The meeting was called to order by President Roger at 7:07 am 25 Rotarians were present with 7 members on zoom and 1 guest (Wendy Matthews – who was briefly introduced by Lyn McGowan).
Shawn provided a rotary moment in which he explained how he came to join Rotary. He first commented on how amazed he was with the functioning of the bottle depot by the Wellington Rotarians. Specifically the manner in which a volunteer group is able to run a small business, make money and funnel that money back into the community was impressive. He noted that in 2006 he bought a dry cleaning business in Trenton. It was a very successful business and he was quite content. He deliberated joining either the local Rotary club or the Kiwanis. He ultimately joined the Rotary Club of Trenton in 2007. He subsequently became a board member and fully integrated into the Rotary organization. Unfortunately, several years later his dry cleaning business caught fire and burned down. He was devastated with the loss of his business but was comforted and supported by many of his fellow Rotarians. When he subsequently divorced from his wife he once again felt the reassurance and support of his Rotary colleagues. These life experiences taught him what Rotary ‘family’ is all about.
‘O’ Canada’ was sung. David Hawkins recited an invocation. Breakfast was served.
Peter introduced our guest speaker Iza, who is providing her classification speech to the group today. Peter noted how happy he was that Iza has joined our Rotary group.
Iza noted that the last time she spoke publicly was unfortunately at her late husband’s celebration of life approximately 1.5 years ago. Both of her parents lived through the trauma of WWII – her mother from Poland and her father from Prussia. They emigrated to Atikokan, Ontario where her father worked as a heavy crane operator. Her parents were married in 1960 and had 3 daughters (with an additional child from a prior relationship). The family relocated to Thunder Bay in 1973 where her parents integrated into the local Polish community. Iza has very fond memories of her childhood in Thunder Bay. Her parents taught her to be independent, respectful and tolerant. One life lesson she recalled from her mother was “speak up!” (That is, if you aren’t satisfied with something, write a letter to let your feelings be known).
Iza was an avid photographer and her childhood dream was to be a photographer for National Geographic. In 1990 she enrolled in an applied photography program at Sheridan College. She notes that in her 20’s she was restless – she moved a lot and couldn’t seem to settle down. In 1997 she enrolled in a dental hygienist program at Algonquin College in Ottawa. This would mark her career path for the next two decades. In 1998 she met her husband Scott. He worked for Bell Canada in various capacities over a subsequent 36 year career. Iza and Scott lived in High Park for a while before settling into a home in Oakville. They were married in 2001 near Thunder Bay. They enjoyed sailing, camping and a variety of other outdoor activities.
In the midst of the COVID pandemic in 2020 Scott was unfortunately diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died in September 2022. Iza ultimately decided to retire and move away from Oakville. She ‘house sat’ for 5 weeks for Jacques and Janet Michaud and at that time she knew that PEC was where she wanted to be. She bought a home on Carla Court in July of 2024. Unfortunately her beloved dog Chili, a source of companionship and affection during her husband’s illness, died last year. Since moving to the County fulltime, Iza has been active in a variety of groups and clubs (including crafting, curling and line dancing). Jacques encouraged her to consider joining Rotary. She was impressed at how tight-knit the group is. She has also been warmly welcomed into her Carla Court neighbourhood by Ken and Luane, among others.
Christine thanked Iza for her honest and heartfelt presentation. She noted that Iza has fit seamlessly into our club and we are very lucky to have her as a new member.
Business
Roger provided an update on the health of members:Tim reported that John Inwood is being treated for severe COPD and hopes to attend morning meetings again soon.
Bill Pennell discussed the concept of picking up empty cans and bottles at the Wellington on the Lake community once per week. He noted that a lot of bottles are simply thrown into blue bins rather than recycled by residents. He will discuss this further with WOTL board members.
Kim provided an update and clarification on new industry standards for bottle recycling.
Trudy questioned what our Rotary involvement will be in this year’s Family Day activities. She indicated that the Wellington Recreation Committee (Brenda Little) was interested in being involved.
Yvonne reported that 69% of maple syrup bottles have currently been presold. She put out a request to members for help with applying labels to bottles. She also expressed an interest in selling maple syrup at the Picton No Frills – Ken and Trudy both voiced concern that selling Rotary maple syrup in grocery stores might negatively impact the businesses of other maple syrup producers in the county.
David Smith and Kim Lee are both celebrating birthdays this week.
Ted Hannigan’s ticket was drawn for the 50/50 draw – despite a strong effort he failed to draw the ace of spades. Too bad.
The meeting was adjourned with the 4-way test.