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Gregory Bodogh-Darte gave the blessing and Don Shaw lead O Canada.
President Tom welcomed all and introduced the head table: Angus Adams, Donald Ziraldo, Sergeant-at-Arms Stuart Butler, Pat Rooney and Graham Kennedy, who introduced today’s guests.
Guests
Rev. Kennedy then introduced the following guests:
Arthur Zinn was guest of Tim Rigby
Carol Henderson guest of Betty-Lou souter
Kenji Matsomoto-Rotary Exchange Student
Aurora Tancock guest of Chris Bangham
Scott Crocco guest of Scott Heelis
Jim Randal guest of Donald Ziraldo
Joel Chatterton guest of Tom Arkell
Pat Rooney, chair of the Program Committee talked about the function of this committee and reminded Rotarians that there is a long list of potential speakers.
The program is guided by certain criteria, such as monthly theme, classification and visiting Rotarian dignitaries. These criteria impact on our ability to respond in a timely fashion to the many requests to speak to the club.
Birthdays –
Only Rob Reid was on hand to receive his birthday rose.
Announcements:
Ballots were distributed to all members for the election of four new directors. The due date for the ballots is Dec. 20th.
Gregory Bodogh-Darte was thanked for organizing the Family of Rotary get together at Cat’s Caboose this week.
Peggy Davidson was very successful at drumming up additional TV auction dollars through a lively live auction.
Scott Heelis introduced our newest member, Scott Crocco, an associate with Heelis, Williams, Little and Almas. Scott was born and raised in Fonthill and grew up with Scott H. He is a graduate of Dalhousie Law School and while at school spent his free time playing in a blues/ R&R band, which he continues to do on weekends in Toronto. Scott is another member who continues to bring the average age of the club down. Welcome Scott.
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Scott Heelis, President Tom & Scott Crocco |
50/50
Scott Heelis drew the 10 of diamonds. Better luck next time.
Happy Dollars:
New Rotarian Jinnie Gordon was happy to be a new member and thought that her chiropractor would be pleased to know that she went skiing this week. Ginni’s photo taken by Roger probably reflects how most of us feel when he takes our picture for the Gossip Sheet.
Chris Blake just returned from a whirlwind trip to England to be with his daughter Maggie for her graduation with an MA in Theatre. And he is equally happy because she is doing her first paid acting job since graduation at the BBC
Peggy Davidson thanked Gregory for organizing a great party at Cat’s. She also spoke about the impact on her in volunteering for the Out of the Cold program.
Henry Klassen has just returned from visiting Quebec, Costa Rica and South Carolina and will soon be heading off to South Africa. He welcomed Scott, indirectly, with yet another disparaginging joke about lawyers.
Coletta McGrath encouraged members to sign up for the Bayshore draw, as the winner will be able to direct the $5,000 prize to the local food bank.
Gregory Bodogh-Darte thanked his committee and said that the leftover food was given to The Raft.
John Crossingham gave a rebuttal to the bad lawyer joke, welcomed Scott and announced that his son is the new editor of Owl Publications.
Rev. Graham Kennedy talked about one of the miracles of Christmas that took place at his church’s recent concert, where some of the Out of the Cold folks joined the congregation in the audience, removing the upstairs/downstairs stigma.
Pat Rooney was happy to read in the latest issue of The Rotarian of the meritorious service of Valerie Leibers from England, recounting also that she played host to our Ambassadorial Scholar, Andrew Bowles. She also has a pair of Symphony tickets available for their Dec. 16th concert that she’s willing to auction off, with the proceeds going to charity.
Program:
Dr. Angus Adams introduced former Rotarian Donald Ziraldo, recounting his roots in St. Catharines, his many accomplishments and with impeccable timing seemed to announce that Donald, who had been a confirmed bachelor until 2006, that in 1976 he was the father of…Inniskillen Wines. Needless to say, Donald turned beet red anticipating to what Angus was referring.
Donald spoke fondly of his time at Rotary mentioning Gerry Wooll, Don Fraser, and Bill Ford. 2006 was a transformative year for him, selling Inniskillen in June, getting married in July and severing ties with the winery in November. He was approached to chair an advisory panel tasked with determining the future for the Vineland Research Station.
The resulting report, available at www.vinelandontario.ca, lays out the vision for revitalizing the station as an internationally recognized research institute and incubator of commercialization opportunities in the agriculture sector. The research undertaken will be driven by its application and practicability to moving the sector forward. He also spoke of the tourism potential of the Station, especially given its location adjacent to the QEW.
The vision shows the Station as the hub for various sectors involved in the industry: Niagara College, CCOVI at Brock, McMaster University, Univ. of Guelph, and both the federal and provincial agriculture departments. The vision also reflects working with other related stakeholders around the world.
Dr. Jim Brandle was hired as the CEO and is tasked, along with the board, in moving the vision forward. Donald’s main role is to secure sustainable support to realize the vision.
Donald also spoke about the 100 Mile Diet and the Local Foods Plus (LFP) initiative, encouraging members to buy local as much as possible. The LFP program will lead to individual tax credits that will ultimately support the local farmer.
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Donald Ziraldo makes a point |
Brian St. Hilaire thanked Donald for his leadership on so many fronts and in particular his work on revitalizing the Vineland Research Station.
President Tom also thanked Donald.
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Donald Ziraldo & President Tom |
NEXT WEEK’S PROGRAM
Saulis Zamatis on the Stokes Community Village
The Rotary International Convention is taking place in Los Angeles from June 15 – 18, 2008. You have until December 15, 2007 to take advantage of the early bird registration rate. Go to www.Rotary2008.com to register.
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