November 22, 2018: Gil Garratt, “Blythe Festival New play Pigeon King”, Tony Carter will introduce, and Pat Redshaw will thank our speaker.
Head Table: Our President Paul Roulston, invites, Tony Carter, Gary Lingard, Angus MacDermid, Ian MacLean, Bob Malcolmson and Shawn Malvern, to join him at the head table.
Today at Rotary: Roger Black introduced the re-classification talk of returning member Carolyn Drummond, who first joined our Club in 1997, only the second woman to become a member. She is a Stratford native and a dedicated member of our community. Her parents Eleanor and Lloyd were well known in Stratford and her sister Dyan and sister-in-law Jackie have attended her talk today.
Carolyn Drummond our speaker this week giving her reclassification talk. Introduced by Roger Black.
Although Carolyn’s parents were not Rotarians they embodied the “Service Above Self” motto and they taught her to live life by the guiding principles found in the 4-way test. Although she grew up in Stratford, Carolyn spent a lot of her teens in Toronto where she trained as an ice dancer and synchronized skater. When she returned home she worked at her father’s business, the Victorian Inn, and with him in real estate. She also owned and operated a clothing store. After Lloyd passed away in 1991, Carolyn closed the store and with sister Dyan, who is a chartered accountant, took over operation of the Victorian Inn.
In 1995, Carolyn married and started her family. She and her husband had three sons Jack, Mac and Charlie. Everyone was involved in the Vic Inn and the whole family enjoyed travelling extensively. Carolyn also became a marathon runner, competing twice in the Boston Marathon. In 2007 she was blessed by the addition of her adopted son Noah, then 15 months old. Later, when her mother took ill, Carolyn left other business interests to care for her. Eleanor passed away in 2016.
Separated and needing a source of income, Carolyn built on past experience by becoming a professional wardrobe consultant and entrepreneurial coach for other women, with CABI. This woman’s clothing company sells through home parties and on-line, and gives women an alternative career that is based on building businesses alongside each other. Their reach is global with the goal to create 20 thousand jobs by 2020. They also sponsor and distribute clothing to communities in need and help women in developing countries start their own businesses.
As part of CABI’s global initiative, Carolyn travelled recently to Rwanda. She had been inspired by reading the book “Girl Wash Your Face.” by Rachel Hollis, in particular the notion that if you’re not happy that’s on you. She worked with two Rwandan women, “sister entrepreneurs”, Petronnaire and Beatha. Both survived the horrors of the 1994 genocide where more than 800,000 people were slaughtered, their own spouses and children were murdered, and they were brutalized. Although they have every right to be angry and despondent, they have chosen forgiveness and live with forward momentum. By embracing joy and gratitude for what life now has to offer, they are authentically happy. Their powerful example of faith and hope has been life changing for Carolyn. She has chosen joy, love, forgiveness, forward momentum, faith, light, and Rotary.
Colleen Devine thanked Carolyn for her sharing her story and inspiring us all to be better human beings.
Scribe: Pat Shewen
Candid shots from Rotary Christmas Craft Show with proceeds up by 5% over last year, A successful show.
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Guests: Today we welcomed, Rachel Strathdee, Matthew Steward, Nicholas Hergott, Ronda Reed, Austin Savelle, Bill Ney (all from St. Marys Rotaract), Dyan Drummond, Jackie Hall and Lana Burchett (Hospice)
Interact students visiting our meeting.
Draw: Steve Lichty was the recipient of today's draw donated by Ollie Henry.
Sergeant at Arms
If you want to support Rotarian Robert Ritz in the Movember Campaign to raise funds to tackle some of the biggest health issues faced by men: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and poor mental health go to https://mobro.co/robertritz to stop men from dying too young.”
Make-ups: No report.
November’s Attendance Committee: Jim Young (I/C), Marcia Matsui, Dave Skinner, Philip Schroeder, Gerry Thuss, Sue Wakelin, Clark Mitchell, Carolyn Blackburn.
