Stories

The Four Way Test on the coffee mug above guides what we do as Rotarians.

Club Discussion Thursday November 27 2014   

Notes from our Breakfast Meeting, Thursday November 20, 2014

Notes from today's meeting:

• Our special guests today were District Governor Brian Thompson and Mary Lou Harrison.
• After introducing our guests, Club President for the Quarter Carole mentioned that she had hard copies of the minutes available from our board meeting this week for anybody wishing them.  Copies of the minutes were also emailed to club members by Carole.  As Carole is now using ClubRunner to email, please ensure that your email address on ClubRunner is current!  (If your email is not current, you're likely not receiving these notes anyway.) The board minutes included:
  • Planning and goals discussed for the 2014-2015 year
  • Some Leadership roles required
  • Treasurer's report with a listing of last year's charitable givings
  • Granting guidelines as approved for the 2014-2015 year
  • A summary of past, current and possible new service projects.
• Mary Lou Harrison introduced our guest speaker, DG Brian Thompson. Brian is looking forward to visiting the 54 clubs in our District 7070 - a far easier task than some of his fellow DGs have - one DG has 6 countries to visit with several languages to manage and a conflict on top of that. Brian gave us a bit of background on the 2 year District Governor training experience he recently went through, the notion that he is at the top of the roller coaster, and the fact that he will be fired a year from now.  Brian spoke about the impact of Rotary on his life and quizzed us on some Rotary stats such as number of clubs (34,000) and members worldwide (1.2 million), number of countries with active rotary clubs (over 200), and the amount of money (~$23.00) used to seed the Rotary Foundation.  Part of Brian's presentation included a video from RI President Gary Huang in which he speaks about a lesson from Confucius that "it is better to light a single candle than to sit and curse the darkness. President Huang's theme for the year is "Light Up Rotary".  Closer to home, borrowing from Bond, DG Brian's District 7070 theme is "Shaken and Stirred".  

Brian invites us to be Shaken and Stirred at the District 7070 Conference at the Weston Prince Hotel in Toronto October 24-26, 2014.  Carole thanked Brian with our now customary donation to the Nature Centre and to Polio Eradication.

• We are trying something new this year.  The Parkdale - High Park club presidency is going to be shared over the coming year by 4 past presidents on a quarterly rotation.  Pictured below with DG Brian Thompson are our 4 quarterly club presidents for the year: L-R: Robin, Don, DG Brian, Carole and Scott. 

• Happy bucks came from Danielle for her baby boy to be born early in January as well as from Carole, Scott and Robin for Danielle's news.
• Robin won the draw but not the pot!
• After the meeting, some of us met with DG Brian and Mary Lou to get to chat about the year ahead.
• And that's it for now.

Some notes from today's meeting:

• The new Rotary year began on July 1 and our new President "for the period", Carole Rowsell, took the meeting.
• As our guest speaker was unable to make the meeting, Carole quickly adjusted our meeting content.
• Wayne mentioned that he could speak to the club on "Business Intelligence" in a future meeting.
• We chatted about upcoming plans including organizations we might support this year.  John gave an update on the Food Shelter. Danielle gave the club an update on one not-for-profit initiative for the club's consideration.
• Carole indicated that our first board meeting of the new year will be on July 8 and will be held at the Grenadier.  As we have an open board, all club members are welcome to attend the board meeting. And we're in need of volunteers for great minute taking.
• A reminder that we have our District Governor, Brian Thompson, joining us at next week's meeting on July 10.
• Scott asked that we get back to him with any questions concerning the August 14 golf tournament.  We have a full complement of golfers and it is in our club's interest to solicit sponsors to generate proceeds for our on-going charitable work.  In the absence of sponsorships, we would need to think again about our involvement!  Sponsorship information can be downloaded from our website main page. 
• We will be celebrating Suzanne's past year as president at Don's house on July 17 at the President's Dinner.   We have 3 folks bringing salads and 2 bringing deserts?  There is a fair beverage selection leftover from the Paul Harris evening.  If you have different beverage preferences, BYOB.  Twenty dollars each for the steak dinner with $10 of that towards eradicating land mines.
• As Paul drew the ace of hearts - the pot does indeed live on.
• And as there was nothing else to discuss "for the good of Rotary", we recited the 4 way test in the customary way and Carole closed her first meeting of 2014.  Thanks Carole! 

