YE student Gaspard visited, Mark Campbell spoke about his vocation, Tribute to Don Arpin and guest speaker Rosemary Fiss from the Alzheimer Society of Windsor-Essex on dementia.
Fun Monday lunch meeting this week! We had a surprise visitor; Gaspard, our Youth Exchange student from Belgium last year, had a break from his 1st of Engineering studies and joined us. He said his courses are all in English, so last year’s exchange has really helped him. We’re so proud!
The Club sung Happy Birthday to Lex, who typically plays the piano for everyone else’s birthday.
Mark Campbell spoke about his career in honour of Rotary’s Vocational Service month. He started off explaining how as a teenager, his friends made fun of him for working as a clown – until they learned he was making more then they were! Aside from that, Mark has primarily been involved in technology. He’s a graphic and web designer and has taught at St. Clair College. He and his wife Sara have run their own Technology and Marketing Agency, DigitalMedia, for 16 years.
Walter Willms gave a heartwarming tribute in honour of Don Arpin, sharing memories of his Rotary involvements since his induction to the Club in 1964. To view the tribute in its entirety, click here.
Speaker Rosemary Fiss, Manager of Education and Support Programs at the Alzheimer Society of Windsor-Essex, began by explaining that the numbers of those with dementia will increase; in 2011, the first of the Baby Boomers turned 65, and age is one of the most significant risk factors of dementia. Symptoms include loss of memory, loss of judgement and loss of understanding. If you experience any warning signs, such as forgetting something familiar, the inability to navigate time and/or changes in your ability to think abstractly, the first place to start is to talk to your primary health care provider.
Rosemary touched on the importance of dementia-friendly communities. These are places “where people with dementia are understood, respected and supported”. She showed a powerful video describing how sometimes people with dementia don’t recognize things (in this case, tomatoes at the grocery store). A little understanding, kindness and patience are greatly appreciated. To find out more about this topic, and how you can contribute to a dementia-friendly community, visit http://rethinkdementia.ca/
President Gord Faas and Leona MacIntyre announced the winner of our Club's Come From Away raffle - congratulations to Sheila Mosley from Windsor-Roseland Rotary Club!