Meeting Recording
A recording of Today’s Meeting can be found
herePresident's Comments
President Bryn welcomed everyone to the meeting today.
Guests
Stuart Fowler, Speaker
Owen Lownie, Speaker
Alex Hradecky, Speaker
Karen McCarthy, guest of Ed Fowler
Cristobal Zapata, guest of Ed Fowler
Josefina Cardenas, guest of Ed Fowler
John Oesch, guest of Ed Fowler
Frank Beletz, guest of Ed Fowler
Heather Read, guest of Ed Fowler
Phil Taylor, guest of Ed Fowler
Sarah Taylor, guest of Ed Fowler
Harriet Taylor, guest of Ed Fowler
Bell Ringer(s)
Starting our Rotary year off with a great program, President Bryn announced Linda Bennett as our Bell Ringer for this week.
Happy Jar
Louise Gardiner is happy that Erin Way reminded us all last week of the upcoming Powwow, July 21-23 at the Ohsweken Speedway and they have planned a weekend event with their grandchildren to attend. For more information check out their website at grpowwo.ca
After attending our visit to the Drayton School earlier this year, President Bryn is pleased that his son is looking forward to attending one of their acting camps next week.
Ed Fowler was very pleased to announce that as of June 30 he is now retired after 33 years at Walterfedy. His new email address is edwinjohnfowler@gmail.com but there is no change to his cell phone number.
Paul Rostrup is happy that his youngest son, Mark, and fiancée, Alexandra, were married recently in Ottawa. Paul and Paula were also happy to be able to spend some time in the nation’s capital.
Club Announcements
50/50 Online Draw
Our 50/50 Draw continues online with strong sales of late. The next Early-Bird Draw is August 16th. Members are asked to continue to promote this fundraiser with friends, family and colleagues.
Click on the ticket to get your chance to win.
Online Auction
Plans are getting underway for our Online Auction again this year. Our official kick off will be on August 28 but members are encouraged to begin reaching out now to potential sponsors for auction items.
Local Rotary Events
The Kitchener Conestoga Club will be running a Golf Tournament on September 28 at Rebel Creek. The Waterloo Club will having their Ribfest on September 8. Stay tuned for more details.
Membership Proposal
An application for membership in the club has been approved by the Board for Trevor Eaton (835 King Street West, Kitchener) as a Corporate Alternate member from Grand River Hospital Foundation in the Classification of Health Care Fundraiser. His sponsor is Paul Rostrup. As per Section 2 of Article XVII of the club bylaws, if any member has reason to believe Trevor Eaton should not be granted membership in the club they should indicate the reason for the concerns in writing to the club secretary no later than July 28.
Program Highlights
Our program today was part of our Speaker Series: Notable People in our Community with Stuart Fowler, Owen Lownie and Alex Hradecky, and their Journey Southbound to Patagonia.
Stuart is a former RI Exchange Student who traveled to Rancagua, Chile in 2011/2012. He graduated from Queen’s University and is currently living in Toronto, working as an operations consultant with Isaac Operations there. Owen is a UofT graduate and is currently working in Tech Sales. Alex attended LSE, Columbia University and is currently living in NYC and working in the area of AI Policy.
The seed for the idea of the trip was planted back in 2018 when the three boys took a high school graduation motorcycle trip through Vietnam and Cambodia. It was a fantastic experience and the boys pledged to do another, which they have now done, traveling from Waterloo to Patagonia.
Here are some highlights from their presentation:
- The trip covered 2,000 km, took six months and travelled through eight countries
- They made three hospital visits
- They all purchased the same model of motorcycle to simplify spare parts and any possible repairs needed and were able to successfully sell the bikes at the end of the journey
- Accommodation along the way included camping, hostels, hotels, farm stays and connections with friends
- Stuart’s connection that he made during his Youth Exchange year were most valuable as was the level of Spanish he developed
- Challenges included illness (due mainly to some bad food to drinks), political turmoil and some rough roads as well as some hassles and scamming by local police forces
- The rough terrain did result in a broken collar bone for Stuart near the end of the trip
- On the bright side they were overwhelmed by the consistent and generous hospitality they encountered along the way
Their takeaways for the trip:
- South America: is isolated, beautiful, tumultuous; a land of adventure
- The People: offer generosity and warmth to a level that’s hard to believe
- Thinking about the little moments
- Biking and time to reflect on life at 27
- North America sees most of the rest of the world as “dangerous” – learn to explore those parts of the world
Closing Remarks & Reminders
The next meeting will be July 31 in the evening, in-person at Arts Build Ontario. Watch your email for the sign-up information.
