Please join us at Odd Fellows Hall, 218 Concession Street, Kingston ON.
The Rotary Four Way Test
Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned
Rotary Reflection
For food in a world where many walk in hunger
For peace in a world where many walk in fear
For friends in a world where many walk alone
And for the opportunity to serve others through Rotary,
May we be truly thankful!
The Loyal Toast
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Queen of Canada!
Acknowledgement of Territory
We are gathered on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory. we are grateful to be able to join together in Rotary Fellowship on these lands.
The meeting opened with the singing of the National Anthem and acknowledgement of territory.
Guests: Onagottay, guest of the club
Friends of Rotary: Heather Nogrady and Jim Rymerson
Visiting Rotarians: None
Service Commitments (Makeups):Elizabeth Cohoe, Lunch by George; Bernie Allard, Ottawa Downtown and West Ottawa; Ana Sutherland, International Committee, Garden #9 visit, Adventures in History; John Gale, President’s Council, International Service Committee; Greg Mumford, The Mess opening
Member Sharing
Fun Master - Ron Pols
John Farrow: a buck for not introducing Claire at our table, and a buck for refusing to pass the plate.
Ron's October quiz;
October birthstone? Peridot
October flower? Marigold
October 3rd birthday – what’s your sign? Libra
Which well-known rock musician was born in October? John Cougar Mellencamp
What famous US landmark opened Oct 9th, 1888? Washington Monument
Happy/Sad Bucks
Greta: wonderful time yesterday visiting the kitchen at the Mess. Also saw a small painting that I recognized from a previous visit and I bought it. AND I went to #9 Gardens and it was an interesting visit.
Michelle: Hailey and Lauren from Belleville hosted during Adventures in History. Looked through my old yearbooks and some of the same teachers are still at my Alma Mater!
Bill E: Thank you everyone for helping with Adventures in History! Especially John and Ana - hope I didn’t forget anyone. Also went on the visit to the Mess and the new kitchen is awesome!
Robert: Confession dollar: Sent out an email re: #9 Garden asking everyone to wear their orange shirts, but forgot mine! Last year On’A’Gotay donated paintings to auction and is doing so again this year. (see 3 paintings on the side table 2 are Krieghoff prints)
Jackie: My sister is finished her breast cancer treatment J
John: Saw the Mess kitchen and also secured a painting for the auction. They’re a bit on edge, as the gentleman who passed in the recent incident downtown was a part of their community….
Nominating Claire for Adventures in Technology because she helped with ours this morning!
John Gale: Forgot to wear my orange T-shirt too! So mine’s clean Terri!
Ana: Adventures in History: Bill, Greg, everyone accolades. Heard the summaries on Saturday and they were amazing. Thank you everyone!
John Richards: Happy to introduce Claire but have nothing to say ‘cause she was so busy fixing our tech issues that I didn’t get a chance to chat with her beforehand……..
Greg Mumford
Adventures in Technology is Oct 22-25 in Ottawa. We have a spot, now we need a candidate.
A number of us stopped in at the Mess to see their new kitchen – it’s awesome and they’re SO grateful for our support.
Oct 3rd 10pm Bingo coverage needed!
Robert Reid
Andrew Davies #9 Gardens:
2 Phase project. We looked at the apple orchard space and the Yurt. On’a’Gotay checked out the space and surroundings. We tasted the Liberty apples: drought resistant and very sweet, grown from heirloom seeds.
#9 in Toronto is about Food Security and works with grade 7-9 kids in the GTA, and other projects. The connection with #9 Gardens is that they need to do something physical, and so they’re severed 54 acres from a farm to create the gardens and they’re fundraising and getting government grants.
John Gale
At President’s Council we discussed multiple fund-raising auctions and how we need to co-ordinate in Kingston with Kingston Club and Kingston-Frontenac Club. We’re in discussion only.
International Service Committee – Kingston & Kingston-Frontenac Clubs are talking about joint project potential in East Africa, with Frontenac Club taking the lead. Will report back mid-January and this will be a year or two out.
