South Mouth August 29, 2010

President Elect/Membership Chair Sheila Bristo called the meeting to order at 12:15 p.m.
 
National Anthem:    Kris Akilie
Toast to the Queen & Canada:   Cathy Henry
Invocation:   Roseanne Morissette

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS AND VISITING ROTARIANS

Norris Brown had each table introduce their guests: Romina Flynt, prospective new member; Carole Henderson from the Rotary Club of St. Catharines; and Kimberly Hundertmark, Executive Director of the Niagara Wine Festival, our guest speaker.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS

Arie Vrugteveen, serving as Sergeant-at-Arms, collected happy dollars from:

Rob Welch - thought the Monday night Social in lieu of a meeting was fantastic and complimented John Teibert for the idea; 
Dan Toppari - thanked everyone for the flowers and support duing his recent family bereavement;
Roseanne Morissette - happy to announce that through PerformanceCars employee golf tournament $695 was raised for Take it to Heart and that PerformanceCars annual support of the United Way Golf Tournament, through colleague Bill Anderson, helped raise over $52,000 for United Way programs and services;
John Teibert - thanked everyone for attending the Monday evening Social;
Cathy Henry - brought greetings from the Ocho Rios Rotary Club and announced the further continuation of the breadfruit trees being planted in Jamaica throughout the Basic schools and small farmers;
Kris Akilie - spent a wonderful weekend with her son Gordon in Montreal;
Ed Telenko - announced his third annual Art Show at Picture Frame Gallery on Ontario Street- Septembr 1^st. The reception will be September 10^th. The St. Catharines General Hospital Foundation office will be supporting the show this year;
Bob McKay - now has his 1964 Corvette up and running - in time for the Henley Honda car rally and to put it back in storage for the winter;
Paul Monaghan - had a wonderful time at the Lewiston Jazz Festival and had great luck at Woodbine;
Peter Snodgrass - had a wonderful family reunion with his cousins. 
  
ROTARY MINUTE

As August is Membership Month and Sheila is Chair of the Membership Committee, Sheila spoke of the importance of membership in increasing awareness and bringing new ideas to the Club.

Sheila announced the application for Ernesto Carillo, a friend of Matt and Georgette Taylor, whose classification is Retired - Human Resources - Federal Government. This is the first notice. If anyone has a reason why Ernesto should not become a member, please notify Sheila Bristo or President John. We hope to welcome Ernesto into our club when our District Governor visits on September 13^th. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

August 30, 2010 - Fundraiser for Dino Sabic. Cathy spoke of the fundraiser for Dino Sabic, the young Sir Winston student who broke his neck diving into a pool. Cat's Caboose is hosting the event with over 1,000 tickets sold. Silent and live auction items will be available. Everyone is welcome to support this young man who needs our help.

September 3, 2010 - Bingo - Greg McDonald needs three volunteers.

September 9, 2010 - Board of Directors Meeting at Crawford Smith and Swallow. 

September 13, 2010 - District Governor (Karen Oakes) Visit - There will be a short Board meeting before the regular meeting to discuss the direction of the committees and club. 

September 19, 2010 - Henley Honda Car Rally with all proceeds to Gillian's Place (formerly Women's Place). If you are unable to enter a car, please support this initiative by contacting Cathy with pledges.

September 24-26, 2010 - District Conference in Delhi-Simcoe. Please register online at the District 7090 website.  

September 29, 2010 -Trade Delegation from Kurdistan. Cathy Henry advised that there will be a "Meet and Greet" at the Golf Club. As they are trying to establish a Rotary Club in Erbil, Kurdistan. Amy Ball, who we have worked with in helping Noora, has requested that we join in hosting this event. It would be a great way to establish business networking in an emerging market. Further news to follow.

November 13, 2010 - Take it to Heart Gala. Cathy advised that tables are selling quickly. Cathy also mentioned that the committee is looking for sponsorship ads and general ads for the evening program. Please contact her as soon as possible with names of guests and possible ads.

Rotary Foundation Report - Rob Welch advised that the Foundation Committee met a week ago - the most brilliant committee! The committee is asking club members to submit nominatons by late September for Paul Harris award winners - two external and two internal (one being the Past President). The committee will meet at the end of September to prepare a motion of nominees for the board's approval. A recognition ceremony will take place in November, during Foundation Month. Committee member Jim Hooper will be speaking on Foundation work during this month. Rob also advised that a request for EREY contribution is being sent with the membership invoices.

2010/2011 Budget - John Teibert advised that the 2010-2011 has been posted on our club's website and copies are on the table. With respect to the 2010/2011 dues, John explained that the board is looking to increase the dues to $225 (we haven't had an increase in a while) and then increasing the membership fee $10 per year for the next five years. Our 2009/2010 fiscal year's preliminary numbers indicate that we finished the year with a deficit of approximately $1,000. (i.e., we've used up all of our surpluses from other years). With respect to the charitable budget, we've ended with a surplus on the balance sheet of approximately $48,000, so we are looking to over spend by approximately $13,000 this year. A motion to accept the 2010-2011 budget was made by John Teibert.  All present (including three membes who responded online) were in favour. The budget was passed.

BIRTHDAYS

August 6 - Norris Brown, who shares his birthday with Spice Girl Geri Halliwell; Earl Winfield, Ti-Cats Receiver; and Lucille Ball.

August 19 - Cathy Henry and Brian Radford,who share their birthday with Bill Clinton.

August 24 - Laetitia de Witt, who shares her birthday with Rene Levesque.

August 27 - Dan Toppari, who shares his birthday with Lynden B Johnson and Mother Theresa.

50/50 DRAW

$2/ ticket - Find one of two Jokers. Paul Monaghan drew the 7 of clubs.

EARLY LEAVERS  

Rob Welch expressed his regrets to our President and Guest Speaker and took early leave.

GUEST SPEAKER, KIMBERLY HUNDERTMARK, NIAGARA WINE FESTIVAL

Kimberly Hundertmark was introduced by Sheila Bristo, a longtime friend. Kim is a life-long resident of St. Catharines. After 20 years in retail management, she joined the Niagara Wine Industry in 1992. In 2004, Kim became Manager of Tourism for the City of St. Catharines. In 2009, she was seconded to the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival and is now executive Director. A mother of four children, she is also busy with Hospice Niagara and Big Brothers, and is a contributing writer for Business Link under the byline, "The Business of Wine".

Kim spoke to the club about the growth of the Grape and Wine Festival, how it is an integral part of tourism for Niagara, the changes in name, and re-focus of a more family- orientated event. As a non-profit organization funding is always an issue. There will be a strategic planning exercise to garner feedback from the community, and they would like participation if possible.

Paul Monaghan thanked Kim for the very informative presentation .

ATTENDANCE REPORT

Norris Brown advised of 14 members and three guests for 80 per cent participation. 

ADJOURNMENT

President John asked if there was any further business for the good of Rotary, wished everyone a good week in Rotary, and, before adjourning the meeting at 1:30 p.m., left club members with this thought for the day:

"Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional."  - Chili Davis, California Angels ball player.