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Chairperson: David McKellar our newly minted President was in the Chair seat this morning. David introduced the meeting with "we're mixin' things up!" a sure sign of things to come in 2019-2020. What's that saying, "A rolling stone grows no moss"? Look out world, here comes the Rotary Club of Sackville! .jpg) In lieu of a bio, David opted to introduce us to a tradition from his former Club: RC West Ottawa. In that club, the incoming President would recognize a Rotarian who had exemplified Service Above Self by presenting them with a rose. This morning David presented his President's Rose to Susan Fisher for her tireless dedication to the Rotary Club of  Sackville, in particular her commitment to the Mount Allison Rotaract Club. Congratulations Sue, well deserved. President's Time: David thanked all of the Rotarians who were able to participate in the June 27 evening 'meeting'/early Canada Day celebration at Bill Johnstone Memorial Park in conjunction with the Sackville Refugee Response Coalition. That evening we welcomed both existing and new refugees who now call Sackville home with smiles, pizza and a giant Canadian Flag cake. David also reminded us that the Rotary District 7810 Conference will be held in Fredericton on September 27-28; that Sue F. and Edna are still workin  g to populate club committees so make sure you speak to them to ensure you are on the committees of your choice; and finally that Club members would be working with the Town to serve icecream from 1-3 at Lillas Fawcett Park for the unveiling of the new Natural Playground, a project that was jointly supported by the Town and RC Sackville. David also congratulated club members Wayne and Sandy Harper for receiving the Long Term Service Award from the Town of Sackville for over 25 years of volunteer service to the community. And they're still going strong! Local Project Presentation: Charlie and Bill tag-teamed a presentation that outlined an upcoming project between RC Sackville, Mount Allison University, and John Lafford Construction. The project will involve the creation of paths that connect the Millennium Bridge (Rotary Bridge) and the Sackville Centennial Monument. The Club will provide $5K to assist with the construction on Mount Allison property and John Lafford will plant trees, landscape and ensure path connectivity on his property. The University has agreed to maintain the paths and the project infrastructure. This project will better highlight these former projects by Rotary and the Tantramar Heritage Trust nestled between the Swanless Pond and the new Lafford Condominiums. Guests and Visiting Rotarians: Bill McLeash (RC Ottawa Metro) has joined us again in Sackville for the summer. Welcome back Bill. Pin Pal Stories: - Bill (Evans) met nurse Alex C. (sorry, didn't catch the last name) from Riverview during an unfortunate short stay in hospital. Turns out Alex was a former Rotary Exchange student! - Pam was presented a new End Polio Now shirt when she was on the Friendship Exchange in Brazil. Related great news: the photo of the Rotary crew who walked the Sackville Waterfowl Park to End Polio Now will be featured on the front cover of the next UNICEF newsletter! .jpg) There were no Make-Ups nor Birthdays this week . 50-50 Draw: Once again we were looking for the 10 of hearts. While Charlie's ticket was drawn by our guest speaker Elizabeth Wells he unfortunately selected the Queen of hearts and lost out on $66.00. Note the scamp-like behaviour of Bill Evans behind Charlie... Happy Toonies: After his disheartening loss, Charlie might not have been happy but the rest of the club certainly was! - Dianne drew the attention of the club to the fantastic article in the Tribune Post featuring the latest Rotary Legacy Project that was announced on June 22nd during the Sackville Waterfowl Park 30th Anniversary Celebrations and the unveiling of the new Daniel Lund section of the Park. The Club will be working with the Town to erect a bridge that connects the new section to the original Park.
- Bill M. is happy to be back in Sackville until September 1st. He is interested in finding a good tenant for his 2-bedroom bungalow for next year.
- Stacey recounted that as a Beaver/Scout leader she would take the Beavers to the Rotary Bridge, they would cross the bridge to swim up to Scouts. She later sent a photo to the club of the Beavers sitting on the Centennial Monument.
- Sue F. is heading to Mount Carleton/Sugarloaf camping with friends from Ottawa. To summit or not to summit, that is the question.
- Bill E. was happy that he went to Newfoundland with his daughter but then was less happy that he came home and ended up sick in hospital and realized that it's really nice to be well and that things can always be worse.
- Wynne had so many reasons to be happy! 1) took the whole week off to celebrate his July 1, 52nd Anniversary on PEI; 2) that PEI was the first province in Canada to ban single-use plastics; 3) that fate led him to the Pro Shop the right time to meet the club pro Zane Cameron whom he knew from the early 90s when he was involved with Golf NB Juniors; and finally, 4) that his first cataract surgery is this afternoon - was blind and now I see!
- Marita: Able Sail who presented to us will be launching its first sip n' puff sailboat.
- Dale: 1) after testing several different hearing aids has landed on a good one...not literally of course; 2) he watched Linda's daughter graduate from high school; 3) her other daughter was on stage speaking; and 4) that his grandson Patricio now has a new baby sister!
- Josh was happy to be back among Rotarians and then told us the tale of Christine losing her wallet and having it soon to be restored to her...and of his woefully inadequate conciliatory remarks to her...practice makes perfect Josh!
.jpg) Speaker: Stacey introduced our guest speaker Elizabeth Wells who was speaking to us today about the Sackville Community Association (SCA) a group Elizabeth has been part of for 18 years and currently is the President. This group is one of our Gold Mine beneficiaries but how much do we actually know about it? The SCA began in 1968 as a group of representatives from the different local churches who decided they needed to fashion a made-in-Sackville solution to begin to tack .jpg) le need and poverty in Sackville. This modest beginning has blossomed into a Board of 10 that meets several times a year and works year-round to determine how to best use their small but robust annual funds. The group receives its funding (~$35,000/year) primarily from its annual Community mailing campaign. They are looking for ways to update and grow their mailing list. Important to note that donors are able to receive a tax receipt for their donation. Best known for its Christmas Cheer initiative the SCA maintains a list of families in need that includes the ages of children. Through this program over 250 families receive food vouchers at a time of great need and in an attempt to normalize that time of year for the families - many of whom are "working poor". The SCA also organizes a Toy and Clothing drive as part of Christmas Cheer; they are always looking for volunteers to help on Sorting Day to sort the toys and clothing into age appropriate categories (~ December 13) and then to assist on Distribution Day (~20-21 December) when the families arrive to receive their vouchers and bags of toys and clothing. The group also provides the following assistance and despite the breadth of their service they are always looking for other projects: - sending children to camp who otherwise would be unable to attend and who might benefit from this activity (teachers identify the children) - providing up to $800 1 time/year to assist with power bills or rent - providing a meal and shelter for the evening at the Tantramar Hotel for Wayfairers passing through town - providing food baskets to shut-ins  Charlie thanked Elizabeth for the enlightening presentation. The work that the Sackville Community Association does is not in the glare of publicity so many people don't recognize the scope of the need that exists in their own backyard. At the conclusion of the meeting we enjoyed several Gold Mine recipient cheque presentations: Sackville Early Music, Sackville Assistance Centre, and Marshview Middle School. |
