Monday, June 26, 2006
President Peter's Farewell Address
and exit dance
President Peter has led us through a year of humour and development. The club continues to reshape itself into a more realistic, modern service organization. We have much to be proud of both in our local and international programs. We have adjusted our office facilities and financial situation with the help of a dedicated team of Rotarians. Peter summed up his year as he passed over the leadership reins to Rotarian Maureen Lucas.
President Peter's Farewell Address
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Monday, June 19, 2006
Chris Curtis
Children's Author
Chris Curtis is a full-time writer. He and his wife, our Rotarian Kay Curtis, have two children, Steven and Cydney. The Curtis family lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Chris is an accomplished speaker. In his talk, he showed us his ability to laugh at himself and the world around him. He engaged the audience in his presentation through an interactive and humourous mode that simulated a good buddy telling a group of his friends about things that had happened to him on his road to becoming a successful author. Chris described how his career as a writer began from early attempts at entering writing contests with stories based on childhood experiences. He was not successful in the contests but his story telling talent was eventually recognized by a major publishing house. His children's books have become classics.
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Monday, June 12, 2006
Chief Glenn Stannard
Windsor Police Services
President nominee Shari will be presiding
Note: This meeting will be held at
the Major F. A. Tilston V.C. Armory Police Training Centre
at
4007 Sandwich St. W. (click on address for a map)
Monday, June 5, 2006
Jonathan Allison
Make a Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Southwestern Ontario grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. They are commemorating 20 years of wish granting celebrating over 500 wishes granted.
Jonathan Allison gave us an overview of the Make a Wish
Foundation. Each wish costs between $6,000 and $7,000.
Wishes are granted to very sick children. A wish provides the
opportunity to see pure joy in a child’s eyes. Volunteers are very
important to the Foundation. Your help is needed to continue to
make memories for the children. Their website is www.wish.org
The Rotary - 5 club - Windsor Area Joint Club Meeting took place on Tuesday, June 6th at Noon at the Fogolar Furlan Club.
Each club gave out its' Rotarian of the Year award.
Rotary (1918) calls this annual award, The Eli Goldin Award.
John McGivney, Rotary (1918) 2006 Eli Goldin Award winner
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the June 6, 2006 meeting pictures with captions.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Club Assembly
plus Spelling Bee
High School Champs vs. selected Rotarians
With patience persistence, Jordynne Ropat spelled her way to success, winning the CanWest CanSpell Regional Spelling Bee......
The 12-year-old Grade 7 student from Windsor came within a word of losing and burst into tears during a dramatic, spellbinding finale.
But she persevered, lasting 13 rounds in the competition hosted by The Windsor Star at St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School in LaSalle.
Her challenger, Magdalene Friesen, 13, in Grade 8 at Mount Carmel school in Blytheswood, was unable to correctly spell two words consecutively. That meant Jordynne was still in the competition. She went on to win, correctly spelling rutabaga, which Magdalene had misspelled, then labyrinth -- the winning word.
Our brave Rotary spelling team placed second in the two team contest at our regular meeting.
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Monday, May 22, 2006
No meeting…..Victoria Day
Victoria Day, The Sovereign's Birthday, and sometimes referred to as Firecracker Day, has been celebrated in Canada since the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901).
In recent years, fireworks displays have migrated from Victoria Day to Canada Day (July 1).
May 24, Queen Victoria's birthday, was declared a holiday by the Legislature of the Province of Canada in 1845. Canada observes Victoria Day according to a 1952 amendment to the Statutes of Canada which established the celebration of Victoria Day on the Monday preceding May 25.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Dr. Clare MacLeod Secondary School Volunteer Awards
Each year awards are presented to top volunteers from each of the local high schools. It is amazing to hear about the good works that these students have performed while they carry on with their studies.
The late Clare Macleod, our resident philosopher, spoke to us many times during his Rotary tenure. Here is an summary of one of his talks given on May 31, 1999.
"People and Progress"
Clare spoke about some of the changes that have taken place throughout this century, pondering on
whether they represented "real progress". His talk was saluted with a standing ovation.
He defined true progress in his own unique set of terms:
- it must be related to happiness - a feeling of well being, empowerment and freedom encased
in a framework of responsibility and accountability
- it suggests an improved standard of living that is not just an accumulation of goods and
services
- it requires that value and judgmental changes shape our entrepreneurial spirit to create
harmony with nature and the environment
- it is imperative that we increase our productivity to pay for society's protective
institutions
- it is enhanced by technological improvements affecting both science and medicine
- there must be adequate opportunity to enjoy leisure time for pursuit of the needs of the
philosophical side of humankind
- there needs to be a recognition of the true worth of individuals that is not just based on
hero or celebrity worship
- we must develop an understanding to accompany our exploding knowledge database
- society must pay due attention to the values and discipline of the family unit in order to
control the social problems that a civilization generates in the decline of these basic values
Our Club honoured local high school volunteers
during the May 15th regular meeting
Photo taken by D.G. Jim Karolyi
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Monday, May 8, 2006
Joint Luncheon Meeting with
The Salvation Army Advisory Board
Restoring Hope - Rebuilding Lives
Major Byron Jacobs
Team Leader in the Salvation Army relief effort in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Major Jacobs presented a slide show of pictures taken in Biloxi two months after Hurricane Katrina. He spoke of his experiences in the area while working as a Salvation Army volunteer. He spoke of the Army's mission as "providing relief to the afflicted". He told his story in a "What if" fashion emphasizing his belief in the maxim that "the impossible is not impossible". He talked of the cooperation achieved by an amalgam of religious and service groups from all over the world who acted as a team to bring relief and hope in the aftermath of the disaster. The Major reported that most of the people he met in the area were sincere in their expression of need. He said that "everyone has a story to tell".
