2000 - 2001, by Bill Harris
1999-2000. Urs Maire who was to have been President this year left for a new job in the United States so Glen Waugh was asked to step into the breech, which he did very effectively. The Executive for 99-2000 was President Glen Waugh, Vice-President Savi Shamseer, Treasurer Cam Smith, Secretary Mark Lathem and Directors Ray Kahn, Eric Nejat, Tom Lalonde and Nick Kovak. The club sponsored an Exchange Student, Suzanne Hirtenfeld who went to Belgium in August, 1999 for her year and Josh Stuart from Australia arrived in January of 2000. The TV Auction was still our main fund raiser but the club needed an International fund raiser. The Christmas Hams money brought in between $2,000 and $1,500 each year but we were involved in a well boring project in Kenya and needed more money. It was decided to try the International Nights again and a repeat of the Caribbean Night (Paul Thomas, from Antigua was running the show so had the choice) was held on April 29th, 2000 at the Bayview Hill Community Centre in Richmond Hill and raised about $2,600 for the project. The TV Auction was held on November 19th., 20th. and 21st..
2000-01. Our first female President, Savi Shamseer took the helm, with Vice-President Lisa Chang, Treasurer Viktor Tikhanovski, for a short while to be superseded by old timer Cam Smith, Secretary Mark Lathem and Directors Tom Lalonde, Chris Guillard, Brenda Cairns and Ola Kassim. There were not enough host family volunteers so it was decided not to have an Exchange Student this year. The usual Corn Roast was held and we ran a very successful Terry Fox Run. The club also decided to join forces with the Richmond Hill Garden and Horticultural Society to design and plant a Millennium Garden on Town land at the Mill Pond Park in the centre of town. Graham Jones and Bill Harris sat on the committee which approved the landscaping design, the planting and the selection of a suitable marker stone. It was intended that the members would help in the planting but in fact, only Graham and Bill participated. The Year 2000 TV Auction saw another change of management from Shaw to Rogers Cable. It was highly successful, cracking the $100,000 mark for the first time. Receipts of $109,420 meant that we actually distributed $100,000 to Rotary and the various charities. The clubs portion was over $15,000, being the highest individual cheque. The club's annual donation to the hospital took the form of a purchase of grand piano for the foyer of the new wing. It is a fine instrument costing $9,964.75 and bears a plaque advertising the fact that it is a gift of the Rotary Club and has been put to good use for a number of musical events for the benefit of patients and staff.
2001-02. President Lisa Chang, Vice-President Brenda Cairns, Treasurer Jag Awatramani, Secretary Mark Lathem and Directors Tom Lalonde, Chris Guillard, Robert Segarra and Ola Kassim. One thing I have not mentioned previously is the problem the club has had in finding a regular meeting place since the failure of the Ponte Vecchio, our meeting place for many years. We started this year at Pop's Tavern, the Fickle Pickle, the restaurant that took the place of the Ponte Vecchio, having closed and then Pop's closed on us too. It was found to be very difficult to find a restaurant with a separate room and we finally had to compromise and move to The Rhapsody Restaurant on Yonge Street which opened just for us on Monday nights. However, it is not an ideal location for speakers. In August of 2001 a number of members joined members of the Horticultural Society at the Millennium Garden for the official unveiling of the marker stone by the Mayor of Richmond Hill, Bill Bell and the two visiting judges for the Communities in Bloom competition. The stone is suitably inscribed with the names of the Club, the Society and the Town, who all contributed to the completion of this project. At the opening it already had a nice display of flowers, but the perennials should improve with time. The September Terry Fox Run had a record 300 participants bringing in a record S27,000 in cash and pledges.
2000-01. Our first female President, Savi Shamseer took the helm, with Vice-President Lisa Chang, Treasurer Viktor Tikhanovski, for a short while to be superseded by old timer Cam Smith, Secretary Mark Lathem and Directors Tom Lalonde, Chris Guillard, Brenda Cairns and Ola Kassim. There were not enough host family volunteers so it was decided not to have an Exchange Student this year. The usual Corn Roast was held and we ran a very successful Terry Fox Run. The club also decided to join forces with the Richmond Hill Garden and Horticultural Society to design and plant a Millennium Garden on Town land at the Mill Pond Park in the centre of town. Graham Jones and Bill Harris sat on the committee which approved the landscaping design, the planting and the selection of a suitable marker stone. It was intended that the members would help in the planting but in fact, only Graham and Bill participated. The Year 2000 TV Auction saw another change of management from Shaw to Rogers Cable. It was highly successful, cracking the $100,000 mark for the first time. Receipts of $109,420 meant that we actually distributed $100,000 to Rotary and the various charities. The clubs portion was over $15,000, being the highest individual cheque. The club's annual donation to the hospital took the form of a purchase of grand piano for the foyer of the new wing. It is a fine instrument costing $9,964.75 and bears a plaque advertising the fact that it is a gift of the Rotary Club and has been put to good use for a number of musical events for the benefit of patients and staff.
2001-02. President Lisa Chang, Vice-President Brenda Cairns, Treasurer Jag Awatramani, Secretary Mark Lathem and Directors Tom Lalonde, Chris Guillard, Robert Segarra and Ola Kassim. One thing I have not mentioned previously is the problem the club has had in finding a regular meeting place since the failure of the Ponte Vecchio, our meeting place for many years. We started this year at Pop's Tavern, the Fickle Pickle, the restaurant that took the place of the Ponte Vecchio, having closed and then Pop's closed on us too. It was found to be very difficult to find a restaurant with a separate room and we finally had to compromise and move to The Rhapsody Restaurant on Yonge Street which opened just for us on Monday nights. However, it is not an ideal location for speakers. In August of 2001 a number of members joined members of the Horticultural Society at the Millennium Garden for the official unveiling of the marker stone by the Mayor of Richmond Hill, Bill Bell and the two visiting judges for the Communities in Bloom competition. The stone is suitably inscribed with the names of the Club, the Society and the Town, who all contributed to the completion of this project. At the opening it already had a nice display of flowers, but the perennials should improve with time. The September Terry Fox Run had a record 300 participants bringing in a record S27,000 in cash and pledges.
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