South Mouth July 19, 2010

President John called the meeting to order at 12:15 p.m.

National Anthem: Jason Pollock
Toast to Queen & Canada: Don Beard
Invocation: Peter Snodgrass

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS AND VISITING ROTARIANS  

Norris Brown introduced Jane Bradley, our Guest Speaker, Valerie Fitzpatrick, and Mr. and Mrs. Subramanian, rotarians from Bombay and guests of George Fitzpatrick and Valerie Fitzpatrick.
 
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS

George Fitzpatrick, serving as Sergeant-at-Arms, contributed the first happy dollar - happy to have three guests with him - and accepted other happy dollars from:  

Norris Brown - happy to have attended an Inner Wheel Meeting.
Ron Kozub - happy to be going camping for two weeks.
Brian Radford - just happy.
Peter Snodgrass - going to the East coast for two weeks - it's lobster season.  
Sheila Bristo - happy to have her good friend, Jane Bradley, with her as our guest speaker.
Jean Stewart -  happy to be at her first meeting as a full fledged Rotarian.
Dan Toppari - happy to be at the meeting.
Najeeb Syed - happy about his new golf clubs and lowering his score by five points. 

PRESENTATION FROM MR. SUBRAMANIAN, PAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR, BOMBAY

George Fitzpatrick introduced his special guests: Mr. Subramanian, the Past District Governor for District 3149 in Bombay and Mrs. Subramanian, a Rotarian and Past President of the Inner Wheel of Bombay.

Mr. and Mrs. Subramanian have two daughters - one is a doctor in Hamilton and the other flies as a commercial pilot in India for Jet Airways.

Mr. Subramanian's classification is Civil Law. He is the Senior Counsel for the High and Supreme Courts of India and has been a Rotarian for 23 years.

Mrs. Subramanian is a Special Education Teacher as well as a Rotarian and Past President of the Inner Wheel.

Mr. Subramanian then spoke of his District in Bombay: 6,650 members in 123 clubs with the average number of members per club at 50. His club's main focus is solar and water management. Over eleven million dollars has been pledged to the Rotary Foundation and his club has championed the first Hearing Impaired School in Bombay. His District has the largest number of female presidents who have all done fantastic jobs.They have also championed "Looking to the Future," a program that teaches ESL and computer skills to mostly poor people who must learn these skills in three months.

Mr. Subramanian presented President John and our club with a flag from his club.
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS

July 20, 2010 - Dragon Boat practice session (Arie to make arrangements).

July 21, 2010 - Buffalo Bison's game (tickets are $11.00- all are to meet at 5:15 at Boston Pizza at The Pen. Great Italian food before the game and fireworks after. Contact Dan Toppari: 905-227-9288.  

July 24, 2010 - Dragon Boat Races (Arie to make announcement).

July 24, 2010 - Bingo - four volunteers needed (Don Beard to make announcement).

July 25, 2010 - District 7090 Picnic at Queenston Heights, 2-5pm.

August 1, 2010 -  Ribfest and sale of 50/50 tickets (Jason to make announcement).

Canadian Tour Championship Tickets available. See President John.

Hospice Niagara 5 Car Draw Tickets available. See Sheila Bristo.

August 23, 2010 - Evening Social at Frescos. Due to the Canadian Tour Championship, our meeting for that day has to be relocated. At the board, we thought it might be fun to have an evening social event instead. Roseanne has checked out Frescos, they have an appetizer menu available for about $11 plus taxes and tip. We would charge $15. The thought is to come out have a few drinks and snacks and enjoy each other's company. There would be no formal agenda, spouses and family are invited. It would start around 5:30pm. We're looking for input, so let us know what you think.

September 20th to 24th - Group Study Exchange - looking for one host family. Jim Hooper needs to submit that person's name to Keith Lindberg by the end of July. The candidate is a lady, Eun-Jung, Sim. She doesn't like animals so would prefer to stay in a home that doesn't have pets. Responsibilities of the host include picking up and dropping her off at one location, last year the Holiday Inn on Lake @ QEW at the beginning and end of each day. There will be some time to get to know her as she will be having breakfast at your place each day and a couple of evening meals as well. Please let Jim know by email or phone as soon as possible.

November 13, 2010 - Take it to Heart Gala. Cathy advised that 20 tables have been sold so far. If Rotarians are considering attending, please contact Cathy as tickets are going quickly.

Letter of Resignation, John Chotka. President John read a resignation letter from John Chotka. Due to a change in work circumstances, John is unable to continue as a Rotarian within our club at this time.  

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday was sung to John D'Ambrosio, who celebrated his birthday July 15th. Besh wishes for a great year, John! 

50/50 DRAW

Dan Toppari had the lucky ticketm but drew the Ace of Spades.

EARLY LEAVERS

Elizabeth Zimmerman expressed her regrets to President John and our Guest Speaker and took early leave.  

GUEST SPEAKER, JANE BRADLEY, COMPASSION FATIGUE

Sheila Bristo introduced her good friend, Jane Bradley, a psychologist. Jane began her career as a professional caregiver at age 17 when she worked as a matron in a co-ed private school in Oxford, England. After graduating from Brock University, Jane spent most of her career in healing trauma and crisis. She has worked with high risk youth, abused women and their children, developmentally disabled adults, homeless, newcomers to Canada, people living with HIV/AIDS and serious mental illness. She continues to work in the field of trauma recovery, addictions, relationship conflicts, stress management and healing from sexual and physical abuse. After 35 years as a professional caregiver, Jane has developed a unique approach to Compassion Fatigue.

Jane then gave her presentation on Compassion Fatigue. She spoke of professional "Burn Out" and how the concept was identified over 20 years ago, mostly from studying caregivers to post traumatic stress disorder patients in the military hospitals. It was discovered that after five years, these highly-trained individuals either sought a complete career change, started to become addicted to alcohol and drugs, or committed suicide. This syndrome can also be described for caregivers in the home  and/or workplace. The premise of this new medical condition is that:
"By understanding Compassion Fatigue as the natural, predictable, treatable, and preventable consequences of caregiving, we can keep these caring professionals at work and satisfied with it." Charles Figley 1995

Jane reviewed her Compassion Fatigue Map. If someone is resilient, they are Joyful, Happy, Enthusiastic, and Content. If someone is at risk, they are Bored, Frustrated, Disappointed, and Overhwhelmed. If someone is in danger, they are Pessimistic, Angry, Depressed, and Powerless.

Rob Welch thanked Jane for her very informative presentation and presented her with a nice pen from our club .

ATTENDANCE REPORT

Ron reported 22 members, four guests, and two make ups for 70 per cent attendance.
  
ADJOURNMENT

As there was no further business for the good of Rotary, President John wished everyone a good week in Rotary, adjourning the meeting at 1:30 p.m., and left us with this thought for the day:   

"The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want."  - Ben Stein