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Terry McDougall said grace, Don Shaw led us in Oh Canada, and we toasted the Queen and Canada
President Tom introduced the Head Table:
George O Darte: to introduce our speaker
Guest speaker: Gregory Bodogh-Darte
President: Tom Arkell
Sergeant-at-arms: Bob Lawler
Rotarian in the Spotlight: Joel Chatterton
Registrar: Ron Sloan
Ron Sloan introduced our Guests:
Pieter and Lola Dirksen and their daughter, parents and sister of former inbound youth exchange student Eric Dirksen. The Dirksens are visiting from Holland.
Rotarian Walter Sendzik received an award from the Ontario Chamber
of Commerce.
Sangeeta sent word that her father Jagdish is having bypass surgery
today.
Bill Schenk sent a note to thank the club for the Paul Harris award. He appreciates the recognition of his volunteer efforts in the rowing community
John Travers presented the club with a banner from the St. Petersberg, Florida Sunrise Club.
Rick Evans introduced Lola Dirksen. Her son Eric sends his greetings to the club. Lola is a member of a Rotary Club in the Netherlands.
Doug Geddie introduced new member Paul Allan to the club. Paul is a St. Catharines native and a Ridley College grad. After graduating from the radio and television program at Ryerson Paul started a production company called Mantis Media in Toronto. Paul is a financial advisor with Freedom 55.
Youth Exchange is still looking for host families for this fall - even a short 3-4 week placement would be very helpful. We have 2 students to host: one from Sweden the one from France.
Collected by Lezlie Murch
Lezlie started off with the happy news she is a grandmother. She is also happy for her son Julio who will be graduating high school and is enrolled at St. Bonaventure University. Also, her 2 students, Eric and Walter are finishing their degrees. Finally, her students from Venezuela are graduating this year.
Bill Finley paid a happy dollar to congratulate Lezlie.
Eugene Gillies is happy wife Sheila is completing her year as May Court President, but unhappy to see her off to Scotland on a holiday.
Angus Adams and his wife are happy to have their daughter visiting from Florida.
John Crossingham enjoyed the district assembly and sends thanks to the organizers.
Liz Palmieri wondered if photo shop would help for a rotary fundraising calendar.
Stuart Butler attended a lecture by Warren Buffet – Warren’s main message was “invest in yourself”.
Vicki Rudachuk welcomed Paul Allan, an old friend of her brother.
Dan Patterson thanked Rachel Delaney for leading the way with the seafood gala. The gala raised $100,000.
Margaret Jarrell announced a successful Hike for Hospice.
Brian St. Hillaire is happy his daughter turned 16 and then hinted about Ted Usick and tutus.
Larry Iggulden is practicing ‘No Comment’. He also enjoyed reading to the students at Centennial School.
Coletta McGrath, co chair of Ribfest sponsorship committee, reminded us Ribfest will be here soon.
John Nitsopoulos is happy the old Howard Johnson is now a Days Inn.
Ted Usick is going on a fishing vacation. He also invites Brian St. Hilaire to put on tights… and join the Men in Tights dance at their daughters’ dance recital.
Paul Allan happy to be invited to join the club.
Joel Chatterton is spending the weekend in London with his scout troup. He is also celebrating his 15th wedding anniversary.
Joel Chatterton
Joel was introduced to the club March 20 2008 is a firefighter with the St. Catharines Fire Department. Joel is currently acting captain. Joel has been the chairman of 2 Firefighter Calendars. Joel is currently working on a B.A in Public Administration in Fire Service. Joel is a scout troup leader and lives in St. Catharines with his wife and daughter.
Iggulden was unsuccessful in drawing an ace. The pot is now $122.
Liz Palmieri was present to receive a rose, Jacquelyn Clark also celebrated her birthday this week
Classification Talk by Gregory Bodogh-Darte
Introduction: George Darte - proud father
Gregory, son of George, was raised in St. Catharines. His family mother Marilyn, brother Christopher, sister in law Natalie, nephews Keegan, Conor and Liam live close by. He also has a step sister Alicia , and step mother Heather. Gregory’s ethnic background includes Irish, French, Hungarian, and English.
Gregory attended Holy Cross S.S. for two years then attended Ridley College. He started his Post secondary education at Dalhousie University and completed it at the University of Western Ontario, graduating with a degree in political science.
Following university, Gregory spent several months traveling through Europe.
He returned to St. Catharines and began work at the George Darte Funeral Chapel. Gregory then decided to return to school at Humber College to become a funeral director. The program is 1 year of formal school and 1 year of internship. Gregory is a fifth generation funeral director; his great-great grandfather John Patterson started a funeral home in Welland in 1911. He was joined by his son-in-law George Darte I. George opened a funeral home in St. Catharines and was joined by his son George Darte II. In 1972 George Dart III {our George} joined the family firm. In 1979 George and his brother Patrick opened the funeral home on Carleton St. Subsequently, George and Patrick dissolved their business partnership. George took over their Carleton Street location now named the George Darte Funeral Chapel; Patrick continued at the Court Street location but in 1999 sold the funeral home to a corporation. The GDFC is now St. Catharines’ only locally owned funeral home.
