June 15th Bulletin
A lovely grace by Wane followed by the RCBC Men’s choir rendition of Oh Canada in a key that I didn’t even think existed. Holy Hanna. Don’t give up your day job Albert although you did redeem yourself on the Toast!
David Roscoe introduced our guests. A lovely welcome back to Taisie and her husband of 6 days, Jacob, who are honeymooning in our great country and of course Wiktor.
Taisie was our exchange student in 12003-04 and has maintained close ties with Eric and Anne Anderson. She is visiting with them for a few days at the front and back ends of their trip. Both she and Jacob are social workers in Vienna with a specialties in the homeless and disadvantaged. She has fond memories of our early morning meetings and was glad to have been forced to speak to us every week ands it gave her some good experience for future life. Lovely to see you again Taisie.
Wiktor had a lovely time at the Skoretz’s cottage helping out with some cleanup but the rest of the week was sort of meh. Visited with a nice Polish family in Waterloo but laid low for the rest of the week.
Announcement:
Golf tournament moving along nicely. Still two foursomes to fill.
Lakeside had 2 clear messages- TICKETS, TICKETS AND TICKETS! Website is live – please pass along all the info to your friends and neighbours and even people you don’t know!
The 150 for 150 package needs your help. Attached to the bulletin is a letter that you can print to explain what we are trying to do. We can do this. It translates into each of 60 members bringing in 2.5 items each! Please give your items to Catherine.
The CNIB will be holding a Night Steps Walk on September the 8th at 9:00 p.m. and will be looking for participants and volunteers. More on that closer to the date.
Registration for the convention in Toronto is now open and you are encouraged to attend or volunteer.
Special thanks to David Dean and Armin for taking on the Speaker Acquisition duties as Peter is now the club Secretary. .Don’t hesitate to forward names and suggestions to them. Thanks guys! A shout out to Peter for an outstanding job over the past year or 2 or 3.
For the second last time Rod came to the podium to perform his SAA duties. He recognized Ron’s terrific achievement with a nod to Preparation Ointment for Assalot……. ( why do I get to scribe at all the off -colour meetings!!!!!)
A few light fines- he must be getting weary….
Happy Birthday to Eric- why that costs you money is beyond me.
Dick Scott for being late….Jamie at the home of the Beatles and not knowing their original name or what Strawberry Fields stands for. (The Quarrymen and a Salvation Army Orphanage)…Albert for finding the key for Oh Canada 6 feet under the earth and a thank you to Bob Martin for sort of saving the day.
Rod asked who he hadn’t fined and promptly fined them. John Allinotte wants a receipt by the way. Mike Molloy for grammar. Register quick? How about “quickly”????
Speaking of Mike weigh in day is June 29th when it looks like Bernie will have to cough up some big bucks. Well done Mike!
Happy $$$$’s
Mr. Roscoe announcing that his wife had received a very prestigious award from the Burlington Sports Alliance- the A J Dunn award for her contributions the local Volleyball through the Hurricanes . And doubly proud that his daughter Vanessa’s volleyball team was named Burlington’s team of the year! Julie is in good company as our own Bryce Leggatt is a past winner as well.
Me –My lovely Dad would have been 92 today- celebrating with family and Spaghetti Bolognese- his favourite dinner.
Wayne- enjoyed his last breakfast today with a huge shout out to all the volunteers who continue to make this program so successful.
Mae’s daughter won gold and silver in Trampoline at the Ontario finals.
A reminder from Mike that the annual 4 Club BBQ will be held on July the 5th at the regular spot-Karl Suri’s.
A genuine, warm and appreciative welcome to Ron , our guest speaker from Glenn.
Ron finished his 10th Ride to Conquer Cancer and gave us a brief history of his involvement. Sadly he lost his sister in-law to cancer and his brother was in a big dark hole. Understandably so. At around the same time someone (and I apologize I didn’t catch the name) came to Rotary with a 100 lb. bike complete with saddlebags and was trekking to PEI on 2 wheels. About the same time the Princess Margaret Hospital was holding the inaugural 2 day race to Niagara and he and his brother went to the talk about the race and as a result they and two friends formed “BreastFoot Forward” and the rest, as they say, is history.
The team now has 34 members and collectively have raised over 1 million dollars over the past 10 years! WOW!
The race is really a city on wheels-the organization that goes into it is amazing and every rider is considered a part of the extended family This year he was awarded a platinum helmet for 10 year participation which allowed him to ride into Exhibition Stadium with the rest of the 10 year veterans to special fanfare and recognition. A lovely moment.
Ron talked to us about equipment and the like. The like being “Butt Balm”…I didn’t make this up. I am going to leave that to your imaginations.
He double gloves to avoid pins and needles in your hands and arms from the vibrations . The seat is very hard- hence the butt balm.
Special shoes are required to allow you to “clip in” to push down and pull up. He reminded us of the importance of unclipping to stop otherwise as experience dictates allows you to fall of your bike at the most inopportune times!!!
He uses 7 gears and maintains 23-25 kms. per hour. Marg has ridden with him 3 times. They generally ride together however Ron’s enthusiasm to reach Niagara Falls on the last day as soon as humanly possible lead to him ditching Marg and receiving a somewhat unprintable text! You go Marg.
Hydration is the key. He learned that the hard way- partying in the early days with the young stuff and paying the price along the route the next day. Older and wiser he sticks to water and a night in his own bed on Saturday. Older and wiser.
Ron was impressed by the fact that people would ride up and say Hi Ron- how’s life in Burlington. Took him a bit to realize that each bike had the rider’s name and his town on it. Quick study.
Finishing is amazing. The Team crosses the line together and friends and families by the millions line the finish line. He says there is no greater feeling.
I can’t even imagine or even thinking about doing this but I am not surprised that Ron does. He tackles everything with determination, passion and enthusiasm –a human form of the Energizer Bunny.
Ron thanked everyone for their ongoing support but we should be thanking him for his inspiration and making us realize that we can all make a difference and together perhaps change the world.
Thanks to Bryce for a heartfelt thank you!
Going home to rest on the couch- exhausted just thinking and writing about it all!
Have a great weekend!
CeeBee
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