Bulletin for January 19, 2017
Our meeting started out with our President, Mike Molloy requesting a moment of silence in memory of Brian Torsney. Our thoughts and prayers are with Michael Torsney and his family.
Rob Sybersma did a wonderful job as Captain and the duties went off without a hitch. We had Joe Watson saying grace and David Roscoe leading the national anthem which I may say was very well done by all members. John Stairs did a fine job stating the 4-way test.
Guests for the day was John Stairs (Burlington North Member), John Luna, Laura Lawrence, Victor Lesmicki, Saskia Wijugaard and our exchange student Wiktor.
Wiktor’s week involved Rene taking him out to a movie and a Polish dinner with Mae and Burt Radford. He stated he was going dog sledding tomorrow. Looking forward to hearing about that next week. Wiktor also mentioned that his bucket list is now posted on our website for all to see.
Bernie Scrivener and Lawrence Leung talked about the Community Service Award 4-Club Meeting. They advised the committee met to discuss the future of the event. Now that so many other organizations are offering the same award it’s getting harder to come up with candidates for the award. They mentioned maybe it’s time to change the meeting to something else. The committee is reaching out to the members for suggestions. You can contact Lawrence at brantplazapharma@hotmail.com or Bernie at bscrivener@sympatico.ca.
Victor Lesmick presented an award to our club for contributions to the community.
President Mike then called up our SAA, Rod Collard but before Rod could say anything Mike mentioned that the Pink Poodle that was introduced last week has gone missing. Such concern was duly noted. Then the meeting went down a dark path when our very own Gerry Willard held up a ransom note that he received.
The dog nappers are demanding 1 million dollars and a case of beer for return of the poodle. Stay tuned as negotiations begin. Happy dollars then lead with Anthony Ford-Jones mentioning something about a missing wallet, needing to pay for parking but finding $40.00? Talk about luck. Anthony donated $20 for his good fortune. Mae Radford invited all to meet for wings at Pluckers. Rene Papin thanked Wiktor for helping him and his wife setting up their new iPhone.
Peter Thoem introduced our guest speaker, Saskia Wijugaard, who has been Rotarian since 1999. Her topic - How the 4-Way Test made my business grow. She started by explaining how the 4-way test began. In the 1930’s, Herbert Taylor set out to save a company from bankruptcy. He had hoped and believed with good ethics would come success. His first thought was to set policies for the company that would set high ethics and morals. After reading many books and searching for the right phrase he came up with the 4-way test. 1. Is it the truth? 2. Is it fair to all concerned? 3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships? 4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned? A test for things we think, say or do.
Saskia, a real estate agent stated she applies the 4-way test to everything she does especially in her business. It affects every aspect from the ground up from ideas, research, business plan and marketing plan. She started a business in assisting in the landlord and tenant industry. Helping people in the later years keep their homes. She explained how senior homes run about $3000/mo for very small rooms and reverse mortgages are very expensive and many end up losing everything. Saskia has found a way to help those stay in their homes. Calls it a “Sell and Stay”. The home owner sells their house to the investor and then rents it back. She states Truth in accordance with fact or reality. Fair doesn’t mean equal but fair so both clients are successful and fair market value is set on the sale and rent. She added friendship is not about whom you’ve known the longest. It’s about who has walked into your life and said I’m here for you and prove it. She creates goodwill so relationships become mutual beneficial. The benefit for service; keep it safe, simple and private.
Saskia suggests that we all try to implement this in our own lives, businesses and in the community.
Dick Scott thanked our speaker and suggested that the 4-way test should be introduced in our schools.
In closing, Mike Molloy stated statistics last year on polio showed only 6 cases in the world. There is a strong belief that polio will be eliminated.
Mike than ended the meeting.
See you all next week.
