Last Club meeting was jam-packed! Our Club warmly welcomed 2 new members: Mary Zugcic, sponsored by Milt Grant & Vatika Trikhas, sponsored by Rick Caron. The Club is honoured to have them both and is looking forward to years of getting to know them.
We loved having children at this meeting! Don Snyder ran the PHF ceremonies, while District Governor John Chambers and Past District Governor Rick Caron pinned the recipients. Both Karen Howard and Tony Mancinone made their grandchildren Paul Harris Fellows. Gerry Pocock became a Paul Harris Fellow, as did Greg DeHetre, who at the same time honoured his wife Eva Kate with her own PHF. As a birthday surprise, Mary Lou Drake had arranged for her husband Gord Drake to also receive his upgraded pin (PHF+3 saphires). Happy Birthday, Gord!
Sandeep Nayati of Rotary Club of Jaipur Midtown, India spoke about his involvement with the Widows Assistance Program, a project he works on in collaboration with our Club member Om Chandna, who started the program to help widowed women and their children. He explained that in India, life can be very hard for women who have lost their husbands, and the program has raised funds every year to help support the education of the affected children. Sandeep presented his Club flag to President Gord and a pin to Om, in recognition of his work with this very important project.
Our Club welcomed District Governor John Chambers, who began his talk by speaking about the importance of getting young people involved in Rotary. It’s a two-way street: Including youth in meetings and projects not only teaches the next generation about the importance of Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self, it also allows for new and innovative ideas! As an example, the Governor told a story about how at the International Conference, he was sitting next to a Roteractor who, after listening to what was being said, was able to 1) identify the problem and 2) solve the issue. “We need that type of insight - youth makes a difference!” He also explained both Rotary International’s theme of “Rotary Connects the World” and his District theme of “Doing the Right Thing”, which corresponds to Rotary’s 4-Way Test. For all his Official Club Visits, he asks the Club President to select someone who has done “the right thing”, and President Gord chose Karen and Tony Howard, for whom a certificate was made.
The Governor urged everyone to attend the upcoming District Conference on May 15-17, 2020 at Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. Retired astronaut Mike Foreman, a Rotarian and the Mayor of Friendswood, will be a guest speaker. Registration is open now; for more conference information, and to register, visit http://rotary6400.org/?page_id=3251
Last but not least, our new Youth Exchange students Sara (Brazil) and Jan (Germany) presented their Flags to our Club.