Past president Mike Molloy took the reins today in place of an ailing Janet Canavan.
Guests & Visiting Rotarians Marcus Engellhart – guest speaker; Abraham Ganarico Dorda – our new exchange student from Peru; Camilla Izquierdo – former outbound exchange student to Italy; John Stairs – Past District Governor and visiting Rotarian from Burlington North.
Announcements Nancy Penney, whose father was legally blind is leading a team from our club called Fast Freddie (after her dad) in the CNIB Night Steps which is being held on September 8th from 6-9 pm at Central Park as a fundraiser. She asked for more fellow walkers. She already has 7 participants who have paid $20 Registration (for which you get a t-shirt). There are all sorts of games to participate in (eg: blindfolded).
Bryce Leggatt thanked his committee and club members for making Lakeside very, very successful. He especially acknowledged the work of Kathy Thomas in making it a success.
Lakeside - Gerry Willard reported that 580 tickets had been sold and that there were 704 in attendance (includes some complementary tickets). Sheila Welham reported that Net Profit was $56,000. It was also reported that 25 restaurants participated even though 7 dropped out. The quality of the food was outstanding. Rotarians are encouraged to go to the participating restaurants and mention that you learned about them at Lakeside. The entertainment was really enjoyed by everyone. Of course, the wineries and alcohol venues were great as always. Catherine Brady reported that $14,065 had been raised in the silent auction and she recognized the members of her committee for making that part of the program a success. Ron Lambert reported on the Lottery where a net of $11,010 was realized. Joe Watson has been appointed to lead Lakeside in 2018 with Terry Sedore as Vice Chair.
Bryce reported that another person was needed for the Rotary Music Festival Committee to replace Kathy Thomas, who was Vice President. The new member would not be expected to serve in her role however.
Bryce also mentioned that he is looking for riders for the Burlington Food Bank fundraiser which is being held on Oct 20th at an indoor bike park – spinning cycling if you like that kind of workout.
Abraham, our new exchange student was introduced by Mike Molloy. As Abraham’s English is on the rudimentary side at the moment (he has got “happy to be in Canada” down pat however) Camilla, who is fluent in Spanish translated for him.
Mike Molloy is taking further training in Rotary.
Elliot Vine has left the club – unfortunately, just when we were getting to know him.
Yours truly apologized for incorrectly attributing, in last week’s Bulletin, a report about Elizabeth Grandbois (Honorary Member of the club) to Eric Anderson. It should have been Peter Thoem. However to compound the problem it was reported that she had remarried which is incorrect. I have requested that an apology be passed along to Elizabeth.
Someone is needed to be Director of Community Service. Let Janet know if you are interested in serving in this role.
Our Sergeant at Arms today was Terry Sedore. He fined a number of members and collected happy/sad dollars.
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Guest Speaker – Marcus Engelhart
Marcus was introduced by Mike Molloy who met Marcus through his insurance business when Marcus went looking for liability insurance for Air Vinci where he is COO. Marcus was born in Germany but has been and worked all over the world.
Air Vinci are in the process of inventing and building the next generation of aircraft. While the company mentions Air Vinci Helicopters in its web site, the product they are developing is in reality a cross between a helicopter and a drone as I see it
The aircraft is capable of vertical take- off and landing, is safe and reliable, easy to operate, compact and affordable. It has a big advantage over the usual helicopter in that it does not have the many mechanical parts that a helicopter requires in its rotors and connections to the mainframe of the helicopter that require scheduled maintenance, major overhaul and inspection every few hundred hours or less.
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It is made of carbon fibre and is about 2 metres wide. Propellers are hidden where they will not strike anyone and are run by 2 engines and a gearbox. It is mechanically simple. If both engines fail, there is a parachute deployed to save the payload. At present, the company is working on an unmanned system with progression to one that carries people in about 4 years time. They plan the first flights of the aircraft by the middle of next year with the program fully operational by the end of 2020.
What are the uses of this aircraft? It is envisioned that there are many areas where it can be used. In most cases they envision it being used as drones are now in such things as defence, supplying food and other goods to remote areas – especially those that have no roads or shipping access, disaster relief, search and rescue, medivac, last mile resupply, agriculture, paramedics, law enforcement, skydiving, scenic flights and by recreational pilots. For more information, check out their web site at www.airvinci.com .
Marcus was thanked by Owen McElhinney.