Home Page | Rotary Club of Wasaga Beach

Monday Meetings typically in the Oakview Room at The RecPlex at 1724 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach.

Please confirm time and location in upcoming events.

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 434, Wasaga Beach, Ontario L9Z 1A4

Rotary's Vision: Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves

Pancho Mateo Community Center

Mika Engebretsen visited us all the way from Norway for a presentation about the community center being constructed in batey Pancho Mateo by the not for profit group Amigitos. Many guests attended from five other Rotary clubs to hear about the project and and perhaps get involved in a global grant to fund the purchase or construction of all furniture, educational and medical clinic supplies. The presentation was both heartwarming and heart breaking. Rotarian Steve Wallace and his wife Jacqueline were presented by Sue Cook, District chair of the foundation, with a major donor pin for their donation to the Rotary Foundation.

Wrap up for Rotary Weekend!

Rotarian Steve, President Elect Kevin de Groot, District Public Image Chair Elizabeth de Groot, President Elect Nominee Andy Conroy were our representatives in North Bay.

They came back full of enthusiasm and knowledge for our Rotary year ahead. There were many break out sessions that were attended. Preparation for Presidency, Global and District funding classes, Public image info sessions, Rotary Institute leadership sessions. We are very proud of President Elect Kevin to be the first in our club to complete the 3 part Rotary Institute Leadership program. A special thank you goes out to President Elect nominee Andy Conroy's wife Helen Conroy for her support and eagerness to learn more about Rotary.

Campbell House Tour

We had a wonderful meeting at Campbell House the Hospice facility in Collingwood. The house was busy with lots of visitors and activity. We were escorted through the new addition which holds four new patient rooms. We were filled with pride when we seen the Rotary Spa room and the dedication board with our club's name listed. We were informed of all the programs and support for the patients and families that takes place there. The kitchen smelled of delicious lasagna and the art work hanging from all the local artists beautified the halls, common areas and patient rooms. It truly is a home. This year we have named the Hospice Georgian Triangle once again one of our chosen charities from our Corvette Lottery.

Dinner Celebrations, Happy 34th Birthday to Us!!!

Another new member! Welcome Jay

Members of The Rotary Club of Wasaga Beach are very proud to induct our new member Jay Anstey into our membership. Also at the March 19 meeting, we enjoyed an armchair trip around Europe and Asia with Travel Councillors Angela Piercey and her team from Travelworld Wasaga Beach. Finally Melanie Case and Leslie R. Farkas shared how people with very long, healthy hair can get it cut and donated to help make hairpieces for children with cancer undergoing Chemo. It was a packed full meeting with lots of excitement, business, laughs and fun.

Zach makes Tracks!

Last nights meeting was nothing short of inspirational!.

Zach Holfer is the boy from Barrie that had a big dream. With the love and support of his family Zach , rode his bike,walked, scootered and ran from Barrie Rvh all the way to the parliament buildings to meet Prime Minister Trudeau. To date Zach has raised over 108 000.00 for the children's mental health program at RVH hospital. We had over 30 people attend which was exciting but the "whip cream on top of the cupcake" was that we had 7 children attend our meeting all ranging from 11 to 13 years old. Exposing these kids to Rotary was a real highlight for me. Look for more coverage of the evening on facebook and Collingwood today.

Back to 1984.....

Rotarian Walter kicked off our time capsule meeting with a quick reminder of how it all started. Our club was chartered in 1984 . We found photos of the chartered night along with old cheque stubs to charities, newspaper clippings, a dvd of the old lip syncing days and lots more. We still have lots to go through but it was a great start. Rotarian Todd announced that we are the proud owners of a 2019 Corvette!. WELL DONE CORVETTE COMMITTEE!! Rotarian Lorrie is the winner of our February food bank project. March's item is drinking boxes...

We covered, exchange host families, opportunities to volunteer for the Easter projects and Big Brothers Big Sisters bowling aaaaand Gala tickets have hit the streets! Rotarian Keith Priestley's son Mr. Tobin Priestley will be representing us at Ryla in April. We have a very, dynamic and vibrant club. Keep up the great work everyone and don't forget to check club runner frequently to keep in the know!

It was all about HHART!

Posted on Feb 26, 2018

What a huge turnout on Monday night.

I am pleased to say that we had many alumni HHART members , new guests and Rotarians attend.

