Kitchener Rotary e-Newsletter
September 26, 2022

Meeting Recording

This was an in-person meeting and was not recorded.

President's Comments

President Adrian welcomed everyone to the meeting in this, the 64th week of our 18 month centennial celebration.

Visiting Rotarians

Doug Edwards, RC of Kitchener Conestoga

Guests

Pastor Roland Syens, guest of the club, Guest Speaker
Sharon Yule, guest of Cam Yule
Dennis Tereshchenko, guest of Oksana Tereshchenko
Vlad Mironescu, Ella Mironescu and Joane, guests of Lumi Mironescu
 

Bell Ringer(s)

The volunteers who assisted at the Dancing with the Easter Seals Stars fundraiser - Martin Jones, Betty Bax, Louise Gardiner, Ray Taylor, Mike Ellis, Ella Mironescu, along with the celebrity dancer herself – Karen Redman were named as Bell Ringers this week.  A special nod went to Louise who stepped in as a judge at the last minute.
 
Members of the club who assisted with request from Quebec City Rotary to provide travel assistance to three women from Ukraine travelling through Kitchener on their way to Winnipeg were also recognized as Bell Ringers - Bill Proctor, Martin Jones, Oksana Tereshchenko and Lumi Mironescu.

Happy Jar

Richard Bruckeder was happy to be back from New Brunswick and that his son is safe in New Brunswick after the damage done by Tropical storm Fiona.
 
Boyd Pendleton is happy that his parents are visiting from California.
 
Paul and Paula Rostrup enjoyed their holiday in New Brunswick and sorry to hear about the storm that hit some of the areas that they visited.
 
Lumi Mironescu was happy to have met the Quebec Rotary club as they also assisted her in making connections with a Rotary Club in France to assist with a friend moving to Strasbourg.
 
Emma Marriot was pleased to have her daughter join us at the meeting tonight.
 

Club Announcements

Catch The Ace
 
Another week and still no Ace of Spades!  Last week's winner Brad B. chose card #41 revealing the nine of Hearts.  He won the weekly prize of $1,418, our largest weekly prize in this round.  YOU could be our next winner! But you need to have a ticket!
 
 
When you buy tickets you have a chance to win the weekly prize and if your card is the Ace of Spades you will also win the Progressive Prize which will be over $33,000. The next weekly draw is on Thursday September 29th.
 
The deadline to get your tickets as always is Wednesday at Midnight.  Don't forget that you have to purchase a ticket the week of the draw to qualify for both the weekly and progressive jackpot!
 
When you play Catch the Ace not only do you have a chance to win great prizes but you also win by knowing that the net proceeds will all be going to KidsAbility
 
Online Auction
Neil Swayze was happy to report that there are already some items donated for the Online Auction and one sponsor has signed up.  Thanks to Marissa Watkin for taking on a role as Media Consultant for the Auction.  All members are encouraged to use the materials in the support package that has been sent out to start soliciting auction items.
 
Membership Committee
Hubert Singh reported on the work of the Membership Committee.  In the past 3 years, 23 new members have joined Kitchener Rotary, demonstrating that our club is very vibrant.  Thanks to the efforts of an active membership committee and strong social media work by Louise and Darren.

Program Highlights

Doug Edwards, Chair of the Kitchener Conestoga Rotary International Aid Fund introduced the speaker, Pastor Roland.
Pastor Roland was pastor at the Holy Cross Lutheran church in Kitchener for 15 years until 2020 and recently returned to assist the church.  Prior to that he had worked in Ukraine as a missionary from 1993.  During his time living in Ukraine, he became fluent in Russian and Ukrainian languages and worked with families.  In 2022, now living in Vancouver, he was contacted to assist with the families affected by the war in Ukraine.  Through the church in Kitchener he was connected with the KCRC International Aid Fund and work began on setting up connections with Pastor Roland’s trusted contacts in Ukraine.
 
Through this work they have been able to raise funds through the fund that are being directed to people who are fleeing danger, needing food and shelter and assistance with transportation. Funds have also been directed to assist with a dormitory and to provide equipment, including a clothes washer and dryer and a dishwasher.  The funds are being sent directly to those that are in need and as a result the efforts have been able to quickly address needs on the ground in Ukraine.  The funding has been structured with documentation to ensure that the International Aid Fund is assured the funds are being appropriately spent.
 
Pastor Roland also spoke to the needs of displaced people in our local community and how the need for housing and financial support to assist with rent payments is a priority.  Rotary has been central in assisting with these needs.  Pastor Roland also stressed the importance of recognizing the dignity of the people and allowing them to make decisions about the items that they need; using a storage place to temporarily house household items allows people then to choose the items they require.
 
Doug Edwards noted that donations to the IAF are coming in from across Canada and not just from Rotary Members.  So far about $90,000 has been raised and disbursed.

