Stories

Festival City Rotarian Jack West is in North Carolina riding in a Polio fundraising event for Rotary.

Past-Presidents Dianne Yundt and Peter Moreton were pleased to present Jean Aitcheson with a Paul Harris Fellow.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Bill Helmuth

Minutes of the meeting of July 2, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Bob Martin and Marcia Matsui arefrom the Stratford Rotary Club. Sue and Rick Storie are from the London Hyde Park Rotary Club.

Door Prize: Vincent Hill donated the prize won by Deb Stacey-Rivers.

Announcements:

1.     Meeting Change: The meeting normally scheduled for Tuesday July 23 will be replaced by a farewell party for Leticia on Monday night July 22. It will be a potluck event starting at 6 PM. The party takes place at the home of Dianne Yundt. Leticia will make a video presentation of her cross-Canada trip.

2.     Literacy Awards: Sue Storie, the literacy chairperson for District 6330 presented the club with two literacy awards. The District Literacy Award was presented for completing five literacy projects. The Zone Literacy Award was for completing ten projects. Projects included adding Facebook and Twitter feeds to the website, donating back to school back packs, helping start Rotaract, financing the purchase of five computers for El Salvador, providing the Adult Learner award, continuing Rotary Reads, and promoting digital literacy. We have already started on the next award through our contribution of $1000 to a day care centre.

3.     The Champagne edition of Bingo: Saturday August 4. Volunteer by clicking on the Bingo link on ClubRunner or inform Jack West or Vince Hill. It was on this date in 1693 that Dom Perignon announced that he had invented a sparkling wine which came to be known as Champagne.

4.     Alberta Flood Relief:

As you are aware, the residents of southern Alberta are suffering very acute hardship as their rivers flood their homes and communities.

We have had a number of clubs in our District enquire how they might assist in the relief efforts as a result of these floods.

We have been advised that there is not a need for non-monetary item’s at this time – only financial donations are required which will allow the organizers to be flexible and provide assistance in an effective manner and where it is most urgently needed.

The District has agreed to act as the conduit for donations made by clubs within our District.

With this in mind, should your club wish to support the Alberta flood relief effort, please forward your cheque to our District Treasurer – Henry Weickert, P.O. Box 1596, Southampton, ON N0H 2L0. The cheque should be made payable to District 6330 with the memo line or covering letter indicating funds are for the Alberta Flood Relief.

Funds will be forwarded to our Rotary contact in District 5360 and used for the benefit of all the clubs/communities which have suffered due to flooding. Should your club wish to support a specific club, please so indicate and funds will be directed accordingly.

In due course we will be provided with a full accounting of where funds were spent.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours in Rotary Service,

Tom Robitaille                                                           Don Moore

District Governor 2012 – 2013                                  District Governor 2013 – 2014

District 6330                                                   District 6330

Club Assembly:

Membership Committee: Deb Stacey-Rivers said that the committee held six meetings during the previous Rotary year. The survey completed by the membership was helpful in finding out what it wanted from Rotary. More social occasions is a popular wish. The first social evening was held in May and it is hoped that more will occur during the year. The next is the July 22 farewell party for Leticia at the Yundts.

Deb also noted that several members have reached milestones. Jean Aitcheson and Bill Helmuth have been with the Festival City club for 5 years, Laura Pogson and Kent Chisholm for 10 years, and Jack West and Wayne Young for 15 years.

Tyler Canal, chair of Public Relations wants the membership to inform him of events which can be promoted. He will use Facebook and Twitter to promote events in addition to more conventional methods. The pancake breakfast will be advertised on the Stratford Rotary Dragon Boat site.

Brian Rivers, chair of New Generations Committee spoke about the Youth Exchange program. He wants the membership let him know their thoughts on continuing the program. It costs about $3000 per year. If we continue, new host families will be required as it seems that the same families have hosted students for several years. A short exchange option is being explored and Brian will keep us informed as information becomes available. Our next exchange student is a 16 year old boy from Indonesia.

Last week’s speakers were so impressive with what they do with so few resources that the board of directors will explore the possibility of assisting the Same World Same Chance organization as an international project.  Anyone wishing to make a personal donation to SWSC can do so by visiting www.sameworldsamechance.org and follow the links.

Ken Hansen asked that anyone with the name of a person who would be an interesting speaker please let he or Brandi Gillett know. Ken will follow up any suggestions.

Kent Chisholm is asking for fundraising ideas. We are not doing as many as in the past and he is looking for suggestions.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of June 25, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Bob Martin is from the Stratford Rotary Club. Candace Riehl and Marissa Izma are the guest speakers

Door Prize: Dianne Yundt donated the prize won by Etienne Leushuis.

Announcements:

1.     The 2013-2014 Board of Directors: Incoming President Bill Helmuth presented a list of directors which was voted on and approved.

Bill Helmuth – President

Brian Rivers – President elect

Deb Stacey-Rivers – Vice President

Linda Jones – Director at large

Kent Chisholm – Director at large

Tyler Canal – Public Relations

Dianne Yundt – Past President and Rotary Foundation

Randy Matthews – Club Secretary

Etienne Leushuis – Treasurer

Jack West – Club Service

Brandi Gillet – Club Administration

2.     The 2013-3014 Budget. Treasurer Etienne Leushuis proposed that the budget he mailed to the membership be approved. The budget was approved. Etienne indicated that our dues are the lowest in the District. Of the $11 fee per meeting $9 is for food+tips+taxes. The remaining $2 pays for gifts and RI givings.

3.     Meeting Change: The meeting normally scheduled for Tuesday July 23 will be replaced by a goodbye party for Leticia on Monday night July 22. It will be a potluck event starting at 6 PM. The venue will be announced soon. Leticia will make a video presentation of her cross-Canada trip.

Guest Speaker: Dianne Yundt introduced Marissa Izma and Candace Riehl. These Stratford natives represent the organization “Same World Same Chance” based in Zambia. Marissa along with Stratfordite Kimberley Hurley are the cofounders of SWSC.

After graduating from Laurentian University Marissa travelled through Southern Africa. It was while passing through Zambia on the way to Malawi that Marissa decided to stay and help the community of Kibombomene in the northwest part of Zambia. She has been there for five years. Two years ago she was joined by Candace Riehl who travelled there after her graduation from Queen’s University in nursing and psychology. In a country of 13 million people Marissa discovered that only 8 in 100 children receive any kind of schooling. Schooling is not free after grade 7. It is difficult to attract teachers because most do not want to live in remote areas with no running water or electricity. Through the efforts of SWSC the first class of 18 girls is about to graduate from grade 7. The school has obtained the services of an elderly teacher and two local members of the SWSC board also teach. It is hoped that a boy’s class can be started this year but that will require another teacher and facilities. Through the fundraising efforts of SWSC rudimentary buildings, school furniture and staff quarters have been built. Staff quarters is required for teachers since Kibombomene is too far from other communities for commuting.

Most people in the community had never received any kind of health care. Some nursing assistance is beginning to become available in the community.

SWSC has started some small scale farming to provide food for the school and community and other projects to help raise funds for SWSC. Women sew bags from local fabrics for sale. The bags are available in Treasures in Stratford. SWSC has received some help from a local Canadian copper mining company. Some embassies have contributed as well. Most donations come from individuals. The Alberta Gospel Outreach is the agent for SWSC and can issue tax receipts. SWSC currently operates on about $15000 per year but needs $25000 or more to adequately address the needs in the community.

For more information and to make a donation to SWSC visit www.sameworldsamechance.org  The website has many photos of Kibombomene and the work of  SWSC.

Candace will be riding in the Ride For Refuge event in Waterloo on Oct 5 to help raise funds for SWSC. Any bike riders who wish to register to ride or make a donation can visit www.rideforrefuge.org

Contact Information

Marissa Izma

marissa@sameworldsamechance.org

Candace Riehl

candace@sameworldsamechance.org

Donations can be made online

at Canada Helps

http://www.canadahelps.org/BasicSearch.aspx

Or type in AGO (Alberta Gospel Outreach), in the search for a charity tab.

Click View Profile (for AGO)

Under Fund/Designation (drop down menu), select Same World Same Chance

Or Donate by Chq

Cheques can be written to AGO (Alberta Gospel Outreach) with Same World Same Chance in the memo and sent to this address:

Candace and Marissa were thanked by Tyler Canal.

Linda Jones and Etienne Leushuis receive Paul Harris pins from Club Secretary Carolyn Dingman and President Dianne Yundt.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of June 18, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Clark Mitchell is from the Stratford Rotary Club. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Susan Worthington is the General Manager of Stratford Summer Music. John Miller Artistic Producer of SSM. Special guest David Harvie.

Door Prize: John McNeil donated the prize won by Randy Matthews.

Dinner of the Month Draw: Deb Cook won a dinner for four at Pazzo Taverna.

Announcements:

1.     Board Meeting: The last board meeting to be chaired by President Dianne will be on June 20 at 6 PM. She will be providing the “Last Supper”. Final committee reports will be due then.

2.     RI Annual Givings: District Governor Tom Robitaille is looking for more donations to the Annual Givings program. If you wish to contribute visit ClubRunner and click on Rotary International under Rotary Links. Click on the tab for “Contribute”.

3.     The budget and the new Board: The budget for 2013-2014 and the composition of the new board of directors will be discussed at the next meeting.

4.     Rotary Dues: Make cheques payable to The Rotary Club of Festival City and give them to the treasurer Etienne Leushuis.

5.     Coin Boxes: Return coin boxes to treasurer Etienne. 

6.     Magnetic Rotary Pins: please pay treasurer Etienne $5 for pins ordered.

Guest Speaker: Brandi Gillett introduced John Miller the Artistic Producer of Stratford Summer Music. This summer marks the 13^th year for the music festival. It continues for six weeks from July 15 to August 25. John stated that thanks to community support and support from our club the SSM continues to be a success growing slowly from year to year. It remains financially in the black. John has been very successful in obtaining the support of major corporations such as BMO, Sunlife and Yamaha.

For the 2013 season, choral music is a theme with 3 choirs visiting Stratford. The Vienna Boys Choir will be here for 3 concerts July 26, 27, 28 at St Andrews Church, and then a special concert with tenor Michael Schade (July 30).

The second choir is the Creole Cuban Choir (Aug 22, 23, 24). The first two performances are at St. Andrews church and the concert on the 24^th is with Jane Bunnett at the Church Restaurant.

The Toronto Mass choir will perform at St Andrews on August 4. Their specialty is Gospel and Caribbean music.

Other performers include pianist Jan Lisiecki, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and organist Rachel Laurin for organ week.

Barge music returns with a mix of music from the Canadian Men’s Chorus, the Sultans of swing, a cello ensemble and groups performing music of the swing era, the Caribbean, Gypsy and folk roots.

An unusual orchestra participating in this year’s SSM festival is Paraguay’s Landfill Orchestra. Children from a slum have learned to play instruments created from recycled materials scavenged from a landfill site. The orchestra performs on August 21 at St Andrews Church.

The pocket guide and larger program will be available soon.

Visit www.stratfordsummermusic.ca to buy tickets and check out the full repertoire of musical events.

Stratford Summer Music will open July 15 with the ever popular best fireworks show in Stratford.

John was thanked by Ron Rogers.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of June 11, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests:  Marcia Matsui and Clark Mitchell are from the Stratford Rotary Club. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. John Wilkinson from CNG Canada is our guest speaker.

Door Prize: Wayne Young donated a hanging basket of flowers won by Vincent Hill.

Announcements:

1.     Board Meeting: The last board meeting to be chaired by President Dianne will be on June 20 at 6 PM. She will be providing the “Last Supper”. Final committee reports will be due then.

2.     Rotary Dues: Make cheques payable to The Rotary Club of Festival City and give them to the treasurer Etienne Leushuis.

3.     Coin Boxes: Return coin boxes to treasurer Etienne. 

4.     The G.S.E. Team from South Korea: The team will be in Grand Bend on June 18 and Rotarians are welcome to meet them. Contact Dianne Yundt if you are interested in attending.

5.     Proposed 2013-2014 Budget: Treasurer Etienne has emailed the proposed budget to the membership. The budget will be discussed and voted on later this month.

6.     Thank You Letter: The club received a letter from the Music and Opera organization thanking us for our donation.

7.     Magnetic Rotary Pins: please pay treasurer Etienne $5 for pins ordered.

Guest Speaker: Bill Helmuth introduced John Wilkinson from CNG Canada. He is not John Wilkinson the politician but the other John Wilkinson. He spoke to us about compressed natural gas (CNG) as an efficient and affordable alternative fuel for vehicles. CNG Canada operates out of London Ontario and manufactures conversion kits for vehicles so that they can operate on both diesel or gasoline and compressed natural gas.

Although various alternative fuels for vehicles are beginning to appear in the marketplace, fuels such as electricity, vegetable oil, ethanol, hydrogen cells, they have disadvantages which CNG does not have.

CNG is abundant, affordable, and safe. It costs about 20 cents per cubic metre which is equivalent in energy to a litre of gasoline at $1.20/L. It burns cleaner than conventional fuels producing less smog and a 30-40% fewer greenhouse gases.

Currently CNG vehicles are found in taxis and transport fleets. The Thames Valley School Board vehicles use CNG. Some postal vehicles also use CNG. These companies have compressor stations which draw from the natural gas lines and compress the gas into the vehicle’s fuel tank.

A disadvantage of CNG is the lack of fueling stations. Until the fueling infrastructure improves CNG will be at a disadvantage.

Similar to CNG is LNG (Liquified Natural Gas). This is just natural gas which is compressed until it reaches a temperature of -259oF where it is a liquid. Special insulated tanks are required to keep the LNG cool for up to 8 days before refueling is required. It is commonly used in transport fleets. There is no road tax on LNG making it very cost effective for truck fleets.

John expects in the near future that more vehicles such as farm equipment will start to use CNG. Any farm with a biofuel digester or a natural gas well could produce their own CNG using an onsite compressor.

Propane is also a fuel being used in vehicles. It is processed out of natural gas making it more expensive.

A family car can be converted to run on CNG and gasoline for a cost of about $5000 +/- $500 depending upon the vehicle. Storage tanks are installed where the spare tire is located. A small computer is attached to seamlessly switch the engine between fuels.

For more information about CNG visit www.cngva.ca

John was thanked by Carol Rock  

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of June 4, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests:  Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Ana Staffen and her mother Galina Holmes. Marie Corcoran is a guest of Dianne Yundt. Also in attendance was Mary Lou Ruby Jones.

Door Prize: Louise Spandler donated a pair of tickets for the July Garden Tour won by Etienne Leushuis.

Paul Harris Fellow: In recognition for his services to the club, David Moore was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow.

Announcements:

1.     Nominations for the 2013-2014 Board of Directors: To be ratified at the end of the month.

Bill Helmuth – President

Brian Rivers – President elect

Deb Stacey-Rivers – Vice President

Linda Jones – Director at large

Kent Chisholm – Director at large

Tyler Canal – Public Relations

Dianne Yundt – Past President and Rotary Foundation

Randy Matthews – Club Secretary

Etienne Leushuis – Treasurer

Jack West – Club Service

Brandi Gillet – Club Administration.

2.     The G.S.E. Team from South Korea: The team will be in Grand Bend on June 18 and Rotarians are welcome to meet them. Contact Dianne Yundt if you are interested in attending.

3.     Proposed 2013-2014 Budget: Treasurer Etienne will be emailing the proposed budget to the membership. The budget will be discussed and voted on later this month.

Guest Speaker: Carol Rock introduced Ana Staffen who was selected by our club to attend the Adventures in Citizenship program hosted by the Ottawa Rotary Club.

Ana is a grade 11 student at Central Secondary School, a member of the student council and the student representative to the school board. Ana is 17 and has worked at Café Ten for two years.

Ana began by thanking us for the opportunity to attend the event. On April 27 Ana boarded the train for Ottawa. Upon arrival in Ottawa she met students from all across Canada. The group was divided into political parties and elected party leaders. Activities included a tour of the city and a visit to the Museum of Civilization. The students met the ambassadors from South Korea and the Netherlands. One evening the students put on skits which they had written, attended a video dance and listened to speakers. On May 1^st there was a swearing in ceremony for new citizens. The students also reaffirmed their own citizenship. Ana was so impressed with Ottawa that she is seriously considering the University of Ottawa for post-secondary education.

Ana is off to Zambia on June 27 with members of Memorial Baptist Church. For three weeks they will be working in Day Camps in Lusaka and rural areas.

Ana was thanked by Peter Moreton.

Ana talks about her Adventures in Citizenship trip to Ottawa.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of May 28, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From the Stratford Rotary Club we welcomed Bob Martin. Leticia Figueiredo is our Exchange Student.

Door Prize: Etienne Leushuis donated the prize won by Vincent Hill.

Announcements:

1.     Nominations for the Board of Directors: Rotarians interested in serving on the board of directors or nominating someone for a position should email President Dianne with the name of a seconder as well.

2.     Area 3 Meeting: The meeting chaired by Stan Malcolm is May 30 in Mitchell at 7 PM.

3.     3. Rotary Dues: The membership has received invoices for the 2013-2014 Rotary year. Please make cheques payable to the Rotary Club of Festival City Stratford. Cheques can be post-dated to July 2. Give cheques to treasurer Etienne Leushuis.

4.     Coffee: El Salvador coffee beans or ground coffee in 1lb bags is available from Randy Matthews for $15 each.

5.     District Assembly: Takes place June 7-9 in Sarnia. Anyone attending and wishes to travel with President Dianne should speak to her.

Guest Speaker: President Dianne introduced Pat Quigley from the Stratford Festival. Pat is retired from her Director of Education position and is a consultant to the Festival. Pat gave the membership an update of the 2013 playbill and began by encouraging everyone to consider attending a Forum session. Of particular interest to her is John de Chastelain who speaks on June 15 at 10 AM. His topic is “Ancient Grudges and New Mutinies”. Pat connected his topic with the role of the peacemaker in Romeo and Juliet who tries to bring an end to an ancient feud. Sally Armstrong speaks the next day about the “Ascent of Women”, her new book. On the same weekend the ARC Ensemble will present two concerts of Jewish music. Stephen Lewis talks on August 17.

Pat’s playbill recommendations include Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit”. During a séance the ghost of Charles Condomine’s dead wife returns to haunt his marriage to his new wife Ruth. In “Waiting for Godot” the ghost is talked about but never appears.

“Mary Stuart” has the best cast. The play resonates with today with its mix of politics and religion creating a tragic heroine, Mary Queen of Scots. This play is selling well with two more performances being added.

Both “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Merchant of Venice” tackle the theme of community and anti-Semitism. Scott Wentworth playing Tevye is not to be missed and neither is Jonathan Goad playing Gratiano in Merchant.  Othello played by Dion Johnstone is the outsider being accepted only because of his military power.