Some notes from today's meeting:

• The new Rotary year began on July 1 and our new President "for the period", Carole Rowsell, took the meeting.
• As our guest speaker was unable to make the meeting, Carole quickly adjusted our meeting content.
• Wayne mentioned that he could speak to the club on "Business Intelligence" in a future meeting.
• We chatted about upcoming plans including organizations we might support this year.  John gave an update on the Food Shelter. Danielle gave the club an update on one not-for-profit initiative for the club's consideration.
• Carole indicated that our first board meeting of the new year will be on July 8 and will be held at the Grenadier.  As we have an open board, all club members are welcome to attend the board meeting. And we're in need of volunteers for great minute taking.
• A reminder that we have our District Governor, Brian Thompson, joining us at next week's meeting on July 10.
• Scott asked that we get back to him with any questions concerning the August 14 golf tournament.  We have a full complement of golfers and it is in our club's interest to solicit sponsors to generate proceeds for our on-going charitable work.  In the absence of sponsorships, we would need to think again about our involvement!  Sponsorship information can be downloaded from our website main page. 
• We will be celebrating Suzanne's past year as president at Don's house on July 17 at the President's Dinner.   We have 3 folks bringing salads and 2 bringing deserts?  There is a fair amount of wine and beer leftover from the Paul Harris evening.  If you have different beverage preferences, BYOB.  Twenty dollars each for the steak dinner with $10 of that towards eradicating land mines.
• As Paul drew the ace of hearts - the pot does indeed live on.
• And as there was nothing else to discuss "for the good of Rotary", we recited the 4 way test in the customary way and Carole closed her first meeting of 2014.  Thanks Carole! 

Some quick updates:

1. We're getting caught up in our meeting summaries for the past few weeks and these should be posted in the near future.
2. In the meantime, check out the details for our upcoming Paul Harris Fellows Awards night on June 19 in our web site calendar here. There will be no breakfast meeting that day.  If you can help out, let Scott know and definitely (you know who you are) let Scott know whether you're going to be there and how many you will be bringing.
3. We're looking forward to our President's Dinner on July 17.  BBQ at Don's.  There will be no breakfast meeting that day.
4. At our breakfast meeting today we learned that our speaker, Allan Crawford, will be retiring Monday.  Allan is keen that the torch be passed for the outdoor programs such as TROOP for youth and encouraged us in ways and means to do this - working together with the police services.  
5. Also, please check the line-up of breakfast speakers that we have.  These can be viewed on the club's home page on the right hand side.
6. If you can help out at the Food Bank this weekend, Saturday June 14, please contact John H.
7. And don't forget to do what you need to do for the Golf Tourney in August!  See below.
8. John H. won the 50/50 draw but not the pot today. 

Guests:

• Our guests today were Alex from Toronto Earls Court Rotary and our Speaker, Michael Kelly.

Announcements:

• The next Blood Donor Clinic is Saturday, May 10^th.
• Paul Harris Fellows will be presented on Thursday June 19^th at the KUMF Gallery, 2118-A Bloor Street West. This is a great opportunity to give Family, Friends and Potential Members an insight into Rotary. Food and drinks will be served starting at 6:30 p.m. and we should be wrapped up by 9:00 p.m. 

Our Guest Speaker: Michael Kelly

Michael has lead Shakespeare in Action as Artistic Director for over 25 years, coordinating programming and directing the vast majority of our productions and educational and outreach programs.

To find out more you can visit Shakespeare in Action’s website at

http://www.shakespeareinaction.org/ 

• 50/50 Draw: Scott drew his own number but didn’t win the pot. Sorry Scott

Guests:

• Our guests today were Alex from Toronto Earls Court Rotary and our Speaker, Michael Kelly.

Announcements:

• The next Blood Donor Clinic is Saturday, May 10^th.
• Paul Harris Fellows will be presented on Thursday June 19^th at the KUMF Gallery, 2118-A Bloor Street West. This is a great opportunity to give Family, Friends and Potential Members an insight into Rotary. Food and drinks will be served starting at 6:30 p.m. and we should be wrapped up by 9:00 p.m. 

