MINUTES OF MEETING : Tuesday September 25, 2017
ROTARY GRACE
O Lord, The Giver of all good,
We thank Thee for our daily food
May Rotary friends and Rotary ways
Help us to serve Thee all our days.
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Grace: Geoff Lloyd
O Canada: Ted Morrison
Toast To The Queen : Ted Morrison
GUESTS/VISITING ROTARIANS:
Mayor John Henry, Councilor Bob Chapman, Past DG/Past RI President Wilf Wilkinson, DG Neill Phillips, Past DG Ted Morrison, PDG Michael Bell, Past DG Brian Thompson, DG Nominee Beth Selby
BIRTHDAYS:
Best Wishes to Ajax Rotary President Rob MacArthur and Past DG Michael Bell
GREETINGS:
Past DG/Past RI Pres. Wilf Wilkinson has attended two of these Rotary Friendship Days in the past 1967 and 1971 - privileged to have met Colonel Sam in 1967.
DG Neill Phillips welcomed everyone and congratulated the Oshawa and Oshawa-Parkwood Clubs on their initiative in bringing back Rotary Friendship Day.
Mayor of Oshawa and Oshawa Rotarian John Henry brought greetings from the City of Oshawa, noting the many memorials of Colonel Sam that can be found around the City.
Ted Morrison, President of Oshawa-Parkwood and Ron Dick, President of Oshawa welcomed everyone. Clubs represented include Etobicoke Toronto Sunrise, Toronto, Whitby, Whitby Sunrise, Ajax, Trenton, Cobourg, Oshawa and Oshawa Parkwood. Pres Ted noted that the net proceeds from this event will be donated to the "Annual Programs Fund" of the Rotary Foundation. This is the fund that Makes Rotary Work; giving us our Grants which are used for Vocational Training, Humanitarian projects, Scholarships, etc. This foundation to which anyone can donate was designated the #1 Foundation in the world in 2016.
Past DG Michael Bell, District 7070 Rotary Foundation Chair, spoke about the impact of Rotary $$ in fighting Polio worldwide. Numbers of new polio cases are decreasing rapidly from 359 in 2014 - 74 in 2015 - 37 in 2016 - to date in Sept. 2017 there are only 10. Financial support is still needed but we are very close to our goal of eradication.
ROTARY MOMENT:
David Andrews, Past President of the Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood presented an interesting "History of Friendship Day". This special day began in September of 1948/49, continuing until Colonel Sam's death in 1972. Rotary District 247 at that time included 63 clubs (including 5 in Quebec) all of whom were invited to attend, making attendance numbers of 350/400 Rotarians. There would be lunch and often dinner, a Rotary meeting, perhaps a golf game or lawn bowling, a movie or tour of local businesses or Windfields Farm. The highlight of the day was cocktails here at Parkwood hosted by Sam and Adelaide and served from large vats of manhattans and martinis, by staff, using silver ladels. To renew this fine tradition in this year, the 100th Anniversary (1917-2017) of Parkwood is indeed fitting; may it be the first of many.