From L to R, Neil Aitchison, Mrs. Mirta, President Judy, Neil Mirta and Paul Puopolo.
November 17, 2021
Club Announcements:
Drayton Events – 2 shows: All allotted tickets have been spoken for.
Kitchener Rotary Club has started their Car Draw Lottery
Waterloo Rotary Club is collecting new and gently used children’s winter clothing
A Rotary Clothing ‘Virtual Pop-up’ Store is open with new rotary clothing items available for purchase – Limited time only:https://www.youwear.ca/RCK/
Catch the Ace is Live draws to begin Nov. 18
Alex Pavlov still accepting blankets for the Working Centre
A Christmas Fellowship Event is going to be held in January/February – Stay tuned for details
50/50 Draw: John Vickery (x2) and Paul Puopolo were both unsuccessful. The pot grows!
Speaker:
Neil Mirta – WCI Student and Young Entrepreneur
Neil is currently a grade 12 student at WCI. Neil spoke to us about the importance of STEM Learning (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) for students of all ages. Neil is a guy who practices what he preaches. In Grade 9 he started his first company Eye Cane. Eye Cane is a technology company aimed at helping those with vision impairment. Eye Cane is an example of a company that started as an idea and through the hard work of a young entrepreneur (Neil) is now a company that has produced a device that is being tested with the support of the CNIB.
Many people would rest after taking an idea and turning it into an actual device that is being tested, but not Neil. Following the loss of an Aunt to heart disease he starting thinking that there must be a better way to detect for heart diseases. So Neil turned his attention to Biotechnology. Mirta Biotechnology is working to develop a diagnostic device to help detect heart disease. This device is liquid based and aims to provide a diagnosis within 2 minutes without any invasive procedures or tests. Recall Neil is a high-school student!! Neil is working with a team from various fields of study to continue to develop this technology.
Neil was an inspiring young man who will undoubtedly do amazing things. We encouraged him to remember where he came from when he graduates high school as he is going places. Universities are going to fighting for him. We wish Neil all the best as he continues to take over the world! Remember his name!
President Judy (L) and Alex Pavlox(R) thank guest speaker Mike Pereira(C).
November 24, 2021
Announcements:
Week one of the Catch the Ace saw our own John Villemaire win the weekly prize, however the chase to catch the ace continues as it was not drawn on week 1.
Anniversaries: Andrew Williams & Tracy Hawthorn (Nov. 22), Neil & Helen Aitchison – 50 years!!! (Nov. 27)
Club Anniversaries: Kyle Lambert – 2 years
50/50 Draw (Prize Total $142):
John Vickery - X
Graham Gardiner - X
Paul Puopolo – X
No winner’s the pot grows.
Guest Speaker:
This week the club was joined by Mike Pereira, Manager of the David Johnston Research and Technology Park (R&T Park) in Waterloo.
Mike spoke to the club about the cluster of businesses located within the R&T Park. The R&T Park is home to big tech companies, small start-ups, not-for-profits and many other businesses in between. The R&T Park is located on the north side of Columbia Street across from the University of Waterloo. The park is located on 100 acres of land and currently has over 1 million square feet of office, lab and incubator space.
The role of the R&T Park is to provide space for the convergence of ideas and ‘collisions’ of different companies and employees with a spirit of cooperation. Located within the R&T Park is the Accelerator Centre Incubator Hub. The Accelerator Centre fosters growth and development between the University of Waterloo and the businesses within the Park. The R&T Park, the businesses within the Park, the Accelerator Centre and the University of Waterloo are all linked in the focus of knowledge generation and knowledge transfer.
A corner stone building within the Accelerator Centre is the Evolv 1 Building. Evolv 1 is Canada’s first Zero Carbon Building and is home to many businesses including Sustainable Waterloo Region.
Mike spoke about the economic benefits and the spin offs that have evolved from the R&T Park. While they are hard to quantify the links to the growth and development of many businesses can be directly tied to the park, the Accelerator Centre and the University of Waterloo.
