President George welcomed members and guests.  It was almost as if this was George’s 1st meeting as he got a few things out of order right from the get-go. 
He acknowledged this and said that he was testing us.  Ya right George!  He then invited Annette Hemerik say a grace and Rick Evans to lead the singing of the national anthem.
 
President George introduced the Head Table:
  • Introducing our speaker: Ellis Katsoff
  • Speaker: Bill Hallett
  • President: George Darte
  • Sergeant at Arms: Lezlie Murch
  • Rotary Story: Bob Gosselin
  • Introducing our guests/dinner and registration:  Lisa Gerrie
 
Guests:
Gord Lewis - guest of Margaret Jarrell
Vic Durksen - guest of Rick Vanderskuip
Travis Durksen - guest of Rick Vanderkuip
Kyle Durksen - guest of Rick Vanderkuip
Mark Ryder - guest of Ken Taylor
 
President George invited Ellis to introduce our speaker.  Bill Hallett has deep roots in St. Catharines and a career that has included senior leadership positions with the YMCA across Canada and in philanthropy with major health care institutions, mostly in Southern Ontario. Bill has recently moved back to Niagara.
 
Speaker:
 Bill focused his presentation on the topic of Charitable Gift Planning, and specifically on three areas: why it’s important to donate, what are the personal benefits to donating and what is the community impact of philanthropy.  He presented some interesting statistics on charitable giving in Canada, noting that while the percentage of Canadians donating has slightly decreased since 2004, from 85% to 82%, the total dollar amount donated has increased.  The reason for this is the significant increase in major gifts from fewer people, citing the statistic that 66% of the donations were made by 10% of the donors.   The main reason people give is that people feel compassion for others.    He reiterated that philanthropy is more than about giving money, it also includes giving of time and talent.   Some of the personal benefits of giving are that donors tend to live longer and the gift meets their self-interest (which explains why many people give to religious and health-related charities).  While receiving a tax-benefit is helpful, it’s low on the list on why people give.  The only exception to this is for some major gifts (i.e. $100,000) as well as gifts through estates.  He referred how donations to Rotary International have helped to virtually eliminate polio as an example of the impact of charitable gifts.  He also referred to local agencies such as Wellspring Niagara, which receives no government funding, and Hospice Niagara, which must raise more than $1 million annually, as two local organizations that have such a positive impact in the community and which rely on donations for their success.
 
Larry Kent thanked Bill for his presentation acknowledging his skill as someone who sees both the big picture of philanthropy as well as the small picture.
 
Bob Gosselin came forward for his Rotary story.   Bob was wearing some clothing which he got in Egypt when he was the leader of a Rotary International Group Study Exchange in 2005. The clubs in Egypt are part of District 2450 which is unique in that it covers 11 countries ranging from Armenia in the north to South Sudan in the south. He shared info on the purpose of the trip, the places visited and the impact on him and the others in the exchange.  Bob also announced that applications for next year’s Vocational Training Team will close on December 3rd and the theme of the visit relates to fruit farming.  The team will be going to Australia. For more information go to: http://www.rotary7090.org/SitePage/vocational-training-teams
 
President George brought birthday wishes in absentia to Scott Schappert and Stuart Butler, and in person to Rob DePetris who was celebrating TODAY one of those significant birthdays that end in a zero. President George also congratulated Trevor Van Nest on celebrating one year membership in the club.  Graham Kennedy was Trevor’s sponsor.
                                                                                                                            
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Ted Usick spoke to club members about the Every Rotarian Every Year campaign taking place this month with the goal that each member donate CA$126.50 which equals US$162.  He noted that the funds go to support the six key priorities of the Rotary Foundation, which include: promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economies.
 
Lezlie Murch spoke about the need for volunteers for the TV auction.  She brought signup sheets.  She asked Rotarians to ask their family and friends to help as well.  Lots of spots to fill. Signup sheets are also online.
 
President George reminded members that quorum at committee meetings is 51% of the members.  If this presents a problem, see George.
 
Happy Dollars:
Rick Merritt was very happy to lead happy dollars this week for two reasons.  He enjoyed a lot of travelling earlier this fall both south and on a European river cruise.  He was also EXTREMELY happy for the service he recently received at the NHS – St. Catharines Site for an emergency that he experienced just 3 hours after returning from Europe, which resulted in surgery and a brief hospital stay.  (Editor’s note: He looked fabulous and well.)
 
Larry Kent spoke about his voting experience earlier today in the provincial by-election in his riding where one of the candidates was only 19 years old and one of the other candidates couldn’t spell Niagara correctly.  These two candidates made his voting options much easier (Editor’s note: alas it was the 19-year-old who won).
 
John Crossingham recounted what he thought was a great reinterpretation of one of Donald Trump’s infamous lines.  You’ll need to ask John in person about this.  (Editor’s note: on further investigation, the Windsor Humane Society issued a public apology.)
 
Chris Bangham thanked members of the club who have helped him raised $1,600 towards his $2,000 goal for the Movember Campaign.  He is looking forward to getting rid of the ‘bloody thing on the top of his lip’ in a few weeks.
 
Jean Armitage again asked, almost begged, members to sign up for the TV Auction.
 
Vic Durksen, who was visiting the meeting with his sons, is a former Rotarian and looking at getting involved again.  He previously was with the Queenston-Lewiston Club.
 
Eugene Gillies was extremely happy that his son is doing fine given that he recently experienced two emergency health-related situations.
 
Liz Palmieri was happy to see Bill Hallett again and thought how happy Bob Gosselin was that he could still fit into a vest that he hadn’t worn in 11 years.
 
Jackie Herman Wing was happy to be back from her travels and thanked all the TV Auction volunteers for the work that they have undertaken over the past few months.
 
Bob Gosselin was happy to contribute $5 to correct information that President George had provided with respect to the Vocational Training Team.  (note: the correct information is included above in Bob’s Rotary story).
 
50/50: Unfortunately, the guest of Ken Taylor did not draw an ace.
 
President George ended the meeting reading from a passage in a book written by Kahil Gibran.  The passage was about giving.  To read more, go to: http://www.katsandogz.com/ongiving.html