Gregory is a member at St. Julia’s Parish, he is a board member with the United Way, and sits on the board of the Niagara Funeral Association.
While growing up, hockey and golf kept him busy leaving little time for rowing and curling. Gregory started volunteering with rotary at a young age, his father took him to the auction and the Easter Seals Christmas party. He is currently committee chair for Family of Rotary.
Gregory then gave a brief presentation on The Evolution of Funeral Service.
Throughout history every culture has had a way of memorializing their dead. The ancient Egyptians were the first to introduce embalming. They employed various methods with varying prices. Some methods involved very toxic chemicals. In North America embalming was first explored during the American Civil War. Over 4,000 soldiers were embalmed using zinc chloride and arsenic. In 1870 “Undertakers” introduced the use of cracked ice to retard decomposition. Carpenters and Blacksmiths have both had roles in funeral service; carpenters would often go to the home to measure the deceased for the casket. Dodge Chemical introduced formaldehyde, a chemical still used today for embalming. In the 1920’s funeral parlours became popular and the funeral director became the individual that provided services and direction for burying the dead. The majority of funeral homes were family owned. In the early 1990’s corporate ownership of funeral homes became popular. In the 1980’s, bereavement resource groups were established to assist people with mourning. Recently, technologies such as DNA banking have become available. A funeral director may need to perform over 125 specific tasks of service for the bereaved family.
In 1873 an Italian invented as incinerator for cremation of the body to prevent the spread of contagious disease.
Ted Usick thanked our speaker and President Tom added his thanks.
Next Week:
Policing in Niagara
Chief Wendy Southall
Niagara Regional Police
From the Mailbag:
Joke from Bill Finley
A New Wine for Seniors…
California vintners in the Napa Valley, which primarily produces Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio wines have developed a new hybrid grape that acts as an anti-diuretic. It is expected to reduce the number of trips older people must make to the bathroom during the night. The new wine will be marketed as:
“PINO MORE”
The Mzansi Quilting Centre
Jane Sandercock was supported by our Club (World Community Service) and others for her humanitarian trip to Sweetwater, South Africa. She was able to raise a total of $8,600 used to provide equipment and materials to help establish the Mzansi Quilting Centre, a commercial operation. Jane helped in setting up the new factory and with the teaching of quilting to 22 Zulu Women and men. This project in Sweetwaters, KwaZulu-Natel, South Africa is overseen by the Rotary Club of Hilton and Howick.
ANNOUNCING
THE INTERNATIONAL TENNIS FELLOWSHIP OF ROTARIANS
2008 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
One of the joys of being a Rotarian lies in taking advantage of the variety of Rotary Fellowships that are available to those interested in particular leisure or hobby activities. This year our district is hosting fellowship championships in both curling and golf.
Tennis anyone? The International Fellowship of Rotarians is pleased to announce its most important yearly event. This year's World Championships will take place in Barcelona, Spain, from Sept. 1-6, 2008. This will be a great opportunity for tennis buffs to practice their tennis skills while enjoying Rotary fellowship. Fundraising events associated with the event will be earmarked for Rotary International's Polio Plus program.
And, if you are really keen, the 1st Tennis Championships for Clubs' Doubles Teams will take place in Salerno, Italy, June 6-7, 2008.
For more information, please check in at www.itfr.org.
It’s On the Waterfront for Kids
Hey Rotary Moms and Dads don’t forget to bring your kids to On the Waterfront, Rotary District 7090 Conference. There’s a lot for them to do.
How about an exciting tour of HMCS Haida? The Haida is the last remaining Tribal Class destroyer. Built in England, Haida was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy in 1943, serving in many theatres of operation through the Second World War. After a post-war refit, Haida continued in service through Korean War and Cold War situations, until she was decommissioned in 1963. Haida is called ‘the fightingest ship in the Royal Canadian Navy.’
Or what about an awesome ride on the Hamilton Waterfront Trolley? This 37 passenger trackless trolley allows both young and old the opportunity to travel along the Hamilton Waterfront Trail. The12 km trail follows the shoreline of the western portion of the harbour which features a lush haven alive with nature, marinas and on-site attractions. The conductor provides a narrated commentary as you travel in this one of a kind vehicle.
At the Parks Canada Discovery Centre kids can navigate the R.V. Voyageur, a fully outfitted discovery ship, complete with all the tools required to explore and discover the wonders of the Great Lakes. Navigating the lakes on board the Voyageur creates a memorable experience, combining elements of learning and play as visitors investigate the Great Lakes. The ship is inspired by the research missions of Darwin, Shackleton, Cousteau, Blasco and others.
On board are not just the tools, but also the expertise required to collect and analyze the many different types of information required to build a more complete understanding of the Great Lakes. Visitors will see the lakes through the eyes and tools of the Scientist, Historian, Artist, and Planner, each situated in a specially outfitted 'cabin'.
For the complete program, go to conference.rotary7090.org. See you On the Waterfront in Hamilton, October 17-19, 2008.
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