There will be NO REGULAR CLUB MEETING at the ICC on these dates:
Friday, October 2nd (due to our annual family BBQ taking place the night before on Oct 1 at Ben's home), nor on
Friday, October 9th because it is Thanksgiving weekend. Happy Thanksgiving!
See you back at the club on Friday, October 16th, 2026!
__________
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the success of our 46th Lobsterfest Gala on Saturday, September 26th. Final numbers are still being calculated, but the live auction alone brought in about $10,000 to $12,000 thanks to the generosity of so many of you.
This event would not be possible without the extraordinary dedication of the volunteers who made it happen. Huge gratitude goes to the entire Lobsterfest committee for their months of planning, collecting donations, selling tickets, and organizing volunteers. A special thanks as well to the awesome crew behind the scenes who cooked, cracked, and prepared what I heard was about 340 lobsters to perfection!
Your hard work, boundless enthusiasm, and incredible generosity at Lobsterfest showcases the Rotary Club of Guelph at its absolute best. Thank you all for this gift of connection that helps us make a meaningful difference in our community.
Thursday, October 1st at 5pm is our club's Annual Family BBQ, at the home of Ben McCarl in Fergus at Belwood Lake. It's a great opportunity to bring family and friends together with Rotarians. Cost is $13 per person (payable by CASH on the night), but free for children under 12. Vegetarian options will be available. PLEASE EMAIL NOMA TO CONFIRM IF YOU ARE COMING SO FOOD CAN BE ARRANGED. vales.noma@gmail.com
Saturday, November 7th at 2pm is the club's fellowship outing to the Elora Adventure Film Festival. Last Friday, we heard that 3 tickets were still available for our group outing (Rotarians, family and friends all welcome) at $25 each for this enormously popular festival. Carpooling is being organized from Guelph, and the group will likely have some social time together after the festival. URGENTLY EMAIL NOMA IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GRAB THE LAST TICKETS. vales.noma@gmail.com
__________
GETTING READY FOR SPARKLES 2026 … ALREADY.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR LIGHT TESTING
Preparations start early for our club's annual “Sparkles In The Park” Christmas lights in Riverside Park. On Saturday, October 17th, volunteers are needed to cheerfully unravel, test and sort hundreds of light strings that were taken down and bundled into storage tubs during the freezing cold of the previous January 1st. Our annual ritual of “many hands make light work” is truly joyful and the best kind of fellowship! SIGN UP HERE.
__________
WEBSITE UPDATES
The Rotary Duck Race 2026 was a huge success. Read the story HERE and congratulate our friends from the Rotary Club of Guelph Wellington (aka The Monday Night Club) for their amazing achievement once again this year.
The Rotary Winter Clothing Drive run by our friends at the Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium (aka The Wednesday Morning Club) is starting soon. See details HERE.
LEARN ABOUT OUR CLUB COMMITTEES.Our club's website is frequently updated and is a great source of information, but only if you take a look. On our home page look under Committees in the top menu bar, and learn about our different activities. If any committee information needs updating, email Terrie Jarvis.
__________
OUR PROGRAM ON SEPTEMBER 25 WAS BY OUR
PEACE & RECONCILIATION COMMITTEE
Co-chair Eleni Bakopoulos provided a short update on how this committee has been restructured with four key elements: Peacebuilding, Indigenous Awareness, Community Outreach, and Eradicating Human Trafficking. This combination of overlapping topics makes good use of members' time and also gives some topics a “home” where they were orphan activities before. Read more here.
Eleni also reminded us that September 30 is Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. A special event is taking place in Guelph next Wednesday and all are welcome.
Past president Marva Bailey-Wisdom, having just returned from a conference in Winnipeg, recommends that everyone should try to visit the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg at least once. She then introduced a video of a keynote speech given to the Canadian Senate in April 2026 by the current CEO of the Museum, Isha Khan, who spoke about “The Virus of Inequality 2026”. It's available HEREand definitely worth watching (19 minutes long).
___________
CALENDAR DATES
Friday, November 6, 2026 … our Remembrance Day meeting. Although still several weeks away, PLEASE be sure to plan your attendance at this meeting and bring family or friends. We have arranged a very special presentation for this date that you won't want to miss.
Tuesday, November 10th at 3pm … please SAVE THE DATE to attend the official Wyndham House opening of Guelph's first foster care home and the unveiling of the wall mural honouring our late and beloved Rotarian, Margaret Trainor.