After 50 , I stopped counting! It was heart warming to hear testimonials from the members who just came back from the villages of Dominican. The projects that were covered were the new Montessori style school for 3-8 years,( which was partly funded by foundation dollars) . The cementing of one of the main streets, painting the outside of some homes, the ongoing dental and medical triage programs and a new roof for one of the main buildings that house 20 plus families! No more sleeping under tarps for them. I loved hearing the stories and seeing the before and after pictures of some of the people that have had their lives changed from our friends at Hhart. Here is a great article that was written in the online Collingwood today news , please have a look. https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/local-news/wasaga-rotarians-part-of-11th-mission-to-dominican-9-photos-850443 Thank you to everyone that was able to attend, it truly was a great night!

Wasaga Beach High School Task Force update.

We had a Valentine's themed meeting with decorations and a delicious dessert buffet . Mr Andrew McNeill and Mrs Lorraine Gruzuk gave an interesting presentation on the number of high school students being bused to Stayner, Collingwood and Elmvale High schools and how this affects learning, participation in extracurricular activities, mental health, commuting time and social acceptance.They are determined to keep the pressure on.Rotarian Marilyn Ruttan filled us in on Mrs Lorriane Gruizuk's history with our club,turns out both her husband and herself are past Rotarian's with our club. It was a pleasure to meet Lorraine,maybe some of you will remember her? Rotarian George Watson is celebrating 31 years as a Rotarian but could not attend the meeting due to a prior commitment. His wife Patricia settled his 31.00 donation to the social fund , George you owe Patricia a kiss for that one! Rotarian Andy also paid into the fund for his 8 year anniversary. Thank you to everyone who pitched in to help set up and take down, special thank you to Patricia Miscampbell (George W)and Helen Conroy (Andy C) It was another great evening.

Charities Charities Charities!

Today Rotarian Lori Hyde did a wonderful classification talk. Lori volunteers with several charities and works for GARO which is a software development firm made up of a seasoned team of business analysts, database architects, programmers, UX/UI designers and project managers. Lori is enjoying having her Dad stay with her right now.

We also went thru the Board of Directors approved Corvette Distribution Process for 2018/2019.

There were 16 approved charities, including 3 new ones, Georgian Bay Humane Society Multiple Sclerosis and the Wasaga Beach Public Library.

Peace Naturals Cannabis Grow Facility

Posted on Jan 29, 2018

Our Guest Speaker was Mr Eric Klien Director tor of Marketing and Sales of the Peace Naurals Cannabis Company .

His very interesting presentation included, production, distribution , marketing and future plans.

Rotarian Lori Hyde won the January wine bottle for Wasaga Beach Ministerial Food Bank project this month.

It was great to have several guests joining us.

Interact/Rotaract/District News

Ms Abbie Saunders, Mr Alex Jackson and Mr Michael Christie were our guests on Monday for a very informative night about the big picture of Rotary. Abbie is acting President for the newly for Interact Club. They have completed several small projects including shipping school supplies to the island of Barbuda after hurricane Irma. The Rotaract reported donating 10 000 dollars to local charities. They are looking for new members to join their club. Micheal Christie spoke about Rotary on a global scale and the difference we collectively made in the world.

Well, well look what I found!

Oh my GOODNESS! I received the most beautiful flowers today....and guess what was buried amongst them? My gavel! It was such an awesome surprise. I thought it was lost forever..... but here it is! The lovely letter attached has given me zero clues as to who the culprit was that abducted it on Paul Harris night. I have sent the letter off to forensics for prints. When I get the results... I'm coming for ya! xoxo

Love my Rotary family!~President Angela

The weather outside was frightful...lalala

Our Christmas Cocktail Party at the Stonebridge Beach House was so much fun.The food was incredible, the drinks were festive and the atmosphere was cozy and warm.We had a great turnout in spite of the weather.Lorrie Goode was the lucky winner of the night, she won the "wine cellar". The Jolly old elf himself made an appearance to spread some Christmas Joy.

Some of our Gentlemen Rotarians were naughty while Santa was there, some were nice hahaha

Family of Rotary/Evening Meeting

We had a great first night at the meeting on Monday night. Miss Leah den Bok, our guest speaker shared her striking photographs and stories of the homeless with us. We celebrated Mr John Dicks 36 years in Rotary and in perfect form, he presented us with 36.00 in coins to pay his anniversary donation . Im going to leave all comments to Treasurer Rotarian Keith on this matter. hahahah Thank you to Rotarians, Sylvia, Bryan, Darryl, Steve, Andy and George for inviting guests. My favorite guest was Mster Hayden Quirk who joined us for the opening , heard a portion of the program and then dove into the ymca pool for a refreshing swim. Thank you to everyone who pitched in to make the night so enjoyable.