“Tommy” is a technological marvel and very loud. If you love the music of “The Who” you will love this production.

Pat was thanked by Peter Moreton. 

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of May 21, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From the Stratford Rotary Club we welcomed Bob Martin, Harry Brightwell and Rena Orr. Amanda Hansford is the president of Rotaract, Shane Pegg and Dan Heitbohmer represented the Accelerator Centre.

Door Prize: Linda Jones donated the prize won by Carolyn Dingman.

Dinner of the Month Draw: Dinner for 4 at Rundles was won by Anna Sherwin.

Announcements:

1.     House of Blessing: Donations will be accepted at next week`s meeting.

2.     Rotary Social Evenings: The first one will be at the Rivers home on May 28. It will be a “Wine and Cheese” evening. Bring your favourite cheese with a short description of the cheese type.

3.     Rotaract Banquet: It is confirmed that the banquet is Wednesday May 29 at the Arden Park. Tickets are $40. It is hoped that all members of Festival City Rotary will be able to attend. Rotaract is a joint venture of Festival City and Stratford Rotary Clubs. Tyler Canal has tickets for the event beginning at 6 PM.

4.     Area 3 Meeting: The meeting chaired by Stan Malcolm is May 30 in Mitchell at 7 PM.

5.     Rotary Dues: The membership has received invoices for the 2013-2014 Rotary year. Please make cheques payable to the Rotary Club of Festival City Stratford. Cheques can be post-dated to July 2. Give cheques to treasurer Etienne Leushuis.

6.     Coffee: El Salvador coffee beans or ground coffee in 1lb bags is available from Randy Matthews for $15 each.

7.     District Assembly: Takes place June 7-9 in Sarnia. Anyone attending and wishes to travel with President Dianne should speak to her.

Guest Speaker: Brian Rivers introduced Shane Pegg from the University of Waterloo`s Accelerator Centre. The centre is designed to assist startup companies in the hi-tech industry. Under one roof it provides mentoring, marketing, communications, and financial advice to young entrepreneurs who have an idea which they want to develop into a business. The Accelerator Centre began in 2006 just off the campus at U of W. Since then it has helped 108 startup companies to prosper. In the Waterloo area over 1000 jobs were created contributing $90 million to the local economy. The Stratford branch of the centre opened at 6 Wellington Street on February 4 in partnership with the City of Stratford. Seven companies are currently using the services provided by the local centre. Anyone, or a group, who has a passion for an idea they want to develop into a business can take advantage of the service in a safe, reliable and trusted environment which calls on the expertise of many mentors. Some of the mentors are CEO`s of multibillion dollar companies which started from nothing and grew into large companies. After paying a fee the startup receives coaching for several years. Since over 85% of startups fail in five years it is the plan of the centre to provide a foundation for success.

Dan Heitbohmer is one of the clients of the centre who is growing his business buildcircle.com which is software that helps contractors communicate with their sub-trades to prepare requests for proposals.  To learn more about Dan`s business and links to other startups at the accelerator centre visit www.acceloratorcentre.com/stratfordap

Shane and Dan were thanked by John McNeil.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of May 21, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From the Stratford Rotary Club we welcomed Bob Martin, Harry Brightwell and Rena Orr. Amanda Hansford is the president of Rotaract, Shane Pegg and Dan Heitbohmer represented the Accelerator Centre.

Door Prize: Linda Jones donated the prize won by Carolyn Dingman.

Dinner of the Month Draw: Dinner for 4 at Rundles was won by Anna Sherwin.

Announcements:

1. House of Blessing: Donations will be accepted at next week`s meeting.

2. Rotary Social Evenings: The first one will be at the Rivers home on May 28. It will be a “Wine and Cheese” evening. Bring your favourite cheese with a short description of the cheese type.

3. Rotaract Banquet: It is confirmed that the banquet is Wednesday May 29 at the Arden Park. Tickets are $40. It is hoped that all members of Festival City Rotary will be able to attend. Rotaract is a joint venture of Festival City and Stratford Rotary Clubs. Tyler Canal has tickets for the event beginning at 6 PM.

4. Area 3 Meeting: The meeting chaired by Stan Malcolm is May 30 in Mitchell at 7 PM.

5. Rotary Dues: The membership has received invoices for the 2013-2014 Rotary year. Please make cheques payable to the Rotary Club of Festival City Stratford. Cheques can be post-dated to July 2. Give cheques to treasurer Etienne Leushuis.

6. Coffee: El Salvador coffee beans or ground coffee in 1lb bags is available from Randy Matthews for $15 each.

7. District Assembly: Takes place June 7-9 in Sarnia. Anyone attending and wishes to travel with President Dianne should speak to her.

Guest Speaker: Brian Rivers introduced Shane Pegg from the University of Waterloo`s Accelerator Centre. The centre is designed to assist startup companies in the hi-tech industry. Under one roof it provides mentoring, marketing, communications, and financial advice to young entrepreneurs who have an idea which they want to develop into a business. The Accelerator Centre began in 2006 just off the campus at U of W. Since then it has helped 108 startup companies to prosper. In the Waterloo area over 1000 jobs were created contributing $90 million to the local economy. The Stratford branch of the centre opened at 6 Wellington Street on February 4 in partnership with the City of Stratford. Seven companies are currently using the services provided by the local centre. Anyone, or a group, who has a passion for an idea they want to develop into a business can take advantage of the service in a safe, reliable and trusted environment which calls on the expertise of many mentors. Some of the mentors are CEO`s of multibillion dollar companies which started from nothing and grew into large companies. After paying a fee the startup receives coaching for several years. Since over 85% of startups fail in five years it is the plan of the centre to provide a foundation for success.

Dan Heitbohmer is one of the clients of the centre who is growing his business buildcircle.com which is software that helps contractors communicate with their sub-trades to prepare requests for proposals.  To learn more about Dan`s business and links to other startups at the accelerator centre visit www.acceloratorcentre.com/stratfordap

Shane and Dan were thanked by John McNeil.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of May 21, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From the Stratford Rotary Club we welcomed Bob Martin, Harry Brightwell and Rena Orr. Amanda Hansford is the president of Rotaract, Shane Pegg and Dan Heitbohmer represented the Accelerator Centre.

Door Prize: Linda Jones donated the prize won by Carolyn Dingman.

Dinner of the Month Draw: Dinner for 4 at Rundles was won by Anna Sherwin.

Announcements:

1.     House of Blessing: Donations will be accepted at next week`s meeting.

1. Rotary Social Evenings: The first one will be at the Rivers home on May 28. It will be a “Wine and Cheese” evening. Bring your favourite cheese with a short description of the cheese type.
2. Rotaract Banquet: It is confirmed that the banquet is Wednesday May 29 at the Arden Park. Tickets are $40. It is hoped that all members of Festival City Rotary will be able to attend. Rotaract is a joint venture of Festival City and Stratford Rotary Clubs. Tyler Canal has tickets for the event beginning at 6 PM.

4.     Area 3 Meeting: The meeting chaired by Stan Malcolm is May 30 in Mitchell at 7 PM.

1. Rotary Dues: The membership has received invoices for the 2013-2014 Rotary year. Please make cheques payable to the Rotary Club of Festival City Stratford. Cheques can be post-dated to July 2. Give cheques to treasurer Etienne Leushuis.
2. Coffee: El Salvador coffee beans or ground coffee in 1lb bags is available from Randy Matthews for $15 each.
3. District Assembly: Takes place June 7-9 in Sarnia. Anyone attending and wishes to travel with President Dianne should speak to her.

Guest Speaker: Brian Rivers introduced Shane Pegg from the University of Waterloo`s Accelerator Centre. The centre is designed to assist startup companies in the hi-tech industry. Under one roof it provides mentoring, marketing, communications, and financial advice to young entrepreneurs who have an idea which they want to develop into a business. The Accelerator Centre began in 2006 just off the campus at U of W. Since then it has helped 108 startup companies to prosper. In the Waterloo area over 1000 jobs were created contributing $90 million to the local economy. The Stratford branch of the centre opened at 6 Wellington Street on February 4 in partnership with the City of Stratford. Seven companies are currently using the services provided by the local centre. Anyone, or a group, who has a passion for an idea they want to develop into a business can take advantage of the service in a safe, reliable and trusted environment which calls on the expertise of many mentors. Some of the mentors are CEO`s of multibillion dollar companies which started from nothing and grew into large companies. After paying a fee the startup receives coaching for several years. Since over 85% of startups fail in five years it is the plan of the centre to provide a foundation for success.

Dan Heitbohmer is one of the clients of the centre who is growing his business buildcircle.com which is software that helps contractors communicate with their sub-trades to prepare requests for proposals.  To learn more about Dan`s business and links to other startups at the accelerator centre visit www.acceloratorcentre.com/stratfordap

Shane and Dan were thanked by John McNeil.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of May 14, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Constable Dave Stewart

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

Announcements:

1.     Group Study Exchange: The group from South Korea originally scheduled to visit Stratford May 21 will not be visiting until June.

2.     Area 3 Meeting: The meeting chaired by Stan Malcolm is May 30 in Mitchell.

1. Rotary Dues: The membership has received invoices for the 2013-2014 Rotary year. Please make cheques payable to the Rotary Club of Festival City Stratford. Cheques can be post-dated to July 2. Give cheques to treasurer Etienne Leushuis.
2. Coffee: El Salvador coffee beans or ground coffee in 1lb bags is available from Randy Matthews for $15 each.
3. District Assembly: Takes place June 7-9 in Sarnia. Anyone attending and wishes to travel with President Dianne should speak to her.
4. Rotary Social Evenings: The first one will be at the Rivers home on May 28. It will be a “Wine and Cheese” evening. Bring your favourite cheese with a short description of the cheese type.
5. Rotaract Banquet: It is confirmed that the banquet is Wednesday May 29 at the Arden Park. Tickets are $40. It is hoped that all members of Festival City Rotary will be able to attend. Rotaract is a joint venture of Festival City and Stratford Rotary Clubs. Tyler Canal has tickets for the event beginning at 6 PM.

Guest Speaker: President Dianne introduced Constable Dave Stewart from the Stratford Police Services. A police officer for 24 years Constable Stewart is currently serving a 3 year term as the Community Services Officer and is responsible for the Block Parent program.

The program started in London Ontario in 1968 through the efforts of the Jewish Council of Women after the murder of a young boy. In Stratford, Block Parenting began in the early 70’s and spread across Canada by the early 80’s when the National Block Parent Program was formed. The program became very popular after an article was published in the Homemakers Magazine in 1976. In Stratford, most streets had at least one Block Parent by the mid 80’s after which the program started into a slow decline. With an increase in households with no children, more retirees, and more often with both parents working, there are fewer homes with someone home during the daytime. By the late 90’s the number of Stratford Block Parent homes declined to the low 20’s. The program was on the verge of closing down when Dave Blackburn of the Stratford Rotary Club became aware of the problem and approached the club about taking on Block Parenting as the host agency.

The Block Parent program was re-launched in 2012 with the goal of having 30 homes by the end of 2012. There are currently 40 homes participating and it is hoped that by the end of May that 40 more will participate.

Small businesses can also participate. Some currently in the program include the Scottish Shop, Black Creek Physiotherapy, Co-operators and Orr Insurance. The YMCA may also come on board.

To participate in the program an application must be filled out followed by a police check. Anyone 18 and over can become a host as long as there is someone at home some of the time. When someone is at home the sign is placed in a window and removed when leaving the house. Hosts sign up for a 2 year term. The host is covered both by the Good Samaritan Law and through Block Parent insurance

The responsibility of the host only involves being willing to make a phone call to the police or the parent of a child asking for help. The program is not only available to children but to anyone who needs assistance be it a wandering senior or a lost tourist.

Constable Stewart was thanked by David Moore

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of May 7, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Rotary Exchange student Leticia Figueiredo

Door Prize: Sam Theocharis donated the prize won by Ron Rogers.

Announcements:

1. The Bridge, May Edition: If you haven’t read the latest edition emailed to all Rotarians in District 6330 check out the following articles. The new Rotaract Club in Stratford. Changes to legislation.  The fifth avenue of service is changed from New Directions to Youth Services. The District Assembly will now be called District Training Assembly. These are just two of the changes.
2. CRCID Changes: Lynne Ternosky gave us an overview of changes to Canadian Rotary Collaboration for International Development. It is through CRCID that our club received matching funds for the El Salvador project. CRCID works with CIDA (Canada International Development Agency) to fund international projects. CIDA has been moved to the department of Foreign Affairs. As a result it will be more challenging to obtain funding. CRCID has had to undergo an audit as well as the countries receiving funds.  The finances of CRCID are being restated and there will be a delay in advancing funds to projects for which funds have already been allocated. Members of the CRCID board will be working from their homes as there is no funding for office space. Lynne serves on the board.
3. Rotary Dues: The membership has received invoices for the 2013-2014 Rotary year. Please make cheques payable to the Rotary Club of Festival City Stratford. Cheques can be post-dated to July 2. Give cheques to treasurer Etienne Leushuis.
4. Coffee: El Salvador coffee beans or ground coffee in 1lb bags is available from Randy Matthews for $15 each.
5. District Assembly: Takes place June 7-9 in Sarnia. Anyone attending and wishes to travel with President Dianne should speak to her.
6. Rotary Social Evenings: The first one will be at the Rivers home on May 28. It will be a “Wine and Cheese” evening. Bring your favourite cheese with a short description of the cheese type.
7. Rotaract Banquet: It is confirmed that the banquet is Wednesday May 29 at the Arden Park. Tickets are $40. It is hoped that all members of Festival City Rotary will be able to attend. Rotaract is a joint venture of Festival City and Stratford Rotary Clubs. Tyler Canal has tickets for the event beginning at 6 PM.

Guest Speaker: President Dianne introduced Kent Chisholm who spoke about SABBA, the Stratford Area Bed and Breakfast Association. From 1953 when Laura Pogson’s parents started one of the first B&B’s in Stratford the number of B&B’s grew to 235 by the year 2000. In that year licensing for B&B’s was introduced by the City. Since then the number of B&B’s has declined to 92 in 2013. Some of the decline is due to the fact that B&B owners tend to be older people who operate B&B’s more as a lifestyle choice than as essential income earner and wish to retire. The owners sell or close their B&B’s. Some B&B’s have closed due to the requirements of fire and safety upgrades required by the fire code and the city’s building bylaws. Sabba was formed in the mid 90’s and became an important lobby group at City Hall to help encourage sensible licensing. 72 of Stratford’s B&B’s belong to SABBA.

Costs involved in operating a B&B include a 20% increase in property assessed value, a licencing fee of $152 for one room and $91 for each additional room. For members of the Stratford Tourism Alliance there is an additional fee. The Stratford Festival adds a room fee for any bookings they make on behalf of the B&B. Among the other costs is Festival Guide advertising, food, and maintaining furnishings and home.

Kent showed how to use the SABBA website to book a room. By entering the dates and type of accommodation a guest desires, the website shows only those B&B’s which have availability. This makes it much easier to find a room than phoning around. The potential guest can also check out the amenities of each B&B which show pictures of the public areas and bedrooms in the B&B.

Although having guests staying in your home can be an enjoyable and enriching experience it does require the host to be available throughout the festival season for most of each day. Some guests become returning guests each year and close ties develop between guests and hosts.  

Kent was thanked by Etienne Leushuis. 

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of April 30, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Rotary Exchange student Leticia Figueiredo

Door Prize: Brandi Gillett donated the prize won by Peter Moreton.

Announcements:

1. Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI): Parts 1, 2 and 3 will be offered at this training session taking place May 4. Reserve a spot by signing up online.
2. MS Walk: Carolyn Dingman announced that our club is entering a team for the event taking place May 5. The walk/run starts at Central High School. A pledge sheet was circulated for anyone interested in sponsoring the team.
3. Bingo: The next Bingo is Sunday May 12. Volunteers are needed. Sign up on ClubRunner or contact Vince Hill or Jack West.
4. Music and Opera Appreciation: The club received a thank you letter from the organization for our donation to their fund raising activities.
5. Polio Plus: President Dianne announced that the Canadian government is donating $250 million to the Polio Plus campaign.
6. District Assembly: President Dianne attended a break out session at the assembly on the topic of “Water and Sanitation”. RI is considering water as the next big international project after the Polio Plus campaign winds down. Dianne also suggested that water can be conserved at our meetings by placing a jug of water on each table instead of glasses of water which is mostly unused. Some clubs in the district have a water projects chairperson. Any club member wishing to take on the position in the FC club should talk to President Dianne.
7. House of Blessing: The club received a thank you letter from the charity thanking us for our donations.
8. Rotary Social Evenings: The first one will be at the Rivers home on May 28. It will be a “Wine and Cheese” evening. Bring your favourite cheese with a short description of the cheese type.
9. Rotaract Banquet: It is confirmed that the banquet is Wednesday May 29 at the Arden Park. Tickets are $40. It is hoped that all members of Festival City Rotary will be able to attend. Rotaract is a joint venture of Festival City and Stratford Rotary Clubs. Tyler Canal has tickets for the event beginning at 6 PM.
10. Makeups: Club members who miss meetings can keep their attendance up to date by informing Vince Hill of Rotary associated activities they have participated in. Activities could include social events, attending committee meetings and fundraising events that have a connection to Rotary.
11. ClubRunner 3.0 The ClubRunner software is undergoing a major revision transferring it to a cloud based system. Over the course of the year changes will be introduced making it easier for us to change the look of our homepage and bulletin.

Guest Speaker: Kent Chisholm stepped in to replace the scheduled speaker who cancelled due to illness. Kent presented a short video of the Rotary International Convention held in Montreal in May of 2010. It was apparent from the pictures that the FC Rotarians who attended the convention had a wonderful time. Over 54000 Rotarians were in attendance. It wasn’t all business as entertainment included choirs, Celtic Thunder, and Cirque de Soleil.

The 2013 convention is in Lisbon Portugal June 23-26.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of April 23, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Rotary Exchange student Leticia Figueiredo. David Hicks is the guest speaker. Paul West and Robert Bell represent the Intelligent Communities Forum.

Door Prize: Louise Spandler donated the prize won by Randy Mathews.

