President Lynn Childs: Called the meeting to order at 6:30pm.
Reena Sandhu gave the Land Acknowledgement.
Frank Morewood led in the singing of the National Anthem.
President Lynn proposed a Toast to King Charles III and Canada.
Mark Dawber gave the Invocation.
There were approximately 24 members and 2 guests in attendance.
Guests Included:
Cathy Denbow Plewes of Beads for Africa and her husband. Cathy was also the Guest Speaker for the evening.
Presentation of Paul Harris Award:
Ralf Soder, on behalf of RCO, honored Ed Sweeney and Peter Degroot for their service/philanthropy and presented each with the Paul Harris Award which is a recognition from Rotary International that honors substantial contributions to the Rotary Foundation.
Announcements/Updates:
President Lynn emphasised the importance of Rotary Friendship Exchange and urged members to participate. Friendship Exchange is an international exchange program for Rotary members and friends that allows participants to take turns hosting one another in their homes and clubs.
Ed Sweeney announced that Neeraj Nulu will be joining him as an understudy to potentially, and eventually, take over as the Liaison person for the Iroquois Ridge IHS Interact Club.
Bob Miskelly has secured the Piper’s Heath Golf Club for the September 15, 2026 Golf Tournament.
Mike Henry and Susan Sheppard noted that the Rotary Online Auction website was active and urged members to spread the word and offer bids themselves. They emphasised that the Gift Baskets are a good bet.
Birthdays of the Month:
Erika Coetzer; Rod Craig; Mark Dawber; David Hoyle; Hart Jansson; Frank Morewood.
Ron Hope Called for Happy Bucks. Happy People Included:
Young Frank Morewood who was happy because it was his 91st birthday; James Montague, a Master Bowler, who was happy to be attending a Masters Tournament in Ottawa with the 5pin Master Association of Ontario; Shawn Fang was happy to be able to join our meeting again and meet with friends after several months absence; Mahendra Shah was delighted with his recent trip to Africa; Mark Dawber (an avid Habs fan) was happy to be provided a lovely Lamb Shank dinner on his birthday by his daughter, along with a pair of tickets to the November 15 game between Montreal and Boston; Ralf Soeder, George Vincent, Rod Craig, and Peter Degroot were also happy.
Tonight’s Speaker - Cathy Denbow Plewes, Founder of Beads for Africa
Frank Morewood introduced Cathy.
She is a local retired diabetes educator who started Beads for Africa after working with two diabetes educators in Kenya 15 years ago.
Cathy’s Talk:
- Beads for Africa is a volunteer charitable project.
- It designs, creates and sells jewelry and related items made from African paper beads and donated recycled beads.
- Proceeds support at-risk children with diabetes, and a nursery school in a Kenyan slum.
- Part of the funding is used for providing high protein porridge and a hot lunch for the children.
- Milestone amount of CAD$110,000 has been sent so far.
- Beads unite us, bringing Canadian and Kenyan women together.
- Samples of beads were available for sale at the back of the meeting room.
Nancy Eichenberg thanked Cathy for her inspiring and humanitarian work.
President Lynn led a Toast to Rotarians everywhere.
President Lynn closed the meeting at 8:03pm with a recitation of the four-way test followed by a toast to friends and Rotarians around the world. Some members suggested a fifth test of “Is it Fun”.
