Bulletin

 
 

Friday, April 16, 2021

Program: Gisella Gazzola - personal introduction
 
   
Messages this week from our Club President, Tracey Curtis
 
          Toronto Symphony Orchestra      
 
 
 
Hello Rotarians. With another deeply sad loss from our Rotary family this week, and worrying news all around us about Covid-19, let's all take a Deep Breath and quietly focus on things to be grateful for. Let's be present for each other by staying in touch because we are stronger together. Hang in there, friends.
 
(Tracey, your grateful club members wish to thank YOU for your ongoing compassion and kindness. You are continuously there for ALL of us, lifting us up. Thank you for all you do!)
 
This week's moving rendition of O Canada was sung by Kids of Note from Saskatoon, a choir for all abilities. Listen and watch again here
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Announcements:
 
 
REMEMBERING JEAN TRUEX
 
With enormous sorrow, we learned that Jean Truex, beloved wife of Paul for 62 years, passed away peacefully at the Guelph General Hospital on Sunday, April 11, 2021, at the age of 83, with her family by her side. In Paul's almost 42 years with our club, serving in almost every role, Jean was a well-known and much-loved part of our Rotary family. She will be fondly remembered by many relatives, neighbours and  friends. "Mz T" was a legend in the Upper Grand District School Board. After she retired from teaching, and from staging annual musicals, she returned to Tytler School in a volunteer role to lead the popular 1*2*3 GO! Preschool Literacy Program for another 18 years, until COVID caused it to shut down. She is revered in the educational community and will long be remembered. Former students have this week been recording their heartfelt memories of Mz. T in online posts reflecting on how much she influenced their lives, imparting values that they are now passing on to their own children. Jean's compassion, attention to every individual child, and caring, generous spirit won her an Every Day Hero Award from the school board and a Mayor's Award from the City of Guelph. Jean was also awarded an Ontario Senior Achievement Award in 2016, presented at Queen's Park. Her's was a life well lived, lighting a torch that will continue to shine through others as reminder of her legacy. Our thoughts are with Paul plus the whole Truex family. 
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Here's a catch-up on birthdays and anniversaries that we missed.
 
And to lighten our heavy hearts, Tracey played part of an entertaining video by concert pianist Nicole Pesce demonstrating how Beethoven, Bach, Brahms and Mozart might have played "Happy Birthday". Watch it here. It's really good.
 
 
Many happy returns to:
 
Justin Funk - April 7 
Gunter Thase - April 11
Sue Wigston - April 11
Bill Stevens - April 13
Marva Wisdom - April 15
Liz Sandals - April 20
Lynne McCurdy - April 22
Brian Martin - April 23  
 
 
Congratulations on these Rotary anniversaries:
 
Dan Vitale - 13 years (April 4, 2008)
Cyndy Forsyth - 3 years (April 6, 2018)
Michael Von Keitz - 3 years (April 6, 2018)
Ron Hearnden - 3 years (April 6, 2018)
Karl Wettstein - 16 years (April 8 2005)
Ian Smith - 22 years (April 9, 1999)
Gunter Thase - 35 years total with the past 10 years being at our club (since April 15, 2011)
Ruth Thatcher - 16 years (April 22, 2005) 
 
Thank you for your service, Rotarians! We are grateful to you.
 
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PRIMA FESTA REIMAGINED
 

Place your orders now to book your "take out - eat in" Italian dinner on Saturday, May 1, 2021. Pickup instructions will be sent to registrants several days prior to the event. Each Prima Festa Dinner ticket is $75 with a tax receipt in the amount of $40. 

  • Order meals HERE, by April 27, 2021
  • More event details are on our website here
Watch this 1 minute video about Prima Festa created by our very own Carolyn Weatherson. How does she do this? We all want to know. 
 
