Weekly Bulletin of the
Rotary Club of
St.
Catharines South
March 2, 2009
Call to Order: President Greg McDonald
Anthem: Paul Monaghan
Toast: Don Beard
Invocation: Jim Howes
Guests and Visiting Rotarians: Ron Kozub introduced Sandy Toth from the Adolescent Family Support Service.
Sergeant-At-Arms:
John D'Ambrosio put in a happy dollar because he is teaching his son to drive and they are going to Mexico. (but not driving there J Ron was happy for John being Sergeant- At- Arms. Dan was happy for the skill of John's son as he encountered him driving. John Teibert's parents arrived home from Mexico. Cathy was fined for having a great tan. She added a happy dollar for the great vacation and comments from a gentleman in Mexico who stated that Canada is the best country to live in. Jim was happy to be here and Greg was happy to have Sandy Toth join us today to receive the Howard Etherington award.
Announcements: Board Meeting Thursday March 12, 7:30 at Greg's house. Club Assembly was March 16 and is now changed to March 23 to accommodate March Break. It will be at Dom's Restaurant downtown beginning at 5:30 for fellowship with 6:30 dinner. Blasedale joint meeting is proposed for April 28 however that is the week of the Gala so we will request that it be scheduled later in May. Greg read a thank you letter from the Gift of Reading program for our donation through the University Women's Club. An additional $500 is being donated to the Gift of Reading. Greg read a thank you letter from Matt thanking the club for the donation to support his dental work in India and offered to do a presentation upon their return. Bingo is March 7. A full team has volunteered. Next bingo is March 20. Let Sheila know if you can volunteer. June Manning announced that the next Gala meeting is 7:30 am on March 5. Gala donation letter is on the table, members are asked to follow up with donors. Jim is now tracking tickets and donations on the board. Letters have gone to past guests. Letters to guests are available. Thanks to Ed for the brochures. Centre piece letters are also available. 21/30 centre pieces have been donated.
Ed Tolenko introduced Sandy Toth from the Adolescent and Family Support Program. Ed provided background on Howard Etherington. Howard was born in Grimsby, was in the war, and was a pharmacist at Potter and Shaw. Howard was an original charter member of our club in 1968. He was helpful in getting the club underway and raising funds. One of the first was bingo. The club did bingo every Monday night and 12 volunteers were required each night. Howard started the Club 300 fundraising and skate-a-thon which was very successful. In his honour we remember his work and make this donation yearly which is approved by the board and not the membership. Howard said "if it was good enough for the board, its good enough for me". Ed presented the cheque and the plaque to Sandy.
Sandy thanked the club and thanked Ed for the background. AFFSN was the first recipient of this award 17 years ago. The agency supports adolescent parents aged 13-21. The average age is 17/18. There are two program locations one at Lakeport and one at Collegiate. The program proveds care for children at 6 weeks and older so that the parent can go back to school. Studies show the quicker the parent goes back to school, the higher the rate of success. The program has adaptive programs where the student does not have a full coarse load. It focuses on life skills, parenting, healthy relationships, support, budgeting, pre-employment. Along with Public Health and with United Way funding, four of the women wrote their stories and shared them with students. Surveys' pre and post the discussion showed it was effective. The donation through the Howard Etherington fund will be used to purchase a stroller for the daily outdoor activities for the children.
50/50 Draw: Jim Hooper drew the seven of hearts.
Attendance: Ron noted 18 members in attendance with 10 make-ups for 90% attendance.
Guest Speaker:
Paul Monaghan introduced Reverend Ken Smith for his classification talk. Ken is a true person. He married Paul's children despite his health problems. Ken was a great support to Paul. Ken is a Paul Harris Fellow and Past President of the Niagara Falls Sun Rise Club.
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