Our Guest Speaker: Michael Kelly

Michael has lead Shakespeare in Action as Artistic Director for over 25 years, coordinating programming and directing the vast majority of our productions and educational and outreach programs.
 

To find out more you can visit Shakespeare in Action’s website at

http://www.shakespeareinaction.org/ 

• 50/50 Draw: Scott drew his own number but didn’t win the pot. Sorry Scott L

Guests:

• Our guests today were Alex from Toronto Earls Court Rotary and our Speaker, Gurbeen Bhasin.

Announcements:

• There will be a board meeting, Monday April 28th.
• The next Blood Donor Clinic is Saturday, May 10^th.
• There will be a Cherry Blossom walk/talk, Thursday May 22nd.
• Paul Harris Fellows will be presented on Thursday June 19^th at the KUMF Gallery, 2118-A Bloor Street West. This is a great opportunity to give Family, Friends and Potential Members an insight into Rotary. Food and drinks will be served starting at 6:30 p.m. and we should be wrapped up by 9:00 p.m. 
• Awesome work from last year TV auction! More than $8,000 raised ($5,820 raised from TV auction, and about $3,000 raised from the sale of Love Raffle tickets)
• The club's Golf Tournament is Thursday August 14^th and we need golfers but, more importantly, we need Prizes and Sponsors. The promotional posters have also arrived. Call Scott if you have questions.

 Our Guest Speaker: Gurbeen Bhasin

Gurbeen is the Executive Director of the Aangen Community Centre. Gurbeen describes Aangen as a self-sufficient (non-grant based), not-for-profit organization that helps global orphanages and families in need. Aangen raises funds through workshops, sales of Ayurvedic teas and fresh farm products. Aangen is now celebrating their 14^th year! To find out more you can visit Aangen’s website at www.aangen.com. 

• 50/50 Draw: Scott drew his own number but didn’t win the pot. Sorry Scott 

Guests:

• Our guests today were Alex from Toronto Earls Court Rotary and our Speaker, Gurbeen Bhasin.

Announcements:

• There will be a board meeting, Monday April 28th.
• The next Blood Donor Clinic is Saturday, May 10^th.
• There will be a Cherry Blossom walk/talk, Thursday May 22nd.
• Paul Harris Fellows will be presented on Thursday June 19^th at the KUMF Gallery, 2118-A Bloor Street West. This is a great opportunity to give Family, Friends and Potential Members an insight into Rotary. Food and drinks will be served starting at 6:30 p.m. and we should be wrapped up by 9:00 p.m. 
• Awesome work from last year TV auction! More than $8,000 raised ($5,820 raised from TV auction, and about $3,000 raised from the sale of Love Raffle tickets)
• The club's Golf Tournament is Thursday August 14^th and we need golfers but, more importantly, we need Prizes and Sponsors. The promotional posters have also arrived. Call Scott if you have questions.

 Our Guest Speaker: Gurbeen Bhasin

Gurbeen is the Executive Director of the Aangen Community Centre. Gurbeen describes Aangen as a self-sufficient (non-grant based), not-for-profit organization that helps global orphanages and families in need. Aangen raises funds through workshops, sales of Ayurvedic teas and fresh farm products. Aangen is now celebrating their 14^th year! To find out more you can visit Aangen’s website at www.aangen.com. 

• 50/50 Draw: Scott drew his own number but didn’t win the pot. Sorry Scott 

Notes from our April 17th meeting:

Guests:

• Our guests today were Alex from Toronto Earls Court Rotary and our Speaker, Anne Brobyn.

Announcements:

• The next Blood Donor Clinic is May 10^th and we need two volunteers for the late shift.
• Food Bank is doing a clean-up of the kitchen at the end of the month and we’ll get more information soon. They will need volunteers for this.
• The club's Golf Tournament is Thursday August 14^th and we need golfers but, more importantly, we need Prizes and Sponsors. Call Scott if you have questions.
• The TV Auction Committee met after the meeting and is making great progress!
• Paul Harris Fellows were announced and will be presented on Thursday June 19^th at the KUMF Gallery, 2118-A Bloor Street West. This is a great opportunity to give Family, Friends and Potential Members an insight into Rotary. Food and drinks will be served starting at 6:30 p.m. and we should be wrapped up by 9:00 p.m. The Recipients will be:

