LOTS OF NEWS, UPDATES AND COMMENTS
(and also check the upcoming dates)
Crista Renner, our president-elect for Rotary year 2026-2027, chaired today's club meeting, celebrating the March 20 equinox marking the first official day of spring.
David Van Veen was given a special shout-out for his Rotary membership anniversary of 37 years!
Rosemary Clark and Fas Ashkar were each presented with their latest Paul Harris Fellowship pins. A five-year Ruby pin for Rosemary, and a PHF+5 pin for Faz.
Marva Bailey-Wisdom, our current president for Rotary year 2025-2026, mentioned the club's monthly board meeting held on March 19, and expressed gratitude for the robust board our club is fortunate to have. She asks each board member to provide feedback to the committee/s for which they are the board liaison. She was also delighted to recently attend The Grove Hub's signature fundraising event, their “Mask Off” gala.
Ben McCarl will become our club's new Club Treasurer, taking over from Trevor Lee who has served in this role for well over two decades. Thank you to both Trevor and Ben!
Jules Croskill shared that she is the one distributing birthday cards to club members with the hope it prompts recipients to donate US$100 to The Rotary Foundation in support of global projects.
Faz Ashkar acknowledged March 20 is Nowruz, the Persian New Year's Day on the Iranian calendar, always coinciding with the March Equinox. This year does not have the usually joyful celebrations but is instead a sombre, worrying and heartbreaking time with the troubles in Iran impacting many family and friends.
Marty Fairbairn reminded members about the first planning meeting for Lobsterfest 2026. It will be held on Monday evening, April 6th, and Luisa Del Rosario will once again host the meeting at her home. Contact Patrick Grist or Marty Fairbairn for information.
Carole St. Laurent, our Rotary Peace Fellow member, is proud and thrilled to announce the first group of graduates in Uganda completing the two-year Youth Peace Builder “Are We Together” program using her high school curriculum. Carole is looking at ways that her peace curriculum can be adapted for use in Canada.
Terrie Jarvis shared that:
- The Rotaract Gala held on March 6 raised almost $7,000 for Wyndham House - an amazing success.
- Our club is collaborating with two other Rotary Guelph clubs to co-host a “Community Connections” meeting on April 23rd. Read about it on our home page here.
Helmuth Slisarenko shared a car safety tip with members. It is that Daytime Running Lights usually light up the front only (often dimmed) to make the car visible during the day, but the back of the car remains dark. He urges everyone to rather use their headlights/auto setting, turning on front headlights and rear tail lights, for greater visibility to other drivers.
