President Louise reminded members that Neil Swayze is her selection for Rotarian of the month in recognition of his leadership with the Online Auction and she made the members of the committee and all of the club members who helped out as Bell Ringers for this week.

 

Our District 7080 was pleased to announce that on October 25 we certified our first community-based interact club.

 

Our Four-Way-Test was conceived in the 1954/55 Rotary Year by a Rotarian from Chicago, Hubert J. Taylor.  He established the idea and used it as a way to operate his business.

Mike Lawrie, District Governor, RC of Cambridge Sunrise

 

Steve Knipping, President, RC of Kitchener Grand River

 

Neil Aitchison, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Brendan Flewelling, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Graham Gardiner, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Antoine Gerritsen, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Mac Graham, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Bill Green, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Jim Kibble, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Bob Kieswetter, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Jack Kinch, President, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Kyle Lambert, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Laura Power, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Alexandar Pavlov, RC of Kitchener Westmount

John Thompson, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Karin Voisin, RC of Kitchener Westmount

Andrew Williams, RC of Kitchener Westmount

 

Nakeisha Brown, RC of L.I.F.E. Montego Bay, Jamaica, District 7020

Dominica Pradere, RC of L.I.F.E. Montego Bay, Jamaica, District 7020

Haresh Ramchandani, RC of L.I.F.E. Montego Bay, Jamaica, District 7020

Suzette Ramdanie-Linton, AG, RC of L.I.F.E. Montego Bay, Jamaica, District 7020

 

Judy Proctor, Guest of Bill Proctor

 

Martin Jones was very happy to have been able to participate in a ZOOM call with several of our RAWEF recipients in Kenya.  Although there were a few technical glitches the meeting was most enjoyable and heartwarming.  The girls spoke frequently on how the monies they have received have changed their lives in a most positive way forever.

 

Mike Morrice was happy to have been able to participate in on online play where the audience had the opportunity to effective the final outcome of the play.  There is one more event in the series on December 5 and more information can be found here: http://theatreofthebeat.ca/unmute.

 

Shawky Fahel was pleased to have participated in an online conference celebrating the 100^th Anniversary of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

 

Assistant District Governor, Hubert Singh was very pleased to announce that his successor will be Paul Rostrup, taking over the position on July 1, 2021.

Treasurer Ray Taylor provided the following information re Birthday Contributions.

Many of our members make a special contribution to acknowledge their birthdays.  These funds will be remitted to the Rotary Foundation, and TRF will issue tax receipts.  As the Kitchener Foundation does not have to issue receipts, contributions can be made to the Rotary Club of Kitchener, and we will forward the funds.  While cheques can be mailed to the KidsAbility address, it is preferable that they be sent directly to Ray Taylor, 84 Valley Ridge Cr., Waterloo, ON  N2T 1X2.  This saves having to drive to KidsAbility to check for mail.

 

Neil Swayze gave a preliminary report about the results of the Online Auction, also expressing thanks to committee members and all members who helped out.  Preliminary calculations indicate that we should be clearing about $20,000, a record high!  A full report to the members will be made in January.

 

Paul Rostrup reminded members of the Catch The Ace fundraiser and let us know that the accumulated prize is now over $5,500.        

 

Our guest speaker today was Ben Fanelli of Heroic Minds, introduced by President Louise.

 

 

 

While chasing his NHL dream Ben sustained a serious head injury that almost took his life.  After the injury Ben pushed the envelope training for two years.  Defying the odds he returned to continue chasing his NHL dream.  After training camp with the NHLs New York Rangers and earning a professional hockey opportunity, albeit in the American Hockey League, Ben decided to chase something new, Heroic Minds.

 

Ben is the host of the Heroic Minds Podcast, Brain Injury Survivor, Ex-Ontario Hockey League Captain, Motivational Speaker, and Founder of Heroic Apparel.

 

Ben is a Behavioural Health and Performance Consultant.  Ben has spent years studying anecdotal stories of resilience and has correlated the stories with science and ancient wisdom. Ben delivers this information on a visceral level so that people can truly harness resilience and performance through the lens of the heroes journey.  His main goal is to guide people to find purpose and meaning in life so that people can become the hero of their story and a hero for other people.

 

While pursuing his masters in Psychology Ben is trying to tackle one of modern day’s biggest issues.  The issue is that many people are living with subclinical issues that are stopping them from reaching their full potential.  Ben began his journey of tackling this issue in 2018 when he started the Heroic Minds Podcast.  Now 95 episodes later and growing his message at a rapid pace.  Ben has spoken at schools, businesses and with athletic teams for 11+ years.

 

Ben's commitment to peak performance has served groups ranging from University students to NCAA sports teams to Fortune 500 companies.  Whether it be a key note speech, interactive group workshop, or individual coaching, he embraces the opportunity in every challenge and helps others to do the same.  Ben is remarkable in empowering people to become their best self.

 

During his presentation Ben spoke about his background and experience with his brain injury and recovery.  He spoke about the three key ideas: Recognise – Believe – Action, in dealing with mental illness.  Recognise that life is not always fair (don’t dwell on it or blame it, just accept it).  Believe that you can make a difference in your own life and in the life of others.  Take action to realize that belief.  He believes that a highly effective form of taking action is in the telling of stories and this has been the impetus behind his very popular and successful Pod Cast #The HeroProject. 

 

Use the link above to see his complete inspiring presentation.