Meeting called to order by Karen Redman, President at 12:00 noon at Victoria Star Motors, Kitchener. Karen expressed appreciation to Victoria Star Motors for the meeting venue.
Ed Fowler and Martha Taylor for their hospitality with Rotary visitors from Japan. Ed also thanked Karen Redman for hosting a dinner with the visitors.
Car Draw – Wayne noted there are 4 dates left to sell tickets at the market. We are 1/3rd of the way to our target so please keep selling.
Howard Pell – reminder about upcoming Jim Balsillie lunch on Oct. 26th. We have 247 registered and today is the last day to register. Rotarians from Bolton to Woodstock have registered to attend.
Gary Parker – Reminder that on-line auction is getting underway. Warehouse is ready and items are starting to arrive. More are needed so please focus attention on this new fundraiser over the next few weeks.
Clara Mongo - is participating in a 10km run in Bolton and is looking for sponsors. An e-mail has been sent to members with information.
Today’s guest speaker was Chris Fusco, Sales Expert, Victoria Start Motors (VSM). Chris welcomed Rotary to VSM and hoped our ticket sales were going well. VSM is pleased to support Rotary.
Mercedes Benz is the #1 manufacturer in all markets around the world with exception of China.
Sales in Canada are up 19% this year reflecting increased demand and success of C Class and compact cars. MB has the largest share of luxury car market in Canada. Sales in KW are also at a record level increasing 16 ½% over last year. The dealership is continuing to grow and now has 85 employees.
VSM has added a night shift and service area now open to 1 AM. This week work is starting on new drive through service area that will open in 2016. VSM continues to focus on the customer experience with a continuous improvement process.
The sales side is also continuing to evolve and improve customer experience.
Chris also answered questions. First question was about the recent problems experienced by VW with their diesel engines. Chris commented that MB uses different technology with Bluetec. Chris also answered a question about driverless cars. These vehicles are being tested in Europe and are in early stage.
Chris was thanked by Karen Redman.
Next meeting on Monday October 26th at Crowne Plaza, Kitchener.
The Draw date is November 27th at the Ranger's Game.
Our goal this year is to raise $80,000 through direct individual sales with a total goal of $110,000 including mail outs and corporate sales.
Our main selling venue will be Thursdays and Saturdays at the St. Jacobs Market again this year in the same location as previous. We also have access to Swanson's Home Hardware and members are encouraged to find alternate selling locations as well.
Sign up sheets will be available at weekly Rotary meetings.
Tickets can be picked up at the registration desk at each weekly meeting. NB! This year the ticket books are identified with a number on the cover and the covers MUST be returned when the ticket stubs are handed in. This allows us to keep track of the tickets sold as per the license conditions.
Selling teams will again be used this year and members are asked to keep their team captain up to date with ticket sales. Weekly sales updates will be provided at each meeting.
Use social media and other opportunities to promote the draw. A sample letter will be made available to send to contacts.
Contact Wayne Boehler or Adrian DeCoo if you have any questions or suggestions.
You can check Club Runner for Directory information including Committee information.
All member ID numbers for Rotary International are now listed with your data on Club Runner. This is the number you will need if you are registering for an RI event or contacting RI about your account. From the Home page go to Admin under Membership Manager choose Membership List, current members are listed. If you do not know your password, there is a site for you to click and enter your email address where your password will be forwarded.
Contact information for the new members is available in the Membership List on the Clubrunner site.
