Meeting Report October 9th, 2018
President’s Announcements
The Annual General Meeting of the club will be held on December 11th. There are many board positions to fill, including president elect, treasurer, and directors for club admin, as well as PR and communications. We will also need a Sergeant at Arms.
The charter night for the new Rotary Club of Ottawa Metro is taking place on October 15th. John Farrow has offered to drive up and back the same evening, and still has room for two more. He will leave at 5pm from the parking lot at Highway 15 and the 401 highway.
Bernie Allard underwent some emergency surgery this week, and is recovering now.
Friendship Exchange to India
Greta Dubois gave members an update on plans for the Friendship Exchange to India, as more information has been received now. Greta explained the visa process. A group fare has been arranged with British Airways, and a deposit will be necessary. Nine people have signed up for the trip so there is only room for three more. The group will leave on February 9th and because of time differences, will arrive on February 11th. The trip will extend until the return to Toronto on February 23rd.
Ana talked about the food to expect. Lots of fish and rice, and spices. (spicy being interpreted as “hot”.)
Greta explained the clothing expectations in India.
Foundation
Greta announced that there will be a speaker from The Rotary Foundation on October 23rd, and the topic will be Polio.
Community Paul Harris Awards
These will take place at our Tuesday morning meeting on November 20th. The four recipients are Mary Farrar, Ona Got Tay, Raymond Vos, and Doug van der Horden.
Guests, Visiting Rotarians and Make ups
Anna read the Acknowledgement of Territory, and went on to introduce one guest, Maya Bergerson, our exchange student. There were no visiting Rotarians. Make ups were recorded for Elizabeth Cohoe, Ana Sutherland, Robert Reid and Bill Egnatoff for attendance at a new interest group which will be known as Anishinabe Iitook Odee – Like Hearted People. This group will be meeting with local indigenous people in order to promote better understanding, trust, and friendship. Bill Gray was also in attendance.
Rick Frasso reported a make up for the Chamber of Commerce Expo.
Geography Lesson
Michelle Chatten-Fiedorec brought out a globe. Using it, she showed us just how far southern India is from here…on the other side of the world. Also, having heard that there has actually been some confusion about where Maya comes from (I think this happened south of the border) she showed us where Norway lies in relation to Kingston. Apparently, someone actually asked Maya where Norway is, thinking it was Norway Michigan.
More Announcements
A fun meeting so far, and still waiting for the speaker to arrive, we went to a few more announcements from the floor.
Ron Pols thanked everyone for the card and other condolences received from members for the loss of his mother.
Elizabeth announced that Terri Hodges had now published the schedule for the fall grants process, with links to the proposals to be provided to all members by October 10th. She stressed the importance of participating in this adjudication process.
John Farrow said that there is no Bingo this week, but one volunteer is still needed for the 8 o’clock Bingo on October 25th.
John announced that there are now 242 items posted on the auction website, and we should soon reach the 250 mark. In speaking of when items can be submitted, he said, “It’s never too early to start, and never too late to quit.”
Fun Master John Farrow…again
John levied fines for anyone who wasn’t wearing a Rotary pin, and everyone who did not bring a Jembe (strange looking drum) today. Anyone who had not done a Bingo since July 1st was fined, and all who did not have turkey over the long weekend.
Happy Bucks: John paid $2 to tell a story that his daughter brought home from tutoring. One of the students in a class told the teacher that she looked a lot like Stormy Daniels, meaning it as a compliment. Funny because the topic was Ten Reasons Why its Good to be Media Savvy.
John Gale was happy to report a great sail the day before. They had been at their cottage earlier with plans to attend Thanksgiving dinner with Jerri’s daughter. Everyone there ended up sick, so John and Jerri ended up with chicken for two, plus the food that they were going to bring to the big family dinner.
Greta was pleased to report that she had had Thanksgiving dinner with some neighbors, and that it was the first time in her life she tasted pumpkin pie. She reported that it had whiskey in it, and it was wonderful!
Maya told us that she had ham for Thanksgiving dinner along with pumpkin cheesecake. A little twist on the traditional.
Ana reported a very noisy Thanksgiving with four out of five kids home with all the grandchildren.
Doug was happy to be able to watch lots of baseball over the holiday weekend, because two out of three of his kids are baseball fans.
Rick Fiedorec is happy that hockey season (that he plays) has started.
Rick Frasso is now employing Martin Sherris in his office, in a sales role. He was happy to report that a satellite office is coming soon to the west end of the city.
The weekly draw was won by Ana Sutherland, but she missed the Ace of Diamonds. It’s still there folks. Be sure to play for the big prize.
Meeting recorded by Elizabeth Cohoe