• Norm Clarke; who stated the Triple Threat Basketball league for Inner City Kids in 2002. There are 17 teams now.
• Daria Olynyk; who has a long list of accomplishments and contributions to the Ukrainian Community, U of T, and St Joseph’s Hospital.
• Sam Caragianakos; who is the Active Head of the Family for the Grenadier Group. Great contributor and supporter to our Rotary Club, all High Park programs and the Local Community.
• Charlene Hewat; who is a Rotarian in Zimbabwe. We are using our Club’s points to honour Charlene with this Award. In 1986-87 Charlene and a friend rode their bicycles 22,000 kilometers to bring awareness and raise money to save Rhinos. She went on to create Environment Africa, an organization to improve the conditions of water an earth to help the people of Africa and the list goes on. Our Club (Carole Rowsell) was involved with Charlene with Water Projects for 16 Communities supporting more than 20,000 people. We hope to have video of this award being presented to Charlene at their District Conference in Africa.

Our Guest Speaker: Anne Brobyn

Anne spent 15 minutes giving us a worthwhile exercise on “How to grow your Business in Niche Markets”. It was a simple and easy to understand presentation and she was very engaging.  Anne is the Founder and President of Hibiscus International. She is a Speaker, Presenter, Consultant and Travel Adviser to the Tourism 7 Hospitality Industry. To find out more you can visit her websites at www.Vision.2000.ca/AnneBrobyn  and www.Hibiscusinternational.com

• 50/50 Draw: Anne drew her own number but didn’t win the pot. Sorry Anne 

Quick notes from the March 27 breakfast meeting:

Announcements:

• The next Food Bank date is Saturday, April 12.
• There will be a board meeting, Monday April 21. (Bring your own chocolates for the Easter egg hunt.)
• The night for Paul Harris celebration/awards is not yet confirmed.

Today’s Speaker:

• Our guest speaker today was Staff Sgt. Phil Van Andel from Toronto Police Services’ 11 Division. 
• High Park falls under 11 Division, bounded to the north by Davenport, the west by the Humber River, to the east by Dufferin Street and the south by Lake Ontario. There is a slight exception to areas within Parkdale.  There are 17 police services divisions in the city.
• Staff Sgt. Van Andel spoke to us about the Pacer Report - a far reaching paper on Policing in the City of Toronto. The Pacer report addresses how Police interact with the various groups in the city and provides recommendations for the future.
• Last year, 11 Division created a Scholarship Program - which our club supported. This program is open to all students enrolled or planning to enroll in post secondary education, that either attend a school within Division 11’s boundaries or live within the boundaries. Some of the students have volunteered for homework clubs (keeping kids in the schools, and thereby keeping them out of troublesome situations, giving them better opportunities for the future) as well as in coaching and recreational opportunities, giving kids better odds of success.
• The program is based on both need and to those who have made a difference in their communities in matters concerned with safety. The committee is made of the local Committee Liaison Group, which is made of 3 community members and Staff Sgt. Van Andel.
• For more info click here.

• And Scott won the 50/50 pot!

Announcements:

• Alex from Toronto Earls Court Rotary and Fernando were our visitors today.
• Rotary Business Cards - Scott brought the draft business cards for the senior members of the club (Past and Current Presidents)
• Both the Blood Donor and the Food Bank are this weekend, Saturday March 8th.
• Night of 1000 Dinners for the Canadian Landmine Foundation is March 15th
• In this month's Snap issue, on page 2, is a brief article on the Love Raffle
• The club’s net portion of the TV auction was ~$5,700 (~$6,200 gross less expenses of ~$500)
• The new prospects’ meeting will be after the weekly meeting.
• Danielle was on the conference call (this could be available to others) with updates and progress for the TV auction.
• Scott indicated that he only has 1 candidate submission so far for the Paul Harris Fellow Award. Scott asked that submissions include support material as indicated in the Selection Criteria document that he sent out last week. Please let Scott know if you have any questions about your submissions.

Today’s Speaker:

• Wayne MacDonald gave his Classification talk and introduced the club to some of his history and why Rotary is important to him.

Happy Bucks and 50/50:

• The 50/50 pot lived for another week!!!

