Peggy Davidson

President Rick called the meeting to order today at 12:27 pm at the St. Catharines Golf & Country Club. Seated at the head table were

Guest Speaker Introducer: Ian Ellingham
Guest Speaker: Arlene White, Binational Tourism Alliance
President: Rick Merritt
Sergeant-at-Arms: Bill Cole
Guest Introducer: Peggy Davidson

Today’s Guests were:
VISITING ROTARIANS
Mary Rogers - St Catharines Sunrise

OTHER GUESTS
Heidi Wilson – guest of Judith Barker

BIRTHDAYS: George Darte, Terry Kellar and Rachel Delaney

George Darte and Rachel Delaney

GRACE: Dave McAdam

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Pat Rooney is holding Program Committee meeting on Monday January 22 at Rodman Hall at 5pm.

Nancy Ferris-Hostick is calling a wrap-up meeting for the TV Auction on January 15 at 5:30 at the Golf Club.

Betty Lou Souter will host a Literacy Committee meeting on Monday January 15 at 5 pm at the Community Care office at 129 Church St.

The regular Club Board meeting will take place this coming Tuesday.

Ron Sloan will host a Charitable Trust meeting at his table right after today’s meeting,

Betty Lou Souter thanked the club for its Happy Dollars contribution to Community Care on December 21, amounting to $353.

HAPPY DOLLARS

Alex McKee

Were solicited by Alex McKee who credited the Dr. Bernstein diet in effecting some significant material changes in his life.

George Shepherd noted that his family now numbered 20, including 3 great-grandsons and 1 great-granddaughter. Everybody agreed that George is pretty great too as his PSA number is dramatically lower.

George Doty, now to be known as “Young George” as he is 3 years younger than George Shepherd, told us that his education continues at Brock, auditing a course on the Western Plains.

Rachel Delaney noted that as she is a January baby, she was always the oldest in her class, but was pleased to note that when she joined Rotary, she felt much younger.

Norma Medulun revealed the comings and goings of her son and his house construction, which means that he will be “visiting” with Mom until August, and that she is expecting a grandchild in June.

Liz Palmieri is circling the block, looking for a downtown parking spot.

Oraine De Rosa told us about her daughter’s journalism studies at Carleton and how she got roped into a trip to Cancun.

50/50 Draw: Larry Iggulden drew the 6 of spades and missed out on $1177.45. The suspense continues.

PROGRAM

Ian Ellingham

Ian Ellingham introduced Arlene White, who was raised in St Catharines and studied at the University of Waterloo and worked for the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism before becoming the Executive Director of the Binational Tourism alliance in 2005.

Arlene talked about the Alliance, and its mandate to look at issues of tourism on both sides of the border, in order to collaborate on issues of regulation and marketing. She told us about how, in the past 20 years, the issues have changed radically and the need to find a common language is critical.

One of the key successes of the BNTA is the International “Doors Open” program, which highlights the co-operation and heritage products on both sides of the river. In spite of this past October’s devastating and completely unexpected snowstorm that put a serious damper on potential visitation, the Doors Open event attracted 10,000 visitors to 111 architectural and heritage “treasures”. She stressed that an event such as this is just as much about co-operation as the attractions themselves.

Arlene White

Arlene cited 4 key issues in the local (binational) tourism sector:

1. The expansion of global trade and travel opportunities, which places the burden on us to develop and promote authentic experiences.

2. The Internet revolution, which allows travelers to research and compare destinations, including their relative value and services. It is estimated that 60-75% of travelers now use the worldwide web to plan travel experiences.

3. Security issues, especially at our local border crossings, where misinformation abounds. The Western Hemisphere Travel Iniatiative, which may lead to the requirements of all travelers to have a passport to enter the USA, may have deep implications for our tourism industry.

4. Customers who have “been there, done that” and are becoming increasingly fickle, as well as sophisticated in their travel choices.

She also made the point that tourism is not only a great learning tool; it can be a great community-builder, by developing community pride as well as community wealth.

Coletta McGrath asked Arlene about the difficulties created by SARS and September 11.

Dan Patterson asked Arlene about the Binational Tourism Summit, to be held March 4-6, 2007. Many high-profile politicians from both countries have been invited and keynote speakers include Dr. Ed Friel a world leader in cultural tourism and Richard Sands, CEO of Constellation Brands, a major player in the wine business.

Bill Williams thanked Arlene for her informative and relevant remarks.

Arlene White and Rick Merritt

Harold Nash

For our Rotary moment President Rick invited Harold Nash to relate the story of how we created the position of 2 nd Vice-President, who is the President-designate 2 years down the road. This position was created as a result of the tragic death of Jim Martin, who died in a plane crash, when he was President-elect in 1976. As a result Larry Smith had to step into the President’s chair very quickly and the club decided to ensure a smoother transition by creating the new position of “next-in-line”. The first person elected to that position was Harold Nash himself, who became our club Prez for 1979-1980. In recognition of this, President Rick presented Harold with a rose that was left unclaimed by one of our birthday celebrants.

NEXT WEEK: Ray Bukovec – Remembering, Part 2, the DP Experience