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.
Elizabeth was again our Fun Master for the day and chose a theme of “Fun with Auction” to encourage members to share stories and successes of our many past Auctions! Some questions posed:
Have you picked up the 2019 Rotary Community Auction Donor Benefits sheets?
Have you talked to one (1) business about the Auction?
Did you know that over the last 7 years, over $330,000 has been reinvested in our local, national and global communities?
Have you considered using the term “participate” rather than “donate” when approaching businesses for items to include in the Auction?
Did you know that promotion for the Auction supporters is broadcast locally by radio, TV, signs and everywhere through social media channels?
Have you considered that all the information for the Auction can fit on a business card?
We then had some Happy Auction success stories from Murray, Elizabeth, Rick, and Howard. The professional fundraisers don’t have the edge over us! Patty let us know that Bill Gray’s list of businesses is available for members…and last year’s customized lists for members will be available soon. Since the email blast to remind past year’s participants has gone out, people are primed to give!
Happy/Sad Bucks
Happy Bucks: Maya for her Hawaiian adventure, John Gale for his Chinese adventure, Greta for her recent feature in Seniors Magazine.
Service Activities
The Rotary Foundation walk is Saturday the 11th of May this year, which is the anniversary of our Club. Perhaps we can all participate! It’s only 2.5 km It starts behind City Hall at 10am. You pay $20 to participate and you receive lunch afterwards. Dogs are welcome! Greta is organizing on our behalf, so please get your $20 to her by the beginning of May.
Everyone registered will get a pledge sheet – please ask your friends and family to sponsor you and make cheques payable to The Rotary Foundation.
From Michelle - The Sisters of Providence have passed on the stewardship of their Heirloom Seed Collection to two organizations. Some of these seeds date back to the 1500's! To see more on this story, click on;
The Rotary Club of Kingston has a special speaker May 16th;
Fellow Rotarians,
In case you have not heard, The Rotary Club of Kingston will be hosting a very special guest speaker at our luncheon on Thurs May 16th. His name is David Lockett and he is a Rotarian in Toronto that many years ago started a program called PACT Urban Peace. PACT stands for Participation, Acknowledgement, Commitment and Transformation and it is an award winning charity that is already supported by 25 Rotary Clubs in Toronto and several in the Belleville/Trenton area. As many of you know, Bernie Robinson has been hard at work over the last 7 years growing a very productive garden at his farm just west of Kingston and donating all the vegetables to the local community to help those in need. His recent focus has targeted those children in need in Kingston’s north end and we have been looking at how to best integrate this into the local schools here in Kingston so that it is educational and sustainable. David’s Grow to Learn program is already entrenched in the Toronto District School Board and his garden had over 4000 student visits last year alone. His program goes one step further by targeting those in trouble with the law and helping them get their lives back in order, helping to prevent them from entering the justice system where it becomes very costly to our social system to house them on a long term basis. Because of David’s programs success he is looking to take the idea worldwide with Rotary. He has the blueprint for his program that he is looking to share with us in Kingston as a pilot and the reason for the pre-meeting dinner is that he would like a chance to discuss this with us and so that we garner some very healthy support to attract a very good crowd of influential people from Kingston for his official presentation on May 16th.
Morning everyone!
I can confirm that David Lockett's presentation to Rotarians and friends will be at St. Lawrence College on May 16 beginning at 11:45 am in the new conference center. Lunch (buffet style) put on by Tulips and Maple will be served promptly at noon. The buffet features roast chicken breast with Farro cremini mushrooms with baby spinach, risotto & chef’s salad. A vegetarian option will be included. The cost for the lunch is $25. David will speak when lunch is finished. The event should be concluded by 1:30 pm.
Please confirm numbers attending from your club to me by May 2.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Looking forward to it!
Paul Elsley
elsleypaul@gmail.com
Club Business
Some board positions still open – President Elect; Treasurer; Foundation (Greta leaving in June to focus on Friendship Exchange)
New Member Proposal;
A new member application has been received and approved by the membership committee for Jackie Blakney. Jackie has completed all the requirements for membership. She has been in business in Kingston for past 20 years
Jackie is active in Re-Max Realty with business partner Tim Barber
Jackie wants to be active in community through service and other opportunities to give back to society.