Notes from today's meeting:

Announcements:

• Our visitors were Alex from Toronto Earls Court Rotary and Fernando;
• Don celebrated his birthday this past Thursday. Happy Birthday Don and best wishes for many more!
• Reminder of the Night of 1000 Dinners for landmine removal on March 15th - see prior meeting notes for details;
• We are looking for worthy candidates for Paul Harris Awards.  Please see Scott for more information.

Today's Speaker:

Cheryl from Colborne Lodge treated us to a fascinating history lesson on the background of High Park and how it came to be. Some of the highlights included the fact that the land was originally purchased in 1836 by John Howard, who also happens to Toronto's first city engineer, as a "country property". John's love of the park and for family led him to sell back to the City, based on certain conditions, the property we know now as High Park in 1876, but not all at once. In fact, it was not until 1930 that High Park came to be the size that it is now. John Howard's wife died of breast cancer and is believed to have been the first identified woman to die of this nasty disease.

Next Week:

• Wayne MacDonald is tentatively to be our speaker next week;
• The 50/50 pot lived for another week!!!

Notes from today’s meeting:

• We welcomed our newest members Wayne MacDonald and Phoebe Leung.

Announcements:

• Scott celebrates his 60th Birthday this weekend! Happy Birthday Scott and best wishes for many more!
• Night of 1000 Dinners, is a night to enjoy wonderful Hot and Cold appetizers and support the Toronto Sunrise Rotary fundraising efforts to support the Canadian Landmines Foundation in their mission to eradicate landmines throughout the world. The Date: Saturday, March 15, 2014. The Place: 7 Seymour Ave. The Time: 7:30 to ??? Phone: (416) 469-0426.
• The next blood donor clinic at the Swansea Town Hall will be March 8 – Suzanne M. to confirm date.
• The "Love Raffle" netted the club $2785.50 for our charitable work!  718 of 1000 tickets were sold!  (A huge thanks to all members for their efforts!)
• The draft of the new thank-you cards for the guest speakers is available - supporting both local (High Park Nature Center) and International (Eradicating Polio) causes.

Today’s Speaker – Danielle 

• Danielle is going to organize a committee to plan and execute our Rotary TV Auction fundraiser efforts including soliciting donations from new and existing contributors.  The next meeting to be held after the Thursday breakfast!

50/50

• The 50/50 pot lived for another week!!!

In place of our usual morning meeting, on Thursday night, February 13, the club held a fellowship evening at the Yellow Griffin Pub.  The main event of the night was the Love Raffle Draw.  The following email from Danielle aptly summarizes the evening.  Thanks Danielle!!

The draw at the Yellow Griffin was also a huge success, I can see us using that venue again!  Our winners were as follows:

On Thursday night, February 13, the club held a fellowship evening at the Yellow Griffin Pub.  The main event of the night was the Love Raffle Draw.  The following email from Danielle aptly summarizes the evening.  Thanks Danielle!!

The draw at the Yellow Griffin was also a huge success, I can see us using that venue again!  Our winners were as follows:

Notes from our February 6 meeting:

Guests 

• Fernando Neubern - from Rotary Garcia Real.
• Paul Collier - From Toronto West Rotary spoke about the success of their Club’s recent recipient of "Youth Impact Award”. The Club recognized Dave Dryden for his work with "Sleeping Children around the World".

Announcements:

• Next Board meeting is tentatively scheduled for Monday, February 17, but as this is family day, it might be re-scheduled.  It will be a Suzanne's house.
• There will be no breakfast meeting next Thursday, instead, meet in the evening at the Griffin Pub and Restaurant, upstairs! For pub address and map click here.
• Scott mentioned that we have credits for Paul Harris Fellowship awards and we might want to consider recognizing members of the Community and Rotary as recipients. Scott will prepare something for the next Board meeting.

Love Raffle Ticket Sales

• We have raised $1950!!!!!.
• The draw is next Thursday, invite your friends to share in festivities. There will be some free appetizers.

Gustavo Macias - Guest Speaker

• Gustav Macias, from Skyline Farms (www.skylinefarms.ca) explained to the group about vertical farming.
• Copied from their website is a brief overview. On their website, you will find a more detailed description of the work they are doing.

