The Board of Directors regrets to advise the membership that long time Rotarian, Gord Strauss, has submitted his resignation effective June 30th. Gord writes "I have considered it an honour & a pleasure to have been a member. Good Luck, Gordon Strauss"
The club thanks Gord for his many years of service and wishes Gord well.
Hi to all. I have now moved into my new residence: Unit 201, 141 Father David Bauer Dr., Waterloo, ON., N2L 6N9, Tel # is new: 519-783-3272. This place is called Luther Village on the Park, so you can also phone the main office: 519-783-3710 and ask for unit #201. I have an apartment with a bedroom, a den, small kitchen, and a bathroom. I get my three meals per day, and the food is pretty good. I get free parking for myself and visitors. Hope to see you soon, and you can stay and eat here. I just have to book it all in advance.
Fresh from her induction last week as our Club President for this year, Karen Redman gave her report on the 2015 RI Convention in Sao Paulo, Brazil and some thoughts on the year ahead for our club.
Karen provided and spoke to several photos from the convention that helped to illustrate its size, complexity and excitement. Some of the highlights included:
Meeting many Rotarians from all over but mostly Americans saying in her hotel and with whom they had an instant bond,
Jeff from California who lost his phone and became their new BFF,
Hearing the accomplishments of outgoing president Gary K.C. Huang with an emphasis on 1.2 M members and the success of our recruitment and engagement efforts,
Having our near eradication of Polio featured - A culmination of years of single minded focus on one issue, but with a recognition of the many other projects supported by individual clubs; clusters and districts as well, and
The entertainment, the food, the camaraderie and the chance to visit other areas of Brazil such as Rio.
Of the many outstanding keynote speakers at the convention, Karen felt that one of the most impressive was Oscar Arias, president of Costa Rica from 1986 to 2006. He is a Nobel Laureate (1987) and a recipient of the Albert Schweitzer prize for humanitarianism. Mr. Arias provided leadership and a path to peace during a time when the cold war was waged on the borders of Costa Rica, in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Panama. He spoke of the admiration and empowerment he derives from being a Rotarian.
Karen stated that, for her, the most outstanding benefit from the conference was meeting and bonding with the other local presidents and their spouses. She said "Craig, Brad, Spiro were great companions and we left the conference with a collective commitment to bring Rotary into the main stream and to educate the community. Rotary is a very well regarded but not overly understood."
A friend once asked Karen if Rotary clubs in the same area are considered competition or allies? Karen's response was that they are definitely allies in camaraderie and joined in philanthropy (the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed by the generous donation of money to good causes) but also in altruism (feelings and behavior that show a desire to help other people and a lack of selfishness).
Karen then reflected on the history of strong leadership in our club.
"We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and there is a long line of personal commitment to the cause of Rotary; not for personal status but for the collective good; Carol Wiebe - our first female president and Mike Carty who encouraged her to take on the role; our past presidents for which Candi provided an opportunity to highlight their past contributions and achievements of our club. Our club includes MPs, mayors, former mayors, a Regional Chair, and folks like Peter Gray, a recent recipient of the June Callwood award; Howard with his talents so freely shared for videos; Brent’s passion for charitable works; Melissa’s activities for Trinity United volunteering with her grandmother; Cheryl and Pat’s commitment to projects in Mexico, David Martindale’s commitment to Africa; and Audrey Wipper and the fruition of her vision for educating women in Africa facilitated by our Rotary Club."
Karen sees our new Internet Auction as an intriguing opportunity for our club and has two goals for the coming Rotary Year as our president:
Give ourselves permission to fail; i.e., let's try many new things, and
Celebrate the passions of our members within and outside of Rotary.
Ernie Ginsler is happy to be back at meetings after missing several due to his teaching responsibilities at Wilfrid Laurier this past term.
Pat Dimeck was most happy to announce two births. First was that of her own first grandchild, Lydia, born to her daughter on July 2, mother, father and Lydia are all doing well. Second, was the birth of Rosa Manuella, to Erica Lee Garcia (Pat's niece and a member of our club currently on leave), again all are doing well. Congratulations to all.
Our 50/50 pot has now reached $841 and will be even higher next week as none of John Webster, John Frezell, nor Bill Proctor were able to find the elusive Jack of Hearts.
