Happy Jar
Adrian DeCoo was a leader at PETS (President Elect Training) last weekend and confirmed that Louise Gardiner is still trainable.
Louise Gardiner noted that she is involved in many District events. At the PETS event the Rotarian next to her was given the responsibility of preventing her from raising her hand to ask questions, apparently with limited success.
Carl Zehr is celebrating his 45th year in Rotary.
Shawky Fahel's son announced his engagement last year and has now set the date for July 2020.
DG Lesley Barmania was just happy to be here with her husband.
Lumi Mironescu was happy that her Facebook post allowed her to reconnect with many friends in Romania and was glad to find out that there is a Rotary Club in her home town.
Bill and Judy Proctor will be moving into the Barrel Yards (when they manage to clear out their home of many years).
Bell Ringer(s)
Last week Lumi Mironescu delivered her Who am I, and noted it on her Facebook page. President Paul was delighted that she had over 400 hits and 105 engagements, many more than usually engage on our Facebook posts, and named her Bell Ringer for her promotion of Rotary.
President's Wine Quiz
Two chances for an entry. Have you shared Rotary over Social media in the last week? Have you registered for, or will you be registering for the District Conference on May 30th at Bingemans?
Club Announcements
Bill Proctor noted the following:
February 21 is the Rotary Club of Guelph's 100th Anniversary lunch. Today is the last day for registration.
Tuesday February 25th will be an evening meeting at the Edelweiss, with Graham Gardiner talking about his lung transplant and the importance of organ donation.
Friday March 20 will be the date for Soup Festival. Peter Gray noted that as this is the 25th anniversary for the Children's Groundwater Festival, there will be a number of demonstrations for which volunteers will be welcomed.
Thursday April 16 is the date for In Vino. John Webster noted that planning is proceeding and Cam Yule noted that the key is selling tickets (spouse, neighbours and business associates).
50/50 Draw
Dave Martindale, Neil Swayze and Richard Bruckeder left $368 on the table for next time.
Program Highlights
Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo was inducted by DG Lesley Barmania as an Honourary Rotarian.
Laura Mae serves as the Opposition Critic for Anti-Racism and Citizenship and Immigration. She is also a respected activist and educator who holds both a Masters and PhD in education.
Our guest speaker was DG Lesley Barmania.
Her focus was on Working together on projects.
When Lesley first joined Rotary in 2010, she was soon assigned to International Projects. She was surprised to be told that a Club does not work with another club on projects and that it is not the Rotary way.
It was not long before five of the clubs in the Mississauga Cluster got together to discuss the possibility of annual Global Grant projects. Although two of the clubs could not participate financially, they were still included.
Soon, all nine clubs participated. Their goal was to spread this to other Clusters.
She noted that every accomplishment starts with the decision to Try.
She noted that the steps they follow are:
Cluster planning meeting;
Choose a project and showcase it;
Implement the project.
The key is to secure a qualified host club (this is the club located outside of Canada where the project takes place). The international club (in this case the Mississauga club) raises the money, but the host club does most of the work. They must initiate the project - something that they see as needed. A community needs assessment is also required.
The project is no longer the project of the initiating club - it is now a group project.
Closing Remarks & Reminders
President Paul noted that he, JB Moore, Adrian DeCoo and Al Way met with a Cluster Group to discuss exploring "Catch the Ace". They are now looking for input from a consultant.
There is no meeting next week - Family Day.