 
THE SEED'S NEW PAY-WHAT-YOU-CHOOSE ONLINE GROCERY STORE WITH A PURPOSE
 
Our newest club member, Raechelle Devereaux, Executive Director of the Guelph Community Health Centre, shared a new development from The Seed, the GCHC's community food project. The Seed has now established an innovative new "online grocery store with a purpose". Consider signing up for home delivery of groceries from The Seed. By doing so and paying full retail prices, we can each help reduce the price of good food for lower income community members. This home delivery service is especially helpful during these times when we ought to stay at home as much as possible. Check it out. And do take a few minutes to read more here about The Seed's many wonderful programs - plus all the other incredible things that the GCHC does in our community. We look forward to learning more from Raechelle. 
 
 
DISTRICT 7080 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
 
Tracey reminded us to mark our calendars for our District's Virtual Conference on May 29, 2021 from 9am to 12:30pm. Details are here. The theme is Take Care of Yourself, Each Other, & The Planet.
 
 
SPECIAL EDITION WEBINAR - FINDING THE BALANCE DURING COVID-19
 
These webinars have become an important source of reliable information. PRE-REGISTER HERE for the 10th one on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 7pm. Once again, Dr. Nicola Mercer will be the special guest to help answer questions along with the rest of this esteemed panel.  
 
 
WORLD IMMUNIZATION WEEK:  APRIL 24-30, 2021
 
World Immunization Week is celebrated every year in the last week of April and promotes the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. Immunization saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful health interventions.
 
Whilst we are focused on Covid-19 vaccines here at home, Rotary International continues to support immunizations against polio, to finally eradicate this disease in the world.
 
Take 2 minutes to watch this powerful new video recognizing and thanking Rotary for its pioneering role in eradicating polio by uniting leaders and health organizations around the world, including UNICEF, the WHO and the GATES FOUNDATION. Rotary's global campaign is "this close" to ultimate success but we cannot take our foot off the pedal until polio is truly eradicated everywhere. Meanwhile, polio immunization teams are also helping with administering Covid and Malaria vaccines as well, providing another "plus" factor in Rotary's PolioPlus campaign.  
 
 
 
HIKE FOR HOSPICE WELLINGTON
 
Read more on our website here about the 17th Annual Hike for Hospice fundraiser. President Tracey is forming a Rotary Team for this virtual event which concludes on June 6, 2021. Email Tracey to join the team! 
 
 
 
 
OTHER REMINDERS:
 
  • Mother's Day Fundraiser helping Food4Kids Guelph. Place orders for hanging baskets from Royal City Nursery  HERE.
  • Our club's annual Budget Proposal Meeting on Saturday, May 15, 2021, online from 9am-12noon ... a fantastic opportunity to learn about the activities in our club.  Save the date. 
  • Watch for a Club Strategy Survey coming soon, to have your say about shaping the future of our club. 
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If you're happy and you know it, contribute your Happy Bucks on our club's GiveSome pages here. There are four different topics you can donate to.
 
 
  • Brian Martin is absolutely thrilled that his daughter Larysa has been accepted into the Physiotherapy Masters program at UBC, where the university received 400 applications for the 100 spots available, of which only 10 placements are awarded to students from outside BC. Besides her strong academic  qualifications, Larysa also had to pass a strenuous Multiple Mini Interview format. Brian and Larysa have both trained in karate together since 2003, and he feels sure that her poise under pressure, honed through karate discipline and competitions, helped her stand out in this academic contest at UBC. Congratulations, Larysa!
  • Roger Garriock expressed relief and amazement at the health turnaround for his younger brother who was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour behind his left eye 6 months ago. A new medical technique using targeted radiation and therapy has made the tumour disappear! 
  • Lynne McCurdy is delighted to report that her daughter Aimee has been accepted into law school at Queen's University. Aimee is passionate about social justice issues and is intent on making changes in the world, so law is a great pathway for her.  Congratulations, Aimee!
  • Faz Ashkar is rightly proud of his brother, Ali Ashkar, a professor of medicine at McMaster University, for his just-published research paper (together with his PhD student) on the discovery of modified immune cells that can destroy advanced ovarian and lung cancer. Wow. Medical talent runs deep in the Ashkar family. Faz himself is also a medical doctor with an added PhD from the University of Guelph in biomedical research. Read the news article about Faz's brother's recent publication herehttps://healthsci.mcmaster.ca/news-events/news/news-article/2021/04/14/scientists-discover-trained-immune-cells-are-highly-effective-against-cancer
  • Lawrie Jones reflected on the recent loss of Anna Stachnyk and Jean Truex, whose many small acts of kindness carried such weight. He urges all of us to reach out to all those we love and appreciate and tell them so, while we can. 
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Program this week - April 16, 2021
 
