Jairus Maus and President Laura Power thank guest speaker Emily Obrien.
Announcements
The President welcomed past President Gary Auer to the meeting.
Oktoberfest lunch is October 11. Tickets $60.00 or $480.00 for a table. Volunteers are needed for the lunch. Contact Allison Scott if you are able to help.
The 50/50 pot of 487.00 was not won.
Guest Speaker
Emily Obrien -Founder of Cons and Kernels
Emily gave an interesting talk about her past that resulted in her criminal conviction related to importing drugs. She was very candid about her past growing up in a loving family but following a path into drug and alcohol abuse.
She graduated from the University of Guelph and worked in Indonesia for the department of foreign affairs. When she returned to Toronto to live she continued the hard partying lifestyle and was ultimately arrested at Pearson airport as a drug carrier for a boyfriend that convinced her to bring drugs into Canada.
She reached a plea bargain for a 4 year sentence and served 10 months at the Federal Prison for women in Kitchener. During her time in prison she turned her energy to an online blog and to planning a new venture to create and sell gourmet popcorn. Her plans include working with others like herself that have spent time in incarceration to help them to find a place back in society. She acknowledges her past mistakes and currently does interviews and public speaking to help others to avoid following the same path.
She demonstrated a very positive attitude and energy and was clearly an inspiration to us all with her determination to turn her past mistakes into a great new commercial venture and to help others to learn from her own experiences.