 

 

 

Environmental

 

 

 

 

 

 

less space, less water, fewer nutrients, no pesticides & better access

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reduced carbon footprint

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skyline Farms’ model delivering farm to table within walking or cycling distance amounts to a major reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skyline Farms uses 0 oil-intensive fertilizers or pesticides, fewer nutrients and 10% of the land required in traditional farming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reduced carbon footprint

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skyline Farms uses aeroponic technology that consumes water in a closed loop. Crops take only what they need and recycle the rest back into the reservoirs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skyline Farms uses only about 10% of the water consumed in traditional farming methods. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Urban renewal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skyline Farms revitalizes and rehabilitates unused and under-utilized urban spaces on land and rooftops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sustainability

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skyline Farms can produce 7.7 harvests–more than double those produced by soil-based methods in the same growing period. Its vertical tower gardens maximize land use and, with greenhouses in the works, Skyline Farms will soon be harvesting all year long

 

 

 

 50/50 Draw

• John won the weekly draw and our guest speaker drew in his absence but the pot lives for another week!

Notes from our breakfast meeting today:

Visiting Rotarian:

• We had a visiting Rotarian from Grenada (the Spice Island!) today.  He has been with his 45 year old club - the first of 3 in Grenada - for 23 years.

Food Bank:

• February 8th (Saturday) is our next Food Bank outing.

Paul Harris Award:

• Carole Rowsell received a Paul Harris Award this morning.
• There are several ways to earn a Paul Harris including outstanding service and contributions towards RI.
• Scott mentioned that there are several awards of which some can be members of the community not necessarily members of Rotary.
• Congratulations Carole!

Today's Speaker:

• Danielle spoke to us today about the need to start planning now for the Rotary TV Auction.  Start thinking of what role makes sense for you.

The News from today's meeting:

Love Raffle

• Ticket sales will take place this weekend, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
• Ticket Sales are going very well.

• Danielle will follow-up her January 16 presentation with further information on the TV Auction.

Jazz Night at the Lula Lounge

• Jazz Night - Rotary Foundation Dinner & Show - Lula Lounge February 2nd.  For details see the Lula Lounge site by clicking here.

Land Mine Fundraiser - March 8

• There is a fund raiser on March 8 to rid the world of Land mines. The evening is hosted by some leading Toronto Chefs and is open to all. It is an evening of amazing appetizers! Give what you can. This is an international project shared with Sunrise Rotary. The address is 1585 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario 416 788 2699.

Happy Bucks

• We were all HAPPY but no Bucks to report

50/50 Draw

• Don Sirko had the winning ticket and pulled out the Joker. Congratulations Don!

Get your Love Raffle tickets! Only 1000 tickets printed. $5/One or $20/Five

1st Prize: Two VIA Round Trip Tickets to Quebec City

2nd Prize: HBC Signature Blanket

3rd Prize: Diaper Bag and Stuffed Toy

4th Prize: Carnelian Necklace

5th Prize: 2 Medieval Times Tickets

We will be holding the draw at the Yellow Griffin Pub on Thursday evening, February 13, 2014.  We'll be gathering on the pub's second floor for food, fellowship and the draw beginning at 8:00 p.m.  The Yellow Griffin is located at 2202 Bloor Street West.  For more ticket information, contact Dr. Danielle Gilas at 416.523.2374 or email at Dr.Gilas@gmail.com.  Proceeds to the club's local charitable activities.

The Rotary Club of Parkdale - High Park continued its support of the Swansea Town Hall Blood Donor Clinic last Saturday.  Every other month, our club serves coffee and cookies to our local blood donors.  Pictured above is our own Scott Bartle - doing double duty.

The News from today's meeting

Updates

• Paul is planning to be back in the club, around June 2014
• The LOVE raffle ticket sales will be taking places this Saturday (January 18, 2014) at the Grenadier Restaurant
• A speaker has been lined to present on the topic of Vertical Gardening in the near future
• PACT will be the beneficiary of our 2014 Golf Tournament. This organization targets youth who have been involved with the Police and given them means to stay out of legal trouble.  PACT stands for Participation, Action, Commitment and Transition. Visit their website for more information www.pactprogram.ca
• Two causes (Polio and Nature Center) have been identified for speaker gifts.
• There is a photo contest to illustrate service projects. The dates of the photos must be between July 1st 2013 and March 31st 2014. The picture size is limited to 3mb and must be jpeg format.

