June 12, 2006 South Mouth
Members of the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South welcomed new member Debbie Garneau, who noted that Rotary "will encourage me to look out at the world and see what I can change or do for others..."
SouthMouth
Weekly Bulletin of the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South
June 12,
Volume Nine, Meeting 35
Reporter: R. Morissette
OPENING THE MEETING
Call to Order: President Bob McKay
National Anthem: Greg McDonald
Toast to Queen and Canada: Laetitia de Witt
Invocation: Jim Shannon
GUESTS AND VISITING ROTARIANS
John Teibert introduced the following guests and visiting Rotarians: Messrs. Ross McDonald, Ron Bassett, and Gregory Bodogh-Darte from the Downtown Club.
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS
Doug Foss, serving as Sergeant-at-Arms, accepted Happy Dollars from:
himself - for a recent trip to Trenton with his daughters and the funny "frozen face" story;
Laetitia de Witt - for cyclists Bob McBride, Bob McKay, and Paul Massuet who did well at the recent International Rotary Bike Trek and for the club placing second in terms of pledges;
Paul Massuet - for the great day enjoyed by all at the International Rotary Bike Trek;
Bob McKay - for being able to complete the bike trek!
Peter Snodgrass - for being at the meeting after some recent health concerns;
Don Hetherington - for an observation. Don and Anne went to see Lord of the Rings on stage in Toronto. "The book is better," notes Don, "there is no singing and dancing!"
John D'Ambrosio - for the asphalt and curbing now going in near his collision centre;
Don Beard - he will be celebrating his 38th wedding anniversary this weekend.
Doug Foss, serving as Sergeant-at-Arms, fined the following:
Bob McBride's table - for Bob coming over to point out the other club's banner being up;
Laetitia de Witt - for locking herself out of her house and for losing things like her Rotary binder.
REPORTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Inauguration of three new Paratransit vehicles,
June 28, 2006 11:30 a.m. at the St. Catharines Market Square:
President Bob advised that the St. Catharines Transit Commission and the Paratransit Advisory Board will be inaugurating three new Paratransit vehicles on June 28, 2006, 11:30 a.m. at the St. Catharines Market Square. These vehicles have been generously sponsored by The Rotary Club of St. Catharines, the Rotary Club of St. Catharines A.M., the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South, and the Rotary Club of St. Catharines - Lakeshore as well as Butler Funeral Home - Niagara Chapter and Abitibi Consolidated - Thorold Foundation. This ceremony is being held during the Accessibility Open House - City of St. Catharines, hosted by the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Accessibility.
Bingo Report:
Greg McDonald thanked Debbie Garneau, Lynda Baiano, and June Manning for helping out at the June 10th bingo. The attendance was light, perhaps due to the non-smoking by-law. Next bingo session is July 8th, 2006.
International Rotary Bike Trek, Saturday, June 10, 2006:
Paul Massuet reported that the "Best of Friends" International Rotary Bike Trek was a great success. Sixty-eight students and 32 adults enjoyed a wonderful day and raised $20,000. Six hundred and forty-five dollars was raised by our club, and we received $150 as a prize for being the second largest donors.
Club Picnic, Paul and Mimi Massuet, June 25th, 2006, 3 pm:
Paul and Mimi Massuet will once again host a picnic for our club members on June 25th, 2006, commencing at 3 p.m. Paul asked that members with last names beginning A to L bring salads and club members with last names beginning M to Z bring desert. Please bring your own chairs and refreshments. John Chotka is graciously supplying meat and buns. Please email Ron Kozub if you plan to attend.
Directions to the Massuets, 4 Cardinal Circle, St. Catharines:
From Ontario Street, St. Catharines:
- go Northwest on Ontario Street toward Woodruff Avenue
- turn slight right onto Carlton Street
- turn left onto Geneva Street
- turn right onto Linwell Road
- turn left onto Gordon Place
- turn right onto Rosemount Ave
- turn right onto Cardinal Circle (#4)
RYLA:
Laetitia reported that two candidates have been chosen for the RYLA Program: Benjamin Hendriksen and Darren Luong.
Upcoming Events:
June 19th - Paul Harris Fellowship awards. Spouses are welcome to attend. Please register online or email Ron Kozub if you plan to attend.
June 26th - President Bob's "Swan Song".
July 10th - Matt Taylor's induction of the new board.
July 24th - Dave Haddow, "Rotary Foundation".
August 14th - There will be no lunch meeting. A General Assembly will be held in the evening, which Ron hopes to tie in with a golf outing during the day. Further details to follow.
Friendly Visiting:
If you know of any member (or family member) of our club who is sick, please advise President Bob McKay or President Elect Matt Taylor.
BIRTHDAYS
President Bob noted two birthdays, Ron Kozub and Doug Foss. Happy Birthday, Ron and Doug, and best wishes for health and happiness in the year ahead!
50/50 DRAW
Bob McBride had the winning ticket, but did not draw the winning card. There is $475. in the pot.
EARLY LEAVERS
The following members expressed their regrets to our President and to Debbie Garneau and took early leave: Don Beard, John D'Ambrosio, Ron Kozub, Tom Schulz, and Peter Snodgrass.
GUEST SPEAKER - CLASSIFICATION TALK
Greg McDonald introduced new member Deborah (Debbie) Garneau. Debbie was born and raised on a dairy farm in a community known as Maidstone, which is just outside of Windsor, Ontario. Debbie's father was a member of the Essex Rotary Club, until his death, and her step father was also a Rotarian. Debbie graduated from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, where she received her diploma in Business Administration with a major in Accounting and Data Processing. She achieved Honour Roll standing and was the recipient of the Dean's Award for Academic Achievement. Debbie went on to complete her Certified General Accountant (CGA) designation and a Computer Studies diploma at Centennial College.
Upon graduation, Debbie moved to Toronto for her career and some adventure where she met her husband-to-be, Roger Garneau. They eventually moved to St. Catharines where they started a restaurant called Sugar Plum in Niagara-on-the-Lake. They sold the business to Tim Horton's in September 2004. As an accountant, Debbie has worked in various industries, such as property management, construction, graphic arts, steel manufacturing, and metal casting. She is presently employed with Flexo Products in Niagara Falls, a manufacturer of cleaning chemicals.
Debbie explained that in addition to being an accountant, her work specialty is implementing Material Resource Planning (MRP) systems. The MRP system calculates and maintains a manufacturing plan based on master production schedules, sales forecasts, inventory status, open orders, and bills of material. If properly implemented, the system will reduce cash flow and increase profitability. It is a pro-active management tool. Debbie spoke to the need for continuous improvement in business and just-in-time delivery of products to meet consumer needs.
Flexo Products, founded in 1918, now has three warehouses, a fleet of trucks, a showroom, as well as offices in Toronto and Cambridge in addition to its head office in Niagara Falls. Debbie spoke of the revolution caused by wipes and anti-bacterial cleansers. More and more, consumers are calling to enquire about environmentally responsible options for cleaning products. This is an area for opportunity and leadership.
Debbie has always wanted to become more involved in the community and was delighted when Matt Taylor asked her to join our club. Debbie hopes that being a Rotarian will help increase her skills and self confidence. But most importantly, Debbie feels that being a Rotarian will encourage her to look out at the world and see what she can do to change or to help others and, in doing so, gain satisfaction and lots of new friends.
Greg and President Bob thanked Debbie for her informative classification talk and welcomed her to Rotary!
Norris Brown reported 17 members, three guests, and 27 make-ups for 108.33 per cent attendance.
ADJOURNMENT
As there was no further business for the good of Rotary, President Bob adjourned the meeting at 1:30 p.m.