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Bulletin August 4th 2016
There was a small but noisy turnout for this morning’s basement breakfast buffet, with our noble leader Michael returning to his presidential duties after his visit to The Rock. The standard morning duties were handled, mostly efficiently, and then Kathy Thomas and Sheila Welham gave an inspiring push for us all to make the ticket sales for Lakeside a la Carte happen. This is a GREAT club event that raises a very significant portion of our annual charitable funds. The 25 restaurants that have committed to the event, along with the 22 Wineries, Vodka maker, Beer brewer, all expect a huge turnout.
We need to sell tickets. We ALL need to push a bit harder.
Sheila will be forwarding an email the Eric sent out to his mailing list. Please send something like this to people who may purchase tickets, and who will thank you for letting them know about this fabulous event.
Silent Auction items are needed...Please contact Catherine or Owen to add anything to the table that will help raise additional funds and create some buzz around the table.
Mike expressed our collective condolences to Catherine Brady on the loss of her father. Our hearts are with you, Catherine.
Bruce Maybury then reminded us that Rotary as a charitable organization is 100 years old this year. The Rotary Foundation was created in 1916. We are one of the few 100% Rotary Foundation Sustaining Member Clubs, a fact to be proud of. District is asking all district members to this for the 2016 2017 year.
Guest this morning included Joe Watson - guest of Rod, John Bonis - our guest speaker, and the Right Honorable Karmel Sakran.
Dave Beckett announced that the preliminary numbers for the 24th annual Partnership Golf Tournament are a little more than $50,000 net profit (as soon as the final sponsor dollars are collected). Dave thanked Ron Lambert for a great job on the silent auction component of the event.
A second reminder that McMaster is planning a Memorial for Les Miller in the form a lovely green space/outdoor learning area to be named Millers Grove. The dedication ceremony will be August the 11th at noon behind the football field complex. If you would like to attend please e-mail Bryce and he will provide the full details.
Mike Molly the astounded the club by standing on the scales and saying that he has a wager with Bernie Hanna. Bernie will donate $500 to the club a year from now if Mike weighs in at 216 or less on June 30, 2017. Mike will contribute $1,000 if he weighs in at 217 or more on that date. For the good of the club please make sure to buy Mike a donut or a beer anytime you can…or…for the good of Mike’s health and to get Bernie to ante up, offer him a stalk of celery instead. Nancy Brady got in on the action by suggesting she is committing to a similar, although less drastic, weight loss programme. Nancy also informed us that she will be off for the next 3 weeks while undergoing surgery. Keep her in your thoughts.
Rod is fantastic at his new role of early morning comedian. He is still hoping the Bernie doesn't claim the big screen TV because it has now been used as a table extension (sorry about the spilled wine!). He also wished happy birthday to anyone who recently had one, collected some fine dollars and made everyone laugh.
John Bonis was our guest speaker. He is the Executive Director of the “Special Suporter Golf Series” that provides a value added Hole-In-One service for over 120 golf tournaments annually that help support over 40 different charities. He has been blessed to have partnered with Special Olympics Ontario for over 13 years. As an ambassador for Special Olympics, his goal at the meeting was to inform us abouit what the Special Olympics are about and to ask up to consider stepping up our current donation to this worthy cause.
In the early sixties, testing of children with intellectual disabilities revealed that they were only half as physically fit as their non-disabled peers. It was assumed that their low fitness levels were a direct result of their disabilities. A Toronto researcher and professor, and local Burlington resident, Dr. Frank Hayden, questioned this assumption.
Working with a control group of children on an intense fitness program, he demonstrated that, given the opportunity, intellectually disabled people could become physically fit and acquire the physical skills necessary to participate in sport.
His research proved that low levels of fitness and lack of motor skills development in people with intellectual disabilities were a result of nothing more than a sedentary life style. In other words, their intellectual disabilities resulted in their exclusion from the kinds of physical activity and sports experience readily available to other children.
Inspired by his discoveries, Dr. Hayden began searching for ways to develop a national sports program for intellectually disabled people. It was a goal he eventually achieved, albeit not in Canada. His work came to the attention of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the Kennedy Foundation in Washington, D.C., and led to the creation of Special Olympics. The first sports competitions organized under the Special Olympics banner were held at Soldier’s Field in Chicago in 1968.
Since that first event Special Olympics has helped to enhance the lives of Canadians with an intellectual disability. There are now over 2,200 clubs in Ontario working with over 20,000 athletes, 15,000 coaches, and close to 40,000 volunteers. John strongly suggested that we attend one of these events to see the joy, great friendships, and athletic abilities of the young people.
John closed with 2 very moving short video presentations that caused some watery eyes around the room.
Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.
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