• Danielle spoke about the need to start planning for the Rotary TV Auction.

See below an update from Ron Noseworthy who is in the field in the Philippines followed by some recent photos. 

The damage & destruction caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines is enormous & wide spread.  Our ShelterBox Response Team has been concentrating our initial response on the remote islands of the Bantayan archipelago which are located north of the island of Cebu.  We are working in this area because it has not received much aid as a result of its' remoteness.  These islands were in the direct path of the typhoon and sustained massive damage, with 70 to 80% of the homes destroyed or badly damaged in many of the towns.  

Supplying our aid in this area has been challenging logistically.  We are dealing with limited transportation, restricted communications and destroyed infrastructure.  Three weeks after the typhoon there is still no power on the islands and it will likely be a very long time before it is restored.  Reconstruction has been slow, compounded by severe poverty in many parts of the islands.  We travel to the smaller outer islands, carrying our tents and supplies in small, local fishing boats with limited capacity. 

In spite of these challenges, we have been able to deliver our aid to many, many grateful families.  We are working with local disaster relief organizations and have received great help from the young recruits of the Philippine Marine Reserve Corp as well as from many local volunteers.  

With The Philippines close to the equator, the temperature and humidity levels are very high and the sun is punishing.  However, these are relatively minor inconveniences to us compared with the suffering of the Philippine people.  They are very resilient and, in spite of the enormous challenges that they face, they remain positive and upbeat; they are a pleasure to work with.

We supplied a tent to a very elderly couple with several grandchildren in their care.  We set up the tent in a field near their destroyed home and when I returned to check on them an hour later, it was heartwarming to see the little old lady crouched down and busily trimming the high grass and bushes around the tent with only a knife.  It was obvious that our tent was not only giving them essential shelter, but also  providing  them with the hope and dignity to carry on. 

The need is enormous and as long as our generous supporters continue to donate to our important mission, ShelterBox will be here to help many more thousands of desperate families in the Philippines.

Ron Noseworthy
ShelterBox Response Team Member
Past President Rotary Club of Kenora
Chair, ShelterBox Canada

The 33rd Annual Metro Toronto TV Auction was held this past weekend, November 22-23, 2013.  By all accounts, it was a success!  And for the first time, the auction was live-streamed over the internet by Rogers TV to make the auction available to an even wider audience.

Thanks to all club members for your contributions to the weekend.  Working together with the East York, North Scarborough, Scarborough Twilight, and Toronto Humber Rotary clubs, we were able to raise funds in support of our clubs' charitable efforts.  

This year, ShelterBox figured prominently over the course of the telecast.  This timing was fortunate given Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and global Rotary efforts to contribute to ShelterBox's request for donations.

Please click on the image below for details on the Rotary TV Auction being held on November 22 and 23, 2013.

Items for auction and the schedule is available through this Rotary link:  www.rotaryclubauction.com 

PLEASE BID AND SUPPORT ROTARY'S CHARITABLE EFFORTS!!

Quick notes from today's meeting:

• Present today: Suzanne M. Don, Robin, Scott, Carole, Hugh and visiting Rotarian, Gord Dobbin.
• Gord Dobbin came in today to light a fire under us for this year's TV Auction:
  • We need more active commitment from all Toronto-High Park members - especially on the operations committee.  
  • It's time to get items together for this year's auction and need to have the items in by the end of October. 
  • Gord was glad to hear that we have a letter going out for old supporters and that we are trying to find new item donors.
• Rather than our breakfast meeting on November 7, we will meet at Lulu Lounge in the evening in support of the High Park Nature Centre's fundraiser. They will have 5 bands and a comedian and "nature calls".  Should be fun.
• Blood Donor Clinic is on this Saturday.  If you can make it, please call Suzanne M.  We are a little short this weekend.
• Happy bucks:
  • Suzanne M. for pleasant travelling vacation with father
  • Scott for recent vacation with family and his sister who is recovering well to her stem cell cancer treatment
• Hugh won the draw but not the pot.

