Membership 2010
Posted by Bill Molesworth
Jamie Tripp, as Membership Chair, said that its the membership that informs the Club and that dictates what the Club does and how it affects us and others in the Community. Rotarians don't identify themselves by a secret handshake but they do have a special bond and Jamie hoped to illustrate that to our guests by inviting some members to speak. Dwayne Frans doesn't care for public speaking but works hard behind the scenes for the Club.
Dwayne said his father had been an Optimist and that example encouraged him to participate. Getting involved has been the best thing for him - he's made friends, he's been able to give back with hands on projects, he's had lots of fun and he enjoys the fellowship of the weekly meetings when he sees other members. Rotary helps out locally and around the world and is a great organization to be a part of.
Mike Proulx's dad was a charter member of the Iroquouis Falls Club and Mike helped out there and then joined here, starting with the Bar-B-Q which he ended up co-chairing. He finds the weekly lunches a welcome break from a busy work week - a sanity break. Mike remembered taking truckloads of furniture to the Saguenay after the floods there and the amazing effect that had had on the recipients - anglophones who had come to help. He's worked on river cleanups, the Rosewood basement, the Party on the Dock and now Music in the Park. Rotary is a family and the weekly fellowship is central to his life.
Bruce Wilcox said he was proud to be part of a group that was always there to help. He was invited to join by Dean in 1982 and was glad to as he had been looking for an avenue to give back the community in a way that his family had been helped when he was young. He said he's as excited about Rotary today as he was when he joined. It's given him self confidence, brought him out of his shell, as it were, and that he's grown as an individual. He counts every member a friend and he's proud to belong to an organization that helps make the world a better place.
Jamie said that we look to busy people - he joined when he had a young family and a new business - and that Rotary is a constant. The meetings get you outside your regular life, your daily concerns. Jamie showed a short video highlighting the activities of several members - one phrase stuck out. Each year that you wait to join there's work that could have been done, there's people that could have been helped. Jamie also suggested that members that know kids of the right age should encourage them to take part in an exchange. Once they've passed the age, it's too late. His daughter came to here two young women speak about their experiences and now she's interested. The families that participate get as much out of the experience as the kids that go.
Mike Proulx's dad was a charter member of the Iroquouis Falls Club and Mike helped out there and then joined here, starting with the Bar-B-Q which he ended up co-chairing. He finds the weekly lunches a welcome break from a busy work week - a sanity break. Mike remembered taking truckloads of furniture to the Saguenay after the floods there and the amazing effect that had had on the recipients - anglophones who had come to help. He's worked on river cleanups, the Rosewood basement, the Party on the Dock and now Music in the Park. Rotary is a family and the weekly fellowship is central to his life.
Bruce Wilcox said he was proud to be part of a group that was always there to help. He was invited to join by Dean in 1982 and was glad to as he had been looking for an avenue to give back the community in a way that his family had been helped when he was young. He said he's as excited about Rotary today as he was when he joined. It's given him self confidence, brought him out of his shell, as it were, and that he's grown as an individual. He counts every member a friend and he's proud to belong to an organization that helps make the world a better place.
Jamie said that we look to busy people - he joined when he had a young family and a new business - and that Rotary is a constant. The meetings get you outside your regular life, your daily concerns. Jamie showed a short video highlighting the activities of several members - one phrase stuck out. Each year that you wait to join there's work that could have been done, there's people that could have been helped. Jamie also suggested that members that know kids of the right age should encourage them to take part in an exchange. Once they've passed the age, it's too late. His daughter came to here two young women speak about their experiences and now she's interested. The families that participate get as much out of the experience as the kids that go.