GISELLA GAZZOLA - UP CLOSE & PERSONAL 
 
We always love the opportunity to learn first hand about our newer club members, and this week, it was Gisella's turn to introduce herself to us. She joined our club in May 2020 during Covid-19 so has not yet met many of us in person,  although she feels very welcomed and cared for in our midst. 
 
Gisella was persuaded by her good friend Tracey Curtis to join Rotary for the opportunity of those three famous words, "Service Above Self." But Gisella is a shining example of the next four important words, "How can I help?" and soon stepped up to support Ben McCarl with the Paint Nights that began during the times of Covid lockdown. And she has even more ideas that she is pondering for Rotary. Stay tuned.  
 
Gisella's talk today shared her family and personal story, providing a fascinating insight into the source of her own character traits of determination and resilience, but also appreciation for the influence, reassurance and comfort from the strong Italian community while growing up in "The Ward" here in Guelph.
 
Her parents emigrated to Canada along with several other families from San Giorgio, Italy, arriving through Pier 21 Immigration Centre in Halifax. Like many other Italian immigrants to Guelph, they  settled in St. Patrick's Ward, the area east of the downtown from York Road to Elizabeth Street, and Stevenson Street to the Speed River. They had no car so walking was how they got everywhere. Most families struggled with English, but the Italian community was close and supportive, sharing garden produce grown in backyards, and even making wine together.
 
Gisella's dad was a tailor and worked for a men's clothing business in Guelph. Sadly, he died of a heart attack at the age of 46, leaving Gisella's mom to cope on her own with the children. Gisella traces her own resourcefulness, strength and resilience back to the super-powers demonstrated by her mom - taken for granted as a child, but fully appreciated once Gisella reached adulthood.
 
In the late 70s, Gisella's grandmother joined the family in Guelph and lived with them for the rest of her days until she died at age 95. Nonna helped in the home and garden and caring for the children so that Gisella's mom could work as a seamstress. Nonna loved all the children but Gisella is convinced that she was actually Nonna's real favourite! Gisella's five aunts and uncles were frequent visitors, demonstrating that it takes a village to raise a child. Gisella's Nonna is featured in the Guelph history of its Italian Canadian community.
 
After completing high school in Guelph, Gisella completed a BSc in psychology at UoT, then lived in Quebec City for a couple of years to learn French through immersion. The experience gave her a deeper insight to her mother's struggle with English. Gisella also took a trip to Europe to trace her roots, finding welcoming "family" along the way.
 
Career-wise, Gisella decribes herself as a Senior Process Analyst. She has worked in insurance for much of her working life, in Underwriting, Technology Solutions and more recently Claims, but also had a spell working for BlackBerry in Waterloo. Since 2015 she has worked for Economical Insurance in Kitchener. She is an experienced expert in process improvement using Lean and Six Sigma and is advancing her certifications in this pathway.
 
She and her husband Lou had one child, Sarah, who is now 11 years old and the light of Gisella's life. In November 2020, Lou sadly passed away, and Gisella has found strength in the memory and example of how her own mother coped years before. Today, Gisella's mom is Sarah's beloved Nonna, repeating the love and support across the generations. 
 
Terrie Jarvis thanked Gisella for her wonderful talk, and especially for being such a shining example of "How can I help?", the very best way for Rotarians to get involved. 
 
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Upcoming programs 
 
Check our home page for upcoming speakers. Invite guests! 
  • Friday, April 23 at 12:15pm - Prof. Kent Moore *son of our club member, Ab Moore * - The impact of climate change on our oceans 
  • Friday, April 30 at 12:15pm - Dr. Carrie Bridge, Astrophysicist - NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity Project
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Bulletin Editor
Terrie Jarvis
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