Byron listed in straightforward terms a catalogue of the relief effort given and how donations to the salvation army were and are being put to use.
The Salvation Army, with its millions of volunteers worldwide, has a proven track record that dates back over 120 years in Canada. It is one of the world's largest providers of social services and one of the most trusted. It serves in providing those in need with the basic necessities of life - food, shelter and warmth.
The Community of Windsor-Essex County placed great faith in The Salvation Army in 2005 by entrusting to it significant contributions to be used in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Our special guest speaker provided information as to how those monies were used.
The Salvation Army Great Lakes Divisional Seniors' Band provided us with quality enjoyable music.
We were also given the opportunity to express a warm welcome to the Rotary GSE Team from Brazil.
The Salvation Army would like the public to be aware that donations can be made securely at https://secure.salvationarmy.org/. Details of The Salvation Army's response to the disasters presently facing the USA can be found at http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/.
Click here for a photo gallery showing meeting pictures with captions.
Monday, May 1, 2006
Presidential Exchange Day
Our meeting was chaired by
the current President of The Detroit Rotary Club
Walter R. (Trey) Greene III
Linda Morrow
Manager Community Planning and Research United Way
took us through the
"Well Being Report for United Way"
From September to November each year, individual businesses and institutions throughout Windsor and Essex County host United Way Workplace Campaigns. The fall Campaign is United Way/Centraide's largest fundraising push for the year, a time when we invite all supporters of United Way to rally together to show that we care about the community in which we live.
Rotary (1918) President Peter Hrastovec at the Detroit Club on April 26. He chaired the meeting that day and survived an impeachment vote!
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Monday, April 24, 2006
Bob Claxton (former Windsor 1918 member)
Senior Pastor, St. Albert Alliance Church
St. Albert AB
"What I did with my Ralph Bucks:
One Albertan's Odyssey"
Western wear was in order for this meeting - a Cowboy Hat, or whatever.
Bob Claxton's farewell meeting at Rotary (1918) took place in March of 2002 as he left to assume a new post in Alberta. He has an energetic and charismatic leadership style.
Bob left us with an inspirational message about our power to control our own lives through our attitudes.
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Monday, April 17, 2006
Club Assembly
What are called Club Assemblies are held at intervals during the year, certainly at midyear. They have no administrative functions but they sustain club activity and offer opportunities to appraise the club's service activities and to exchange ideas on how to make the programs and service projects more effective.
Rotarian Walter Willms led us through a session of ByLaw Revisions designed to bring our club in line with changes in the International ByLaws and our own constitution.
At the conclusion of his presentation Walter asked club members to read up on the proposed ByLaws and if they felt further alterations were necessary, he invited them to attend a meeting at the Childrens' Safety Village at 7PM on Wednesday, April 26th and come prepared to offer their input.
President Peter thanked Walter for his revision work. He then asked the Rotarians in the audience to give examples of how they had met his previous week's challenge to find innovative ways to put the 4-way test message before the non Rotarian world.
There were several suggestions brought forward - some of which were already put into action.
Click here for a photo gallery showing meeting pictures with captions.
Monday, April 10, 2006
William Payne
World Peace Scholar 2003- 2005,
Rotary World Peace Scholars program
"World Peace/Conflict Resolution"
William Payne, Rotary World Peace Scholar - presented information about the Rotary World Peace Scholars program, and the work of Christian Peacemakers Teams in conflict zones. He spoke generally about the concept of nonviolent intervention in conflict situations and how Rotary International is deeply committed to the peace process.
Bill read and elaborated on passages from the book "Seven Paths to Peace" by Robert Stewart, Rotary Club of Okotoks, Alberta , Canada, published in 1959.
The seven paths described are:
Patriotism, Conciliation, Freedom, Progress, Justice, Sacrifice and Loyalty.
Other Rotary Code guidelines that impact on peace
Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace
Where the Paths Begin - Rotary and Politics
"The world is dangerous not because of those who do harm, but because of those who look at it without doing anything."
Albert Einstein
In celebration of Opening Day for the Detroit Tigers and the new baseball season, members brought an unwanted baseball cap/sports hat
for donation to the Nicaragua 2006 project.
Also, every Rotarian was encouraged to wear their favourite hat - baseball or otherwise!
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Monday, April 3, 2006
Marty Gervais
Baseball
C.H. (Marty) Gervais was born in Windsor in 1946 and grew up in Bracebridge. He received his B.A. from the University of Guelph and his M.A. from the University of Windsor where he studied writing under Morley Callaghan. The recipient of numerous journalism awards in his lengthy career as a journalist at The Windsor Star, and lauded for his book The Rumrunners, a history of Prohibition in Canada, Gervais has also won recognition for his creative writing. With Autobiographies he was runner-up in the Milton Acorn Memorial People's Poetry competition in 1989.
He is a poet, playwright, historian, editor, journalist, and publisher. As a journalist he writes a weekly column on books for the Windsor Star.
Publication List University of Windsor Bookstore.
Marty is a baseball fan. In 1955, he and his brother buried a can containing a Mickey Mantle baseball card near their school (which has since been demolished). The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card is one of the most valuable sports cards in the world. In pristine condition, it could sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
See the CBC story
Reno Marty's 3 day book
Marty Gervais has written a new novel about a young polio victim who idolizes his home town hero, major league baseball player and Canadian Hall-of-Famer Reno Bertoia.
Click here for a photo gallery showing meeting pictures with captions.
Last Revised: June 30, 2006
Upcoming meetings Page