The last of our alumni Presidents was none other than Rob Galloway who seemed quite at home behind the podium- almost as if he hadn't left! Welcome Rob!
Mae's team apparently gave them selves full marks for their organization this morning- high fiving themselves through e-mail after the meeting. However Peter Skoretz must have missed the memo as he was no show and Mike Molloy scrambled to fill his shoes and nicely so! I think that translates into a 4.6 from the East German judge.
Bernie led the Anthem and toast.
Guest included Rob of course and Hanadi Al Masri our guest speaker.
Sheila reminded us of the Rotaract Pub Night Quicz on the 15th at the Black Bull. Let her know if you would like to participate on our tem(s). Sounds like fun!
Rod reminded us of the 4 club social at Shoeless Joes at Appleby- old news now.
Kathy and Sheila spoke of the need for volunteers on committees for Lakeside and for the need for succession planning. It would be nice if we had 100% particpation on the committess. It is after all a team effort.
Roy and I had the pleasure of awarding an 8th Paul Harris Award to Rob. I'm glad to have finally done that- I was afraid of losing it!
Rob, mistaking himself for our guest speaker I think, took us on a trip down memory lane to the years 1993-94 when he was President. He had dug up some club handbooks outlining the year's activities and projects and it was interesting to note that many of the ideas and initiatives are still in place today. Believe in what you do was the theme and still holds true today.
Bernie and Karmel were the recipients of the Ron Lambert Under the Radar awards for their participation in the School breakfast programs. Bernie's attention to detail – I think he refereed to it as OCD was particularly amazing to Ron. Well done gentlemen.
Sad and happy dollars:
Barb's John was hoptitalized in Florida with life threatening influenza but is on the mend and happily not smoking anymore. Her daughter is also getting marrid this year so win win.
Mike Molloy has just returnded from Jamaica where whe was building a children's home. He noted that women in Rotary in Jamaica is not a commn theme as he did a make-up at the Mandville Club.
Sheila and Hayley reported on the power of Rotary. After complaining that Hayley was late home and had left a trail of dishes and mess in her wake, she got a call that Hayley was helping some folks in need at the hospital who needed a wheelchair pronto. A quick call to Peter French and voila, problem solved. Sheila then did the dishes. Nice work ladies.
Our guest speaker introduced by Karmel was Hanadi Al Mari, Director do Business Development for HMC Connections. HMC used to be Hamilton Multi Cultural but has expanded to include many more services for refugees in our area. Hanadi's cv read like War and Peace and there is no doubt that her energy and talents are being put to good use. She was a refugee to our country many years ago and knows first hand the problems and barriers that face immigrants to Canada. One of the biggest challenges is learning the English language. Without that skill it's vey difficult to find employment and that is where the HMC Connections plays a big role.
She spoke of the enormity of the Syrian refugee crisis and ways in which we can all help. Please talk to Sheila if you would like to become involved.
Well that's all the news that fit to print this week!
Stay warm!
CB Scribe.
