We are excited to have just recently inducted our newest member into the Gravenhurst Rotary Club - Bryan Graham.   Bryan has retired from 37.5 years with the Peel Regional Police serving the communities of Mississauga and Brampton.  He retired as a Senior Officer with the rank of Inspector.  Now retired, he and his wife Susan make their home on Sparrow Lake not far from John and Denise.  Below is a picture of Bryan being inducted into the Club by Jim Cruickshank and his sponsor, John Cooper.

We had the pleasure of getting an update from our exchange student Guilia on November 28th at our last Rotary meeting.   She gave us a presentation on some of her adventures to date and also shed a little light on where she lives.   Her home is in Northern Italia in Brescia which is not far from Lake Como - playground for George Clooney.   Guilia enjoys skiing which is handy as the Alps are not too far away from her.   She has already done some travelling having participated in an earlier exchange which she said really helped her prepare for this year long exchange.  Her family enjoys travelling so she has always had the travel bug.  Since arriving in Canada she has really enjoyed getting to know the other exchange students.   She has also been to Niagara Falls a couple of times and she states so far that is her favourite place in Canada.   Guilia is a wonderful young lady and has once again shown us how wonderful the exchange program.  She brings a wonderful energy to our Club and she speaks English very well too.  She was recently helping us out at the Rotary Auction last weekend.    

At the November 14th Rotary meeting Marg Walton and Linda Brouillette from the World Community Service committee of the Bracebridge Rotary Club presented a cheque for $1,000 to our Rotary Wheels for Learning project.  Thanks very much for your kind donation.   Below is a picture of Maryanne Marshall with Linda and Marg. 

Once again another wonderful project has been completed at Gull Lake Rotary Park.   Please see some of the pics below and see the finished product and those that helped in the creation of the Circle.   What a wonderful setting and no doubt will provide a wonderful experience for so many who come to visit Gull Lake Rotary Park. Kudos to Brian Ferguson, Barb McCabe and Bonnie Dart on the completion of the first phase of our Gull Lake Rotary Park enhancement plan.  Thanks to these three , the generosity of the Muskoka Rock Company, the assistance of Steve Waite and his Boom truck and the volunteer help of Curtis Humber , Rick Sellon , Jim Goodwin, Jim Reynolds and Jack Young , the Rotary Friendship Circle is now in place and already, several members of the community have given us nothing but positive praise for this endeavour.
 

Just wanted to put another note in the bulletin about our exchange student.  We are very excited to once again be participating in the long-term Youth Exchange program.   Special thanks to Gina Castelli and Norm Noble who are her first host family.   Bruce and Bonnie Dart picked her up at the airport Below are a few pictures taken from the reception.   Thanks to Barb McCabe for the pictures.  Contact Bruce or Bonnie to arrange some time with Guilia and keep her in mind with some of your activities please.

Gravenhurst High School teacher, Erika Hemmington introduced two local GHS students selected as students of the month to the local Rotary Club at its latest meeting.
 
Abi Cameron has been recognized by her teachers as having a positive attitude and a great sense of humour.  She is eager to learn and is ready to tackle any task that’s assigned to her.  She is keen to ask “What’s next ?” and “How can I help “ which demonstrates her maturity and shows she is an excellent team player.  She takes initiative in the classroom to do what is needed and is a role model encouraging those around her to do the same.
 
Elisabeth Edwards is an integral part of the GHS activities; having acted as  G7 Rep and Deputy Prime Minister.  She has been involved in organizing AMIGO week, pasta week activities, school tours, the G7 leadership conference and various other student council activities.  She is the driving force behind Prom – creating and printing tickets, making ticket sales, crafting the seating charts – she has made it happen !
Elisabeth was the lead in the play Gypsy and delivered spectacular performances after devoting countless hours to rehearsals.
 
Mason Labrash (not in photo) was nominated as student of month for his positive role model in the kitchen and being so hard working in the Hospitality class.  He is eager to learn and is always willing to go the extra mile to do cleaning and dishes – even if it makes him late for math !
When he does get to math class he is a diligent student who works well with everyone.  He is always prepared for class, completes his work outside of class time and asks questions to make sure he stays on top of everything.
 
The Rotary Club of Gravenhurst congratulates all three students of the month and wishes them well in their future educational endeavours.

 

Happy Bucks - Gord Durnan was very happy to report that he had played golf for 4 straight days and then his body said 4 was enough :-)  Norm Rippon once again put forth a passionate push to encourage each of us to carry paperwork in our pocket to help make it easier to sell Pathway stones.   Great idea Norm.  Theresa put in a loonie to give thanks to Pat Bongers for driving her to the Rotary conference in North Bay - she helped him to stay awake.   Pat Bongers then got up and backed up the notion that Theresa did indeed help keep him awake as she chatted with him on the way home.   MaryAnne Marshall met someone at Giant Tiger who travelled to Cambodia too as he was part of a Barrie Rotary Club.   Marg told us about the push to have every Rotarian donate $35.25 to go towards the Foundation.  This is the original amount that started off the Foundation so many years ago.  This is a fund-raising drive to raise funds for this fantastic Foundation.   Mark Clairmount gave us an update on polio and said that there are only 2 countries left with polio - Afghanistan and Pakistan.  

 

Speaker Notes - this week we had the pleasure of Peter Jennings as our speaker who is a noted author and TV personality and he was there to tell us about the real life victim of a vicious shark attack, Nicole Moore.  Of all the people he has met Peter has found her to be at the top of the list of the most incredible, positive people he has ever met.   Peter read excerpts from his book and gave us a peek at the forensic detail that he puts into his books.  He let us know how he approaches his research which was very fascinating.  He also wet into incredible detail of the savage attack which at times left some us rather queasy - Nicole having lost 60% of her blood during the attack from the bull shark.   It was without a doubt a very interesting presentation and he directed us to his website www.sharkassault.com  and also had copies of his book available for signing.  

Alicia Smith was selected as a Student of the Month for showing great kindness to her peers.  She is kind, attentive and respectful to her fellow students and staff members; being more than willing to work with and help anyone in the classroom.  She participates wholeheartedly in classroom activities with her primary partners in GPS and on sports teams.

Deserae Lyons is representing the entire Ceramics Class at GHS.  This group was responsible for making the "Empty Bowls" event the success it was !  the class worked hard, never complained, even when the room was 100F because the kiln was firing.  They were fantastic !  Deserae is a positive leader in this class and has been chosen to speak to Cogeco TV to explain why the event is good for students at the school and how "giving back" is important.

Sienna White was chosen for her outstanding Gryphon spirit.  She has taken a lead role on the Gay Straight Alliance at GHS, organizing rainbow day and connecting with Muskoka Pride.  She is also a dedicated part of Student Council and always puts forth a fantastic effort on spirit days.  Sienna encourages others to get involved and works hard to balance school involvement with her academics

Congratulation to all three students !  The entire town is proud of you !