Announcements:

1. Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI): Parts 1, 2 and 3 will be offered at this training session taking place May 4. Reserve a spot by signing up online.
2. MS Walk: Carolyn Dingman announced that our club is entering a team for the event taking place May 5. The walk/run starts at Central High School. A pledge sheet was circulated for anyone interested in sponsoring the team.
3. House of Blessing: donations of food and toiletries will be accepted a next week’s meeting.
4. Rotary Social Evenings: Deb Stacey-Rivers announced the launch of social evenings for the membership. These will take place on the last Tuesday evening of each month. The first one will be at the Rivers home on May 28. It will be a “Wine and Cheese” evening. Bring your favourite cheese with a short description of the cheese type.
5. Bingo: The next Bingo is Sunday May 12. Volunteers are needed. Sign up on ClubRunner or contact Vince Hill or Jack West.
6. Rotaract Banquet: It is confirmed that the banquet is Wednesday May 29 at the Arden Park. Tickets are $40. It is hoped that all members of Festival City Rotary will be able to attend. Rotaract is a joint venture of Festival City and Stratford Rotary Clubs. Tyler Canal has tickets for the event beginning at 6 PM.

Guest Speaker: Paul West from the City of Stratford Smart Cities Committee introduced Robert Bell, one of the three founders of the Intelligent Communities Forum. Robert is in Stratford to learn more about our broadband service and to speak to various groups and tour facilities. He will be attending 33 events during his stay. This is part of our application to remain in the top 7 smart communities of the world. There are 118 other communities competing. Last year Stratford came 4^th in the competition with only 2 points keeping us out of top place taken by Riverside California. Other top communities were Toronto with its harbourfront development, Oulu Finland, Tallinn Estonia, Columbus Ohio, and a city in Taiwan.

Laura Pogson introduced David Hicks, freelance author and a founder of the Intelligent Communities Forum. David told us about the history of Stratford’s involvement in the Smart Cities competition starting in 2009 with Stratford placing in the top 7 for the last three years in a row. To be successful Stratford has to address 5 issues. Issues include citywide access to high speed broadband, a knowledge based work force (there is a worker shortage in this area in Stratford), digital inclusion for everyone, marketing and advocacy, and innovation.

At the next competition in New York a delegation of 17 people from Stratford will be in attendance. The three founders and 200 jurors will assess the applications. An analytics company will study the data submitted by the cities.

Because Stratford is becoming known as a Smart City, industries are taking a close look at Stratford and some have already located here. The recently opened Accelerator Institute on Wellington Street has already been instrumental in encouraging the startup of several high tech enterprises. One such startup involves recent graduates of the Master’s program at the Stratford campus of the U of W.

David was thanked by Donna Hinz

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of April 16, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Harry Brightwell is from Stratford Rotary. Wade Phibbs is our guest speaker.

Door Prize: Deb Stacey-Rivers donated the prize won by Linda Jones.

Dinner of the Month Draw: Mike Burns won a dinner for four at Raja.

Announcements:

1. Board Meeting: April 18 at the home of President Dianne.
2. District Assembly: Anyone attending the assembly and wanting a ride should contact Dianne Yundt. She will be leaving from her home at 8:15 AM and returning about 3 PM. The assembly is on Saturday April 20, 2013 at Medway High School 14405 Medway Road Arva. A PDF file showing the agenda has been forwarded to the membership.
3. Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI): Parts 1, 2 and 3 will be offered at this training session taking place May 4. Reserve a spot by signing up online.
4. Bingo: The next Bingo is Sunday May 12. Volunteers are needed. Sign up on ClubRunner or contact Vince Hill or Jack West.
5. Rotaract Banquet: It is confirmed that the banquet is Wednesday May 29 at the Arden Park. Tickets are $40. It is hoped that all members of Festival City Rotary will be able to attend. Rotaract is a joint venture of Festival City and Stratford Rotary Clubs. Tyler Canal has tickets for the event beginning at 6 PM.
6. International Plowing Match: Several members of the club have volunteered to work the gates at this event in Sept.
7. President Elect Training Session (PETS): Bill Helmuth and Brian Rivers attended the two day session in Sarnia. They reported that Rotary membership in the district dropped from 2200 to 1900 over the last four years. Only 20% of the clubs showed growth. The average club size is 22 members. The work of one club is quite impressive. The growing Grand Bend Rotary Club has a project collecting school furniture, books, and other supplies and packing them into shipping containers. The containers go to schools in South Africa. Each container costs $5000 to fill and ship.
8. Zehrs Sales Tapes: Linda Jones continues to collect Zehrs tapes. Please pass on tapes to Linda. Tapes can also be kept and bundled into $1000 bundles before passing them to Linda.

Guest Speaker: Dianne Yundt introduced Wade Phibbs from Stratford General Hospital. Wade has been an X-ray technologist for 26 years and for 22 years worked at Victoria Hospital in London before coming to SGH. Wade has seen X-rays change from developing in chemical baths to the digital X-rays we have today. Wade also spoke about the new MRI machine at the hospital. The waiting time for an MRI in Stratford is as short as 16 days to 3 weeks. Waiting time in Stratford is the shortest in the province where the average time is 90 days. The machine is operational in the evenings now, attracting patients from across the province. A music system was donated for use of patients lying in the machine. The music helps drown out the load sounds made by the machine. The fundraising campaign is close to its goal with only $200 000 to go.

There have been recent changes in nuclear medicine as well. A new CT scan machine can take 8 slice scans in one pass as opposed to 1 slice per pass 20 years ago.

Radio isotopes of various types are used to form images. The isotopes are injected, inhaled, or ingested. They are designed to migrate to a particular body part. An image is then made of the part as the isotope gives off the radiation. After such a treatment patients are told to stay at home and not to come into close contact with people until the radioactivity declines which may in a few days or a few weeks.

Wade was thanked by Sam Theocharis.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of April 9, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Rob Ritz is from Stratford Rotary. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Dave William is from the Mitchell Rotary Club. Andrew McCardle, John Yundt, Carl West and Dan Smith are from Junior Achievement.

Door Prize: Wayne Young donated the prize won by Brandi Gillett.

Announcements:

1. Board Meeting: April 18 at the home of President Dianne.
2. Rotaract Banquet: It is confirmed that the banquet is Wednesday May 29 at the Arden Park. Tickets are $40. It is hoped that all members of Festival City Rotary will be able to attend. Rotaract is a joint venture of Festival City and Stratford Rotary Clubs.
3. International Plowing Match: Dave William of the Mitchell Rotary Club is looking for service club volunteers to help with ticket sales and gates at the event taking place September 17-21 on Hwy 8 just east of Mitchell. Louise Spandler is the contact person for our club. Many volunteers are required as there are 5 gates with morning and afternoon shifts over the 5 days. The IPA usually pays clubs for the hours they volunteer.
4. District Assembly: This is on Saturday April 20, 2013 at Medway High School 14405 Medway Road Arva. A PDF file showing the agenda has been forwarded to the membership.
5. Bingo: The next Bingo is Sunday May 12. Volunteers are needed. Signup on ClubRunner or contact Vince Hill or Jack West.

Guest Speaker: John Yundt and Andrew McCardle, two students from St Mike’s Secondary School, are also members of the Junior Achievement Program at the school.

Junior Achievers meet each Tuesday at the University of Waterloo to develop a product and business plan for selling the product. The group of 18 students came up with the idea of T-bags involving the recycling of old T-shirts into tote bags. The business plan called for the selling of 50 bags. The project has been so successful that orders have exceeded 300 bags and the profit margin has reached 1400%. 10% of the profits go to charity, 50% to the Junior Achievers. Each Junior Achiever invested $10 and so far has earned $60. The group won first place in a recent competition for Junior Achievement. The boys showed a video which can be viewed at www.facebook.com/tbagsbyja

The Junior Achievers were thanked by Barbara Young.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of April 2, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

President-Elect Bill Helmuth chaired this meeting

Guests: Roger Black is from Stratford Rotary. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student.

Door Prize: Anna Sherwin donated the prize won by Ron Rogers.

Club Assembly:

1. Fish Fry and Golf Tournament: Posters advertising these events have been emailed to the membership by Bill Helmuth.
2. Spaghetti Dinner results: Jean Aitcheson reported that 401 tickets were sold and the club netted $5679.30 plus another $1200 from coffee sales. Randy Mathews still has 179 bags of coffee for purchase. We need to put more effort into ticket sales. We should have sold 700 tickets to really make the effort worthwhile.  Ken Hansen reported that Trevor Exnor of the Black Angus was glad to help out and we should help support him by visiting his St Marys restaurant.
3. Club Administration Committee: Brandi Gillett reported that she intends to hold a committee meeting in a couple of weeks.
4. Membership Committee: Deb Stacey-Rivers will be holding a committee meeting in two weeks time.
5. Vocational Committee: Carol Rock reported that Anna Staffa will be attending the Adventures in Citizenship conference in Ottawa in May.  Anna is a Central student. She is on the student council and is a student representative on the school board.  Cynthia Brown has been selected to attend the leadership conference at Western University.
6. Youth Exchange Officer: Brian Rivers has volunteered to be the new YEO. We will be having an inbound student from Indonesia next year. Two host families are required to participate. Contact Brian if you are interested in hosting the student for a term.
7. Dragon Boat Pancake Breakfast: Bill Helmuth reported that the Mitchell Rotary Club will not be participating in the breakfast this year. Bill has made alternate arrangements for the use of a pancake griddle. We will continue to make the coffee and sell it throughout the day. We will require whole club participation for this event to be held Saturday September 14.
8. MS Walk: Carolyn Dingman reported that the 2013 walk will take place Sunday May 5. May is MS month.
9. Bingo: The next Bingo is Sunday May 12. Volunteers are needed. Signup on ClubRunner or contact Vince Hill or Jack West.

President Dianne Yundt presents the Adult Learner Award to Sheila Rose

President Dianne Yundt, teacher Linde Fraser and program manager Tine Buechler from the Centre for Employment and Learning Stratford with award winner Sheila Rose. 

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of March 26, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Stan Malcolm, Ryan Erb, Tine Buechler and Basil Hurst are from Stratford Rotary. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Mirjam Schutt is our Youth Exchange Counsellor. Special guests are Sheila and Lorentz Rose accompanied by Linde Fraser. Michael McCourt from D&D Automation with two job-shadowing students,  Natallie Biesinger and Clay Carter.

Door Prize: Kent Chisholm donated the prize won by Bob Shannon.

Announcements:

1. Festival City Rotary Club 18^th Anniversary: The club’s was given official status on March 23 1995 with 28 members. The formation of the club was an initiative of Robert Ritz. The first president was Etienne Leushuis. Other founding members still in the club include Carolyn Dingman, Donna Hinz, Susan Thomson, and Ron Rogers.
2. Rotary Events: President Dianne reminded the membership to check the ClubRunner and District 6330 websites for upcoming Rotary events.
3. Youth Exchange Officer: Mirjam Schutt, our Youth Exchange Counsellor, is urging someone in the club to come forward to serve as the next Y.E.O. If we are to host Rotary Exchange students and to send exchange students to other countries we need to have a Youth Exchange Officer.
4. Block Parent Program: Ryan Erb from the Stratford Rotary Club is encouraging members of our club to participate in the Block Parent Program. The program once run by the Kinettes is now a Stratford Rotary Club project. It is hoped that 2 to 3 homes in each block will participate in the program and place a sign in their front window. He has application forms for those who are interested.
5. Adult Learner Award. Tine Buechler announced that Sheila Rose is this year’s winner of the Adult Learner Award. President Dianne presented Sheila with the award. Teacher Linde Fraser recounted Sheila’s efforts and determination to obtain a high school diploma.

Guest Speaker: Laura Pogson introduced Michael McCourt from D&D Automation. The company was started by three friends 20 years ago in Stratford and is now located at the corner of Lorne Ave and Erie St. The company’s business is the creation of software to run robotically controlled production lines. The result is that parts are brought together in the correct sequence with a very high degree of precision which man made production could not attain. In one video Michael showed cars being produced at the BMW plant in Greenville South Carolina . Cars are produced at a rate of one car every 78 seconds. Production was organized using software from D&D Automation. Another video showed the sorting of mail at a plant in Sweden. The sorting software was developed at D&D. The company has contracts in many countries to design robotically controlled production systems. At the Stratford plant the company experiments with new ways of doing a job. One job being tested is using vision software so that robots can recognize parts and place them in the correct location on another part and weld them together.

D&D is pleased to be located in beautiful Stratford with its world class entertainment and restaurants which visiting clients can enjoy.

Michael was thanked by Brandi Gillett.  

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of March 26, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Stan Malcolm, Ryan Erb, Tine Buechler and Basil Hurst are from Stratford Rotary. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Mirjam Schutt is our Youth Exchange Counsellor. Special guests are Sheila and Lorentz Rose accompanied by Linde Fraser. Michael McCourt from D&D Automation with two job-shadowing students,  Natallie Biesinger and Clay Carter.

Door Prize: Kent Chisholm donated the prize won by Bob Shannon.

Announcements:

1. Festival City Rotary Club 18^th Anniversary: The club’s was given official status on March 23 1995 with 28 members. The formation of the club was an initiative of Robert Ritz. The first president was Etienne Leushuis. Other founding members still in the club include Carolyn Dingman, Donna Hinz, Susan Thomson, and Ron Rogers.
2. Rotary Events: President Dianne reminded the membership to check the ClubRunner and District 6330 websites for upcoming Rotary events.
3. Youth Exchange Officer: Mirjam Schutt, our Youth Exchange Counsellor, is urging someone in the club to come forward to serve as the next Y.E.O. If we are to host Rotary Exchange students and to send exchange students to other countries we need to have a Youth Exchange Officer.
4. Block Parent Program: Ryan Erb from the Stratford Rotary Club is encouraging members of our club to participate in the Block Parent Program. The program once run by the Kinettes is now a Stratford Rotary Club project. It is hoped that 2 to 3 homes in each block will participate in the program and place a sign in their front window. He has application forms for those who are interested.
5. Adult Learner Award. Tine Buechler announced that Sheila Rose is this year’s winner of the Adult Learner Award. President Dianne presented Sheila with the award. Teacher Linde Fraser recounted Sheila’s efforts and determination to obtain a high school diploma.

Guest Speaker: Laura Pogson introduced Michael McCourt from D&D Automation. The company was started by three friends 20 years ago in Stratford and is now located at the corner of Lorne Ave and Erie St. The company’s business is the creation of software to run robotically controlled production lines. The result is that parts are brought together in the correct sequence with a very high degree of precision which man made production could not attain. In one video Michael showed cars being produced at the BMW plant in Greenville South Carolina . Cars are produced at a rate of one car every 78 seconds. Production was organized using software from D&D Automation. Another video showed the sorting of mail at a plant in Sweden. The sorting software was developed at D&D. The company has contracts in many countries to design robotically controlled production systems. At the Stratford plant the company experiments with new ways of doing a job. One job being tested is using vision software so that robots can recognize parts and place them in the correct location on another part and weld them together.

D&D is pleased to be located in beautiful Stratford with its world class entertainment and restaurants which visiting clients can enjoy.

Michael was thanked by Brandi Gillett.  

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of March 26, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Stan Malcolm, Ryan Erb, Tine Buechler and Basil Hurst are from Stratford Rotary. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Mirjam Schutt is our Youth Exchange Counsellor. Special guests are Sheila and Lorentz Rose accompanied by Linde Fraser. Michael McCourt from D&D Automation with two job-shadowing students,  Natallie Biesinger and Clay Carter.

Door Prize: Kent Chisholm donated the prize won by Bob Shannon.

Announcements:

1. Festival City Rotary Club 18^th Anniversary: The club’s was given official status on March 23 1995 with 28 members. The formation of the club was an initiative of Robert Ritz. The first president was Etienne Leushuis.
2. Rotary Events: President Dianne reminded the membership to check the ClubRunner and District 6330 websites for upcoming Rotary events.
3. Youth Exchange Officer: Mirjam Schutt, our Youth Exchange Counsellor, is urging someone in the club to come forward to serve as the next Y.E.O. If we are to host Rotary Exchange students and to send exchange students to other countries we need to have a Youth Exchange Officer.
4. Block Parent Program: Ryan Erb from the Stratford Rotary Club is encouraging members of our club to participate in the Block Parent Program. The program once run by the Kinettes is now a Stratford Rotary Club project. It is hoped that 2 to 3 homes in each block will participate in the program and place a sign in their front window. He has application forms for those who are interested.
5. Adult Learner Award. Tine Buechler announced that Sheila Rose is this year’s winner of the Adult Learner Award. President Dianne presented Sheila with the award. Teacher Linde Fraser recounted Sheila’s efforts and determination to obtain a high school diploma.

Guest Speaker: Laura Pogson introduced Michael McCourt from D&D Automation. The company was started by three friends 20 years ago in Stratford and is now located at the corner of Lorne Ave and Erie St. The company’s business is the creation of software to run robotically controlled production lines. The result is that parts are brought together in the correct sequence with a very high degree of precision which man made production could not attain. In one video Michael showed cars being produced at the BMW plant in Greenville South Carolina . Cars are produced at a rate of one car every 78 seconds. Production was organized using software from D&D Automation. Another video showed the sorting of mail at a plant in Sweden. The sorting software was developed at D&D. The company has contracts in many countries to design robotically controlled production systems. At the Stratford plant the company experiments with new ways of doing a job. One job being tested is using vision software so that robots can recognize parts and place them in the correct location on another part and weld them together.

D&D is pleased to be located in beautiful Stratford with its world class entertainment and restaurants which visiting clients can enjoy.

Michael was thanked by Brandi Gillett.  

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of March 19, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Peter Gray is our guest speaker. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student.

Announcements:

1. Dinner of the Month: Elaine Nicholson of Hibernia Street won a dinner for four at Fosters.
2. Board Meeting: 7 PM this Thursday at President Dianne’s home.
3. Rural Urban Night: Stratford Rotary Club hosting the event April 11. $25 pp.
4. Rural Urban Night: St Mary’s Rotary Club hosting the event April 12. $25 pp.
5. 9^th Annual Stratford Rotary Golf Tournament: Monday June 3 at the Stratford Golf Club. Light lunch and dinner included for $125 pp. For info and registration contact Lynn McCone at 519-273-0550 or lynn@goligerstravel.com
6. District Assembly: Medway High School Saturday April 20, 9AM-3PM. Register in advance.
7. District Conference: Sarnia Holiday Inn June 6. Register by April 1 and receive a $25 voucher towards the purchase of Rotary items.
8. RLI: May 4 in London (parts I, II, III)
9. Rotaract Inaugural Dinner: Wednesday May 29 at the Arden Park. Meet the members of the new Rotaract club, and enjoy a fine meal and program. This club is a joint venture of the Stratford and Festival City clubs. Program to be confirmed. Price will be about $40 pp.
10. Splash Pad: Jack West reported that design drawings have been completed for submission to the City. The splash pad committee is awaiting results of their applications for grants from the TD bank and Libro.
11. Spaghetti Dinner: Thanks to all who helped make last night’s dinner a success. Please return all funds and unused tickets to Randy Matthews so that he can determine the financial results of the evening.

