Posted on Jul 15, 2019
Packed meeting! Gerry Pocock received his 20-year pin, Ron Arkell spoke about legacy signage that was developed for local pools, BookFest Windsor was presented with a check and Justin Falconer, Senior Director at Workforce WindsorEssex, gave an excellent presentation on the Windsor's labour force and went through available programs his organization has developed.
 
President Elect Gerry Pocock was presented with his 20-year pin by Mike Drake. Congratulations, Gerry, and thank you for your continued commitment to Service Above Self.
 
Ron Arkell explained that many years ago, our Club raised funds to build swimming pools for local children in underprivileged areas. The signage was not easily visible. Ron worked with David Eady as part of the history committee, and together with the help of Moe Pomerleau, Janet Kelly and Mike Clement from the City, the 2 pools now boast beautiful legacy signage that proudly show the work of Rotary. Ron also spoke about our international water projects. To date, our Club has drilled wells in 42 villages in Ghana, but there are still 18 more villages that are in need. He showed an example of the dirty water that is currently being used in one such village - Sibiri, a village in Jirapa, Ghana. He reminded us that it costs $6,000 for a well.
 
Club member David Eady who is a member of the Windsor Volunteers for Literacy, presented a cheque for $2500 to club members Colleen Mitchell, Greg DeHetre, and Rebecca Rivard  who are part of our Club's partnership with Literary Arts Windsor/BookFest. The partnership also includes Ryan Mancini and Peter Hrastovec. BookFest will take place October 17 - October 22, 2019.
 
Justin Falconer, Senior Director at Workforce WindsorEssex, started with some stats on the current labour force. True, the unemployment rate is holding steady, but if you look at the labour force, there's a "10,300 person increase in the size of the labour force over the last 9 months", which is huge. Employment rate, as a percentage of the population that is working, is up 3.5% points in the last 9 months. Falconer explained that their organization's website is "the most important asset" they own. They now have the ability to collect their own data. They launched "the region's largest job board" and make it easy for those seeking employment by posting available jobs on a map, which also displays key services such as proximity to child care and transit. The site also helps people plan their careers and displays census data. Workforce WindsorEssex has also helped launch similar job boards in London and other areas. For more information, visit https://www.workforcewindsoressex.com/
 

Click here to see pictures from this meeting (courtesy of Gordon Drake)