Rotarians gathered before breakfast and Charlie reminded them of former Rotarian George Stanley:
George Francis Gillman Stanley (1907-2002) was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford where he played hockey for the university. He began his teaching career as a Professor of History at Mount Allison from 1936 to 1940, during which time he was a member of the Rotary Club of Sackville. During the war he served with the Canadian Army, retiring in1947 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. From 1949 to 1969 he taught at R.M.C. in Kingston Ontario and it was while he was there that he suggested the appropriate design for a new Canadian flag: “a simple red and white flag bearing a stylized maple leaf on it.” His suggestion was eventually approved by parliament and became the new Canadian flag in 1965. In 1969 he returned to Mount A to set up the first Canadian Studies program at a Canadian university. He also rejoined Rotary. After retiring from teaching, he served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick from 1982 to 1987.
On 16 March 2000 (by which time he was an honorary Rotarian) he and his wife Ruth attended a meeting of the Rotary Club of Sackville and were part of a group photo which is one of the treasures of our club. In our photo today we remember a great Canadian who was proud to be a member of this club.
Members of the club then gathered for a group photo around the new life-size statue of George Stanley by Christian Toth on Main Street (thanks to the co-operation of the Town).
Bill was in the chair, standing in for Josh, and recalled a trying time when his wife was in hospital about to give birth to their third child. A huge snowstorm blocked their driveway which could not be ploughed out. He was struggling to walk home with the other two children one of whom had pneumonia. Halfway up the driveway he fell. Everything in life has been better since then, for which he is truly grateful.
50-50 Draw: George’s number was drawn; he failed to pick the Queen of Spades, so the pot of $211 carries forward to next week.
Gold Mine Winner: No winner this week.
Gold Mine Presentation: Margaret Tusz-King was present to accept from Edna a cheque for $640 on behalf of Open Sky Co-operative.
Guests: Frank Oulton was the guest photographer (for the group photo).
Visiting Rotarians: John (on leave) from Ottawa; Sharon, South Lake County Club, Florida.
Birthdays: Morgan 14 September, Darrell 19 September – both in absentia.
Happy Dollars: George is heading for Timmins, Ontario where along with his sister June he will help the Rotary club there inaugurate their Gold Mine program. Patricia was looking for a judge for the Fall Fair cooking contest. Louise was happy to report a more normal week; Mariah continues to take things remarkably well. Dianne will be away for two weeks on a cruise to Venice; she will be back just in time to celebrate their 25th anniversary. John is enjoying Ottawa but was glad to be back for a visit.
Next Week: 20 September 2018: Chair: Lesley; Greeter: Marita; Introducer: Pat P; Thanker: Wayne; Speaker: Elizabeth Wells, “Leonard Bernstein at 100.”
Foundation Auction: Pam reminded everyone of the inhouse auction on 11 October. Please send pictures of the items you are donating to Sandy. (Dianne is already making her famous nuts and bolts).
Pat B introduced the speaker, 2018-19 DG Silvana Bosca from the Bathurst club where she was the first woman member and first woman club president, who began by showing a picture of her family. She displayed a banner which said. “We Are Rotary: Join Leaders, Exchange Ideas, Take Action.”
After congratulating the club on their accomplishments, she presented President Louise with a plaque commemorating “87 years of active service in your community” (1931-2018).
Quoting RI President Barry Rassin’s slogan, “Be The Inspiration,” Silvana spoke on his three priorities for this Rotary year:
Commending the work of the Rotary Foundation, she showed a short video highlighting the Foundation’s six areas of service: Peace and conflict prevention/resolution; Disease prevention and treatment; Water and sanitation; Maternal and child health; Basic education and literacy; Economic and community development. All such videos are available on the R.I. web site.
Also highlighted was the District Conference at Bathurst, 19-21 October. A youth conference will be held at the same time. Things for us to consider: short term youth exchange, starting an Interact club, enhancing Rotary messaging to the community, participating in a friendship exchange.
This was a most inspiring message, appropriate to the theme of “Be Inspired/Inspire Others.”
In expressing the club’s thanks to the speaker, Dianne brought sad news about the Salem School Library; after being badly damaged, 2/3 of the area is to be repurposed as an additional classroom, leaving only a small library area, and no librarian. In addition to the usual presentation, the DG received a copy of “Joe’s Words of Wisdom.”
Silvana also ran a draw for two gift cards; Sandy and Wynn were the winners.
The meeting closed with the Four Way Test.