New Board, The Family of Rotary

The Annual General Meeting was held on the 04th of December.

We have a new board for the 2018/2019 Rotary Year.

The vote for the Family of Rotary was passed.

January we will begin two lunch meetings and two evening meetings.

Cathy Johnson received a standing ovation in recognition for her Paul Harris Award.

Thanks to everyone that attended.

Another great meeting.photo credit Rotarian Ehab Masad

80 000 Reasons to Celebrate

WELL DONE ROTARIANS !!!

What an incredible feeling it was to give away all that hard earned money!I hope you all enjoyed the, Rotary:Making a Difference Event ,as much as I did.All fourteen charities were in attendance. There was an excitement in the air that was undeniable.Our event was well attended,professionally done and everyone was in a party frame of mind.Thank you everyone for making this celebration a huge success! We are a GREAT TEAM

Another Busy Meeting

We had a great time with Ms. Melanie Case at lunch on Monday.

Melanie gave us some great tips on how to market and promote our club

as well as reminding of the power of the media. She even let it slip how

we can get some free coverage on the radio station she works for.

Rotarian Greg Mitchell, Rotarian Elizabeth de Groot and Paul Harris

Service award recipient Dr. Dina Ghobrial contributed heavily to the

Fun and Fellowship fun so we all sang a heartwarming rendition of

Happy Birthday to them. Photos courtesy of our very own Mr.Bryan Davies

of Bryan Davies photography.

Oakview Skate Park

We enjoyed a Halloween themed meeting that ended with a great group photo that has been sprinkled all over social media.

Our guest speakers were Mr Josh Pallas Recreation coordinator and Mr Chris Roo Manager of Parks and Facilities.

Their informative presentation brought the club up to date with the visions of revamping the Oakview Skate Park.

Rotarian George Vadeboncoeur won Octobers bottle of wine for our monthly food bank challenge.

Our meetings are packed with alittle business and alot of fun.See you next week.

Be the one. Rotary: Making a Difference. Photo credit Rotarian Bryan Davies

A meeting getting acquainted with Assistant Governor and District Governor

Some highlights ...We were host to Assistant District Governor Mr Michael Christie and District Governor Mike Kinsey.

I am also excited to report that we have chosen Miss Annalie Pender to be our exchange student for the year . Annalie is a mature 15 year old from CCI high school that is very service oriented and will be an excellent representative for our club.

District Governor Mike Kinseys presentation was inspiring, informative and entertaining.

He shared his personal journey through Rotary. District Governor Mike Kinsey also made us proud of Rotarian Elizabeth de Groot by recognizing her for her outstanding work at the conference.

At the last minute she stood in as co MC for the weekend and "killed it". He pinned her with a special black sheep pin for standing out.

It was another great meeting!

Youth Exchange Day

Posted by President Angela on Oct 16, 2017

As Rotarians one of the ways we make a difference is by creating and supporting student leaders.

The lovely Miss Caroline Finderup Masden was our guest speaker , she is the exchange student that arrived here

in August from the Rotary Clubs of Collingwood. She not only entertained us on her thoughts of Canada so far but also educated us on the customs and traditions of Denmark. We voted to participate in the 2018/2019 Rotary exchange program by hosting

an inbound student and sending an outbound student from our area abroad. .... and I have great news!

Its not too late to sign up to be a host family for the inbound student starting in August 2018.

If this would not work for your family, dont worry you will have plenty of opportunities to share your family's experiences, recreation time and Canadian customs with our student in a short term visit. It was a great meeting full of visitors!

Piping Plovers

Patricia Davidson is the Coordinator from Wasaga Beach Provincial Park and Friends of Nancy Island.

She had a wonderful presentation on the endangered Piping Plovers that nest on our beaches and why its so

important that they be protected. She entertained us with some interesting statics , updates, and behaviours of these small little birds.

Thank you for a great meeting!Photo credits Rotarian Bryan Davies

Club Meeting Oct 2, 2017

Posted by Terri Ewing on Oct 04, 2017

No Guest speaker but a LOT was covered...

We got an update on the corvette lottery, presented an award to Todd Young, reviewed Food Bank requirements for October, Successfully organised several committees and volunteers and reviewed the District Conference.

Keith's ticket was drawn but the money is still safe and building for next meeting after our Thanksgiving break.

Have a joyous holiday everyone.