This being our Remembrance Day programme, President Len began the meeting with a minute’s silence.
Ian led us in a blessing. Frank led us in the singing of O Canada.
Treasurer Mike reported that we had 19 members in attendance and 5 guests including 3 possible prospective members : Kevin (second time) , Dana’s friend Ranya, Rod’s friend Matthew, Bob’s sidekick Peggy, and our speaker , the Reverend Jim Campbell.
President Len reminded members of two unique opportunities available to Rotarians: (1) the Music event being held Nov. 26th at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre in support of the Rotary Polio Plus effort. Tickets can be purchased from Amin for $50 each, with a tax receipt for the member for $25 and a portion of the proceeds from each sale to return to each Rotary Club to designate to the Polio Plus programme directly. (2) The International Rotary Conference being held in June in Toronto. Members can sign up online at a rate that is currently less than what it will be after December 15th. RI is anticipating a gathering of more than 23,000 members and a simply amazing experience.
Community Service Chair Mike Henry reminded us that we are committed to man the Salvation Army kettle at Oakville Place December 9th. Nine members are needed to cover our designated times; a schedule for volunteers will be circulated and confirmed at the next meeting, Nov. 20th.
Chair of this year’s Nominating Committee, Judy Warrington, reported the Nominating Committee’s proposed slate of officers for the Board of Directors 2018-2019 which will need to be approved and voted on at the Annual General Meeting November 20th. All members are urged to be in attendance.
George Farrow introduced his good friend of over 50 years, our guest speaker Jim Campbell; and George Vincent thanked his former Minister.
Short summary: a message that members could relate to, reflect upon, agree with, marvel at and remember.
Long synopsis for those who missed it:
Jim Campbell - long-standing citizen of Oakville, Rotary, minister of the United Church (60 years in total, most recently at St. John’s and Maplegrove) – very involved in Oakville – the man behind the installation of the clock in the Town Square and the Carollin clock in the Memorial Garden at St. John’s - was a member of our club at one time and president when we were developing Oakville Community Homes with George and the Town Council – actually more than just the Normandy Place was developed at the same time – received many rewards for what was eventually established. Recipient of 3 Paul Harris fellowships. A true Rotarian.
Jim – been president of both our club and the OT club. – at 15 was a sea cadet in Ottawa and marched in parades and remembers them…. Was in school when family members went to war. War ended in his last year of school. Boys traditionally went to army, navy or air force, so when war ended, kids had to decide what to do with themselves.
Remembers Jock Andersen and his stories who was awarded Military Cross of Bravery but never mentioned it, never talked about it, like many who participated in the war seldom talked about their awards – when he was given citation for his military cross , it became known that Jock had driven jeeps in the war to evacuate casualties during battles without regard for his own safety – successfully saved the lives of many injured soldiers – never talked about his own experiences , but of those who fought with bravery and courage -
The image of war - promoted as the ultimate fulfillment of a person’s destiny, as exciting and dramatic, war defined in many ways – sometimes glamorous in uniforms – for thousands of years the royal road to glory was through battle – the truth is there was no glamour to be found in the heart of a battle, , be it on land or sea. The truth of war is the realities of the aftermath –the refugees, the names of those who died engraved on memorials, statues. Those who survived knew the truth of war --- war is hell and everybody loses. The suffering was endless…it was not about victory or defeat, it was about survival. The past 45 years we have changed our memorials – now are acknowledging people who signed up and came home as well as those who lost their lives. Those who went to war and came home, came home different. They saw terror, hunger, boredom, senseless strife- were scarred, now called PTSD, it was not easy to get over . those who survived carried a huge burden when they got home- the war never ended for them – they didn’t talk or want to think about it till Remembrance Day when they were forced to… we must remember to honour those who have survived war experiences and not only those who lost their lives. We’ve been in Afghanistan for 10 years – number of veterans is diminishing – danger is that people will take peace for granted, ask why we need to have forces and wars – wars cause more pain and suffering, not solutions, and we’re still seeing wars…League of Nations and United Nations were created to build peace so we wouldn’t have wars--- they have failed , have struggled to stop the world from going to war - nationalism has become the cry of everybody – we’re sovereign countries, say nations today. Maybe we need to manage sovereignty so not so many people suffer! - stumbling block is sovereignty itself – nothing is saving us from destructive wars – today’s wars are destroying to the ground cities and countries to the point that nothing is left, so where’s the victory?
Challenge for us is to not forget – to remember – to urge rebuilding of the UN – for the sake of humanity – prevent wars and rework the notion of sovereignty – we have to care about people everywhere as much as we care about those in our own country – we have to care about the world not just our own country. Biggest challenge of the 21st century is to eliminate war.