President Judy thanks Neil Aitchison for speaking to the club about Drayton Entertainment.
Announcements:
The club received a thank you from Mennonite Central Committee for the donation to Ukraine.
The donation will be used for housing, food, blankets and psycho-social support.
Rotary International President asked the club to share the Rotary commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the DEI code of conduct, which calls for a collective responsibility of all clubs to be welcoming and respectful of diversity
David Barth offered club members the opportunity to purchase maple syrup to support World Accord
Committee members were advised of the unfortunate news that the “Game of Life” is postponed to a future date, due to the impact of the pandemic and low registration
Kidsablity is looking to restart the “sensory garden” – this will likely happen after the June 11 Fun Day
Members were asked to calendar June 11 as members will be called upon to assist with Fund Day
Club dates:
Happy Birthday to Simon Adler who celebrates his birthday on May 5, 2022
Jack Kinch is celebrating his 8th wedding anniversary this month
Club anniversaries include: Simon Adler 8 years; David Barth 8 years; Troy Stubing 12 years; : Marc Engel 25 years and Tom Jeary 31 years
Catch The Ace
Jackpot is over $10,000
50/50
The black marble did not make an appearance and the pot continues to grow
Neil Aitchison: Speaker
Our own Neil Aitchison shared with us some news from Drayton Entertainment focusing on the impact of the pandemic
Drayton Entertainment began in 1991 with one theatre in Drayton
The budget was $99,000 and three years of tickets were sold out before the theatre opened
Today Drayton Entertainment is comprised of 7 theatres and a budget of 13 million dollars
The group has managed to never operate “in the red” – but, COVID has had an impact
The theatres shut down for two years during the pandemic, a number of staff were laid-off and those who remained took a pay-cut
During the pandemic the team embarked on a project to build and open the “Youth Academy” in Waterloo
This academy offers children and youth the opportunity to experience theatre and even perform
One thing that really helped Drayton was the fact that their executive had the foresight to include “pandemic” insurance in their policy
The company also developed zoom performances that while free – raised a significant amount of money in donations to support their work
Patrons are very loyal and when refunds were offered at the beginning of the pandemic, many declined the refund to help
A very successful 50/50 draw was also launched and will continue to be an on-line offering
The great news is that there is a very rich season of in-person theatre being offered this year
Some shows will be at 50% capacity with masks, some without – a range of options are offered to accommodate patron comfort level with in-person theatre
Neil shared that program brochure with members and gave us some insight into his performance in “Sorry, I’m Canadian too 2
