June 22, 2017

Posted by Nick Aroutzidis on Jun 23, 2017
June 29, 2017: Wendy Anderson “President"s Farewell”.   
 
Head Table:  Our President Kevin Silver, invites, Wendy Anderson and all major chairpersons, to join him at the head table.
 
 
Tine Beuchler and Paul Turnbull from Goderich Club talking about our club literacy program and all its facets in Stratford and supplies and containers they have sent to Africa. Good work Tine and Paul !!!
 
This Week:  Club literacy chair Tine Buechler and her guest, Paul Turnbull from the Rotary Club of Grand Bend, spoke today about the Global Literacy Project (sending school and medical supplies to South Africa) and about the Stratford club's various literacy programs.  Paul showed photos of medical supplies (e.g.  wheelchairs, crutches), sports supplies (soccer balls), and school supplies (e.g. desks, books, chairs, a piano) being assembled in space donated by Hensall Global Logistics in Hensall.  These donated items are then packed (and we mean packed!) into 40 ft shipping containers destined for the ports of either Durban or Cape Town in South Africa.  The containers are then transported overland to Rotary Clubs in Middelburg or Durbanville for further dissemination to local schools and hospitals.  Paul showed more photos of the shipped items being used in classrooms and school libraries.  *Note:  More shelving for books is badly needed and donations of same would be deeply appreciated.
 
The Global Literacy Project has shipped twenty containers to date, an excellent re-use of items being discarded by Ontario school boards, libraries, hospitals, and individuals.  Paul noted that the cost of shipping a container has now risen to $6,000, a reflection of the reduced value of our Canadian dollar.  Nineteen Rotary clubs provide shipping support.
 
Tine stated that the Rotary Club of Stratford has been presented with District and Zone Literacy awards for each of the past five years.  Club literacy activities include Rotary Readers, Northern Student Sponsorship program, Rotary Writes (short story competition), the School Back Pack project, donations to help pay for shipping containers with the Global Literacy project, and so on. She concluded by reading a letter from a primary school in South Africa which expressed appreciation for the donations sent and a sincere wish that this valuable partnership with Rotary continue.
 
Tine and Paul were introduced by Alex Smith and thanked by Tony Carter.
 
Scribe: Charlene Gordon
 
Draw: The draw prize today was donated by Keith Culliton and won by Gary Morris.
 
Guests: Today we welcomed, Paul Turnball - Grand Bend, Chelsea Gordon-Evans- Stratford.
 
Make-ups: No report
 
Charlene, Tommy our Northern Sponsorship Student and host mother Chelsea. Tommy gave his farewell presentation to Rotary. He leaves June 30.
 
Arlene Pol announcing our NGE person coming in Summer . He requires some billeting in August
 
Robert Ritz announcing new part to Dragon Boat program where recruiting Youth Community Teams with fewer members for Dragon Boat races in September
 
 
Brian Lapier receiving his  500th consecutive attendance ribbon.
 
 
June’s Attendance Committee: Brent Shackleton (I/C), John Carruthers, Gary Lingard, Paul Siberry, Doug Page, Pat Feryn, Jerry McEwin, Lisa Breault
 
July’s Attendance Committee:  Jim Snider, (I/C), Tina Buechler, Bill Braun, Rheo Thompson, Dan Vito, Steve Lichty, Reg White, Bill Lemmon, Bob Lightfoot, Pat Redshaw
 
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