A huge advantage of meeting via Zoom is that members can join from wherever they are. Today, President Tracey called in on her cell phone from her holiday while sitting under a shady tree somewhere north of here, and it worked perfectly!
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Rotarian News
- Aldo Villanovich's wife Hectorine sadly passed away on July 22, following a long battle with cancer. They'd been married for 52 years. Aldo and Hectorine moved to Burlington a couple of years ago for more convenient access to health care, and Aldo transferred to the Rotary Club of Burlington but remained in close with us. Send your thoughts to Aldo at calcon@sympatico.ca
- Clay Switzer's partner, Blossom Wigdor, is in hospital in Toronto following a stroke. As with all folks in hospital these days, visitors are unfortunately not allowed. Word has it that Blossom, a renowned gerontologist, is continuing to teach staff! Send your good wishes to Blossom and Clay via clayswit@rogers.com
- President Tracey married Paul deMarco last weekend ... which is not at all how it sounds! Tracey "officiated" Paul's marriage to his lovely partner Lauren, up north in cottage country. A charming side story was how Marva's son, Justin Wisdom, a talented jeweller, had designed and created brand new wedding rings for Paul and Lauren from heirloom pieces in their families. How special is that!
- Our centennial book is now available. A team of five Rotarians has volunteered to help coordinate the book sales. Each club member can expect to receive a personal email about this in the coming days. Read more about the book here. It's a must-have.
- President Tracey reminds ALL of us to PLEASE make the effort to spontaneously reach out to at least one other club member this coming week, simply to ask How are you doing?
Board Meeting Feedback
Our board of directors meets on the third Tuesday evening of each month. Their first meeting for this Rotary year was held last Tuesday, July 21. President Tracey shared the main topics of discussion, including:
- Rotary Grants and activities through our World Service Committee and Indigenous Awareness Committee.
- Creative new fundraisers are being developed to boost funding for our service committees. Since Covid closures have impacted our traditional annual fundraisers, our club made the prudent financial decision to spread the $75,000 in total funds available this year across the next TWO budget years, making $37,500 available for Rotary year 2020-2021 and $37,500 for Rotary year 2021-2022. With reduced funding, lots of service projects have had to be cut back or put on hold, so any additional fundraising will help some activities get back on track.
- We're going to resume awarding Paul Harris Fellowship awards as part of our centennial celebrations.
Fellowship Opportunity
A One Night Painting Class. On Friday evening, August 7, 2020 at 7pm, our talented fellow Rotarian, Ben McCarl, will tutor a painting class online, to help aspiring artists recreate the attached picture.
The session is mainly designed to provide some welcome entertainment and engagement of international students who find themselves stranded on the University of Guelph campus, unable to return to their home countries for various reasons, and really struggling in their isolation. Since the art class will be run online, anyone is welcome to join in and try their hand!
Contact Ben McCarl in advance about materials and arrangements. ben.mccarl@gmail.com (519) 824-3722
Today's PresentationOur guest speaker today was Ainsley Moir, a branding consultant who addressed the topic "Staying True to your Brand in Times of Change". She provided strong insights regarding the need for consistency of core identity, but also flexibility in terms of delivery when circumstances change, such as during Covid.
While Ainsley's core business currently focuses on the branding of packaged foods, her branding messages ring true for any organization, including one like Rotary, so she provided much food for thought. It's always stimulating to hear from experts.
Ainsley kindly allowed us a free download of the first chapter in her book "Branding Beyond Logos". It includes a useful tip for any organization or individual to consider in their branding: What they’ll Always Be, what they Could Be and what they’ll Never Be.
Next Week's Meeting
A Panel of Experts discussing "Back To School". Next Friday's Rotary meeting will be a panel discussion facilitated by Marva Wisdom, featuring some of the most experienced educators in our region, who also happen to be members of our club: Martha Rogers, Barb Holmes, Marguerite Campbell, Bonnie Evans. They will be discussing the issues that school boards are facing in figuring out schooling options while Covid remains an active threat. I'm sure we'll learn of issues that most of us never even thought about. Definitely not to be missed. Invite others to attend.