President's Message   

 

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The meeting had a very sad opening to hear that long-time Club member, Charles Lacey had passed away, peacefully, at home the previous night. After several expressions of shock and loss from members who had known Charles so well for many years, all 31 members present held a minute of silence in Charles’s honour.

Pres. Ken then began the Club Forum with the investiture of our newest member, Roger Tessier, who was sworn in after his transfer from the Cobourg Club. Pres. Ken continued the program with a report on correspondence, principally expressions of thanks from recipients such as County FM, Community Care for Seniors, and the Zambian project. As part of examining dues paid to the District, the Club discovered that we, like the other clubs in our area, are giving $139 every year to the RADAR project, helping families to cope with the ravages of AIDS in Africa. Pres. Ken then addressed the matter of all members becoming more familiar with the Clubrunner software that can facilitate so many Rotary related tasks and provide information to members. To this end, Phyo has volunteered to give a presentation on this at a future meeting.

Yvonne then presented the Treasurer’s Report that is only reported in certain highlights here but is available to all members on Clubrunner. The bottle return continues to do well in July. The Rotary Ribs also did very well with a profit as well as all the fellowship and positive public relations fostered. There were some pre-expenses for the Golf Tournament. Dues have been received from 39 members, numerous charitable disbursements have been made as approved by the Club and some expenses such as bank charges and insurance have been covered. A motion to accept this report was made by Norm and seconded by Mike. This motion was passed unanimously.

Colin gave an update on the Golf Tournament and Lana spoke about items for the welcome bags. Things are also moving forward on the Auction-Dinner/Dance, “Happy Days are Here Again” with the acquisition of the liquor permit, though more items are still being sought for the auction. Posters are being circulated in a wide variety of media. The goal is to have 250 guests.

Our Communications point-person Christina reminded us that the official opening of the storybook walk was Friday, the 2nd of September, at 10:30 am. Our current membership stands are very healthy 42 with 26 Friends of Rotary. Under New Initiatives, Kate’s Rest is moving forward strongly on its Aquaponics pilot project and those who wish to visit should check with Phyo for the correct protocol. There is also some early talk of the possibility of bringing a splashpad to Wellington Park. Some very expert advice is needed for such an enterprise. PP Trudy brought the Club up-to-date on the 20th Anniversary Party arrangements. The Rec Centre at Wellington-on-the-Lake has been provisionally booked for November 22nd but alternate venues such as the Midtown Brewery and the Rotary Room in the Lehigh Centre could be used. From the Wellness Committee, David McKinnon referenced a very positive initiative involving Robert McMurtry to promote the training and qualification of higher numbers of nurse practitioners.

The Board had received two funding requests, one of which, from Steve Rutledge for the Clean Water for Laotian villages, for $1,000, was accepted (proposed: PP Trudy, seconded: Kim, agreed unanimously), the other for a Toronto Club was not approved.

After some discussion about whether any birthdays and/or anniversaries were due to be mentioned, David McKinnon and Bill Pennell may have deserved an official recognition from Pres. Ken but this is where he fell off the script (which he had mislaid). However, the meeting still closed at 8.13 with the inclusion of the 4 Way Test.

 

 

 

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