CLUB BUSINESS
(a) Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup SAVE THE DATE - April 24, 2021
The day is fast approaching! Are you ready to help out?
The Rotary Club of Grimsby, in partnership with Lincoln Rotary
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) The Walking group meets on Fridays and Mondays at 11:00 am for an hour long walk around the Grimsby area. Previous destinations have included the Waterfront Trail in the west end of town, and the Grimsby Beaches area in the east.
All social distancing protocols are followed and walkers wear masks at all times.
A walk through Beamers Conservation Area on a warm day in March provided the walking group with spectacular views of the town below the escarpment and some of the wildlife above.
IF you are interested in joining the walking group, contact Joan W.
(c) The Book and Film Appreciation group continues to increase its appreciation of Literature by Canadian novelists. Contact Roger or Grant for more details.
Currently, they are reading The Book of Negroes, a 2007 award-winning novel from Canadian writer Lawrence Hill. In the United States, Australia and New Zealand, the novel was published under the title Someone Knows My Name.
The author has written about the title: "I used The Book of Negroes as the title for my novel, in Canada, because it derives from a historical document of the same name kept by British naval officers at the tail end of the American Revolutionary War. It documents the 3,000 blacks who had served the King in the war and were fleeing Manhattan for Canada in 1783. Unless you were in The Book of Negroes, you couldn't escape to Canada."
(d) Our curling Rotarians continue their planning for the Rotary Can-Am Curling Bonspiel scheduled for January 2022. With up to 24 teams participating, the committee is working to secure ice times in Grimsby and St. Catharines.
They look forward to hosting the event with great curling, a lot of fun and some fantastic fellowship with curlers from both Canada and the USA. We wish them the best!
UPCOMING MEETINGS
April 1st - Bruce MacKenzie - The Grimsby Wetlands
The Grimsby Wetlands, 29 acres of brownfield, has been turned into a urban wetland complex drawing people and wildlife to a new asset for Grimsby on its Waterfront Trail. Bruce Mackenzie will introduce us to how this award wining nature restoration project has evolved over the last 20 years.
Bruce Mackenzie has been a resident of Winona and Grimsby since 1983. He is the coordinator for the Grimsby Wetlands for the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club and is a Past President of the Club. When not playing in the marsh he acts as the Vice Chair of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and is a Commissioner on the Niagara Escarpment Commission. He sits on three citizen committees of the Town. He enjoys writing about nature and enjoying all of its intrigue with his wife Laurie.
April 15 - Preparing for the Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup
Bringing the club up to date and arranging for final volunteer opportunities
April 29 - Paul Harris Recognition
ROTARY DISTRICT 7090 CONFERENCE
RECOLLECTIONS OF CLUB MEMBERS ATTENDING
Our regularly scheduled 3rd Thursday meeting for March was a little different this year. Instead of attending a local club Zoom meeting, Club members were asked to register for and participate in the District 7090 Conference which was being held virtually. Over 4 days, interesting and inspiring speakers shared their perspectives of how Rotary is changing and evolving and offered a variety of suggestions for local clubs. There was also a lot of merriment and virtual socializing!
Liz asked several of the members who attended any or all of the days for their thoughts about the conference. It is interesting how the perspectives are different based on how our different Rotarians view "their Rotary". One key message throughout the conference and what your fellow Rotarians recollect is the possibilities and opportunities that abound.
ADG Jeanette shared: The Rotary District 7090 Conference kicked off on Monday March 15th. It was a free virtual event for the first time in history. Each night welcomed between 100-160 participants.
D.G Frank’s Little Lending Libraries challenge was highlighted and photos of all the participating clubs with their LLL were showcased. Congratulations to Grant Schaming for his rendition of our LLL.
Joan W. felt the theme for the Rotary Virtual Conference for March 16th was Diversity , Equity and Inclusion. She had her introduction to Jennifer Jones, our Rotary International President- Elect, who is from the Windsor Roseland Club. Wow, really sums it up....Zoom sometimes makes it difficult to feel close to the speakers and their message. All the speakers this evening brought compelling messages that even virtually provided food for thought for Rotarians as we look to our future.
Jim H said " Gee. I should have kept notes." ....Michael Jacques, a young author, from Fonthill spoke about his struggles as a child growing up with Autism. An intellectual disability also prevented him from learning to read or write. Despite these handicaps he was able to author a Child Level Book, "I Belong, Can I play" which addresses the value of inclusion, friendship and belonging for children growing up with disabilities. He was able to write the book using an IPad with voice recognition.... Proceeds from the Book are being donated to Community Living Ontario and Special Olympics.
Kathryn D recounted Thursday March 18th's session. Past Rotary International President Barry Rassin started off the event by talking about how important it is for the long term health of Rotary everywhere to consider tapping into youth participation. His opening remarks were followed by a panel discussion in which PRIP Rassin asked questions of a panel of 4 Rotoract participants. They indicated that they enjoyed the participation at the Rotoract level as they were able to work on their own projects while being supported by regular Rotary Club members.
Bob M tell us that "Over the years I have attended my share of District conferences. I have seen the best and painfully sat through some that watching paint dry was more inspiring. Anyone who tuned into the evening has to agree with me this was one of the best Rotary evenings in a long time.... The second highlight was Evan Burrell an Aussie who by profession is an inspirational speaker and communication professional. Evan is as pure Rotary as one could find.... At the end of a very busy day I must admit that I was ready to do the token few minutes and quietly slip away. It was a great evening, learned a lot and would not have missed it for anything."
Thank you to the Rotarians who attended the conference and shared their recollections.
HAPPY BUCKS
No Happy Bucks were shared.
Special THANKS to Jeanette, Joan, Jim, Kathryn and Bob for their thoughts on the District conference.
You are invited to join us at our upcoming meeting,
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Bruce Mackenzie - Grimsby Wetlands
Meeting ID: 863 5641 9004
Passcode: 291547