Guest Speaker: Jack West introduced Peter Gray, VP and senior hydrologist for MTE. Peter reported on his visit to Sri Lanka, Thailand and part of Indonesia following the December 26, 2004 tsunami. Peter was there as part of a team sent by World Vision and CIDA to assess the effect of the tsunami on the communities in these areas. He was there in May and June of 2005. Pictures which Peter showed were of areas not usually seen on TV or in the papers since they were taken in areas away from the tourist beaches. Earthquakes often last about 30 seconds. This one lasted 20 minutes during which a portion of the ocean floor dropped. The first wave to reach shore was about 10 metres high in Sri Lanka and travelled 2 kilometres inland. Twenty minutes later a second wave 30 m high arrived. The tsunami killed 1 in 20 in the affected areas. It destroyed the livelihood of millions of people. In fishing villages the majority of people who died were women and children because the men were on their fishing boats at sea where the tsunami did not affect them. The tidal wave filled in over 30 000 wells and contaminated the soil with salt water. Photos showed a landscape scoured by the tsunami often leaving just foundations and tree stumps. Peter took photos of a ship sitting on land 5 km from the sea.

Peter was thanked by Sam Theocharis.  

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of March 12, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

This week’s meeting was chaired by President-Elect Bill Helmuth.

Guests: Jennifer Gritke is the guest speaker.

Draw Prize: Wayne Young won the prize donated by Carolyn Dingman.

Announcements:

1. Area 3 Meeting: Bill Helmuth reported on the recent meeting. 90% of the funds going to the Rotary Foundation are used for programs. The average donation to the RF in area 3 is $163 per Rotarian. The highest donation worldwide is $173 by Taiwanese Rotarians. Membership in District 6330 is declining but the number of Rotaract clubs is increasing. Rotaract clubs should serve as a source for future Rotarians over the age of the 30. The Stratford Rotary Club reported a membership of 139, an increase of 8 this year. The Stratford club is also hosting its first Skype meeting. The district conference will be June 6 in Sarnia.
2. The Spaghetti Dinner Cupcakes: Jean Aitcheson updated preparations for next Monday`s event. The signup sheet for making cupcakes was circulated again. Anyone who has not signed up for cupcakes but wishes to bake a dozen or so should contact Jean. Cupcakes are to be delivered to the ANAF Hall on Monday.
3. Spaghetti Dinner Food Preparation Saturday: This begins at 1 PM at the Black Angus in St Marys. Assistance from 6 people is required. Contact Jean if you can help for about 3 hours.
4. Spaghetti Dinner Volunteers: A signup sheet for various tasks on Monday was circulated.  Those helping setup in the hall or in the kitchen should report to the ANAF Hall around 2:30 PM. If you have not signed up for a job please contact Jean. Jobs include plating food, assisting with food preparation in the kitchen, clearing tables, selling El Salvador coffee, selling tickets at the door, selling 50/50 tickets and other jobs.
5. Premium El Salvador Coffee. Lynne Ternosky has 1lb bags of coffee for a donation of $15. Both ground coffee and beans are available. Enough coffee has been sold to date to cover the cost of the coffee and all future sales will be put towards projects.

Guest Speaker: Bill Helmuth introduced Jennifer Gritke the Regional Coordinator for the HIV/AIDS Connection based in London. Jennifer is here tell us about the organization. HIV/AIDS Connection serves six counties surrounding London.

The agency provides education and outreach to all parts of the community. Whether it’s in a bar, bath house, online, on the phone, at a display booth, or in schools the organization will direct inquirers to the services it provides.

Other activities of HIV/AIDS Connection include the County Cupboard Food Bank. 80% of the food bank’s clients live below the poverty line. The agency also hosts social events like a holiday dinner at Christmas, a spring picnic, retreats and various support groups.

Although the services are free they are only partly funded by the Provincial government making fund raising a necessity. The agency’s annual “A Taste For Life” event takes place April 24 and involves about 40 restaurants of which 5 are in Stratford. 25% of a customer’s bill is donated to the agency. Look for upcoming promotions for this event.  The agency also hosts the “Aids Walk For Life”. Last year it raised $35000.

Jennifer also provided information about the nature of the disease and its prevalence in the world. About 34 million people have HIV/AIDS and there are about 1.7 million deaths from AIDS each year. AIDS is the advanced form of HIV. Due to medicines developed to fight the disease few people in the developed world now develop AIDS. About 30% of people living with HIV/AIDS don’t know it. Jennifer strongly recommends that everyone should get tested.

For more complete information about HIV/AIDS and the agency visit www.hivaidsconnection.ca

Jennifer was thanked by Louise Spandler.

On befhalf of the Rotary Foundation, Linda Jones and President Dianne Yundt accept a $5000 donation from Bonnie Richardson representing Your Community Foundation 

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of March 5, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Wallace Little and Bob Martin are from the Stratford Rotary Club. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Krista Robinson is the guest speaker and Donna Richardson is from the Your Community Foundation.

Draw Prize: Gerry Ketchum won the prize donated by Lynne Ternosky.

All You Can Eat Spaghetti Dinner: Randy Mathews has tickets to sell for this annual event. Tickets are $15 each. Everyone is encouraged to sell tickets to support international and local projects. Tickets are also available for purchase at Fanfare Books.

Announcements:

1. Bard’s Birthday Celebration: It is with regret that this event has been cancelled.
2. Group Study Exchange (G.S.E.) A group from South Korea will be in Stratford on May 21. If any Rotarian would like to volunteer to show one of the members of the group around their workplace please contact Dianne Yundt.
3. Rotary Youth Exchange Program: We are in need of a volunteer to take over this program from Carol Rock. It’s mostly paperwork. If we are to continue participating in the youth exchanges we require a coordinator from our club. Contact Carol Rock.
4. Splash Pad Project: Jack West reported that Leticia and his son Jason participated in an event which raised $641 for the splash pad. Jack also reported that members of the Stratford Area Builders Association will be contributing “in kind” work to the project to the equivalent of 50% of the cost of the splash pad.
5. Your Community Foundation: Bonnie Richardson from the YCF presented our Rotary Foundation with a cheque for $5000 as their contribution to the splash pad.
6. Pickup in Ruthven: Jean Aitcheson announced that Sunripe foods in Ruthven will donate the pasta sauce for the upcoming spaghetti dinner. Jean is looking for someone who will be travelling down Windsor way in the next while and can pick up the donation from Sunripe. Please contact Jean if you can help.
7. Rotary Attendance: Please respond to Brandi Gillett’s weekly email if you are unable to attend a Tuesday meeting. She must report the breakfast requirements to the Queen’s Inn so that they can prepare enough food.
8. Zehr’s Food Tapes: Linda Jones is collecting food tapes from Zehrs. The food market will donate a certain amount of money to the club based upon the total amount on the food bills. Donations will go to the splash pad project. You can give her your food tapes at each meeting.
9. Premium El Salvador Coffee. Lynne Ternosky has 1lb bags of coffee for a donation of $15. Both ground coffee and beans are available. Enough coffee has been sold to date to cover the cost of the coffee and all future sales will be put towards projects.

Guest Speaker: President Dianne introduced Krista Robinson who is the new Systems Librarian at the library, a position pioneered by David Harvie. Krista is Stratford born and raised and started working at the library after she graduated from library school.

Krista’s powerpoint presentation was titled The Library in an Intelligent Community.

Starting in 1996 the SPL was the first in Canada to have a website. The website has grown from a few pages to over 100. The website allows you to view the library catalogue, download ebooks and audiobooks. There is a webpage for children, and a site for teens and events.

SPL is also on Facebook, Twitter, Flicker, Utube and Pinterest.  The bibliocommons allows patrons to find a book, place a hold, and renew books before they become overdue. There is a place where you can suggest books for the library to acquire and you can read book reviews as well

Keep in touch with the library on your smartphone. Mobile Apps are available through the online tools section of the website. The QR code attached to the front of the library allows smartphones to access the website.

For more detailed information about what the library has to offer visit www.stratford.library.on.ca

Krista was thanked by Gerry Ketchum

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of February 26, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Tine Buechler is from the Stratford Rotary Club. Kevin Hulley is a guest of Anna Sherwin. Suzanne Grandy is our guest speaker.

Draw Prize: Donna Hinz won the prize donated by Ken Hansen.

All You Can Eat Spaghetti Dinner: Randy Mathews has tickets to sell for this annual event. Tickets are $15 each. Everyone is encouraged to sell tickets to support international and local projects. Tickets are also available for purchase at Fanfare Books.

Announcements:

1. Board of Directors Meeting: The next meeting is Thursday February 28, 7 PM at the home of President Dianne, 3 Morison Street.
2. Canadian Pennies for Polio Campaign: The last day to contribute to this campaign is Wednesday February 27. To contribute phone Sandy Ronson at 519-641-1776 or visit www.rotary.org/EN/CONTRIBUTE/Pages/ridefault.aspx
3. Premium El Salvador Coffee. Lynne Ternosky has 1lb bags of coffee for a donation of $15. Both ground coffee and beans are available. Enough coffee has been sold to date to cover the cost of the coffee and all future sales will be put towards projects.

Guest Speaker: Ken Hansen introduced Suzanne Grandy a former employee of the Queen’s Inn who talked about her recent solo volunteer experience in Tanzania.

Suzanne spent 10 weeks in the Arusha area of northernTanzania working at several schools and at a baby orphanage.

For over six weeks she volunteered at a school for disabled children. The school was a dry and dusty 20 minute walk up a hill from the hostel where she was staying. The school had very limited resources, no running water, no books or photocopier, but it did have swings and a slide. Assignments were written out by hand for each child. Just the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic were taught. Children were provided with breakfast and lunch. The children were left much to themselves to work out relationship problems. Adults did not try to interfere.  Volunteers also helped to paint the school.

The hostel where volunteers stayed was guarded by a Masai warrior and dogs. For personal safety volunteers did not go out at night or on Sundays when the police had a day off. On one Sunday her housemates were robbed when they did go out. At one point in her trip Suzanne was swarmed by killer bees after children had rattled the hive. She received over 100 stings but luckily didn’t require medical treatment. At the halfway point of her trip Suzanne had doubts about whether she would be able to continue on but she persevered and things got better. By the time she was to leave and return to Canada she had developed a love for the country.

Suzanne also showed a video of her trip. The pictures were of the children she worked with, the people she met and the animals she encountered.

Suzanne was thanked by Etienne Leushuis.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of February 19, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Kevin Hulley is a guest of Anna Sherwin and Jamie Gibb is a guest of Jean Aitcheson. Other guests include Charlie Swartwood and Eleanor McMahon. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student.

Draw Prize: Dianne Yundt won the prize donated by Jean Aitcheson.

Dinner of the Month: Jim Henry won a dinner for four at The Annex Restaurant.

All You Can Eat Spaghetti Dinner: Randy Mathews has tickets to sell for this annual event. Tickets are $15 each. Everyone is encouraged to sell tickets to support international and local projects. Tickets are also available for purchase at Fanfare Books.

Announcements:

1. Board of Directors Meeting: The next meeting is Thursday February 23 at the home of President Dianne, 3 Morison Street.
2. Soup and Sandwich: The Memorial Baptist Church group that spoke to us several weeks ago is holding its final fundraiser on Sunday at the church. There are two sittings, 11 AM and 12:30.
3. Heritage and Collectors Show: Donna Hinz announced this event taking place Saturday February 23 at the Rotary Complex. Entry is $5 for adults and kids under 12 are free.
4. Splash Pad Donation: Representing Memorial Baptist Church, Peter Moreton presented Jack West with a cheque in the amount of $460 for the splash pad.

Guest Speaker: Kent Chisholm introduced Eleanor McMahon, Founder of Share the Road Cycling Coalition. Eleanor started the coalition after the cycling death of her husband OPP Sergeant Greg Stobbart in 2006.

The Share the Road coalition is an advocacy group uniting cycling groups across Ontario to help communities become more bicycle friendly. Polling data suggests that Ontarians are in favour of increased bicycle accessibility on roads and streets. To promote cycling the coalition holds summits in various cities. Summits for 2013 include Kingston on March 19 and the Ontario Bike Summit in Toronto on May 28-29.

Share the Road is participating in Stratford’s Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan Stakeholder Workshop taking place at the Kiwanis Centre on February 20 starting at 6:30 PM. Stratford is undertaking a study to develop a master plan to be used as a guide to develop and maintain bike paths and pedestrian walkways within the city. The master plan will identify the benefits to the public, tourism and retail sectors, and identify gaps in bike paths and fill them, and promote Stratford’s assets as a bike friendly community.

In 2010 Share the Road started the Bike Friendly Community Award program which is modeled on an American program. It is similar to the Communities in Bloom in that communities are rated on their bike and pedestrian friendliness. Communities which apply for an award are judged in five categories, the “five E’s” –Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation & Planning. Awards are labeled bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Ottawa and Waterloo have earned silver awards, whereas London, Windsor and Oshawa have been awarded bronze. There are no gold communities in Canada. Stratford has applied to participate.

A bike route from Windsor and running 1400km to the Quebec border has been awarded bronze.

For more information about Share the Road visit www.sharetheroad.ca

Eleanor was thanked by Anna Sherwin.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of February 12, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Tine Buechler and Geza Wordofa.

Draw Prize: Linda Jones won the prize donated by Peter Moreton.

All You Can Eat Spaghetti Dinner: Randy Mathews has tickets to sell for this annual event. Tickets are $15 each. Everyone is encouraged to sell tickets to support international and local projects. Tickets are also available for purchase at Fanfare Books.

Announcements:

1. El Salvador Coffee: Lynne Ternosky has 1lb bags of coffee available for a donation of $15. The coffee will be available at the spaghetti dinner in March and it can also be obtained from Lynne directly. If you are able to sell it at your workplace see Lynne.
2. Mitchell Lantern Walk: A poster advertising this Rotary sponsored event on Sunday Feb 17 has been sent to all members of the club.
3. Bingo: Volunteers are reminded of the bingo this Saturday at 5 PM
4. Board of Directors Meeting: The next meeting is Thursday February 23 at the home of President Dianne.
5. Service Club Bonspiel: Saturday February 23 at 9 AM. Interested curlers or anyone wishing to learn about curling should contact Etienne Leushuis as soon as possible.

Guest Speaker: Bill Helmuth introduced the newest member of our club, Randy Mathews. Randy presented his classification talk.

Randy grew up on a dairy farm near Fergus where his parents had a herd of Jersey cows. Randy joined Victoria and Grey Trust Company straight out of high school. He has worked in branches in Exeter, Leamington, and Stratford where he stayed for 10 years. Over the years V&G became National Trust until it was bought by Scotiabank. Randy was part of the integration team during the transition to Scotiabank. During his career Randy served in various departments including technical services, auditing and operations. Over the years he saw banking change from completely manual systems where information  was entered by hand onto paper, to the use of computers for banking services. Randy was very much involved with the computerization of banking services . The bank started with a Radio Schack model 3 computer using Visicalc.

In the last years before retirement, Randy worked in the international division introducing internet banking to the Caribbean branches.

Randy has been a member of the Optimist Club and he is a movie buff. He has over 700 movies to enjoy in his theatre at his home in Stratford.

Randy was thanked by Carolyn Dingman.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of February 5, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Tine Buechler and Geza Wordofa. Other guests included Grant Dobson, Cole Maranger, Heather Marshall who were with our guest speaker Shoma Oura. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student.

Draw Prize: Sue Thomson won the prize donated by David Moore.

All You Can Eat Spaghetti Dinner: Randy Mathews has tickets to sell for this annual event. Tickets are $15 each. Everyone is encouraged to sell tickets to support international and local projects.

Announcements:

1. Thank Mooreinz Heather Marshall who were with our guest speaker Shoma Oura. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange studentg.you Letter: President Dianne has received a letter from the office of MPP Randy Pettapiece who thanked us for allowing him to speak at last week’s meeting.
2. Rotaract Club: Tyler Canal announced that about 18 people attended a meeting to explore the possibility of forming a local chapter of Rotaract. Those in attendance agreed to move forward and form a board of directors, appoint a president and develop projects. Rotaract is a joint initiative of Festival City and Stratford Rotary clubs. It is open to young people between the ages of 18 and 30.
3. El Salvador: Lynne Ternosky spoke about the “Pathways to Literacy Program” and the opening of a new high school for 45 students. An email from Lynne with photos and all the details has been forwarded to all club members.
4. El Salvador Coffee: Lynne Ternosky has 1lb bags of coffee available for a donation of $15. The coffee will be available at the spaghetti dinner in March and it can also be obtained from Lynne directly. If you are able to sell it at your workplace see Lynne.
5. Mitchell Lantern Walk: A poster advertising this Rotary sponsored event on Sunday Feb 17 has been sent to all members of the club.

Guest Speaker: President Dianne introduced Shoma Oura, a grade 12 student at Central Secondary School. Shoma talked about a trip to Zambia in June for 12 students and 4 adults from Memorial Baptist Church. The purpose for their trip is to help young people in several ways. They will be offering vacation bible schools, sports and social activities and developing friendships while learning more about the way people live in Zambia. They also hope to help with small projects such as painting and some construction.

To fund the trip the group has to raise $4000 per person for a total of $64 000. They are $20 000 from their goal. The group has held several fundraisers and will be holding a soup lunch and silent auction on February 24 in the church at 113 Bruce Street from 11 AM to 12:30

Rotarians are welcome to attend the lunch or make a personal donation.

Shoma and his group were thanked by Carol Rock.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of January 29, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Rob Ritz. Randy Pettapiece is our guest speaker

Draw Prize: Sue Thomson donated the prize won by Donna Hinz.

All You Can Eat Spaghetti Dinner: Randy Mathews distributed tickets to sell for this annual event. Tickets are $15 each. Everyone is encouraged to sell tickets to support International and Local Projects. See Randy if you are in need of tickets. The dinner is March 18 at the A.N.A.F. Hall.

