The Rotary Club of
Kitchener-Westmount
 
 

Membership Newsletter
June 19 2024
Incoming President Mac Graham gave an interesting presentation on his travels to the International Convention in Singapore.
 
Mac reviewing some Rotary initiatives and achievements.
 
 
 
 
President Brandon welcomed and exchanged club banners with visiting Rotarian Parminder Preet Singh from the Rotary Club of Chandigarh Shivalek District 3080 in India. Parminder is an active member of his club where his club of 43 members are very active in community service projects.
 
 
President Brandon and Mac thanked Parminder for joining us. Funny story, Mac bumped into a friend of Parminder's at the Convention. Parminder spotted his friend in one of Macs photos! Small world eh!
 
 
June 20
Meeting Minutes
 
Announcements
  • Todd Aitchison pointed out President Brandon had an amazing attendance record missing only three meetings all year. Great job Brandon.
  • Golfers-still spots available on President Night, afternoon.
  • To those members celebrating a Birthday this week...Happy Birthday!
  • To those members celebrating an anniversary or club anniversary this week...Happy Anniversary!
  • The 50/50 pot was an incredible $38.50, no winner..Hallelujah! 
  • We welcomed visiting Rotarian Parminder Preet Singh from India. 
 
Speaker
 
Mac Graham was our speaker today. Mac recently returned from the Rotary International Convention in Singapore. He shared some photos and highlights of his adventure and travels to the convention.
 
His first stop was in Zurich, Switzerland where he and his wife, son and son's friend enjoyed a 16 hour layover. They had time for a quick boat tour and tour of what he described as an "expensive" city. 
 
Stop number 2 along the way was in Bali, Indonesia. They spent 10 days in Bali enjoying great food and touring. The city was extremely hot but they enjoyed their visit participating in a number of activities.
 
Their final destination was Singapore. Apparently "one of the wealthiest places on earth" as Mac described it. Everything was opulent! 
 
Day one at the convention included attending the opening ceremonies. 14,000 Rotarians from all over the world were in attendance. Mac enjoyed visiting the House of Friendship where Rotarians went to relax, mingle and check out programs and activities from clubs around the globe. Mac was also impressed with the Parade of Flags ceremony.
 
Day two consisted of breakout meetings. Mac was also able to fit in a side excursion to visit a secondary school, that he had some connection to.
 
Day three Mac listened to some great speakers and was educated  on various Rotary initiatives. RI is still in need of $50M to continue the work to eradicate Polio. With 12 cases left in the world, we are almost at the finish line!
 
One new initiative RI has taken on is to educate over 60,000 farmers in India about resilient agriculture and drip irrigation, with the goal to improve the living standard for people in rural areas.
 
Mac enjoyed the networking opportunities and spent time with Rotarians in our District. 
 
Day four was spent touring the city. Lots to see and do, and extremely HOT!!! Singapore is the financial hub of Asia, and a very busy city.
 
Mac had a great trip and loved the convention!
 
The 2025 RI Convention will be held in Calgary in June 2025. Mac hopes to organize a group from our club to attend. A great opportunity and not as long a flight as going to Singapore!
Apparently the last time Calgary hosted, the city put on an amazing convention. June 21-25, 2025, mark it on your calendar.
 
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