process. He will circulate the amended bylaws to members for final feedback.
In Peter’s absence, Chris briefly reported on membership. At the beginning of his presidency Roger set a goal of 45 club members by the end of the year. We currently have 44 active members. In addition Kathleen Meaney has attended two meetings and she seems committed to becoming an active member. There is also a resident of ‘Wellington on the Lake’ who has expressed a desire to join the club. In addition recently retired police officer John Hatch might like to join our club sometime later in the year.
David Mackinnon reported on the Wellness Committee activities. This evening Dr. Joseph Burley, a psychiatrist from Queen’s University, will be speaking on the diagnosis and treatment of depression. An additional presentation on Lyme disease is tentatively scheduled for April 13 and a presentation which highlights safety in the home will occur in June. David has also had ongoing conversations with representatives from the HUB regarding establishing 2 home day cares in Wellington in an effort to address the shortage of day care spaces in our community.
Robynne spoke briefly on her public image portfolio. Advertising for a variety of upcoming events is taking place in multiple media (electronic signage, newspaper, online etc). She also noted the board’s discussion regarding a request that students who receive scholarship or bursary money from our club present a brief summary of their studies.
Funding requests:
The HUB requested $2,000 to research and evaluate the establishment of 2 home day care spaces within Wellington. Lyn noted that the board strongly supports this concept but deferred any funding decision at this time until our club finances strengthen.
Phyo asked to be on record in stating that he feels that the board’s conservative fiscal approach is misguided. Roger responded that the board is trying to be responsible with the club’s money.
Business:
John Inwood announced that Dave Robinet was the recipient of the ‘crushed can award’ this past week. Unfortunately Dave missed his scheduled work time at the bottle depot. John encouraged all members who volunteer to please make note of their commitment.
Shawn Ellis celebrates a birthday this week (March 27). There are no anniversaries this week.
The happy toonie can was passed around.
Mary Camp’s ticket was drawn for the 50/50 draw – despite everyone cheering for her she was unable to draw the Ace of Spades. The meeting concluded with the 4 way test.
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