March 19 Meeting Minutes
Prepared by Alan Quarry
Announcements
WLU Rotaract- Bottle Drive for Polio Plus continues until March 31.
There are still tickets available for the David Johnston fundraising event for the Grand River Hospital Foundation. Dinner is March 31.
John Thompson shared that there will be a performance of 'Mean Girls' at the Hamilton Theatre on September 11, 2025 presented by the Drayton youth theatre program.
John also shared that there will be another Christmas time production, Plaid Tidings, held in St Jacobs Schoolhouse Theatre as a joint event with the Mildmay Rotary Club. More details to come.
Also from John, there have been two dates set for a Rotary Fellowship change of pace, at Jin Chen’s largest and most upscale local venture –Kin Gyu Japanese Grill – in the heart of Uptown Waterloo. April 15th and April 26th. See John.
Celebrity Boxing fundraiser will be held on April 4th and there will be a live streaming event held at Hacienda Sereda. Tickets are $25. See Troy Steubing.
As the KW Trivia Contest approaches, Karin Voison is recruiting teammates for this exciting April 25th event.
Guest of Members
We did not have any guests for this meeting.
50/50 Pot $543.50. Our almost winners included Ian Richardson, Bob Kieswetter and Larry Masseo.
Guest Speaker- Stephanie Stretch
Speaker Intro by Graham Gardiner
Stephanie Stretch (nee Seibert) has strong ties to Kitchener, where she was born, raised, and currently resides with her family. She is invested in the people and places of Ward 10 and feels a deep sense of connection to the community’s diverse population. Stephanie hopes her role as a City of Kitchener Councillor will help her give back to the community that has given her so much.
Listening to and advocating for constituents is a priority for Stephanie. She is passionate about community building, youth, affordable housing, ecological sustainability, environmental protection and expanding access to green space.
Stephanie lives in Ward 10 Downtown Kitchener with her husband, two daughters, dog "Snoopy," and in-laws.
Her current committee appointments:
- Climate Change & Environment Committee
- Downtown Action & Advisory Committee
- Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee
- Kitchener Downtown Business Improvement Association
Notes from presentation
Councillor Stretch updated us on the continued efforts of Kitchener and the Waterloo Region to improve the challenging conditions of the Kitchener Downtown Area.
More Bylaw officers have been recruited and have proved successful in addressing and improving the homeless people situation in Ward 10.
A new approach to strategic staffing from the Waterloo Region Police Services has been helpful in responding to specific trouble spots identified by ongoing data collection have been improving the street situation over the past year.
Kitchener Downtown's population has been growing steadily. Some key services in this area have been recently cutback by the provincial government and Councillor Stretch is concerned what the impact will be. She remains positive that sustainable solutions can and will be found.
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