Festival City Rotary Newsletter September 25, 2012

Posted by Vincent Hill 
on Sep 25, 2012
 

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of September 25, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Geza Wordofa is from Stratford Rotary. Rachel Rath and her grandfather Homer Rath. Mike Henry is from the Goderich Rotary Club. Steve Stacey is a potential new member.

Draw Prize: Carolyn Dingman won the prize donated by Donna Hinz.

Announcements:

  1. Board Minutes: President Dianne stated that it is the intention of the board to publish the minutes of board meetings on ClubRunner. Minutes will be published shortly.
  2. New Generations Committee: Elizabeth Anderson, chair of the committee, is looking for someone to be the Youth Exchange Officer.  Contact Elizabeth if interested.
  3. The Christmas Program: Brandi Gillett is forming a committee to come up with a program for our Christmas meeting. Interested volunteers should contact Brandi.
  4. ClubRunner News Items: Rotarians who might have ideas for news items for the ClubRunner front page should pass them to Brandi Gillett.
  5. Cheque Presentation: Mike Henry of the Goderich Rotary Club presented a cheque to our club. It is their final contribution to the El Salvador project. The Goderich Club was the first to sign on to our project five years ago.  The club is sponsoring 5 children this year. Mike also thanked us for the $5000 our club donated to the Goderich Club for Tornado relief. Because the government donated an amount double ours, the final total donation was $15000.
  6. Dinner of the Month Tickets: Tickets for the 2013 draws are available for sale. Get your tickets from Tyler Canal.  The price is the same as this year. $20 each or 6 for $100.

 

Guest Speaker: Dianne Yundt introduced Rachel Rath who talked about her experiences attending the “Adventures in Citizenship” conference in Ottawa. Rachel represented our club and was one of about 220 students from across Canada. She went to Ottawa by train which began her eye opening experience. While in Ottawa she visited parliament hill, participated in a scavenger hunt on the hill, and listened to the parliamentary Pages as they explained their role in parliament. Students also had tours of the Museum of Civilization, Chateau Laurier, and the Japanese Embassy. She also learned more about the armed forces when they were visited by naval personnel.

A visit to the University of Ottawa impressed her with their programs, particularly in the area of energy conservation.

Rachel was billeted with girls from B.C., Ontario, and the East Coast and learned much from them about other areas of Canada which she knew little about. 

Social events included a visit to Quebec for a dinner and dance Quebecois style. At one point student groups had to perform skits. Her group of about 25 students portrayed Canadian stereotypes such as the aggressive hockey parent, Tim Horton coffee addicts, and the supposedly Canadian habit of apologizing.

The students also attended a citizenship ceremony which made her realize how multicultural Canada is becoming. She is pleased to be a citizen of a country which accepts everybody and embraces diversity.

It has occurred to Rachel that it would be a good idea for MP’s to speak at schools more often to encourage young people to become more aware of, and involved in, politics.

Rachel was thanked by Wayne Young.