Photographer: Pam Harrison
Darrell chaired the meeting and gave a graphic account of a two week trip on the Nahanni River (N.W.T.). Negotiating the river in a canoe, he marvelled at the Virginia Falls (twice as high as Niagara), but ran into turbulent water thereafter. When his canoe capsized he ignored instructions to let go and swim for shore, but hung on for dear life. Eventually he did let go, grabbed on to the two following canoes which were lashed together, and lived to tell the tale.
50-50 Draw: Mary’s number was drawn (again !), but she failed to pick the 8 of Hearts. The pot of $136 carries forward to next week.
Guests: Mariah, guest of Louise; and prospective member Tammy Savoie.
Visiting Rotarians: Nicole Naish, Amherst Club.
Makeups: Pam did a make-up at the Hampton Club.
Happy Dollars: John was happy about the 7th annual Handmade Assembly at Struts, and reminded members of the Craft Sale on Saturday at the Legion. Dianne had a nice trip to Ontario, read to her grandson, and attended her niece’s wedding; she thanked Bill and Mary for covering for her while she was away. Wynn was glad to see Tammy who is a cousin of Sharon’s; his grand-daughter won the Atlantic Junior Curling championship; he will not be here next week. Louise is up at 5:30 a.m. training for doing 10K in Legs for Literacy on Sunday; Mariah will run 1K. Gayle thanked Mariah for the pesto; the whole jar went into a great sauce.
Wynn and his fellow-guests had a great (auction) dinner which Trish was happy to host (she is still finishing the left-overs of the wine). Judging by the menu it must have been a fabulous feast.
Pam is promoting the idea of a teal pumpkin: putting one at your door means that children with allergies are still welcome – the usual treats will be replaced with suitable gifts. Great idea !
Gold Mine Presentation: Ada Phinney, Principal of Salem Elementary School accepted from Bill a cheque for $616.50 and thanked Rotary for their ongoing support. The school has 367 students. To meet the needs of some, “Blessings in a Backpack” are distributed on Fridays; there is also a need for winter clothing and boots.
Next Week: 26 October 2017. Chair: Dianne; Greeter: Bill; Introducer: Josh; Thanker: Sandy. Speaker: Brian Neilson, Tantramar Family Resource Centre.
Auction: Trish gave another reminder of our in-house auction on 2 November Please let Sandy know what you are donating (with a picture if possible).
Projects Committee: Stacey reported that a sign will be placed next the Vimy tree. Gold Mine applications are coming in.
John introduced himself as the stand-in speaker and raised the question of when Rotary meets. A quick survey showed that a clear majority favour the breakfast meeting time, but some would consider meeting at another time once a month. It was pointed out that those surveyed can come to breakfast meetings; others may be prevented from joining Rotary because they do not favour a breakfast meeting. Our club had a lunch meeting for many years, but changed to the early hour because many members were involved in small businesses and could not attend in the middle of the day.
It then turned out that John was not the speaker; instead he introduced Stacey and Rachael Mathis to talk about the Sackville Commons. The Commons is a co-operative and now has 15 owner members. The 6000 square feet facility at 64 Main Street has desk space in the front with free WiFi and coffee, and office space for tenant members at the back.
Currently the Board is planning fund-raising activities. One suggestion: allow local organizations to put their name and logo on one of the rooms, for a monthly fee. Another: invite organizations to sponsor new start-ups who can’t afford to pay $230 a month.
Both speakers are enthusiastic about the Commons and the way it brings people together and allows them to network. It promotes an entrepreneurial spirit which will help keep the town alive, vibrant and beautiful. The facility is open 9 to 5, Monday to Friday and visitors are welcome.
Wynn thanked the speakers in the usual way; the book “Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged” will go to Dorchester Consolidated School. Since Viola Desmond will appear on the new $10 bills, Pam suggested that one of the banks might be persuaded to donate 10 such bills to the school.
The meeting closed with the Four-Way Test.