Announcements:

1. Splash Pad Donation: Jack West received a cheque for $5000 on Friday night at the Community Fund Grant Awards presentation. The award is to be deposited into the Splash Pad fund. $60000 was distributed to various organizations.
2. Rotary Global and Packaged Grants: Online applications for these grants are available at www.rotary.org/grants Global grants support large international activities with sustainable, measurable outcomes in one or more of the six areas of focus. Packaged grants have been predesigned by Rotary and our strategic partners. The activities they fund are similar to those funded by global grants, but the work of designing the activity’s general framework has already been done. Grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Foundation staff will begin reviewing applications in April. If you have any questions please email Kelly Fotheringham at kelshel@wightman.ca or email the Rotary Contact Centre at contact.center@rotary.org or call 1-866-9ROTARY.
3. Bard’s Birthday Committee Meeting: The committee and anyone interested in joining it will meet at the home of Kent Chisholm on Thursday Jan. 31 7:30 PM.
4. Feb 5 Guest Speaker: February is “World Understanding and Peace Month”. Shoma Otten a student at Central Secondary School will be talking about this topic prior to his upcoming trip to Zambia.
5. ClubRunner: Rotarians are reminded to check the club roster for weekly assignments.  You can also visit the “District Site” to register for conferences and other events.  Coming February 23 will be a link to “E-club Canada” where you will be able to attend an online meeting. E-club meetings can serve as make-ups.
6. House of Blessing: President Dianne read a note from the House of Blessing thanking us for our toy and food donations during their Christmas drive.
7. The “King Tut” Edition of Bingo: Sign up to volunteer for this bingo on Saturday February 16. It was on this date in 1923 that Howard Carter opened the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen to reveal riches never seen before. Volunteers will be able to watch bingo players win riches some have never seen before.

Guest Speaker: Bill Helmuth introduced Randy Pettapiece MPP for Perth-Wellington. Randy is the official opposition’s critic to the Minister of Agriculture. Randy also served two terms as a councillor for the Municipality of North Perth.

Randy was raised in Essex County and moved to the Monkton area in 1967 when his parents bought a dairy farm. In 1968 he graduated from the Ridgetown Agricultural College. Randy has also been a member of the Monkton Lions Club. He recently sold his farm and moved into Listowel.

Randy entered provincial politics because of his concerns over wind farms. He was seeing local communities being torn apart on the issue. Neighbours were no longer on speaking terms and the provincial government appeared not to be listening to local concerns. He noticed an increasingly urban/rural split over the issue.

Last September Randy introduced a private members motion which calls on the government to “re-evaluate policies that negatively affect residents of rural and small-town Ontario and are a source of growing frustration in rural communities, which are a key to a strong, healthy province”.  The motion received all-party support. The motion is in response to feedback Randy received from rural municipalities that the province too often imposes unfair and unrealistic pressures both financial and environmental on rural communities.

Randy is presently working on a number of issues. These include doctor shortages in the riding and the streamlining of provincial regulations. There is with too much red-tape causing a farmer to spend a lot of time doing paper work associated with regulations.

Randy is also concerned with the government’s surprise cancellation of the “Slots at Racetracks” program. It is having a devastating effect upon the horse racing industry and is causing damage to the rural economy. Suppliers to the horse racing industry which are generally rural based are being impacted. About 60 000 full and part time jobs are at risk.

One of the more pleasant parts of Randy’s job is the presentation of Diamond Jubilee medals to various residents of Perth County.

The Ontario PC party has prepared a number of discussion white papers. These are available online and are designed to elicit opinions from people on a variety of topics. Visit www.pettapiece.ca to read papers you are interested in and provide feedback. Topics include: Welfare to Work, Children and Youth, Retirement security, health care, labour, and energy policies etc.

Randy was thanked by Laura Pogson.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of January 22, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Ellen Balmain and her son Calum Balmain-Matthews. Calum recently returned from France as a Rotary Exchange Student. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Sue Storey is from the London Hyde Park Rotary Club and our guest speaker.

Draw Prize: Barbara Young donated the prize won by Kent Chisholm.

Announcements:

1. ClubRunner: Rotarians are reminded to check the club roster for weekly assignments.  You can also visit the “District Site” to register for conferences and other events.  Coming February 23 will be a link to “E-club Canada” where you will be able to attend an online meeting. Eclub meetings can serve as makeups.
2. House of Blessing: Remember that next week we are accepting donations for the food bank.  There is a great need for food and toiletries.
3. The “King Tut” Edition of Bingo: Sign up to volunteer for this bingo on Saturday February 16. It was on this date in 1923 that Howard Carter opened the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen to reveal riches never seen before. Volunteers will be able to watch bingo players win riches some have never seen before.

Guest Speaker: President Dianne introduced Sue Storey from the Rotary Club of Hyde Park London. Sue is past president of the club and chair of their literacy committee. Sue was here to talk about literacy. She reminded us that our club has been very active with literacy projects and has won several awards. We are eligible to win more awards. Applications for awards must be completed by the end of March as the awards are presented in April. Our club’s literacy projects include Rotary Reads and the El Salvador project.

Literacy is traditionally defined as the ability to understand and use printed words and numbers. Today the definition is expanded to include digital literacy. “Digital Natives” are young people who were born after the start of the digital age and are able to make use of digital technology. Older people, those born before the introduction of digital devices are termed “Digital Immigrants”. These people use digital devices but are not as proficient as the Digital Natives and are referred to as possessing a “digital accent”.

Literacy can be encouraged not just through the reading of books but also through the use of board and card games. Class visits to book stores could also encourage children to read. Sue’s club gives children $10 gift cards to spend during a book store tour. Some teachers of grade 3 students hold reading competitions. One class read over 1000 books in three weeks. A Rotary Club in Owen Sound donates books to the local library in lieu of gifts to their speakers. Other clubs such as one in Sarnia raises funds for Smart Boards for schools. Other clubs contact publishers for donations.

Barbara Young informed us that Frontier College is dedicated to bringing literacy to Canadians. The Rotary Club of Toronto is a supporter of Frontier College.

Sue encourages us to think of projects which cost little but could do a lot to improve literacy at home and around the world.

Sue was thanked by Kent Chisholm.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of January 15, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Rob Ritz. Loeticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Jamie Gibb is a guest of Jean Aitcheson and Frank Marsden is a guest of Deb Stacey-Rivers.

Draw Prize: Ron Rogers donated the prize won by Brian Rivers.

Announcements:

1. Dinner of the Month Draw: Chelsea Gordon won the prize for dinner at Pazzo.
2. Fireside Chat: Membership chairperson Deb Stacey-Rivers is hosting this event at her house, 6 Polley Place on Monday January 21 at 6:30 PM. This event is for new Rotarians who want to find out more about our club and the various ways in which new members can make a contribution. See Deb if you are interested or sign up for the event in the Coming Events section of ClubRunner.

Guest Speaker: President Dianne introduced Ron Rogers, a founding member of our club who showed us a series of graphs and charts outlining the financial trends which have occurred over the last 30 years.

From 1982 to 2012 Canada’s population grew from about 25 million to 33 million  people. In 1982 the unemployment rate was 11.2% versus 7.2% in 2012. The lowest rate occurred in 2008 when it was 6.1% which is considered full employment.

The Chretien/Martin government programs to drive down inflation are still having an effect today. Interest rates on mortgages and GIC’s have dropped to historic lows.

Who benefits from the programs? Borrowers certainly are benefiting by obtaining low mortgage rates. Savers have been hit hard. $500 000 invested in GICs in 1982 at 15% generated $39000 of income but the same amount today at 1.9% interest nets only $9700. The low rates are certainly making it difficult for those saving for retirement.

Average household incomes have risen from $63000 in 1982 to $80300 today but average house prices have increased from $70000 to $3600000. This means that the cost of owning a home has risen from 1.1 times income to 4.5 times income. The number of mortgages in arrears in Canada has remained at a steady 0.43% over the last 30 years. Canadians have not used their homes as a bank to the degree which Americans have.

Car sales continue strong in North America.

Ron’s conclusion after showing his graphs and charts is that on balance we are living in the best of times and not the worst of times.

Ron was thanked by Dianne Yundt.

 Monday March 18, 2013   4:30 PM to 7:30 PM

At the A.N.A.F. Hall 150 Lorne Avenue, Stratford

Tickets are $15 each with proceeds towards International and Local Projects  

 Tickets available from club members and at Fanfare Books.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of January 8, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Rob Ritz and Bob Martin. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Brent Furtney is a guest of Jack West.

Draw Prize: Dianne Yundt donated the prize won by Laura Pogson.

Announcements:

1. Dinner of the Month Tickets: Please return ticket stubs and money from sold tickets by next Tuesday. The first draw for 2013 takes place Jan 22.
2. Board of Directors Meeting: Thursday Jan 10, 7 PM at the home of President Dianne, 3 Morison Street off Delamere Avenue.
3. Splash Pad Fundraiser at Crabby Joes: Thursday, Jan 17/13, 5-11pm - 50% off regular price menu items to be donated to the Splash Pad (including kids meals but excluding alcohol).

Club Assembly: January is Rotary Awareness Month. We can increase awareness of Rotary by informing colleagues, neighbours, friends about Rotary and inviting them to a meeting.

1. District Events: Click on “District Site” at the top of our ClubRunner homepage to see all the coming events at the district level. These include the Rotary Leadership Institute, Pre-PETS and PETS conferences, the District Assembly on April 20 and the June District Convention in Sarnia.
2.  Rotary EClub of Canada: Rotarians who cannot attend meetings at their local club can now join Rotary online. Visit http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/Home.aspx?cid=8529 and check out the new club.
3. Spaghetti Dinner: The annual event is Monday March 18 at the ANAF club on Lorne Avenue. Details to follow. To volunteer sign up on the Spaghetti Dinner link in the Coming Events section of ClubRunner or speak to Jean Aitcheson.
4. Bard`s Birthday Celebration: This event is being held Saturday April 20. Details to follow. To volunteer sign up on the link in the Coming Events section of ClubRunner or speak to Kent Chisholm.
5. Fireside Chat: Membership chairperson Deb Stacey-Rivers is hosting this event at her house, 6 Polley Place on Monday January 21 at 6:30 PM. This event is for new Rotarians who want to find out more about our club and the various ways in which new members can make a contribution. See Deb if you are interested or sign up for the event in the Coming Events section of ClubRunner.
6. Rotary Reads: This ongoing project involves Rotary volunteers helping children with reading difficulties at one of the elementary schools. It involves a couple of hours per week. If you can spare some time please see Linda Jones. Jack West indicated that his company MTE will be donating about $600 to the Rotary Reads project in the near future.
7. Splash Pad: Donations have reached the $60 000 mark with a donation of $ 2000 from Memorial Baptist Church. It is expected that corporate donations will be coming in as well. The basic cost of a splash pad is about $250 000 but add-ons that the City wants could drive the cost up to $450 000.
8. Weekly Speakers: Ken Hansen requests that if you have an idea for a speaker pass the person`s name to him and he will follow up by contacting the potential speaker.
9. International Committee: The El Salvador project will wind up by late spring.  Geza Wordofa, a frequent guest, is in Africa on a well project and other investigations for Rotary.  Jean Aitcheson is off to the Philippines on a medical mission. Although it is not a Rotary sponsored project she will be receiving assistance from local Rotary Clubs in the Philippines.
10. Rotaract Club: This is a joint venture with the noon club to establish a Rotary club for 18-30 year olds. If you know of a young person who may be interested please let Tyler Canal know or register in the Coming Events section of ClubRunner.
11. House of Blessing: We will continue to collect non-perishable food items and toiletries on the 3^rd Tuesday of each month. House of Blessing is always appreciative of our donations and there is a growing need for more donations.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of January 8, 2013

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Rob Ritz and Bob Martin. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Brent Furtney is a guest of Jack West.

Draw Prize: Dianne Yundt donated the prize won by Laura Pogson.

Announcements:

1. Dinner of the Month Tickets: Please return ticket stubs and money from sold tickets by next Tuesday. The first draw for 2013 takes place Jan 22.
2. Board of Directors Meeting: Thursday Jan 10, 7 PM at the home of President Dianne, 3 Morison Street off Delamere Avenue.
3. Splash Pad Fundraiser at Crabby Joes: Thursday, Jan 17/13, 5-11pm - 50% off regular price menu items to be donated to the Splash Pad (including kids meals but excluding alcohol).

Club Assembly: January is Rotary Awareness Month. We can increase awareness of Rotary by informing colleagues, neighbours, friends about Rotary and inviting them to a meeting.

1. District Events: Click on “District Site” at the top of our ClubRunner homepage to see all the coming events at the district level. These include the Rotary Leadership Institute, Pre-PETS and PETS conferences, the District Assembly on April 20 and the June District Convention in Sarnia.
2.  Rotary EClub of Canada: Rotarians who cannot attend meetings at their local club can now join Rotary online. Visit http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/Home.aspx?cid=8529 and check out the new club.
3. Spaghetti Dinner: The annual event is Monday March 18 at the ANAF club on Lorne Avenue. Details to follow. To volunteer sign up on the Spaghetti Dinner link in the Coming Events section of ClubRunner or speak to Jean Aitcheson.
4. Bard`s Birthday Celebration: This event is being held Saturday April 20. Details to follow. To volunteer sign up on the link in the Coming Events section of ClubRunner or speak to Kent Chisholm.
5. Fireside Chat: Membership chairperson Deb Stacey-Rivers is hosting this event at her house, 6 Polley Place on Monday January 21 at 6:30 PM. This event is for new Rotarians who want to find out more about our club and the various ways in which new members can make a contribution. See Deb if you are interested or sign up for the event in the Coming Events section of ClubRunner.
6. Rotary Reads: This ongoing project involves Rotary volunteers helping children with reading difficulties at one of the elementary schools. It involves a couple of hours per week. If you can spare some time please see Linda Jones. Jack West indicated that his company MTE will be donating about $600 to the Rotary Reads project in the near future.
7. Splash Pad: Donations have reached the $60 000 mark with a donation of $ 2000 from Memorial Baptist Church. It is expected that corporate donations will be coming in as well. The basic cost of a splash pad is about $250 000 but add-ons that the City wants could drive the cost up to $450 000.
8. Weekly Speakers: Ken Hansen requests that if you have an idea for a speaker pass the person`s name to him and he will follow up by contacting the potential speaker.
9. International Committee: The El Salvador project will wind up by late spring.  Geza Wordofa, a frequent guest, is in Africa on a well project and other investigations for Rotary.  Jean Aitcheson is off to the Philippines on a medical mission. Although it is not a Rotary sponsored project she will be receiving assistance from local Rotary Clubs in the Philippines.
10. Rotaract Club: This is a joint venture with the noon club to establish a Rotary club for 18-30 year olds. If you know of a young person who may be interested please let Tyler Canal know or register in the Coming Events section of ClubRunner.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of December 11, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Chairperson: President-elect Bill Helmuth chaired the meeting.

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Geza Wordofa. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student. Katia Maxwell is our guest speaker.

Draw Prize: Brian Rivers donated the prize won by Deb Stacey-Rivers who graciously consented to have another ticket drawn. Kent Chisholm was the winner.

Announcements:

1. Dinner of the Month Tickets: Please return ticket stubs and money from sold tickets. The final draw for 2012 will take place at the Xmas meeting Monday night.
2. Rotary Christmas Party: Monday December 17, 7 PM at the Queen’s. Cost is $10 pp and snacks will be provided as well as an open bar.  Wear something Christmassy.  Karaoke and a “12 days of Christmas” video will be shown. Optional is bringing an ornament for exchange. No dollar store ornaments but homemade or used, or re-gifting. 

Guest Speaker: Deb Stacey-Rivers introduced Katia Maxwell from Rogers Access Television. Katia is a graduate of broadcast journalism at Fanshawe College and has been with Rogers for 15 years. She works mostly behind the scenes as a producer and camera person.

The local Rogers channel has one paid staff member and about 20-25 volunteers. Volunteers can be high school coop students, retired people, or anyone who has an interest in TV broadcasting.

For the last three years Rogers has been promoting increased participation on the local TV channel. 

Today Katia focused on how to access TV time. Any service club, individual, or other local group can approach Rogers with a proposal for some air time. It could be in the form of a sixty second promotion or a half hour show. “Spotlight Stratford” is the 60 second promotion and the monthly half hour one-on-one “What’s Up Stratford” is hosted by Peter Maranger. These programs are repeated many times during the month.

Katia and her volunteers will work with the proposals in terms of writing scripts, making video footage, providing guidance where there is a lack of confidence or skill.

Announcements for events can be posted to the program “Worth Noting”.

Proposals and announcements can be made by contacting Rogers at www.rogerstv.com and login to Stratford.

Katia was thanked by Bill Helmuth

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of December 4, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Rob Ritz, Geza Wordofa, Peter Maranger and Rob Russell. Also in attendance was Roger Staples of the Quinte-Sunrise Rotary Club. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student

Draw Prize: Nick Giannakopoulos donated the prize won by Gerry Ketchum.

Announcements:

1. Dinner of the Month Tickets: Please return ticket stubs and money from sold tickets and any unsold tickets.
2. Splash Pad spaghetti dinner fundraiser: Jack West announced that on Friday December 7 the Backstage Bar and Grill, 27 Market Square, will be hosting a pasta dinner in support of the splash pad project. For $12 you will enjoy spaghetti with meatballs (or vegetarian option), garlic bread and Caesar salad. $6 goes to the splash pad fund. An additional $1 will be donated if you dine in. Take outs are available. Phone the Backstage at (519) 305-8888 to order or to make a reservation (strongly recommended). Sitting times are 12-3 PM and 4:30-8:30 PM. Downtown merchants can have their dinners delivered free.
3. Rotary Christmas Party: Monday December 17, 7 PM at the Queen’s. Cost is $10 pp and snacks will be provided as well as an open bar.  Wear something Christmasy.  Karaoke and a “12 days of Christmas” video will be shown. Optional is bringing an ornament for exchange. No dollar store ornaments but homemade or used, or regifting.  See Geraldine Ketchum by next Tuesday so that she can report numbers to the Queen’s. 

Club Assembly: President Dianne announced that December is Family month. In the spirit of the occasion Dianne invited Rotarians to tell something about their family or their relationship with Rotary. Here are just a few of the stories.

Ken Hansen reported on a happy occasion last weekend when his step-daughter was married at Elmhurst Inn.

Barbara Young was thinking of her grandfather who was an agricultural missionary in Angola in the 30’s. To bring warring tribes together he organized a musical event which brought the tribes together in a choir to sing Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah. The singing helped reduce tensions among the tribes. Since that time musical instruments have been sent to Angola to support a musical program. Pump organs are in particular demand because the tribes love organ music and there is a lack of electricity. Barbara is involved with this project.

Jack spoke a few lines of Portuguese which no one with the exception of Leticia could understand. Jack is taking lessons from Leticia who is staying with his family.

Roger Staples said his Quinte-Sunrise Rotary Club has a membership of about 20 people. Since moving to Stratford six weeks ago he sought out our club and decided to visit because its motto “Small But Mighty” struck a chord with him. It seemed to describe his old club where Rotarians worked on many projects to help the community.

Carol Rock reported on the activities of past exchange students we have hosted. She keeps in touch through emails and Facebook.

Brian Rivers said that he first got interested in Rotary when he was visiting the Amazon and came across one of Jean Aitcheson’s missions in Iquitos. Jean replied that she continues the “Full Moon Tradtion”. On a night of the full moon she looks at the moon and thinks of the many friends she has made on her mission trips and she knows that her friends are also looking at the same moon and remembering Jean and her mission work.

