President David Soper opened the meeting with our land acknowledgement and the singing of O Canada.

Sarge Jack welcomed Donna Correiro, our guest speaker and Bev Underhill, a Rotarian from Arizona, who may be interested in joining our club.

Chair Announcements

Our Christmas party will be held here on Monday, December 15th. Given that last year was a grand success, David suspects this year will be quite similar. Tickets and exact pricing should be available soon – but save the date.

Tomorrow afternoon a number of club members are heading over to Peak of the Market to package potatoes sent to food banks and on Thursday Glenn and David will be at the volunteer fair at the Viscount Gort. Iain reminded all about the support of Peak of the Market for Lobsterfest. David thanked members for volunteering.

October 24 is World Polio day. Don't forget...Friday, October 24th is World Polio Day.

We almost had it beat, but new challenges have arisen with vaccine hesitancy and polio has made a small but significant return. Vaccination is still critical as is wastewater surveillance. Rotary and our End Polio Now Campaign are working hard to stamp out polio for good.

The Bill Gates Foundation is again offering 2:1 matching for all donations by Rotarians to End Polio Now made by October 24th. That means that your $100 donation is worth $300; your $500 donation is worth $1,500; your $1,000 donation is worth $3,000.

This campaign is based on Rotary raising $50 million. And then it will be matched by $100 million. And those are USD. Whether Gates will provide matching if the $50 million goal is not met has not been tested. Let's make sure that we get there.

First and foremost, let's all consider a tax deductible donation. These can be made directly to Polio Plus. Below is a link on the Club's website to the World Polio Day page.

If someone is uncomfortable giving online, Ed Thompson will take your donation through the club's Foundation and issue a tax receipt.

Peter Tonge - 2025-26 District Polio Plus Chair Pat Chernesky and her husband Fred Olfert are challenging Rotarians of D5550 to donate to The Rotary Foundation (Canada) Polio Plus Fund by matching member cash donations with matching points to the members’ account during period of October 1 to December 31, 2025. **See below for further details about how this challenge works.

**Additional Information: Polio Plus Challenge

How it works: Contribute a minimum of $100.00 US to TRF Polio Plus Fund in your normal way either by Rotary Direct, online at myrotary, by mail or through your club. The Rotary Foundation (Canada) will issue your charitable tax receipt at year end. This is an opportunity to complete $1,000.00 US contributions with the matching points to receive a Paul Harris Fellowship certificate or next pin level. For example, if you currently have contributed a total of $400.00 US; a contribution of $300.00 US will be matched with 300 points to total 1000 points and the awarding of a Paul Harris Fellowship from the Rotary Foundation. The Sept exchange rate is $1,37 CAD to US dollar. The Rotary Foundation changes the rate on the first of each month so may change during the challenge. Bob Durston, D5550 DRFC has agreed to complete the matching points transfer form for each contributor as done for the Polio Plus Challenge of Feb 2024. Please email Bob with your name, Rotary Club and the amount contributed in US dollars. If known, club number and your Rotary ID otherwise Bob will obtain from the Club Summary form on myrotary Please direct any questions to Bob.

President David said we are very fortunate to have with us this evening Donna Carreiro, an internationally award-winning producer and journalist who has worked for more than 30 years with CBC Manitoba. Prior to that, she was a print journalist for a daily newspaper and local magazines. She is drawn to stories of social justice (or injustice) that give a voice to those who most need one. President David was very pleased to introduce Donna to talk about her family's polio story.

Donna told the story of her father, who contracted polio as an infant. It was 1931, and polio was spreading throughout the U.S. and Canada. It preyed on the young and it was a "constant companion" for her father. He had to work hard to overcome his disabilities.

A big part of her father's story is suffering from Post Polio Syndrome. Family doctors and others were not well equipped to diagnose and treat post polio patients.

Donna's father led a difficult life, with multiple setbacks, surgeries and deadends. He died in 2017. Thankfully, he had the amazing support of family, especially his wife. Donna's mom is now 90 years old, living in rural Nova Scotia.

Donna answered several questions. Members thanked her for the powerful story of perseverance and inspiration. Members were reminded about the critical role of the polio vaccine and the important role of Rotary and others to eradicate this cruel disease.

Happy Bucks

• Lloyd Talbot enjoyed a visit to Montreal and Ottawa. He took an interesting tour of Beechwood cemetery. You can learn more about truth and reconciliation by visiting the graves of some who were involved in residential schools including Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce https://www.beechwoodottawa.ca/en/foundation/reconciling-history-program-beechwood-cemetery
• Chuck Crocker and his wife are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. No singing, thank you.
• Rod and Dory had a great visit to Croatia. Dory was happy that she kept up with Rod. She biked for a week and survived!
• Al Roberts - closed the cottage with his son. A nice father/son experience.
• Jack Wilson - had a nice family visit to Clear Lake.
• Dave Morris was happy with the donations of 3,210 beer cans/ bottles.
• Glenn Campbell was happy to be back from 2 months at the cottage. He reported that Adéle, our outbound youth exchange student, got a late start waiting for a French Visa. When it was issued, Adele was soon in France, with her host family and is now attending high school.

50/50

Jack had the lucky 50/50 ticket, but did not pull the blue marble.

Final Notes

Next week is Thanksgiving. On October 20, we will hold a club assembly to explore member engagement and planning for the future. You will hear from some club committees and from member input about priority projects. Watch your email for more information.