Please direct any comments to Rick Frasso, membership Director.
Jackie's induction date is scheduled for April 30th.
Jackie's bio;
I was born in Kingston and raised everywhere. Proud daughter of Del and Jackie Blakney and my military heritage (base brat :) I have a very large loving family that are my why in life especially my two sons Chris and David.
I graduated from Georgian College in the early 80's and became a law clerk, specializing in real estate law. A career I followed for over 20 years taking me from Barrie to Toronto to North Bay and Pembroke and finally bringing me back to settle in Kingston in 1995. I worked for the law firm of Viner Kennedy et al for 9 years. This is my 15th year in real estate; a career I truly love. I have a passion for helping people achieve their dreams which is what I attribute to my success. During my 15 years I have grown from a single agent to a team of 7 licensed agents and two administrators with a branch office. I obtained my Brokers designation, IRES (international real estate specialist) and ASA (accredited senior agent). I have spent several years on the KAREA real estate board. I love education and strive to continuously improve in all aspects of life.
I have various other volunteer activities including diabetes (near and dear to my heart because of my dad). I volunteered with the Kingston City Police as a volunteer etc.
Announcements
April 17th - Auction Meeting, Kingston Dodge 5 pm
April 24th – Board meeting
April 24th - Grant Adjudication Meeting 5 pm
April 25th – Benefit dinner for The Mess
May 4th - Joe's Mill Music Festival - Downtown Kingston
May 4th - Roatry Park clean-up, 10 am to 12 noon, gloves provided
May 8thBoard meeting at Response IT at 7am
May 10thHeritage Fair at Donald Gordon Centre, 9:30 am to 4 pm
May 11th – Foundation Walk; Trixie Lou and President Rick will be participating
May 16th - National Committee meeting, The Sanctuary, 8 am
May 23rdGiggles, Grapes & Brew; Kingston Club fundraiser
May 23rd - Youth Committee meeting at Sizzles, 7 am
May 24th Almost Home Annual Charity Golf Tournament 1PM shot-gun start, $130 per golfer or per team
May 28th – Pat Brown classification speech
June 11th - Mayor’s Address at Seniors Centre on Francis Street will replace our regular meeting. 7AM breakfast and your meeting cards can be used or cash at the door.
June 12thBoard meeting at Response IT at 7am
June 19th - Auction Committee, Kingston Dodge, 5 pm, cookies provided
August 1stCamp Merrywood BBQ
Chase the Ace!
Rick Frasso won the daily draw but failed to come up “Aces”.
Murray introduced Kraig and welcomed him. Kraig noted that in his business, if you aren’t hearing back from people then maybe your method of communication isn’t right (a thought for auction action). Kraig has been with WPBS for over 11 years in various roles, and now leads the fundraising, programming and development.
Some facts and history:
WPBS Watertown has 2 towers in northern NY and broadcasts into Canada, boasting a membership base of 70% Canadians. As a public broadcaster, WPBS has a public mission and is a distributor of programs not a creator of content, and relies on non-advertising revenue – over 25% from memberships held by “viewers like you” - to fulfill its mission on the public airwaves. Decisions have been made locally since 1958, when the station began with a 1 hour broadcast of the Boy Scouts program, and through its affiliation with PBS which began in 1969. In 1998 it changed its call letters to “WPBS”. In 2009, members banded together to avoid having the channel dropped by Rogers as part of the basic package…a great illustration of how committed the membership is to the WPBS station and how raising one’s voice has an impact. PBS has been voted #1 in viewer trust for 16 years.
Kraig reviewed some of the production at the station and asked something of us: “if you had a TV station, what would you do with it?” District 7040 leadership is exploring ways to partner with WPBS (Kraig is joining a Watertown Rotary Club).
Editor's note: Just to add to Michelle's coverage, I spoke with Kraig at length at breakfast. He is born and raised in Carthage, near Watertown, and studied broadcast journalism, but decided his place was behind the scenes, not in front of a camera (although I think we all agree he would be excellent in that role). He is a dynamic young man who will make a great addition to District 7040, and we will probably see more of him as he explores the possibility of partnerships with our District
Following some questions from Rotary members, Ana thanked Kraig for his enthusiastic and informative presentation.