Carolyn Dingman said that her family has had a long history with service clubs. Her great grandfather was a founding member of the Stratford Rotary club. Over the years members of her club have been members of Rotary, the Lions Club and the school board.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of November 27, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Rob Ritz. Also in attendance were Connor and Steve Rivers, guests of Brian Rivers.  Connor is an outbound Rotary exchange student. Seana Feryn is a guest of Jane Eligh-Feryn and Brent Furtney is a guest of Jack West. Mirjam Schut is a student exchange counsellor. Leticia Figueiredo is our exchange student

Draw Prize: Dianne Yundt donated the prize won by Carolyn Dingman.

Announcements:

1. Salvation Army Xmas Kettles: If you can spare some time to man a kettle at one of the locations in Stratford let Tyler Canal know.
2. Dinner of the Month Tickets: We have entered the final weeks to buy tickets for the 2013 draws. Get your tickets from Tyler Canal.  The price is $20 each or 6 for $100.
3. House of Blessing: We received a “thank you” letter from the House of Blessing for our support throughout 2012.
4. Area 3 Report: Bill Helmuth reported on some items from the meeting last week. Martha Cook of Stratford Rotary reported that a Group Study Exchange will be visiting Stratford next spring from South Korea.  The Meth Program is renamed the Huron-Perth Task Force and will be including the misuse of prescription drugs in its mandate. The Grand Bend Rotary Club has filled 48 containers with used school equipment from schools being closed and has shipped them to developing countries.  The Mitchell Rotary clubbed will be involved with the International Plowing Match next year and will be looking for assistance from other clubs in the district.
5. Rotary Christmas Party: Monday December 17, 7 PM at the Queen’s. Cost is $10 pp and snacks will be provided as well as an open bar.  Wear something Christmasy.  Karaoke and a “12 days of Christmas” video will be shown. Optional is bringing an ornament for exchange. No dollar store ornaments but homemade or used, or regifting.  See Geraldine Ketchum by next Tuesday so that she can report numbers to the Queen’s.  

Guest Speaker: Mirjam Schut introduced Leticia Figueiredo our Rotary Exchange Student. Through the use of a slide show Leticia taught us about Brazil.  She comes from the city of Campina Grande in north eastern Brazil which is the second most populous city in the state of Paraiba. Its name means “Great Plain” and has a population of 390 000 people and an important industrial, technological and educational centre. Leticia lives in a modern apartment with her physician parents, brothers and sisters.

Leticia described schooling as being very different from here in Canada. Students attend classes in the morning until 12:30. Students remain together in the same class room and the teachers rotate. In the afternoon students are free to study extra courses or receive extra counseling.  Sport includes soccer of course as well as volleyball.

Brazil will be hosting the Word Cup of Soccer in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.

Leticia described the diet of Brazilians which includes rice, beans, meat, tapioca and salads at lunch. Fruit includes bananas, guava and brazil nuts.

Forro is a type of music and dance which is popular in her area of Brazil.

The north east beaches are a popular tourist destination in her region and of course there is always Rio and the amazon.

Leticia was thanked by Linda Jones

Francisco is a Rotarian and an officer in the Argentine Air Force who helped with relief work in Haiti.

Francisco's scholarship has taken him to Western University where he is working on an MSc in Environmental Sustainibility.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of November 20, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Today’s meeting was chaired by President-elect Bill Helmuth.

Guests: From Stratford Rotary we welcomed Geza Wordofa. David Brent from the London-Lambeth Rotary Club accompanied Ambassadorial Scholar Francisco Reinoso from Argentina. Also in attendance were Connor and Steve Rivers, guests of Brian Rivers.  Connor is an outbound Rotary Exchange student.

Draw Prize: Vincent Hill donated the prize won by Jean Aitcheson.

Dinner of the Month Draw: For the second time Heather Galloway won a dinner for four people. The dinner is at Bijou.

New Member: President-elect Bill Helmuth inducted Randy Mathews into the Rotary Club of Festival City. Randy is retired from a career in the financial services industry beginning with Victoria & Grey Trust in 1975 and ending with Scotiabank. Previously Randy was very active with the Optimist Club serving in many capacities.

Announcements:

1. Salvation Army Xmas Kettles: If you can spare some time to man a kettle at one of the locations in Stratford let Dianne Yundt or Tyler Canal know.
2. Dinner of the Month Tickets: Tickets for the 2013 draws are available for sale. Get your tickets from Tyler Canal.  The price is $20 each or 6 for $100.
3. Bingo: The final bingo for this year is Saturday starting at 5 PM. Volunteers are needed particularly between 5 PM and 7:30PM. If you can help out on Saturday night register by clicking on the Bingo tab on ClubRunner.
4. House of Blessing: Next week we will be accepting food and toiletry items for the food bank.

Guest Speaker: David Brent introduced Francisco Reinoso from Argentina.

Francisco is an Ambassadorial Scholar currently studying for an MSc degree in Environmental Sustainability at Western University in London. Francisco is an officer in the Argentine Air Force. Following his year at Western, Francisco hopes to get some work experience in Canada as part of the coop portion of his course. He then plans to return to Argentina to work in the field of environmental sustainability. He hopes to encourage politicians and businesses to think long term rather than exploit resources now for profit rather than thinking about long term sustainability.

In a slide show presentation Francisco told us about his military tour of duty in Haiti, June to December 2011, where the Argentine armed forces are part of the UN relief effort following the earthquake.  Francisco is now on leave from his public relations work with the air force.

Francisco gave us a brief overview of the areas of his country from the heavily populated capital of Buenos Aires to the Iguazu Falls, the wine producing region of Mendosa to the pampas and Patagonia in the far south. Argentina has a population of about 40 million very culturally and racially mixed. With its 23 provinces Argentina is the eighth biggest country. It became independent in 1816. Its currency is the Argentine Peso worth 5 pesos to the Canadian dollar.

There are 44 Rotary Clubs in Argentina. His sponsoring club is the Rotary Club of Parque Chacabuco in Buenos Aires with 32 members with an average age of 58.

Francisco was thanked by Elizabeth Anderson.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of November 13, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Cheryl Moore from the Mitchell Rotary Club. Wayne Yundt and Jean Cooke are guests of Dianne Yundt. Randy Mathews is a potential new member. Leticia Figueiredo is our Rotary Exchange student.

Draw Prize: David Moore donated the prize won by Vincent Hill.

Announcements:

1. Salvation Army Xmas Kettles: If you can spare some time to man a kettle at one of the locations in Stratford let Dianne Yundt or Tyler Canal know.
2. Board Meeting: The board meets Thursday Nov 15 at President Dianne’s house, 522 William Street.
3. Rotary Leadership Institute: The next training session, all 3 levels, is in Stratford on Nov 17. See President Dianne for details.
4. Area 3 meeting: The next meeting is Thursday November 22 at Deck Dentistry in Mitchell. See Dianne Yundt if you are interested in attending.
5. Reporting Makeups: When you report a makeup at the check in desk on Tuesday mornings please indicate when, where, and what the makeup activity was. RI requires this information when the report is sent to RI.
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.
7. Rotary Club of Sarnia TV Auction: If you are interested in bidding on items in this fundraiser on November 18 visit www.rotarysarnia.com  
8. Splash Pad Night at Domino’s Pizza: This Thursday November 15, 50% of the price of any regularly priced item will be donated to the Splash Pad project.

Presentation: Cheryl Moore representing the Mitchell Rotary Club presented a cheque to our club for the final installment of their commitment to the El Salvador project. Cheryl’s husband Mark and his son have just returned from a home building project in El Salvador.

Bingo: Volunteers are required for the “Sgt Pepper” edition of bingo on Saturday November 24. Bingo sales start shortly after 5 PM when we require most of the volunteers. If you can only spare a couple of hours that would be helpful and we will need some to stay for the full session which ends at about 10 PM. Sign up on ClubRunner by clicking on “Saturday Bingo” Nov 24, or inform Vince Hill or Jack West.

History buffs will recall that it was on this date in 1966 that the Beatles began recording their famous album “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Beatlemania fans may want to dress in Sgt Pepper attire.

Guest Speaker: Dianne Yundt introduced Jean Cooke who presented a talk and slide show of her recent trip to Italy. The main purpose for Jean’s trip was to visit the grave of her oldest brother Sgt Ken Beckner of the Perth Regiment. Sgt Beckner was killed by a sniper on Sept 13, 1944. Ken was 26 years old.  Jean had 4 brothers in uniform, 2 of whom were wounded, one killed and one was home on leave on VE day.

Jean’s journey began with Rev. Terry Hastings at St Andrews church who was organizing a trip to Italy for last September. Jean expressed an interest if she could visit the gravesite of her brother. Arrangements were made to take her by taxi from Venice to the Gradara war cemetery. Buried in this cemetery are casualties from the allied advance against the German army from Ancona on the Adriatic coast towards Rimini to the Gothic Line where the German Army made a stand. There are 1192 graves in the cemetery of which 369 are of Canadian soldiers. Until Jean’s visit it has been 68 years and 11 days since her brother’s death and the first time a family member had visited the gravesite.

Jean also mentioned that 846 local men served in the Perth Regiment and 161 were killed during the war. On her trip her tour group also visited the Casino war cemetery where 855 Canadian soldiers are buried.

Jean was thanked by Brian Rivers

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of November 6 , 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests:  Randy Matthews; Leticia Figueiredo our Rotary exchange student.  Door Prize: Bill Helmuth won the prize donated by Tyler Canal.

Announcements:

1. Rotary Leadership Institute: The next training session, all 3 levels, is in Stratford on Nov 17. See the District site to sign up
2. On Nov 22 at 7 p.m. the Area 3 meeting will be held in Mitchell at Deck Dentistry
3. Christmas Party: All are invited to attend a Christmas Party on Monday Dec 17 at 7pm at the Queen’s Inn.  Significant Others are also invited. Cost: $10.00 per person. Please wear a Christmas hat or sweater (the tackier the better). There will be no meeting Tues. Dec 18.
4. Arts and Eats: Mitchell is hosting this Buffet Dinner and Silent Auction at Mitchell Golf and Country Club on Sunday November 17th. Cost is $40- advance tickets only- available from  a Mitchell Rotarian, Van Gerwin Insurance and Deck Dentistry.The Guest Speaker is April Bending. Fine Art raffle draw will also be held - tickets are $5 each or 5/ $20 (available as above.
5. Kettle Campaign:The Salvation Army Kettle Campaign will begin on November 16th and continue until December 24th. They are asking for us to man the kettles for a day. Please contact Tyler if you are interested in participating this year.

6. Guest Speaker: David Moore was introduced by Dianne Yundt.   

David spoke on Rotary International and its' goal to eradicate polio world-wide. Polio Plus was an initiative begun in 1988 to eradicate polio around the world. To date this campaign has been successful in India- in 2011 there were no new cases of polio reported in this geographically huge and highly populated country. This success is due to Rotary's efforts "on the ground" - thousands of members volunteered to immunize children of 5yrs and older. Despite the difficulties of administering this vaccine ( it is an oral vaccine that must be kept cold while being transported over great distances in extremely hot conditions) communities all over the country were "blitzed" to ensure that all children were successfully immunized. Most of the costs of this initiative were for the social workers sent in advance of the immunization teams to search out the children and keep the records required. They encountered many difficulties: goegraphical, religious, political and local superstitions regarding innoculations. Because Rotary is non-political it can go into countries and work "on the ground". The Rotary Polio Plus Program will continue the effort to eradicate polio in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Unicef, Rotary and the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation have initiated the Global Eradication Initiative. endpolionow.org

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President: Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of October 30 , 2012

Club email: festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Geza Wordofa from Stratford Rotary, Randy Matthews; Leticia Figueiredo our Rotary exchange studentDraw Prize: Linda Jones won the prize donated by Wayne Young

Door Prize: Dianne Yundt won the prize donated by John McNeil

Announcements:

1. Rotary Leadership Institute: The next training session, all 3 levels, is in Stratford on Nov 17. See the District site to sign up
2. On Nov 22 the Area 3 meeting will be held in Mitchell
3. 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. Please let Tyler know how many tickets are sold. Tickets will not be sold in the New Year.
4. Christmas Party: All are invited to attend a Christmas Party on Monday Dec 17 at 7pm at the Queen’s Inn. There will be an open bar, snacks will be provided. Please sign the sheet being passed around at the next few meetings if you would like to attend. Significant Others are also invited. Cost: $10.00 per person. Please wear a Christmas hat or sweater (the tackier the better). There will be no meeting Tues. Dec 18.
5. Splash Pad: Jack West reported that the Committee met to create strategic goals and discuss fundraising events. On Nov. 15 Dominos will hold a Pizza Night 50% of proceeds to be donated; On Dec 7 Backstage Bar and Grill will hold a Spaghetti Dinner, 50% of sales will be donated. Carol Rock is writing a proposal for a Trillium Grant. Aviva Community Fund donates to children’s programs. Please vote online for our project.
6. Elizabeth Anderson reported on the New Generations Committee which is looking for 4 team members to do the work currently done by Youth Exchange Officer Carol Rock, alone. This would include interviewing applicants for the exchange program and finding placement homes for incoming students. As well, The Committee would like to create a new Interact Club for St Michael’s and Northwestern Secondary Schools, and in partnership with the Stratford club, they would like to form a Rotaract Club. Rotaract is for College and University students. Please contact Elizabeth if you are interested in helping with any of these programs.

   Guest Speaker: Louise Spandler was introduced by Anna Sherwin.

A member of the Stratford Horticultural Society, Louise spoke of the work done around the city to keep up the many beautiful flower beds we take for granted. The Society looks after 12 beds, including Churchill Circle, the Public Library and the Dutch Monument.

To raise funds for these efforts, the Society holds several popular events, including the annual Spring Garden Show, a plant sale in May, and a Flower Show in June. They also hold a Garden tour, which usually has between six and eight private gardens, covering various sizes and types, such as annuals, professionally designed, one-person wonders, raised beds, etc. One garden becomes the feature garden. Some of these gardens have appeared in Gardens Central Magazine

The Horticultural Society has 231 members at present. Cost to join is only $15.00 and membership benefits include discounts at local businesses and at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Monthly “garden chats” and plant exchanges are also held. The public is welcome to attend for $5.00, members are free.

Louise was thanked by Gerry Ketchum

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President: Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of October 23, 2012

Club email: festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Bob Martin and Geza Wordofa from Stratford Rotary, Randy Matthews; Leticia Figueiredo our Rotary exchange student; and Nigel Howard the guest speaker and Joani Gerber as his technical support person.

Draw Prize: Linda Jones won the prize donated by Wayne Young

Announcements:

1. Membership Workshop: Deb attended the membership workshop in London, she shared the following highlights:- Our club had the highest number of representatives in attendance; the percentage of females in Rotary is 16%, but our club is 50% female. Clubs are encouraged to grow in members each year at the rate of 3%- for our club that means 2 per year. Clubs use a variety of means to attract new members such as having Saturday A.M. meetings and providing day care to attract younger members.
2. Rotary Leadership Institute: The next training session, all 3 levels, is in Stratford on Nov 17. See President Dianne for details.
3. Stratford Basketeers: Donna Hinz announced this year’s campaign to raise funds to fill baskets for women who are trying to start a new life. Any donations will be gratefully accepted over the next few weeks.
4. 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. Please let Tyler know how many tickets are sold. Tickets will not be sold in the New Year.
5. Christmas Party: All are invited to attend a Christmas Party on Monday Dec 17 at 7pm at the Queen’s Inn. There will be an open bar, snacks will be provided. Please sign the sheet being passed around at the next few meetings if you would like to attend. Significant Others are also invited. Cost: $10.00 per person. Please wear a Christmas hat or sweater (the tackier the better). There will be no meeting Tues. Dec 18.
6. Linda Jones shared the report given to th Board regarding El Salvador. She told us that of 5 RI grants 3 have been accepted and 2 are outstanding. CRCID grantsis up to date with one more disbursement of $20,000 due, which we hope to qualify for later this month. All money needs to be spant by Dec.31 2012: final reports completed by March 31 2013 and reviewed and approved by June 2013. All sponsors have been notified that this is the final year of our 5 year commitment - but they are still able to continue their support of individual children if they wish to do so. They were also told of all of the benefits their support has provided in the areas of education, health and nutrition.

Guest Speaker: Barb introduced Nigel Howard and Joani Gerber of the Stratford Centre for Business and the Perth Community Futures Develpment Corporation.

Nigel outlined the roles that both the Centre for Business and the Community Futures agencies play in our area. Free one -on-one consulting is provided for start up businesses and existing companies inthe areas of: business plan reviews; marketing advice; social media advice/ assistance; cash flow assistance and community connections.

Workshops and networking opportunies are provided through training events such as 'Lunch and Learn' workshops and monthly networking breakfasts.

Loan funding is provided to businesses that may been turned down for loans by Banks because they are considered to be high risk ventures (i.e. loans are unsecured). Funds loaned may be as little as $5,000 or as much as $150,000. A new company in Listowel recently was approved for a $250,000 loan because of the construction jobs it will provide as well as the 20 to 30 employees it hopes to hire once construction is completed. Loans are often sought for business needs such as website development, value added agriculture, 'green' projects, tools and office equipment and to add inventory.

Nigel and Joani may be contacted by phone or email-

info@stratfordperthbusiness.ca 1-866-814-7570 or joani@perthcfdc.ca 1-855-814-7570

Nigel and Joani were thanked by Anna Sherwin

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President: Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of October 16, 2012

Club email: festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Bob Martin and Geza Wordofa are from Stratford Rotary. Guests: Carolyn Hartlen, Randy Matthews; Wally Little and Mark Hertzberger

Draw Prize: Bill Helmuth won the prize donated by Jack West

Dinner of the Month: Dinner at Rene's Bistro was won by Al and Anne Matheson

Announcements:

1. Membership Workshop: The next workshop is in London. See President Dianne if you are interested in attending.
2. Board Meeting: The board meets Thursday Oct 18 at President Dianne’s house. Committee reports should be given to one of the secretaries.
3. Viewing Back Copies of the Newsletter: If you wish to read previous issues of the newsletter click on “Stories” at the top left corner of the ClubRunner home page and all newsletters since January 2012 will appear and can be viewed.
4. Reporting Makeups: Brian Rivers provided some information about makeups. When you are unable to go to a meeting, you can 'makeup' by attending a meeting at another club or online. Committee meetings can also be used as makeups. Report makeups at the check in desk on Tuesday mornings or email Vince or Wayne. Please indicate when, where, and what the makeup activity was. RI requires this information when the report is sent to RI.
5. Rotary Leadership Institute: The next training session, all 3 levels, is in Stratford on Nov 17. See President Dianne for details.
6. Stratford Basketeers: Donna Hinz announced this year’s campaign to raise funds to fill baskets for women who are trying to start a new life. Any donations will be gratefully accepted over the next few weeks.
7. 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. Please let Tyler know how many tickets are sold. Tickets will not be sold in the New Year.

