Please join us at St. Paul's Anglican Church, corner of Montreal and Queen Streets, 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.
Guests of the Club: Jackie Blakney (Ana Sutherland) and Art Dolan (Rick Frasso)
Youth Exchange: Maya Bergensen
Visiting Rotarians
None this week
Makeups
Robert Reid, Elizabeth Cohoe – National Committee
Greta DuBois – Centennial Committee meeting
Member Sharing
Fun Master (John Gale)
Pay a buck if you:
didn’t see Maya jump in the lake
are a retired Naval officer sitting in the corner
are not wearing your Rotary pins
Happy/Sad Bucks
John Gale sang in two wonderful concerts Saturday with Open Voices; great guest artist; Francine and her mother were there
Greta: (1) India is waiting for us and we are going. Leaving Saturday 3 pm, rear parking lot of Assurance Solutions, Gardners Road. ExecuTrans. (2) So many of club going that the club is shutting down for two weeks. Amazing (9 members going, 3 from e-club)
Rick saw Cooler than Absolute Zero do the polar plunge. They all went to Milestones for brunch.
John Farrow: Hopefully, next time won’t have the cast on his leg. He’ll have a couple of weeks of physiotherapy and will be happy to walk his dog.
Elizabeth $5. Really Happy. Golden Rescue, with rescue in Istanbul, Turkey, where dogs are turned loose if people can’t care for them. Went to Pearson, met Leia, who will be their new dog companion.
John Richards: to spend time with grandsons. Excited to see collaboration with Focus Forward.
Maya $2: Polar Plunge, raised $740 (total over $50K) for Special Olympics. Her pic in Whig. 2. Started second semester; spoke with her teachers, introduced to her courses.
John Gale: How many people know how far north is Mikwemkoong? Similar latitude as Ottawa. About 40 minutes from Espanola.
Jackie. Why I want to join Rotary. How grateful for a roof over her head, opportunity.
Murray: heading tomorrow to Myrtle Beach to play golf with Bob.
Venus and Mars wait for the Rotary Friendship Exchange flight to India!
Service Activites
Club Business
pre-meeting: John Farrow showed video of the three Youth Exchange bears participating in the Polar Plunge Sunday February 3rd. See it at;
This morning the spotlight was shared by our National and Membership Committees.
National Committee Update
Ana Sutherland presented two videos and a slide show of a project that we participated in with Focus Forward for Indigenous Youth. It was a shared presentation by Evan Barianrd (spelling?) from Focus Forward for Indigenous Youth. The Friendship Exchange Team will take this presentation to India, and speak with them about sharing a project with them. Included were interviews with the teachers and the students on benefits to them and their community. The greenhouse will support the growing of vegetables including several varieties of corn. It is a life-changing project for youth involved.
The Greenhouse Project, Wikwemkoong First Nation Greenhouse for Change is a way to provide learning opportunities for youth and food for the community. This sustainable project taught the local Indigenous youth on Manitoulin Island how to build greenhouse, working in greenhouse, planting, harvesting, composting, and making pellets for pellet stoves through harvesting forest left-overs. There are many opportunities for growth and development, and interviews with the high school students reflected their enthusiasm and the new skills they learned, from planning, constructing, and managing the greenhouse . This can really change a Nation, a village.“Not a lot of kids to have the opportunity to go out and build another part of their school, their community.” a student said. Food will will be planted in the ground, in boxes, and aerially. The greenhouse will be heated with a pellet stove. Only the south side is exposed to the elements, saving energy.
The project video will be posted soon. Kudos to Robert and the National Committee for their great work.
Membership Committee update
Ana gave details, almost finalized, of the new membership category, Friends of Rotary. The guidelines include the privilege of attending Rotary meetings, pay as you go breakfast, participation in fundraisers, soliciting funds for Rotary projects, wearing a special badge, orientation etc. Once the terms are in final form, they will be brought forward to the Board and the Club. Dues will cover insurance and other marginal costs. Limitations: A Friend of Rotary will not be a club member, will not be a voting member of any committee, will not hold office, won’t wear the Rotary wheel. Friends will have separate name tags and badges. Being a Friend is a great beginning to Rotary, part of the continuity of being involved in Rotary. It can include corporations and other groups.
Q: Would a Friend qualify to go on a Friendship Exchange? (good discussion), but no definitive answer.
Q: Fee. A: $150/year
Q: Could they evaluate project proposals? A: Input would be welcome but no ranking of projects would be permitted.
The Membership Committee would welcome whatever input Club members would have on this issue.
