The meeting was in-person at the Oakville Golf Club, the first time this year, and was attended by 17 Rotarians, including our newest member, Sundeep Khosla, whose successful application was announced at the Rotary Meeting of March 21, 2022.
The attendees were so deliriously happy to be meeting face to face after such a long time that the socialization time was extended to 6:50 PM whereupon President Michael Conway opened the meeting with a toast to the Queen and Canada.
The toast was followed by a brief history lesson on the Bosun’s Whistle which was brought into use about 600 years ago by the British Navy to convey commands to the crew when a naval vessel was under sail since voice commands often could not be heard over the sounds of the sea. The Bosun’s Whistle Call to Mess (Dinner) was played by Bob Dodds (from a cell phone) whereupon Prem Nair, a longtime commander in the Indian Navy, reflexively sprang to attention. Prem followed up by an explanation of how the Bosun’s Whistle is constructed.
Rod Craig invoked the practice of Happy Bucks. There were so many Happy Bucks from the members, drunk with delirium at being able to once again meet face-to-face, that there was no need to levy fines.
A robust Happy Birthday was sung fo George Farrow whose 88th birthday was the following day.
The meeting was intended to be informal with some general announcements and discussions.
President Michael Conway talked about the difficulty in finding sufficient volunteers for the committees in our club given the small membership and advised that discussions are underway with the other Rotary Clubs in Oakville to combine forces and energy for some committees, such as the International Service Committee. Several Rotary clubs in Oakville are already working together on student scholarships and an annual golf tournament.
Prem Nair announced that the Community Service Committee donated $10,000 to the Oakville YMCA for swimming pool lift mechanisms for the handicapped.
Gary Comerford, Chair of the Committee for the Rotary Speaker Series for 2022, thanked his co-chair, George Vincent, for a successful podcast event on April 5, 2022, The Challenges of Urban Development. The event was moderated by Steve Paikin of TVO and was very well received by all those that attended. Gary advised that although the financial and attendance results were not as good as last year’s podcast with Justice McLachlan, the event was very successful with respect to Rotary branding.
Vivian Naidoo advised that the Rotary Electric Car Lottery is well under way and asks that every member please contact their relatives, friends and other personal contacts that are in Ontario and ask them to purchase tickets and to share in turn with their Ontario contacts. The link and website are:
For further information see the email of April 19, 2022 from David Peters.
George Farrow advised the members of the significant assets the Rotary Club of Oakville owns in the form social housing facilities at Normandy Place and Stewart Street and the efforts underway to monetize them. The proceeds would accrue to the Foundation and could be used for projects such as a permanent facility in the name of Rotary in Oakville in recognition of our club’s soon upcoming 100th anniversary.
The meeting was ended at 20:15 hours (8:15 PM for the landlubbers) with a toast to Rotarians and friends around the world.