8. Food Centre Challenge:Elizabeth Anderson announced the “Math Challenge” being held by the Community Food Centre. The challenge is to live for 3 days on only $5.00 worth of food. Please contact Elizabeth before Oct 22 to participate

Christmas Party: All are invited to attend a Christmas Party on Monday Dec 17 at 7pm at the Queen’s Inn. There will be an open bar, snacks will be provided. Please sign the sheet being passed around at the next few meetings if you would like to attend. Significant Others are also invited. Cost: $10.00 per person. Please wear a Christmas hat or sweater (the tackier the better). There will be no meeting Tues. Dec 18.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Geza Wordofa introduced Mark Hertzberger of Hertzberger HR Consulting. He spoke about the importance of managing teams in the workplace.

Hertzberger HR Consulting mediates and tries to prevent conflicts in the workplace. These conflicts can range from personality clashes to outright harassment. When workers are in conflict it is essential to listen carefully and objectively to each side of the story individually and in private. Managers who find themselves unable to remain objective can call a mediator to help negotiate boundaries and mutual respect between the staff members involved.

Understanding the ways people work individually and in groups can help prevent conflict becoming an issue. It is important for managers to do some groundwork before forming teams, to ensure that people understand their own and their coworkers’ personalities. Once this work is done, team formation can be effected more easily. Good relations can create a good working environment and promote better productivity.

Hertzberger uses the Myers-Briggs Personality typing to help form teams of workers who will be able to work well together, and who will recognize and appreciate their own and each others’ strengths. Cross-collaboration between differing personality types can maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses. Knowledge of personality differences can improve communication within a team and help develop trust and mutual appreciation. This also allows for flexibility and success in reaching individual and group goals.

Mr. Hertzberger was thanked by Ken Hansen.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of October 9, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Bob Martin, Harry Brightwell and Geza Wordofa are from Stratford Rotary. Shawna Feryn is the daughter of Jane Eligh-Feryn. Dr. Anne-Marie Zajdlik, and her guests Pastor James, Me Matsepo and Anne Gardner.

Draw Prize: Etienne Leushuis donated the prize won by Brandi Gillett.

Announcements:

1. Membership Workshop: The next workshop is in London. See President Dianne if you are interested in attending.
2. Board Meeting: The board meets Thursday Oct 18 at President Dianne’s house. Committee reports should be given to one of the secretaries. This will be the last meeting at the mansion.  Future meetings will be at the cottage next door.
3. Viewing Back Copies of the Newsletter: If you wish to read previous issues of the newsletter click on “Stories” at the top left corner of the ClubRunner home page and all newsletters since January 2012 will appear and can be viewed.
4. Reporting Makeups: When you report a makeup at the check in desk on Tuesday mornings please indicate when, where, and what the makeup activity was. RI requires this information when the report is sent to RI.
5. Rotary Leadership Institute: The next training session, all 3 levels, is in Stratford on Nov 17. See President Dianne for details.
6. Stratford Basketeers: Donna Hinz announced this year’s campaign to raise funds to fill baskets. Any donations will be gratefully accepted over the next few weeks.
7. 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 Dr. Anne-Marie Zajdlik, founder of the organization Bracelet of Hope.  Dr Zajdlik is a family physician specializing in HIV/AIDS treatment. She is a member of the Guelph Rotary Club, a Paul Harris Fellow and a member of the Order of Ontario. Dr. Zajdlik started her first Aids clinic in Guelph in 2004 and has since opened one in Waterloo.

Aids treatment allows infected people to lead healthy lives with a normal life expectancy. Treatment has improved from a cocktail of 3 pills 3 times per day to 1 pill per day. The pill drops the virus load to undetectable levels. It is not a cure because Aids victims must continue taking the pill for the rest of their life. A pregnant women in labour, taking the pill, greatly reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to their children. Treatment for Aids stops its transmission. This is the greatest hope for eliminating the disease if every infected person receives treatment.  

Anne-Marie started Bracelet of Hope to accomplish the United Nations Millenium Development Goal #6, which is a drive to end the pandemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Dr. Zajdlic chose to focus her efforts in Lesotho, a small country surrounded by South Africa. With the help of the Ontario Hospital Association Anne-Marie helped build the first clinic in the country. In sub-Saharan Africa 23 million people suffer from Aids and 80% of infected children die by age 5. There are about 18 million Aids orphans. Bracelet of Hope is a grass roots organization supporting health, homes and jobs in Lesotho.  The organization has built 33 Foster Homes, and 10 income generating activities.

Dr. Zajdlik is hoping that Rotary Clubs will sponsor Bracelet of Hope and the Rotary Foundation will provide matching grants.

December 1 is World Aids Day. To celebrate this day Bracelet of Hope is holding a special event at the River Run Centre in Guelph. For more information about the event and Bracelet of Hope visit www.braceletofhope.ca

Anne-Marie was thanked by Laura Pogson.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of October 2, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Geza Wordofa is from Stratford Rotary. Randy Matthews is a guest of Bill Helmuth and Jordan Lassaline is a guest of Elizabeth Anderson.  Mark Roth, Daryl and Janice Nyenhuis are guest speakers.

Draw Prize: Linda Jones donated the prize won by Etienne Leushuis.

Announcements:

1. Rotary Leadership Institute: The next training session, all 3 levels, is in Stratford on Nov 17. See President Dianne for details.
2. Fundraising Committee: Meets Thursday Oct 4, 7 PM at President Dianne’s home.
3. Stratford Basketeers: Donna Hinz announced this year’s campaign to raise funds to fill baskets. Any donations will be gratefully accepted over the next few weeks.
4. 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: Ken Hansen announced that this is Vocational Month when he introduced teacher Mark Roth from Northwestern Secondary School. Mark is responsible for coop and apprenticeship programs with the Avon-Maitland School Board.

Mark said that there are four paths to a high school diploma, the traditional college and university streams but also workplace and apprenticeship programs. Mark brought with him two former students who have profited from apprenticeship programs. Daryl Nyenhuis is apprenticing as a carpenter and his sister Janice is working towards certification as a hair stylist. Two other siblings in the Nyenhuis family have apprenticed as a plumber and an electrician.  Both apprentices were very pleased to have been able to pursue interests that are more hands on than the traditional high school streams. It was working in the school shops that generated Daryl’s interest in pursuing a trade. Job shadowing in grade 10 gave Janice the idea that landscape gardening and hair dressing were interesting options for her. She later focused on hair styling and hopes to be certified within the year.

Mark pointed out that more students should be encouraged to pursue the apprenticeship route through school as there is a need for skilled workers in various trades.

The three speakers were thanked by Carol Rock.

Rachel talks about her experiences at the "Adventures in Citizenship" conference in Ottawa

This is the final installment of the Goderich club's support for the El Salvador literacy project. 

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.

As the 2012-2013 Rotary Peace Ambassadorial Scholar, Erynne Gilpin is focused on the role of education in empowering youth so that they can be agents of social justice and sustainable peace. Follow her personal journey as she studies the role of Peace in Education at http://ohentonworld.tumblr.com/ 

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of September 18, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Geza Wordofa is from Stratford Rotary and he brought a guest Rian Schaefer. Rob Leitso is a guest of Dianne Yundt. Leticia Figueiredo is our Rotary Exchange Student from Brazil.

Draw Prize: Anna Sherwin won the mystery prize donated by Sam Theocharis.

Dinner of the Month Draw: Heather Galloway of Stratford won this month’s dinner for four at Down the Street Restaurant.

Announcements:

1. Board of Directors Meeting: Sept 20, 7 PM at the Yundt mansion, 522 William Street.  Committee reports to be given to President Dianne.
2. Pancake Breakfast: A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this year’s event a big success. Financial numbers are not in yet but it appears that there were more customers than last year to enjoy the pancake breakfast. The cooler temperatures helped with coffee, tea and hot chocolate sales.
3. House of Blessing: Just a reminder to bring a non-perishable food item for the food bank.  President Dianne read a letter from the House of Blessing thanking the club for our continued support of the food bank.
4. Rotary Banner:  Leticia presented our club with a banner from her sponsoring club in Brazil.
5. 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 President Dianne introduced Geza Wordofa who gave us an update on his work in Ethiopia. A slide show and video presentation showed the work Geza is doing during his visits to villages in Ethiopia with his wife Nicole and young son. Villagers have limited access to potable water. Three hour trips with a donkey carrying water jugs is required to bring a small quantity of water back to the village. Due to limited water supplies washing and bathing are infrequent.
Geza’s efforts involved getting wells drilled in the villages to provide water locally.
On his visits Geza distributes sports equipment such as soccer balls, Frisbees, footballs and shoes to village children. 
Geza thanked us for our support and encouragement. He has been doing volunteer work for the Red Cross, the United Way and the Salvation Army. For two weeks last summer he worked in Goderich assisting with relief work following the tornado. He has also created a multicultural centre in Stratford.

Geza was thanked by Jean Aitcheson.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of September 11, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Geza Wordofa is from Stratford Rotary. Rob Leifso. Danielle Brodhagen is our guest speaker. Leticia Figueiredo is our Rotary Exchange Student from Brazil.

Draw Prize: Bill Helmuth won the prize donated by Brandi Gillett.

Announcements:

1. Hosts Required: Carol Rock is requesting two more families to host Rotary Exchange students on October 12. They arrive at approximately 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon. Hosts are asked to take them home or out for dinner and see that they get to the theatre by 7:30 p.m. They need to be picked up at 11 p.m. and taken home to sleep. The following morning at 8:30 a.m. students will leave for Toronto from the Canadian Tire parking lot. This is a chance for you to experience youth exchange for 1 night. The students are new to our country having arrived here 6 weeks ago, at this point. Not a huge commitment on our part but a delightful one where you can talk one-on-one with the students and learn about their culture while showing them some Stratford hospitality.Please consider this request and call me at 519-271-0737 if you have any questions or are willing to host students.
2. Membership Satisfaction Surveys: Hand completed surveys to Deb Stacey-Rivers.
3. Cam Marshall Article: President Dianne referred to an article which appeared in the Beacon Herald about Cam’s good deeds being rewarded when he received a provincial volunteer award for raising more than $17000 for Leukemia research. Cam was the boy who started the Nobody Doll project to which our club contributed.
4. Rotary Learning Institute: Lynne Ternosky spoke briefly about her attendance at the recent RLI seminar. She learned a lot about Rotary which she didn’t know before and is encouraging Rotarians to sign up for the next seminar to be held in Stratford. Register on the District website.
5. Board of Directors Meeting: Sept 20. Committee reports to be given to President Dianne.
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 Kent Chisholm introduced Danielle Brodhagen, the Savour Stratford programme director. With a slide presentation Danielle gave us a preview of the event now in its 5^th year. The culinary festival has grown from 3000 visitors in the first year to 15000 last year. The festival has expanded to the market square behind city hall where several tents will host cooking demonstrations by David Rocco, Connie DeSousa, and Carl Heinrich. There will be wine tastings as well as craft beer, and Whisky and Bourbon tastings. Other culinary events include a BBQ Blues and Brews event, the Butcher’s Ultimate BBQ and a lot more.  Saturday night at the Avon Theatre a cocktail reception is being hosted by Peter Mansbridge and Cynthia Dale. All the chefs and sponsors will be in attendance.

There will be over 40 performers at various locations.  Ten local food vendors will be preparing Street Food to sample. There will be farm animals on both days.  The Farmers and Artisans Market will have over 150 vendors beside the river.

Some events are free but wrist bands must be purchased at $5 each per day to attend an assortment of demonstrations. Other events require advance purchase of tickets.

To view the huge lineup of events visit Savour Stratford at www.visitstratford.ca or drop by the tourism office to purchase tickets and receive a complete program. Tickets and wrist band sales begin Friday at the tourism office and at a kiosk at Scotiabank downtown.

Danielle was thanked by Carol Rock

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of September 4, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Clark Mitchell is from Stratford Rotary. Steve Stacey is a potential new member. Randy Matthews is a guest of Bill Helmuth. Leticia Figueiredo is our Rotary Exchange Student from Brazil.

Draw Prize: Donna Hinz won the prize donated by Bill Helmuth.

Announcements:

1. Hosts Required: Carol Rock made the following request:There are 19 Rotary Exchange Students from 16 countries in District 6330 this year. On October 12 they will be in Stratford to attend a play. Our club is responsible for hosting the students over night. We need 5 more homes to host 2 students each. They arrive at approximately 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon. Hosts are asked to take them home or out for dinner and see that they get to the theatre by 7:30 p.m. They need to be picked up at 11 p.m. and taken home to sleep. The following morning at 8:30 a.m. students will leave for Toronto from the Canadian Tire parking lot. This is a chance for you to experience youth exchange for 1 night. The students are new to our country having arrived here 6 weeks ago, at this point. Not a huge commitment on our part but a delightful one where you can talk one-on-one with the students and learn about their culture while showing them some Stratford hospitality.Please consider this request and call me at 519-271-0737 if you have any questions or are willing to host students.
2. Area 3 Meeting: Bill Helmuth reported on the meeting in Mitchell Aug 30. The Mitchell club is looking for speaking volunteers for their “Don’t Meth With Me” program. See Bill if you are interested.  Volunteers will also be required for the 2013 Plowing Match to be held near Mitchell next Sept. Groups of 10 volunteers will are required for gate duty.
3. Fundraising Committee: Chair Louise Spandler requested volunteers to serve on the committee and several people came forward. The committee needs to meet soon to discuss requests which have been made for funds.
4. Pancake Breakfast: Saturday Sept 15 from 7 AM to 5PM. Note the new times for this event. Kent will be emailing all volunteers next week regarding their duties.
5. Board of Directors Meeting: Sept 20. Committee reports to be given to President Dianne.
6. “Touch The Truck” This event mentioned by Jean Aitcheson takes place at the St Marys flats on Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM
7. 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 President Dianne introduced Elizabeth Anderson who talked about New Generations, the 5^th avenue of service in Rotary which became a service in 2010.
New Generations is designed to encourage 12-30 year olds to become involved with Rotary. It is hoped that by becoming involved at an early age young people will become lifelong Rotarians.  There are several ways in which youth can become involved.
The Rotary Youth Exchange is one way. Our club sponsors 10% of the students in our district. 
The Adventures in Citizenship Program which sends high school students to Ottawa for four days each year is another project we have been supporting. Last year’s participating student will be speaking to our club shortly.
An Interact club in high school is an excellent opportunity for teenagers 12-18 to serve their community. The local Interact Club is at Central Secondary School is managed  by the Stratford Rotary Club.  This year the club raised money for various relief efforts including the Horn of Africa Famine Relief Fund. They sold bracelets, helped with the Rural-Urban night, and manned the coat check at the “Soups On” festival.
Rotaract is for people 18-30 years of age. Most often it is found in post secondary institutions.  Rotaract members mentor students in Interact clubs. They are also a source for Ambassadorial Scholars. Rotaract members often transfer to Rotary clubs.
R.Y.L.A. or Rotary Youth Leadership Awards are given to those aged 14 to 30 who show leadership potential.
Young enthusiastic people, socially connected, knowing how to use technology and with the ability to think in new and creative ways will be of great benefit to the future of Rotary.
Elizabeth extended an invitation to Rotarians to join the New Generations committee. The next meeting will be later in September.
Elizabeth was thanked by Carol Rock.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of August 28, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests:  Harry Brightwell and Norm Bird are from Stratford Rotary. Steve Stacey is a potential new member. Jason and Donna West are guests of Jack West

Draw Prize: John McNeil won the prize donated by Louise Spandler.

Announcements:

1. Bingo: The bingo for Sept 14 has been given to the Tavistock Rotary Club because conflicts with preparations for the pancake breakfast on Sept 15
2. Splash Pad: Jack West presented a cheque for $1000 from the L.I.N.C. Family Festival for deposit into the Splash Pad account.  Jack indicated that a website to promote the splash pad project will be going live shortly. He and other members of the splash pad committee will be visiting the Strathroy splash pad to see how it was built for half of what the Stratford pad is expected to cost
3. Hosts Required: Carol Rock made the following request:

There are 19 Rotary Exchange Students from 16 countries in District 6330 this year. On October 12 they will be in Stratford to attend a play. Our club is responsible for hosting the students over night. We need 5 more homes to host 2 students each. They arrive at approximately 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon. Hosts are asked to take them home or out for dinner and see that they get to the theatre by 7:30 p.m. They need to be picked up at 11 p.m. and taken home to sleep. The following morning at 8:30 a.m. students will leave for Toronto from the Canadian Tire parking lot. This is a chance for you to experience youth exchange for 1 night. The students are new to our country having arrived here 6 weeks ago, at this point. Not a huge commitment on our part but a delightful one where you can talk one-on-one with the students and learn about their culture while showing them some Stratford hospitality.Please consider this request and call me at 519-271-0737 if you have any questions or are willing to host students.

4. Area 3 Meeting: In Mitchell at Deck Dentistry on August 30 at 7 PM. Featured speaker will be Linda Bradley past District Governor (7040), member of the Rotary Peace Centre Committee, and much more. It will be of interest to those who wish to learn about opportunities for service and a closer look at the Foundation.
5. Future Vision Seminars: The dates are Sept 15 in Listowel at Kin Station, September 22 in Imlay City, and Sept 29 in London at Fanshawe College.  Let President Dianne know ASAP if you can attend. President Dianne or Carolyn Dingman can forward you the link to register online.  The course runs from 9 to 3 at a cost of $40, which can be paid on the day of the event.
6. Pancake Breakfast: Saturday Sept 15 from 6 AM to 6 PM. Parking will not be available at the site so park on a street in the neighbourhood. Parking is also being set aside for volunteers at the River Garden Retirement Residence.
7. 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: Jack West introduced his son Jason who spent a year in the Netherlands as a Rotary Exchange Student.  Jason stayed with three great host families in the city of Meppel. The city is about the same size as Stratford. It once had many canals but only one remains. Jason’s schooling was quite different from what he experienced in Stratford. He attended the AOC Terra school which is an agricultural school.  In his first three months Jason was in the gardening class. At the end of the gardening term he had a work placement in a garden nursery. His second term was in forestry where he learned to use a chain saw and cut grass. It was during this term that the famous Christmas tree incident took place. In his final term Jason learned about animals including rabbits, chickens and other farm animals. Jason participated in athletics and played on the soccer team. On Monday nights he attended Rotary meetings.

