Bulletin – April 26, 2018
After a 6 month leave from to Club to keep warm for the winter I walked into the meeting and was immediately given a job – that being today’s scribe.
The first thing I noticed as we sat down to breakfast was – where is everyone? There were only 5 tables of members present. Has membership gone down?? That question was answered by Lesley Allison, our Membership Director who happened to be sitting at our table – we are down to 49 members. Gone are the days when we were 65 or so members. Folks, this is a project we can help Allison with!!
GUESTS
John Zinkie – Assistant/Area Governor (1 of 12 in our District) member of Burlington North Club;
Kathy Thomas – Honorary Member of our Club and a Past President of our Club;
Bert Radford – guest of Mae Radford and Abraham our Exchange Student.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ron Lambert announced that the Lakeside Lottery was officially open and we can now have “pre sales” prior to the actual Lakeside event. 1st prise is a flight for two to anywhere that Porter Airlines flies courtesy of Porter Airlines; Second prize is $1000 courtesy of Access Storage; 3rd prize is a wheelbarrow of wine sponsored by our own Club Members and rounding out the prize table is a set of tires supplied by Fairview Tire. Joe Watson gave us all a pep talk to go out and sell tickets for this important part of the Lakeside Fundraiser.
Peter Thoem led a very humorous request for help to plant trees at the RBG on Saturday at 9 AM. Only thing is, trees are not going to be planted – shrubs are.
Janet Canavan reported that our Club has planted over 4000 trees since its inception so we have really done our part over the years.
The Herb Stoneham Induction Dinner will be held June 14th – cost is $50.
Abraham our exchange student recounted his week’s activities of hiking with his host brother; go-cart racing which was AMAZING and he tried Peruvian Chicken Salad which, oddly enough, he had never had before.
SERGEANT AT ARMS – Rod Collard
Rod had a draw and Bob Martin won a bottle of wine from the Dead Horse Winery in Washington State.
Rod also had a little game of fun where we were given names when we walked into the meeting which paired us into partners and then we got together to respond to 5 questions Rod had prepared. 5 partners were selected to tell what the other partner told them and one of the partners was lying and we had to guess who that was – Rene Papin of course. Who did not guess right got a fine.
PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIP PRESENTATIONS
Kathy Thomas received her 8th Paul Harris Fellowship as part of the Paul Harris Society from Roy Cooper. Yours truly received the Major Donor Designation and received a crystal and pin from John Zinkie in recognition of 10 Paul Harris Fellowships mostly gained through the Paul Harris Society. Dave Beckett was to receive a Paul Harris Fellowship but this will be presented at a later date.
GUEST SPEAKER - MAE RADFORD
Mae was rescheduled as speaker at the last minute and like any great Rotarian she was up to the challenge and gave us a summary of a program she is involved with through her church called the Circle of Friends. Mae has mentioned this program previously but she gave a complete explanation of its purpose and how it operates.
The program is directed at socially isolated folk – mainly seniors, to promote improved physical and mental health as well as reduce emotional stress caused by isolation and little social contact with the outside world. It was initiated by Burlington Baptist Church along with 5 partner churches. Participants are referred by LHINs and the Alzheimer Society. 15 adults form a study group who meet weekly for 2 hours over a 15 week period. They are picked up and driven to the meeting site by a volunteer where they are given a hot meal and are provided with information relevant to the participants. Often guest speakers make presentations on various relevant subjects. Music is often a theme at a meeting where they participate in sing alongs. Other times, games and exercise programs are offered. Sharing is also a theme where they can show and tell, teaching each other, teach knitting and learn what school is like today.
Volunteers receive police checks and go through 3 get-togethers where they learn suggestions to improve the experience of the participants. Other volunteers or even the same ones, prepare and serve the hot meals. McMaster School of Nursing students are involved exposing student nurses to work with seniors and also participate in research studies. Burlington Central Public School also participates by providing 3 rotations of 6 students to interact with the participants and become involved with them. Mae stated that often participants are shy and secluded when they come to the first meeting or two but open up and become more involved with each meeting after that.
David Roscoe thanked Mae for her presentation.
Pictures from the tree planting at the RBG on Saturday the 28th, 2018
