President Ana Sutherland was pleased to induct Doug Townsend as an Honourary Rotarian this morning. Doug is a Charter Member of Cataraqui Rotary.
"Godfather" Fred Richmond with Doug
In reflecting on his almost 35 years as a Rotarian, Doug told us that in 1985 the two Kingston clubs (Kingston and Kingston-Frontenac) realized that there was a need and room for another Rotary club in Kingston, and that the new club should be a breakfast club. On May 10th, 1985, The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston was chartered with 26 members, although the club had been meeting since April of that year. Membership has waxed and waned over the years, as has membership in many service clubs.
Another significant event that Doug reflected on was the admission of women in to Rotary in 1987. Rotary was taken to the California Supreme Court where it was determined that it was a public organization, not a private club. Shortly after the decision Kingston and Cataraqui-Kingston admitted their first female members, much to the benefit of Rotary according to Doug. One practice that fell by the wayside was the telling of jokes to avoid a fine from the Fine Master, as the jokes were on the risque side. How far we have come!
Initially our major source of funds was from bingo, and the club made many donations to local organizations, including major ones to KGH. Doug has been very involved with the local grants process over the past ten years, where his actuarial training has been invaluable in collating hundreds of grant applications into easy to handle summaries. Doug has also tracked the numbers and told us that we have handed out over $250,000 during the 10-year history of the present grants process (and $100,000 to International projects it was added).
Being granted Honourary membership legitimizes his work on the Grants, annual Auction, and Rotary Centennial Project. Doug is honoured to be a member of Cataraqui Rotary.