On an average day Jason would be up by 7:30 with a breakfast of bread covered in chocolate sprinkles or cheese. He bicycled to school. At the beginning of his stay Jason attended Dutch orientation classes to improve his language skills. Although he learned to speak Dutch the nuances of the language to express emotions proved more difficult.  It was during these classes that he met the 35 other Exchange Students from North and South America. During student trips Jason visited 11 countries and cities such as Prague, Berlin, Vienna, Barcelona, Venice and Rome. He spent a week with students skiing in the French Alps.

Jason, now 19, plans on attending university next year. Jason was thanked by Carol Rock.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of August 21, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club website: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests:  Marcia Matsui is from Stratford Rotary. Cindy Carlson is a guest of Dianne Yundt and Steve Stacey is our guest speaker.

Draw Prize: Ron Rogers won the prize donated by the Boar’s Head.

Dinner of the Month Draw: David Moore won a dinner for four at Keystone Alley.

Announcements:

1. Facebook and Twitter: Brandi Gillett has set up accounts for our club on these social media sites. Click on the logos on our website (top right corner) to enter and see who is following us. Join in the conversations. The Festival City Rotary blogspot is being shut down.
2. Make-ups: Just to clarify reporting make-ups. If you attend a Rotary meeting at another club inform Wayne Young at the meeting or email Vince Hill at vincehill@sympatico.ca Also include the club name or event you were involved with.  Events which count as make-ups include any fundraising event such as bingo and pancake breakfast etc, and social events where Rotarians gather.
3. Goderich Rotary Fish Fry: Our club received an invitation for this event with an incorrect date. The date is next Tuesday August 28. If you are interested in attending please contact Philip Keightley at pkeightley@cabletv.on.ca President Dianne will ask about car pooling possibilities at next week’s meeting.
4. Area 3 Meeting: In Mitchell at Deck Dentistry on August 30 at 7 PM. Featured speaker will be Linda Bradley past District Governor (7040), member of the Rotary Peace Centre Committee, and much more. It will be of interest to those who wish to learn about opportunities for service and a closer look at the Foundation.
5. Grant Management Seminars: The dates are Sept 15 in Listowel at Kin Station, September 22 in Imlay City, and Sept 29 in London at Fanshawe College.  Let President Dianne know ASAP if you can attend. President Dianne or Carolyn Dingman can forward you the link to register online.  The course runs from 9 to 3 at a cost of $40, which can be paid on the day of the event.
6. Pancake Breakfast: Saturday Sept 15 from 6 AM to 6 PM. Parking will not be available at the site so park on a street in the neighbourhood. Parking is also being set aside for volunteers at the River Garden Retirement Residence.
7. Board Meeting: There will not be a Board of Directors meeting in August. The next meeting will be Sept 20.
8. 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: Laura Pogson introduced Steve Stacey, director of the Local Community Food Centre on Erie Street. For the past 18 months Steve and his helpers have been converting the old Country Depot into an exciting new adventure. It is not a food bank. There are five banks in Stratford and several in Perth County. The Food Centre is modeled on “The Stop” started in Toronto 15 years ago. Chef Jamie Oliver has visited The Stop and was very impressed with its program and expressed his view that the model should be developed in other cities. The Stop is now looking to expand its model across Canada with a potential of 15 more sites. Stratford has been selected as the first site because of its work with developing local food awareness. The United Way has partnered with the Centre to provide assistance for the first three years. The Centre will be providing storage for large shipments of food donations which the food banks are not equipped to handle. Food will be distributed to the banks from the Centre. The Centre will also provide freezer and cold storage for perishable food. Beyond food distribution the Food Centre will focus on teaching people cooking skills and growing food. Many people do not know how to grow, and prepare good food, and many do not know what constitutes good food. The Centre will also be providing drop-in meals on Monday nights. Although the meals are free, donations will be accepted.  Elizabeth Anderson is the Advocacy Coordinator for the program.

Steve was thanked by Vince Hill

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of August 14, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club web blog: www.festivalcityrotary.blogspot.com

ClubRunner site: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests:  Marcia Matsui, Clark Mitchell, Ellen Balmain and Geza Wordofa are from Stratford Rotary. Calum Balmain-Matthews is our outbound exchange student to France. Mark Hertzberger is a guest of Geza, and Jon MacKenzie is our guest speaker.

Draw Prize: Deb Stacey-Rivers donated the prize won by Carol Rock.

Announcements:

1. Bingo: A reminder to all volunteers that our next bingo is Friday August 17 starting at 5 PM.
2. Area 3 Meeting: In Mitchell at Deck Dentistry on August 30 at 7 PM. Featured speaker will be Linda Bradley past District Governor (7040), member of the Rotary Peace Centre Committee, and much more. It will be of interest to those who wish to learn about opportunities for service and a closer look at the Foundation.
3. Grant Management Seminars: The dates are Sept 15 in Listowel at Kin Station, September 22 in Imlay City, and Sept 29 in London at Fanshawe College.  Let President Dianne know ASAP if you can attend. President Dianne or Carolyn Dingman can forward you the link to register online.  The course runs from 9 to 3 at a cost of $40, which can be paid on the day of the event.
4. Pancake Breakfast: Saturday Sept 15 from 6 AM to 6 PM. Kent Chisholm will be circulating a signup sheet for everyone to participate in a shift. Among the jobs available are cooking pancakes and sausages, selling and serving coffee, water and other cold drinks. Pancake sales end at noon but drink sales continue to 6 PM. Parking will not be available at the site so park on a street in the neighbourhood.
5. Board Meeting: There will not be a Board of Directors meeting in August. The next meeting will be Sept 20.
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: Brian Rivers introduced Jon MacKenzie, executive director of the Habitat For Humanity – Stratford Perth. With the aid of a slide presentation Jon outlined the history of HFH.  It began in 1976 with the Fuller family in Georgia. Jimmy Carter was an early supporter of HFH. Today there are over 35000 volunteers in Canada in 70 affiliates.  1200 homes have been built in Canada and 225 000 worldwide. There are about 1.5 million people in Canada in need of good living accommodations.  Affordability of housing is worsening. Over 1 million families spend more than 50% of their income on housing.

Through Habitat For Humanity families selected for affordable housing receive interest free and down payment free homes.  Materials to build homes is often donated, favourable mortgage financing is provided by MCAP, and mortgage payments by the homeowner are invested back into the program.

Since 1996 13 homes have been built in Stratford-Perth.  Candidates for a home must have a minimum income of $25000 and a maximum of $44500 to afford a 4 bedroom house.  They must also have a good credit rating and have been living in Perth County for at least a year.  The candidate must also provide a minimum of 500 hours of sweat equity. The new homeowner must make monthly payments from $250 to a maximum of 30% of gross income. Candidates are also mentored regarding managing finances and learning about legal and home owner responsibilities.

To help pay for the HFH program the ReStore store off Lorne Avenue pays the bills for the organization. The latest home, located at 142 Home St, will be open for viewing at the end of August.

Volunteers are always needed. Help for building, fundraising, and ReStore clerks. Volunteers receive training for safe work habits at the construction site and they learn new skills.

The next home will be built in 2013 in Stratford once land is acquired. Finding affordable land is very difficult as developers can outbid HFH.

Jon was thanked by Brian Rivers who volunteers at HFH.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of August 7, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club web blog: www.festivalcityrotary.blogspot.com

ClubRunner site: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests:  Geza Wordofa is from Stratford Rotary. Charlotte Coats is an outbound student to Norway. Calum Balmain-Matthews is an outbound student to France. Tony Gallagher is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Rotary Club and Shelley Fracalossi is from the Plattsburgh N.Y. Rotary Club.

Draw Prize: Bob Shannon donated the prize won by John McNeil.

Announcements:

1. Bingo: The next bingo is Friday August 17 starting at 5 PM. The bingo is the “Wizard of Oz” edition. This is in recognition of the premier of the movie on this date in 1939. Volunteers are required. Sign up for the August 17 bingo on ClubRunner or contact Jack West. Wicked witches and flying monkeys need not apply.
2. 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.
3. Stratford Summer Music: Between Aug 14 and 19 the Culture Kids with steel pan drums from St Xavier’s Private Catholic School in Trinidad will be in Stratford.  Five families are required to host groups of 3-4 children with a chaperone.  Children are aged 7-11 and can sleep together to minimize bed requirements.  If you can billet a group please contact Lana Mau, Administrative Assistant at SSM at 519-271-2101 or email her at lmau@stratfordsummermusic.ca.  For more information about the school visit their website at www.stxavierstt.com
4. Rotary Banners: Shelley Fracalossi presented the club with a banner from the Plattsburgh New York Rotary Club.  Carol Rock gave several club banners to Calum Balmain-Matthews to present to clubs he visits during his year in France.

Guest Speaker: Deb Stacey-Rivers, chair of the membership committee, gave a presentation on how to attract potential new members to the club. Some Rotarians related how they came to join the club and why they remain. Reasons often involve being asked or seeking out the club with the intention of becoming a part of the Stratford community to which they had just moved. Deb wants the club to grow by 6 to 8 members over the next year. If each member invited someone to a meeting then from a membership of 34 people perhaps we could reach our objective.  Deb asked each person to put the name of a potential member on a recipe card found on the tables. Potential new members could be work colleagues, community leaders, neighbours, and people from the business and professional fields in Stratford.  A pamphlet with information about the club is being revamped. Possibly giving out “Be My Guest” business cards which the noon club uses could serve as an invitation to a meeting. If you invite someone then expect to pay for their breakfast at their first meeting. Perhaps some of the weekly speakers could be invited to join Rotary.

Kent Chisholm talked about the upcoming Pancake Breakfast at the Dragon Boat races. After introducing the idea and having a show of hands it was decided that the sale of coffee, water and possibly juices would continue until 5 PM to increase our earnings. We will be preparing the coffee ourselves this year using 4 coffee makers. There will be more electrical outlets available which should overcome the electrical shortages of the past years. The Mitchell Rotary Club will be supplying the equipment to make pancakes. Pancake sales will end at noon. A large contingent of volunteers from our club will be needed in shifts to make this annual event a success. More information will be forthcoming over the next several weeks.  

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of July 31, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club web blog: www.festivalcityrotary.blogspot.com

ClubRunner site: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Rob Ritz and Geza Wordofa are from Stratford Rotary. Charlotte Coats is an outbound student to Norway. Jason West rebound student from Holland. Calum Balmain-Matthews is an outbound student to France. Barb Wachtman is from the Fort Wayne Rotary Club.  Doris Barkley is a guest of Deb Stacey-Rivers and Cindy Carlson is a guest of Dianne Yundt.

Draw Prize: Anna Sherwin donated the prize won by Jack West.

Announcements:

1. Bingo: The next bingo is Friday August 17 starting at 5 PM. The bingo is the “Wizard of Oz” edition. This is in recognition of the premier of the movie on this date in 1939. Volunteers are required. Sign up for the August 17 bingo on ClubRunner or contact Jack West. Wicked witches and flying monkeys need not apply.
2. Dinner of the Month Tickets: Tyler Canal announced that tickets for the 2013 draws are available for sale. Unlike this year, tickets will be sold only until December. Get your tickets from Tyler now and starting selling.  The price is the same as this year. $20 each or 6 for $100.
3. Stratford Summer Music: Between Aug 14 and 19 the Culture Kids with steel pan drums from St Xavier’s Private Catholic School in Trinidad will be in Stratford.  Five families are required to host groups of 3-4 children with a chaperone.  Children are aged 7-11 and can sleep together to minimize bed requirements.  If you can billet a group please contact Lana Mau, Administrative Assistant at SSM at 519-271-2101 or email her at lmau@stratfordsummermusic.ca.  For more information about the school visit their website at www.stxavierstt.com

Guest Speaker: Jason West introduced his father Jack who presented a slide show of his May trip to the Netherlands to visit Jason who was a Rotary Exchange Student in the city of Meppel.  The city is about the same size as Stratford.

Photos of fast motorcycles and fast cars revealed Jack’s first love, and tips on driving the autobahns may be useful for anyone planning a driving trip of Holland.

Jack’s keen surveyor’s eye noticed the laser thingys on buildings which detect any foundation movement during the construction of the Amsterdam subway. Jack also noticed that some buildings are slightly out of alignment due to the shifting of the old wooden pilings supporting the buildings in soft soil.

Jack blended World War II photos with his travel photos to show the role of the Canadian Army in the liberation of Holland on May 5, 1945.
Jack’s discovery of why Heineken beer tastes better in Holland than here in Canada wasn’t too surprising. Freshness due to closeness to the brewery and temperature seems to play a role.  Jack was not very revealing about his “tour” of the red light district of Amsterdam. Perhaps this was due to the students present in the room. Altogether a very enjoyable presentation.  Jack was thanked by Louise Spandler.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of July 24, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club web blog: www.festivalcityrotary.blogspot.com

ClubRunner site: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: Pat Feryn, Bob Martin, Clark Mitchell, Geza Wordofa are from Stratford Rotary. Charlotte Coats is an outbound student to Norway. Jason and Donna West are guests of Jack West. Tessa Feryn is a guest of Jane Eligh-Feryn. Mirjam Schutt is a Rotary Exchange Student Counsellor. Samantha Bohlman and Laura Roulston are exchange students. Phanuwat Kongwattananon is our exchange student from Thailand.

Draw Prize: Geraldine Ketchum donated the prize won by Ron Rogers.

Announcements:

1. Guatemala: On page 14 of this month’s issue of The Rotarian is an item about a medical mission in Guatemala. This is the mission to Chimaltenango and Quetzaltenango Jean Aitcheson participated in last November.
2. Stratford Summer Music: Between Aug 14 and 19 the Culture Kids with steel pan drums from St Xavier’s Private Catholic School in Trinidad will be in Stratford.  Five families are required to host groups of 3-4 children with a chaperone.  Children are aged 7-11 and can sleep together to minimize bed requirements.  If you can billet a group please contact Lana Mau, Administrative Assistant at SSM at 519-271-2101 or email her at lmau@stratfordsummermusic.ca.  For more information about the school visit their website at www.stxavierstt.com
3. Thank you letter: President Dianne read a letter from Heather Robitaille thanking our club for the welcome she and her husband received during their visit last week.
4. District Governor Challenge “Focus on Participation”: to participate in this year’s challenge download the form from the district website. Click on “District Site” at the top of the clubrunner home page to find the download on the District site.
5. Stratford Rotary Scholarship: To celebrate the club’s 90^th anniversary it will be offering an annual $2500 scholarship to a student studying Digital Media at the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus. A celebratory dinner is being held on Wednesday September 26 at the Arden Park Hotel.  Keynote speaker will be Arlene Dickinson from “The Dragon’s Den”. Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased online at www.rotarystratford.com 

Guest Speaker: Mirjam Schutt introduced Nu, our exchange student from Thailand. Mirjam described Nu as a quiet boy of 15 when he arrived.  Over the past year Nu as become an outgoing person who is interested in everything about Canada. 

Nu is from the city of Udon Thani in northeast Thailand, a city of about 400 000 people. Nu reminisced about his year in Canada. Arriving from a country of 65 million where the lowest temperature is 10oC to a very big country where the cold came as a surprise. Nu described some of the differences between Canadian students and those in Thailand. Back home students spend Friday and Saturday evenings studying rather than socializing as Canadian students are prone to do. Canadian food preferences also required an adjustment in his diet which at home contains a lot of rice. Nu thanked his host families and the many friends he made in the last year. He definitely intends to come back to Canada.

To finish his talk Nu showed a video he made of his year in Canada and recent cross Canada tour with other exchange students. The group started their month long adventure in PEI before travelling on to Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, and Niagara Falls. The tour took them to Ottawa on Canada Day where Nu appeared on the CBC National News.  A three day train trip took the group to Calgary. Visits to Banff, Jasper, Vancouver, Victoria and finally Saltspring Island finished his journey. It was during a swim on the island that Nu had to be rescued by two Swiss exchange students when the cold water prevented him from completing his swim. A highlight of his trip is a photo of Nu and a group of rather underdressed boys on a mountain top. A moment he will always remember.

Nu was thanked by Sam Theocharis.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt

Minutes of the meeting of July 17, 2012

Club email:  festivalcityrotary@gmail.com

Club web blog: www.festivalcityrotary.blogspot.com

ClubRunner site: www.festivalcityrotary.ca

Guests: A.D.G. Stan Malcolm, Dave Blackburn and Gord Sherwin from Stratford Rotary. D.G. Tom Robitaille of the Bluewaterland-Sarnia Rotary Club and his wife Heather. Cindy Carlson is a guest of Dianne Yundt. Charlotte Coats is an outbound student to Norway.

Draw Prize: Kevin Gormley donated the prize won by Anna Sherwin

Dinner of the Month: David Moore won a dinner for four at The Prune restaurant.

Announcements:

1.     Potluck Dinner: at Jane Eligh-Feryn’s farm on Tuesday July 24. RSVP Jane by July 23. Details were previously emailed to all members.

2.     Board of Directors Meeting: 7 PM at President Dianne’s home on Thursday July 19.

3.     Rotary Leadership Institute: Seminars begin in Listowel on Sept 8. Other sessions will be held in Stratford on November 17, Lapeer Michigan on January 20, 2013 and on May 5 in London. Sign up for parts I, II, or III.  This is an opportunity to improve your leadership skills and learn more about Rotary beyond the club level. See Dianne Yundt if interested.  Further details can be found on the RI website.

Guest Speaker: Assistant District Governor Stan Malcolm introduced the new District Governor Tom Robitaille. Tom has been a Rotarian since 1986, club president in 2005-2006 and is retired from the CIBC where he was a risk manager.

Tom unveiled this year’s theme “Peace Through Service”. Rotary builds peace in a real and practical way. He listed some of the work which showcases the theme. The ongoing Polio Plus project, the Rotary Foundation’s good works throughout the world, the awarding of Ambassadorial Scholarships and the support for Youth Exchanges all help to foster peace. This year there are 21 outbound students and 20 inbound students to our 2000 member district. 

The World Peace Scholarship and the World Community Service Projects also promote peace.  Examples of projects under the World Community Service include a leprosy project in India and domestic and international literacy projects.

Rotary Strategic Policies for the coming year are much the same as last year including supporting and strengthening membership through recruitment and retention. Public service, Public Awareness and Future Vision will be terms we will hear more of in the 2012-2013 Rotary year.  There will be more information coming to clubs and a revamping of the Rotary website to include Facebook. More effort will be put into developing leaders through the Rotary Leadership Institute. Clubs will also be encouraged to increase fellowship and have more fun.

Tom was thanked by President Dianne.

The Rotary Club Of Festival City

President:  Dianne Yundt