John Farrow & Greg Mumford, Auction
255 is current gift count – about ½ way! We need a BIG push.
Could someone please take on the job of organizing who goes on CKWS each morning?
John mentioned that Claire’s (Sherlock’s Escapes – our speaker this morning) organization did donate a gift certificate.
President's Announcements
President, Ana Sutherland:
Viva La Mess fundraiser – do we have enough folks for a table on October 26th? Ok. We’ll get a table of 10.
How many people are going to the District conference? 5. John Gale will be making a presentation on Pathways project and we’ll need folks to ‘man’ a spot.
How many people attending mentoring session? 4
Please read the announcements section of the Agenda email
Duty roster for the next bit is now available – please let me know if you’re going to be away, so that I can adjust.
Thank you for your help with the Food Bank.
Ana Sutherland reminded members about the upcoming District Conference that will take place in Clayton NY on Friday and Saturday, November 1st and 2nd. The early-bird discount has been extended. This is an important event for networking with other Rotarians in the District.
Upcoming Dates/Events
Oct 15 - Speaker - New Comers to Kingston and Representative from KEYS
Oct 17 - Pathways 2 Education Mentoring Program Information Session - 4 to 5 PM at KCHC, 263 Weller Ave
Oct 23, 2019 - Auction Committee meeting at Kingston Dodge 5pm
Oct 24 - World Polio Day.
Oct 30 - Community Service Projects Meeting 5:30 to7:30pm Innovation Park, 945 Princess St
Nov 1-3, 2019 - District Conference in Clayton New York
Nov 23rd Networking session for new Canadians, Oddfellows Hall - let's introduce these folks to Rotary!
Dec. 10th 2019 Christmas Party - 6:30 pm at Oddfellows Hall
July 19th, 2020 - Rotary Centennial Birthday Party at Rotary Park
June 25th, 2021 - Rotary Anniversary Gala, St. Lawrence College
Claire joined us this morning to talk about Sherlock's Escapes, a relatively new type of escape room experience in Downtown Kingston, based on the works of Arthur Conan Doyle. Claire began by telling us about her Rotary connection - in Ottawa, when she was 17, Claire was a Rotary exchange student in France!
Claire is a marketing consultant who works online for small businesses. Sherlock’s Escapes is one of her clients, located in Downtown Kingston in the Lasalle Mews. There are several Sherlock Holmes themed rooms, and each room is an active story that you’re launched into the middle of – like you’re in the centre of a board game and you must figure out clues to move from room to room. There are puzzles, locks, hidden passageways and doors, and lots of laughter and good times for everyone are guaranteed! Sherlock's has 4 physical escape rooms, 2 portable rooms and a pop up room. Soon they will be travelling to Thailand to participate in a retreat using an entire hotel as a themed escape. Sherlock's also partners with corporations on team-building retreats.
Escape Rooms are a large challenge to market because you can’t show what they look like, and each room is only good for one experience, assuming you solve the puzzle and don't need to come back to try again. To help, they’ve rebranded recently with a new logo, website, etc. and are trying harder to get the word out. Sherlock's is also developing activities for kids to get them off the couch and interested in active fun. Claire recently was drawing caricatures for kids using the escape rooms (she is also an artist and currently has a show at The Elm Café!). The experience is great for all ages - kids as young as 7 have come in with their grandparents. Couples, families, and even Rotary Clubs can try it! They also travel to parties, weddings, etc. and run puzzle games (dress up style) for up to 100 people. As soon as you enter, you're in Sherlock’s lounge!
Escape Rooms started in Japan – where they are a little more computerized than here in Canada (walking around a room and clicking on consoles for clues). Escape room implementation here is more social and interactive.
Questions:
What are the safety/insurance implications? Many! The Fire Marshall loves us. So everyone's safety is guaranteed, there’s always an open door.
What’s your success rate? About 20%. If you get out in time, you feel REALLY good! And we want you to come back and try again, so we don’t tell you the solution if you fail. 25 minutes is the record!
Claire was thanked for her presentation by John Farrow with a (unlocked) loaf of bread.
