President Lynn Childs   called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

Lindsay James     gave the Land Acknowledgement

Rod Craig             led in the singing of the National Anthem.

President Lynn     proposed a toast to King Charles III and Canada.

Mike Henry          gave the invocation.

 

There were 20 club members and 5 guests in attendance

 

Christine Bradley   prospective member

Norah Knox             prospective member

Alex Winiarski         Lindsay James’s partner

Nikki Kitchener       Friend of Rotary

Denise Lowe           Guest Speaker

 

 

Mahendra Shah, Kal Zaid-Kaylani, Adriana Sanchez, Amin Kawr, Sid Joshi, Rudy Habesch.

 

 

Rena Sandu said that the club now has a Google Business profile and has asked for club members to go to the profile and add photos of recent events. Members can reach the site by googling Rotary Club of Oakville and the site will show up in the results.  

 

 

Lindsay was born in Owen Sound and raised in Hanover Ontario. She has a daughter, Ava, who is in second year at the university of Guelph.  She lives with her partner Alex and their two dogs. Alex also has two daughters at school.

He father was a high school teacher with summers off so they spent a lot of time sailing in Georgian Bay and the North Channel.

She originally panned to be a nurse and attended Algonquin College but later decided it wasn’t for her and switched to Business at George Brown College    

 

Her first job as with BMO in sponsorship advertising,

She has taken a number of courses at various other schools such as Alliance Français, U of T, Nipissing University, and earned a Masters degree from Heriot Watt University.

She has worked for various organization in Ottawa and Toronto including Seneca College where she was involved with Fund raising.

She is currently the Development Manager for the Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design at Sheridan College.   

She learned of Rotary through the club’s contacts with Sheridan College where she met club members like George Farrow, George Vincent, and Lynn Childs and decided that she wanted to be a member of the club. 

 

In her spare time, she has a small business called Designed Spaces where she stages homes for open houses.

 

 

Aninda was born in Iran and raised in Bangladesh. At the age of 18 he moved to Ottawa to go the university of Ottawa where he studied Mechanical Engineering.   After graduation, he joined Grundfos a Danish company that manufactures Pumps, The Canadian Office is located in Oakville. He has progressed though a series of jobs of ever-increasing responsibility and is now the National Account Manager for OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers).

Aninda is one of 30 Grundfos employee’s from around the world who were selected for the Reach for the Stars program which recognises talent and acknowledges outstanding sales achievements.  This team will be heading for Kenya shortly to work on four projects near Nairobi to help improve the local water systems.

 

When he was student in Ottawa, he got a job with a photographer doing passport photos which led to a lifelong hobby and part-time job as a photographer. He is involved in Fashion photography especially with the Toronto Fashion Academy.  Many of his pictures have been published in Fashion magazines!

 

Aninda plays the guitar and has accompanied his wife who is also a musician. He is also a member of an Ottawa based Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band and goes to Ottawa once a month to practice and perform.

 

He was familiar with Rotary though his wife, Sylvia Dimitrova, and felt he had a lot of transferable skills that would benefit Rotary.

 

 

Susan Sheppard called for Happy Bucks,

 

Lindsay James was happy that her partner Alex came to the meeting.

Reena Sandu was happy that the temperature above 20 deg

Rod Craig was happy that he spoke with David Hoyle who hopes to come to a meeting soon.

Mahendra Shah was happy that he celebrated his birthday with his children and grandchildren. He was also happy that he met with RCOT regarding the scholarships we donate to Laurentian University.

Bob Dodds was happy to be alive!

George Vincent was happy that he and Lindsay had lunch recently with George Farrow who is doing well and will be joining us when we go back to meeting at the Oakville Golf club.

Amin Kawr was happy that he spent his birthday with his daughters.

James Montague was happy to see Norah Knox an old family friend again and hope to reconnect with her family.

Larry Rodrigue was happy for the Blue Jays and the start of the baseball season.

David Angas was happy for all the help he is getting from Mickie as his foot heals and for a 4-wheel scooter that allows him mobility.

Susan Sheppard was happy as her grandson is learning to swim.

 

 

 

James Montague introduced the guest speaker, Denise Lowe

 

Denise is an education consultant and former teacher and educator working with youth.

Her topic was Supporting Teen Success, without the Stress.  

 

She spoke about the traditional challenges facing youth such as academics, fitting in etc. and that it much harder today with social media which allows for bullying 24/7. Both teens and their parents are looking for support.  

 

Most teens lack the skills to cope and schools have done their best it may not be enough to enable emotional well being. Social media can be addictive and is increasing anxiety in teens and their parents.

 

Denise spoke about neuroplasticity which is the brain’s ability to adapt.  In the adolescent brain, the prefrontal cortex or frontal lobes develops during the teenage years and into the early twenties. This is the part if the brain responsible for to executive function, decision making, reasoning and social behaviours.  

 

Our thoughts are powerful, when you shift your thinking, you shift your perspective. This will have a ripple effect into all areas of your life.

 

The key to adapting is Mindset

 

Thoughts, Emotions and Actions are all linked and a change in thoughts will impact the emotions and actions.  Changed in emotions will impact Thoughts and Actions.

 

It is mindset that makes the difference.

 

Denise offered some resources for members and brought some copies of her book The Fighter Within for anyone who wanted one.

 

George Vincent thanked Denise for her insights into issues with youth

 

 

April 6             Next Meeting - Water for Humanity

April 18          there are three events happening on the same day!  All club members were asked to participate in at least one event,

 

April 20         Meetings return to the Oakville Golf Club.

Sept 14          Golf Tournament. More to come. Members are asked to look for sponsors but not to promote on social media at this time to allow for a media plan.    

 

 

Susan Sheppard is looking for more nominations for the community Paul Harris awards and members should contact her with anyone they believe would qualify.

Geoge Vincent mentioned that Mark Dawber had an operation on his knee that day and that club members are encouraged to reach out to him.    

             

 

President Lynn closed the meeting at 8:05 pm with a toast to friends and Rotarians around the world