Thank you to Pastor Roland by Paul Rostrup
 
Kitchener Rotary – Ukraine Support:

Robert Shipley provided an update on the work done by our own Ukraine Committee. The project is focussed on identifying items that can be donated, creating a database of the items and then working to match items with people in needs.  The group has the database up and running and the next steps will be for the committee to reach out to members and others in the community to source items.
 

Special Recognitions / Presentations

We were very pleased to induct two new members today:
 
Andrea Guth:
 
Andrea grew up in Markham, ON and since graduating from university has moved around from Woodstock, Simcoe, Otterville, Brantford, Cambridge, 
Brooklin, and finally settled in Guelph in 2010 with her family.  She is married to her high school sweetheart, Peter, and they are looking forward to 
celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this year on Oct. 18.  They have 3 children - Colin, 23; Yvette, 19, and Nathan, 17, and a black lab named Piper. 
She loves animals, travelling, hiking with the dog, and spending time with family.
 
Andrea trained as a Physiotherapist at the University of Toronto and spent the first 13 years of her career in private and hospital clinical practice, with half of 
that time specializing in stroke and amputee rehabilitation.  She was then drawn to leadership, and began her formal leadership career at Lakeridge Health 
Oshawa as the Manager of Allied Health.  She joined Grand River Hospital in 2010 as the Manager of Rehabilitation, before deciding to pursue her Master ’s 
in Leadership at the University of Guelph, while continuing to work full time.  After graduating in 2015, she continued to take on leadership challenges at 
Grand River Hospital as the Director, Waterloo Wellington Stroke Program in 2015, Director, Quality and Performance Management in 2018, and most 
recently in November 2021, her current role as Director, Quality, Risk, and Patient Experience.
 
Andrea is excited to join Rotary as part of the Grand River Hospital Foundation membership as a hospital representative, and is looking forward to meeting 
new people, building on her leadership skills, and getting involved activities.
 
Oksana Tereschenko:
 
Oksana has a wonderful family: 2 children: a son, 24  and a daughter, 13. They are together with her in Canada now, while her husband remains in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Oksana was born in 1974 in Tajikistan. Graduated school with Honors in 1992 in Ukraine, then in 1997 graduated Dnipro State University (Master degree in Accounting and Finance). As a student, she participated in AIESEC programs during 2 years.
She has a Diploma in International Financial Reporting Standard from Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and she is a Certified Auditor of Ukraine (since 2010). She is a Member of the Council of the Association of Auditors of Ukraine since 2018.  Oksana has over 20 years of experience in Accounting and Auditing. She started working as an accountant for Robert Half International in the USA in 1999, and then for 5 years held the positions as a Finance Controller in Coca-Cola Company and Goodyear Tires in Ukraine.

For the past 15 years, she was an owner and general manager of two auditing companies in Ukraine, that provided audit and financial consulting to large enterprises and medium-sized businesses in manufacturing, financial, IT and other industries.

In 2020 she joined the Rotary Club Kyiv International as a friend and volunteer in the "Financial Literacy for Teens and Youth" project, and also became a financial literacy mentor.

Everything changed when the war began…
 
Trying to escape the war and find a safe home in Canada, she arrived in April 2022 from Kyiv in Canada, with her daughter and joined her 24-year-old son, who has been living in Canada for 6 years.
She left in Ukraine the part of her family, home, job and friends. However, she found great support from the Rotary Club Frankfurt, Germany from Imke Hellmanns and David Strauss, who hosted in his house, Oksana with her daughter for one month in March while she was waiting for visa.

Oksana also appreciates the tremendous support from Kitchener Rotary - Lumi Mironescu, Michael Ellis, Mr. Shawky Fahel, Richard Bruckeder, Adrian DeCoo, Paul Rostrup, Louise Graham Gardiner, Hubert Singh and other members.
With enormous help from Shawky Fahel she has settled in our amazing Kitchener-Waterloo community with an apartments and a job as an accountant.
 
Now she helps other Ukrainians who have recently arrived in Canada.
Besides accounting, she likes practicing in psychology. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading books, hiking in nature, travelling and discovering new places, spending time with friends and family.
 

Closing Remarks & Reminders

President Adrian reminded members of the next meeting at noon on Monday Oct 3rd at Charcoal Steak House. 
Upcoming Speakers
Oct 03, 2022 12:00 PM
Neil Swayze
Oct 10, 2022
Thanksgiving Day
Oct 17, 2022 12:00 PM
https://rotary7080.zoom.us/j/86031395729?pwd=WkRRemcwV1BERkVPL0R6YWRvNVhkQT09
Oct 24, 2022 4:00 PM
Dom Cardillo Trail Clean Up - followed by The Whale & Ale Pub Dinner
View entire list
Birthdays & Membership Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Linda Bennett
September 3
 
Join Date
Adrian DeCoo
September 1, 1987
35 years
 
Karim Sallaudin Karim
September 21, 2021
1 year
 
Tasreen Charania
September 21, 2021
1 year
 
Tom Mennill
September 24, 2007
15 years
 
Sponsors