President Jules delivered his End-of-Term Speech to a captivated audience, the Club welcomed new members Shawn Douglas and Kevin Blondin and 11 new or upgraded Paul Harris Fellows were presented.
 
Incredible meeting! To begin, Shawn Douglas and Kevin Blondin, both sponsored by Kay Douglas, were the newest members to be inducted into the Club. Welcome!
 
Peter Hrastovec announced that our Club has officially raised enough funds for RI's annual fund, and to celebrate, Anil Chitte told a (really funny!) joke. 
 
District Governor Paul Sincock pinned Cristina Melnik, Sydney Thompson and Allison [Davidson] Hawkins with their initial PHFs, and upgraded the pins of President Jules, Janet Kelly, Bill MacArthur, Ed Boycott, Nick Bibic, Ian Henderson, Jim Adkin and Kay Douglas.
 
President Jules thanked DG Paul for everything he has done by presenting him with a Youth Exchange billboard souvenir, signifying his commitment and passion to the Youth Exchange program. David Eady was also presented with a billboard souvenir in honour of his years of service to the Club, especially as Club Secretary. 
 
President Jules held a captivated audience as he presented his End-of-Term speech. He recapped how the year has been for the Club, including how we've been recognized with various awards, how we've collaborated with other Club this year on various projects, the vast array of service projects our Club has been involved in and how we've evolved. He quoted Bill McRae in a note he had written when completing the Vision Exercise, "If the first Rotarians were asked to look forward 100 years, I don’t think they would be close to predicting what we have now”.
 
He went on to explain how inspiring the year has been for him - by how much we do and by the diversity and energy of our Club members and committees. He was inspired by our legacy - the Centennial put into perspective the incredible work our Club has done. He touched on how many ways were are "people of action", and was reminded "how much we are a family".
 
President Jules took this year as an opportunity to be more hand-on in terms of service, and he said "this brought me more satisfaction than anything else I did this year". He went on to explain how Rotary, as a global organization, can change the world, and touched on examples such as the Miracle Field, the Iron Lung we had in our museum exhibition (and what it represents) and how one Monday meeting presenter in particular, Major Catherine Wollocombe, had an effect on him when she stated "A 15-yr-old girl there has a higher likelihood of dying in childbirth than of completing high school." We can make a difference.
 
As part of his points on evolution, he explained how we need to recognize the changing workforce. As of now, this includes 2 significant steps: 1) No more tracked attendance. He qualified this by saying that "if you want to be an engaged member, you will find ways to be engaged". 2) A proposal for a Satellite Club for those who can not make the Monday meetings is in the works (more details to follow in 2019-20). He challenged each member of the Club to give 2 hours a month for service, asking if we can be "People of Action". We have recognized evolving values and beliefs, and how even though our members may disagree on certain subjects, "even if unable to understand the other person’s position, for the most part Rotarians expressed and conducted themselves with great respect and good faith".
 
He concluded by thanking the office, the Board of Directors of both the Club and the Foundation, the Club Executive and his wife and family.
 
"I am proud to have served as your President this year. I will be proud to continue to serve in our Club. And I ask you to be proud with me – and let it be known by your actions that Rotary International – and specifically Windsor 1918 – are and will remain the best service organizations in the world. Thank You."
 

Click here for more pictures from this meeting (courtesy of Gordon Drake)