Thank you to the YMCA for their presentation on Tuesday. It was great to see the representatives to give us updates and show us how important YMCA is to our community. We share an incredible partnership not only through the work YMCA does but also through giving so many children the amazing experience of Camp Tillicum.
The month of October is a focus on ending Polio in the world. We are so close but we cannot stop the fight against this horrible virus. There are many great things that clubs around the world are doing to keep the focus on eradicating Polio. I wanted to share one story with you. Click on the link here to see one example:
Our next meeting is on Tuesday, October 28th at Average Joes, lower level - please note that there will be no meeting at Cecil's.
This is a special meeting that our Membership Committee has arranged to let those interested in joining Rotary or want to learn more about Rotary to have a group of Rotarians give some focused talks on a very personal level at your table.
Buffet lunch will be served at no cost to you. We ask you to bring a friend or family member that would be interested in learning more about Rotary and hopefully joining Rotary. We know there are time commitments in everyone's life so if becoming a Rotarian does not work at this time of their lives, please do let them know we also love to see “Friends of Rotary” join us for our many events and learn how they can help.
Monday, November 3rd at noon will be our annual Remembrance Day Program. The meeting will take place at the Grande so enter from Main St. Please reach out to a veteran and those currently serving to invite them to the program. We will have representation from Wing 22 and just waiting on confirmation from the USAF. Poppies will be available and all donations as well as Happy Twonies will go to the Poppy Fund.
Reminder to those who had registered for Part I of the Rotary Leadership Institute - Part II is coming up! First session will be Nov. 1st so don't forget to register. This is a great way to continue your learning about all things Rotary and great way to see how Rotary works outside of our Club.
Please join me in congratulating Rhyan and Jenni on their 16th Wedding Anniversay on October 31st.
Birthday greetings and best wishes to Steve Wright celebrating his birthday on October 29th!
Club anniversaries - congratulations and thank you for all you do for Rotary - Ghislaine Cote - 29 years on October 28th, Ian Martyn - 30 years on October 30th.
We have an International Committee that focuses on service outside of Canada. Rotary is an international organization and there are many people in many countries that depend on Rotary to improve their lives. One such group is HHART (Hispaniola Humanitarian Assistance and Relief). Since 2011, teams have been going down to Dominican Republic to provide medical, dental and a full range of community development services to some of the most underserved and disadvantaged communities.
I am so happy to report that there are 4 members from our club that will be going down in February. I will be joining Bill Hagborg, Ghislaine Cote and Yvonne Taylor for some truly much needed hands-on work with a few of the communities in the Dominican Republic. We pay all our own expenses but are also looking to raise $3000 towards purchasing very much needed items when we are down there. A lot of the supplies can be purchased there so we try to bring money as opposed to products so it helps not only those that need our help but the local economy as well. We will be purchasing material for the village school, completing the second story of the schoolhouse, installing solar lights (no electricity in many of the homes so once the sun sets, the families are in darkness until morning) and so much more.
We have had many Rotary Exchange Students as part of the groups over the years and every single one of them has stated the trip changed their lives - made them aware of the need in other parts of the world that we just don't hear about.
Here is a posting by a Rotary Exchange student I had the honor of working along side when she came on one of the trips (please take the time to listen to her story - it is truly moving and shows the impact Rotary has):
