CLUB BUSINESS
(a) Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup SAVE THE DATE - April 24, 2021
The Rotary Club of Grimsby, in partnership with Lincoln Rotary a
nd Rotary @ Noon have organized over 15 partner groups for a major cleanup of the Lake Ontario Shoreline and the watershed area that feeds into it. The clean-up will include roadways, tributaries, conservation areas and we are connecting with commercial concerns and developers to help clean up their sites. Our club members on the Steering Committee include Liz F, Joan W, Jim H.
More information is included on the club's website. Volunteer roles are being identified and club members will be asked to register themselves and their families and friends over the coming weeks.
The event is a multi-district wide initiative spanning all 5 Great Lakes and will be attended by 1,000 of Rotarian Volunteers and the families and friends.
(b)
West Niagara Secondary School Virtual Fundraiser and Concert MARCH 20,2021 Join the Friends of the Arts in West Niagara from the comfort of your own home, for and incr
edible evening of Canadian music.
Extraordinary performances by: Steven Page - Billboard and Juno winner, Grammy Nominee, musician, singer, and songwriter. Glenn Milchem - Juno award-winning drummer, Blue Rodeo; Odds - Juno nominated indy-rock band; Steve Strongman - Juno award-winning blues musician
Tom Wilson - Juno award-winning musician, artist, and author; Humber College Groove Merchants and many others.
(c) District 7090 Conference - March 15th to March 20th, 2021 - evenings from 7:00 pm to 9:00 PM
Club members are encouraged to join in for one or all of the days of the virtual district conference. A variety of engaging and interesting speakers will take us on a Rotary journey. The sessions are especially interesting for new club members. Link for registration:
https://rotary7090.org/event/virtual-district-conference---dei/
(d) Little Lending Library - Special thanks to Grant Schaming who is building our club's contribution to the network of lending libraries across our district. They will be profiled during the conference. The library will be placed within Grimsby once completed. Suggestions included Rotary Park or close to the Hospital. Many thanks to Grant for his creative construction.
(e) The Rotary Club of Grimsby hosted Professor Mariek Schmidt, from Brock University, on International Womens' Day, Monday March 8. Professor Schmidt spoke about her participation in the NASA Mars Perseverance Rover Mission. It is of importance to note the significant role that women scientists and engineers now play in space exploration, a field once dominated by men. Many thanks to Liz for arranging this interesting and informative Zoom presentation.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING OF THE MEMBERS
This was a virtual meeting. There were sixteen Rotarians present. The meeting began with the usual practice of including pre-meeting time for conversation, conviviality and opportunities to connect with fellow Rotarians.
Invocation was given by Rich.
Following the anthem, Liz presented toasts to Canada, the Queen, the Office of the President of the US and Rotary International.
1. Introduction: Chairperson Liz opened the meeting by enquiring if there were 'Questions for the Board'. Bill asked if there were enough members present to proceed with a Club Assembly. Liz indicated Sixteen attendees (out of 27 active members and five honorary members) met the requirements.
2. 'The Importance of Club Runner as a useful Rotary Tool' and "What is available on your club website?" Patrick and Liz shared their expertise and knowledge about the importance of the Club's website, and particularly the member's area as an important form of Rotary communication.
Logging into the website, you will find sections titled
i. 'It's Happening at Grimsby Rotary' presenting information on a variety of upcoming and past club events or Happenings like the upcoming Rotary Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup
ii. Current and previous Rotary Bulletins - The Grapevine
iii. Rotary Club of Grimsby Board and Club meeting Minutes
iv. A calendar of Upcoming Events
v. Membership Information (restricted to club Rotarians) Includes makeup of the Board, Fees Structure/Financial Accounts
vi. Organizational information
Members can directly log onto the Club Runner platform via the Members Area link in the upper right hand corner of the Rotary Club of Grimsby Website. Members will need their password which they can get from Secretary Marie, if they don't have it available.
A Zoom link for the next club meeting is provided in The Grapevine sent to all active and honourary members directly preceding a scheduled Club meeting.
3. In 2020, Club members approved a number of Strategic Priorities for the Rotary Club of Grimsby. A detailed presentation highlighted the completed or ongoing activities under each of the Strategic Priorities. There was some discussion in each of the areas.
Increase Rotary's Impact on the Wellbeing and Growth of our Local and Partner Communities (Pedal for Polio, Donate and Dine, Fantasy of Wreaths, Great Lakes Cleanup, Little Lending Library)
There is opportunity for a District Matching Grant of up to $2,000 US for a project. The deadline is March 15, 2021. Marshall suggested Grimsby Search and Rescue (Jim H. indicated that the grant could not be used for operating funds). Al suggested support for West Lincoln Hospital. Roger proposed renewed support for the summer program at the Grimsby Library (Kathryn graciously declined, stating that there were others in our community with greater needs). Jim H. suggested purchase of necessary equipment for a worth organization.
Enhance Rotary's Impact through Alternate Membership Opportunities
Alternate membership categories were presented to the club in late fall. The club just approved pursuing the sponsorship of a Satellite Club
Develop a Sustainable Fund Development Structure
Donate and Dine was a big success. All funds have been received and all payments discharged. Five other clubs have expressed interest in doing something similar.
Strengthen the Club's Operational Infrastructure
We are now using Club Runner for volunteer management and member dues invoicing. The RC of Grimsby website has been redesigned and the Members only section is up to date. The Grapevine is published bi-monthly and archival copies are available on the website. The Zoom meeting format is stable and the majority of club members are comfortable on the site. The Trellis/ Strip infrastructure is stable and some members are trained on it. Liz Stressed the continued importance of strengthening infrastructure initiatives.
A copy of the Club Assembly power-point is in the members' area of the website for review.
4. Rotary Club of Grimsby Satellite: The West Niagara Satellite Club would have a minimum of eight members and be sponsored by our club. Liz is aware of twelve interested people, many of whom reside in the Smithville area. Jeanette indicated that there is strong support for this initiative at the District level. Liz suggested that the satellite would invigorate our club. Al suggested that it was 'worth a try', but expressed a concern of being 'cannibalized'. Liz indicated that the club would operate as a separate entity with it's own unique fee structure, it's own management/meeting structure and its own fixed costs, such as a post office box. As a sponsoring club, we would have oversight. Reservations were expressed by Bob and Andy. A lengthy discussion was held amongst the members.
Jeanette presented a motion "to pursue the opportunity to adopt and mentor a West Niagara Rotary Satellite Club" Marshall seconded the motion.
Liz called a vote: 15 in favour, 3 opposed, 2 abstentions (including four proxy votes)
HAPPY BUCKS
Happy Buck were suspended for this meeting due to the length of the meeting.
Meeting was adjourned by President Liz
Special THANKS to Brian Golden - Meeting recorder and Kathryn Drury - Club Assembly secretary.
You are invited to join us at our upcoming meeting,
Thursday, March 18th, 2021
by participating virtually in the District Conference
Preregistration required
