1. Louise Gardiner was happy to spend two weeks on a Mexican vacation with her husband Graham working on her tan.

 

2. Paul Rostrup was happy the Rotary Pub Nite is this Wednesday, May 8th and is looking forward to the event. Still some tickets left so contact either Gary Parker or go online.

 

3. John Webster was delighted to announce his involvement the the "Mud Puppy" run last weekend. He has also finished a half marathon in his preparation for the Montreal marathon run coming up soon. He is also almost finished his running challenge of running each street in Kitchener. A BIG feat. Good luck , John.

 

4. A former exchange student, Alexandro and his girlfriend Anna, were happy to visit with members on their trip from Ecuador. He was here on exchange in 2000. Presently, he is a business owner in his home country.
 

President Richard recognized the Rotary Local Lager team for their efforts at last Saturday's Brew HaHa in Baden's Wilmot Centre. Thanks go to Darren Sweeney for his organization of the event and Howard & Rose Pell, Neil & Donna Swayze and President Richard for their serving of the sample beer.

Q: How many cans of beer did we sell at the Brew HaHa event?

Ans: 215 samples were handed out which tallied to 57 cans of beer; several more than last year.

1. Reminder from Jill Melanson to sign up for the KidsAbility Fun Day on Saturday, June 8th. See her email for shift choices.

 

2. Next Club Assembly is May 28th at Edelweiss Tavern at 6:30. Topic for review & discussion: Fund Raising.

 

 

The pot has grown to $191.00 but Louise, Adrian & Bryn couldn't find the jack of hearts.

Bryn Jones introduced our guest speaker, Leanne Brown, the Resource Development Coordinator for CARIZON, a community organization that assists individuals, families and couples with mental health challenges. Leanne has worked for twenty years in the field starting as a community worker, consultant to coordinator. Carizon is the former Kids Link and Mosaic groups who combined into this existing organization. It offers counseling  to individuals and families experiencing trauma through mental health issues; addictions, divorce, loss of employment, domestic violence etc. They are a hands-on group that goes into the home to assist and provide alternatives to people. Last year they were able to assist over 12,000 people from 70 locations in the region from community centres to churches to local offices. Children's mental health is a key focus of Carizon running such programs as "Pathways to Education" which helps at-risk-kids ages 13 to 17 to get through their high school years and be successful. Another program called "Polaris" offers immigrant parents help with navigating the education and government systems to obtain want they need.

Bryn thanked Leanne for her talk and presented her with out Polio Plus certificate to immunize 100 children in her name.

Closing Remarks & Reminders