The Rotary Club of
Kitchener-Westmount
 
 

Membership Newsletter
September 3 2025
 
 
 
 
 
 
Past President Mac Graham and Bill Pegg thank Gerald Menezes for his presentation.
 
 
September 3-Meeting Minutes
 
50/50 Jackpot- $130
Kyle, Brad and Bill P. pulled a marble-No winner.
 
 
Speaker- Gerald Menezes
Rotary at a Core
 
Bill Green introduced our speaker. Gerald had a 38 year career in the Canadian banking industry. He has been a Rotarian for 37 years, beginning with a Rotary club in St.Thomas, Ontario in 1988. Kitchener-Westmount Rotary is Gerald's 5th Rotary club. He has given this presentation to new Rotary members and thought this would be a good "refresher" to long time members.

Rotary at a Glance

• Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer

leaders who dedicate their time and talent to tackle the

world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.

• Rotary connects 1.4 million members from more than 220

countries and geographical areas.

• Rotarian work impacts lives at both, the local and

international levels.

 

Rotary’s Seven Areas of Focus (Our Seven Causes)

1. Promoting Peace

2. Fighting Disease

3. Providing Clean Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

4. Saving Mothers and Children

5. Supporting Education

6. Growing Local Economies

7. Protecting the Environment

 

Promoting Peace

At the International level:

Recruits, Train and Deploy young leaders to prevent

and mediate conflict, and to assist refugees.

• Peace Fellowships – 130 annually. This includes:

➢ 50 Masters programs through one of DU (North Carolina, USA), ICU (Tokyo,

Japan), UB (England, UK), UQ (Brisbane, Australia), and UU (Uppsala,

Sweden).

➢80 Certificate programs through one of MU (Kampala, Uganda) and BAU

(Istanbul, Turkiye).

Rotary is the only NGO (Non-Governmental

Organization) with a seat at the United Nations.

 

Promoting Peace

At the Local level:

Rotary encourages conversations at the Club

and District levels to foster understanding.

As examples;

• Centre for Peace presentation on Aug 20th

• The Symposium for Peace sponsored by the Rotary Club of

Guelph.

 

Promoting Peace

• Both sides create a narrative that the conflict is about:

• Good vs. Evil

• The Good Guys vs. The Bad Guys

• Both sides engage in a campaign of disinformation:

• The ancient Greek philosopher, Aeschylus

“The first casualty of war is not man or property but rather, the TRUTH”

• The campaign of deceit, deception, deflection and disinformation

has generally worked across all cultures, and throughout history.

 

 Promoting Peace

• Deferring motivations do not cause war.

• War happens because waring parties:

1. MISUNDERSTAND each other

2. MISTRUST each other

3. MISJUDGE each other

• The role of Regional Powers and International Superpowers

 

Promoting Peace

As Rotarians, we can speak to family, friends, neighbours and

colleagues to:

1. Do not get caught up in the political rhetoric.

2. Look for the reasons behind the stated reasons

3. Look for other sources of information

4. Talk to fellow Rotarians and be open and reflective of

other Rotarian opinions

 

 

 
 
New Member Inductions
 
The Rotary Club of Kitchener-Westmount was pleased to induct two new members to the club. We welcome Ingrid Peters and Paul Wright.
 
 
 
 
 
Rotary Fellowship
 
Members of the Rotary Club of Kitchener-Westmount and The Kitchener Sports Association recently enjoyed the Youth Academy production of, “Mean Girls”.  
 
We were joined by Steven Karcher, Executive Director and David Connolly, Artistic Director of Drayton Entertainment for an evening of energetic youthful singing and dancing.