Chair: Pierre Hoebers
Blessing: Pierre Hoebers
O Canada: Susan Ueffing
Pierre introduced the guests Trish Rafuse (Jeff), Shirley Margeson (Shelley) and Devon and Evan Warren (Phil). Thanks for joining us!
Happy $$:
Al: Thanks for the card from the club for his and Edna’s 66th wedding anniversary, Edna had sent a card of thanks in return!
Phil: Happy to have his family visiting – son Devon who is a Rotarian in Wilmington, NC and who just received a Paul Harris award, his grandson Evan who is going into grade 11 and grandson Ashton who is starting university in the fall.
Jeff: Thanks to folks who came to Ribfest – it went great! No definitive grand total yet, but it should be somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000!
Sue: Happy we can all sing again and that the ribs were so good she broke a tooth!
Shelley: Happy that her mother had joined her for the meeting, and that her husband’s daughter Robin (a basketball coach in Calgary) has been here visiting!
Craig: Happy to hear from Linda, one of the previous exchange students who had stayed with them, she will be taking the BAR exam soon!
Secretary’s Report: Rick reported one piece of correspondence – a thank you note from Emily Hirtle who had received a scholarship for the fall.
Illness Reports: Pierre let the club know that hopefully Randy would be joining us next week so we could all have the opportunity to visit.
Pierre then introduced Peter Muttart, Mayor of Kings County for his presentation on the County’s Strategic Planning process.
After some jokes about the Covid beards in the room, Peter explained that he was invited to speak to the club because the Municipality regularly undergoes a strategic planning process, and since the club is in the midst of doing one it may be beneficial to hear about. He went on to say that in his experience the strategic planning process can be challenging and draining, but is worthwhile on the back end. Also, from Peter’s experience it is beneficial to keep meetings shorter than 3.5 hours (for everyone’s attention span!), and to have a note taker and outside facilitator (who isn’t invested in the outcome of the plan).
The Municipality’s Plan can be (and is) regularly altered to reflect changes in circumstances, priorities and resources. It gives direction supported by facts and discussion, and links the Values, Mission and Vision to day to day operations.
Peter then discussed the five key strategic priorities that the Municipality had determined:
- Strong Communities – supporting community facilities (like community halls run by volunteers), investing in active transportation, diversity, review of recreation services, working with New Minas on their growth center, and community advocacy. This is achieved through partnerships with Indigenous communities (Glooscap and Annapolis Valley First Nation), the African Nova Scotian community, and the local Towns to explore projects of common interest (like recreation and alternative energy).
- Environmental Stewardship – Projects like the Solar Farm at the old “dump” site, wind farms outside of Greenwood, community based environmental projects like loans to install solar panels, and environmental advocacy. The Municipality is also building a net zero Public Works building and electric vehicle charging stations.
- Economic Development - This includes industrial and manufacturing park development and business attraction and promotion.
- Good Governance
- Financial Stability - It's important for the Municipality to have other sources of income, that is part of the reason they are working on alternative energy projects.
Peter then explained the Strategic Priorities give direction to the staff and Council on a day-to-day basis. When staff bring ideas forward for a “request for decision” from Council they need to provide an explanation as to how that idea fits within the Strategic Plan.
There wasn't enough time for Peter to fully answer questions so they were saved to the end of the meeting.
Peter Clark thanked Peter Muttart for his presentation and a donation to Rotary International was made as a thank you.
Committee Reports:
Susan - Everyone should have received an email from Holly about the Polio Plus fundraiser please reply by next Monday if you'd like to come.
Phil - Please pay either Phil or Shelley for your tulips if you haven't yet.
Valley Faces - it's the last month so please sell! We’re in the home stretch!
Chase the Ace:
Evan (Phil’s grandson) drew the ticket and Rick won the draw, the ace could be worth over $1,100. He pulled his card…. And it was the ACE!!! He won!! Wow!! Congratulations Rick!!
Pierre and the club read the 4-Way Test and adjourned.
See you next week!