High Park Rotary Club—Minutes for the Meeting of September 5th, 2013

Present:  Hugh Dimock, John Humphreys, Paul Pereira, Carole Rowsell, Don Sirko, Robin Sorys

Guests: District Governor Valarie Wafer, Assistant District Governor Mary Lou Harrison, Fernando Neubern from the Rotary Club of Garca Real, and Magdallini Agrafioti

Call to order: by Don: 7:45 a.m.

Announcements:

Mark your calendars:

• October 10 visit by Ms. Peggy Nash - our federal MP for Parkdale-High Park, Official Opposition Critic for Finance, will be visiting our Rotary club.

• Sept. 12 visit by Gord Dobbin to update on TV Auction planning.

• Mary Lou introduced Valarie. Valarie has been awarded a queen's diamond jubilee medal for hiring those with disabilities.

Notes from Valarie’s “Engage”  talk:

• When choosing a partner for marriage, we don't think that a few dates are enough to make-up our minds. When a prospective Rotarian chooses to join, why do we think that they well be able to make an effective decision after a few visits?
• Our pitch to Rotarians has relied in large part on the value of loyalty, but the current generation is impatient. The traditional 30 second elevator speech for “Why Rotary” mentions the 1.2 million service-oriented members we have around the wold, the prospect for friendship and personal growth, opportunities for lifetime learning and global citizenship, an environment free of politics and religion, and an opportunity to serve. This list does not appeal to the younger demographic. They do not seek structure nor fellowship, but opportunities to help others around the world, to vaccinate children, and to bring fresh water to communities, now. The young want to be engaged today.
• Rotary has created a new chair for engaging young professionals with a focus on new technologies such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Rotary has also released a new website.
• Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary International, recognized our need to adapt early on. “This is a changing world; we must be prepared to change with it. The story of Rotary will have to be written again and again.”  (Paul Harris, This Rotarian Age, circa 1935)
• Valarie's talk closed with an appeal for engagement:
  1. Attend the District conference in October.
  2. Have a meeting once a month outside the club.
  3. Find a signature hands-on project to allow people to participate with sweat rather than dollars.
  4. Take the challenge to change and be engaged with Rotary.

After some speculation regarding the fairness of the ticket draw. Doubts were shattered when Paul's ticket was finally chosen. Paul failed, however, to choose the joker, leading to new speculation that there may not even be a joker in the deck. The pot lives.

Meeting adjourned: at 8:30 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Paul Pereira

High Park Rotary Club—Minutes for the Meeting of July 25^th, 2013 

Present:  Susanne Manvelle, Scott Bartle, Danielle Gilas, John Humphreys, Paul Pereira, Carole Rowsell, Don Sirko, Robin Sorys.

Guests: Alex Franklin, Magdeleni Agrafioti, Mary Lou Harrison.

Call to order: 7:45am.

Board Meeting: There will be a board meeting on Monday.

Golf Tournament: Scott has announced that the golf tournament is now sold out. We have 144 golfers, but are still in need of prizes. Please obtain a business card for each sponsor.

Oh, The Places You'll Go ... Adventures in Rotary (with apologies to Dr. Seuss!): Mary Lou Harrison spoke about her experiences with Rotary.

Mary became started as a member of Whitby Sunrise. Her international trips have brought her to the Dominican Republic, South Africa, and Uganda amongst other places. At home, she has demonstrated ShelterBox on her front lawn while fundraising for Girl Guides. Mary has met many interesting people through Rotary, particularly through Rotary's conventions, fundraising, leadership opportunities, and relief efforts.

World Polio Day: World Polio Day is to be held on October 24.

Foundation Walk: The District 7070 Rotary Foundation Walk will be held in Newmarket on October 6^th, 2013.

Club Focus: Ms. Harrison's club has singled out a single local charity and international charity for support: a footcare clinic at St. James Cathedral and a clinic in Ghana. Her club is small, with 18 members, so they found they did not have sufficient funds to split amongst multiple charitable causes.

High Park Brochure: The summer brochure has been published by Grenadier Restaurant and mentions the Rotary Club.

Blood Clinic: The next Swansea blood clinic will be held on September 14^th.

Rotaract: there is a race in Alexandria, Egypt for Rotaract members.

District Governor: will be visiting September 5^th.

Happy bucks: Scott is glad the golf tournament is now sold out. Don found a home for a Service Berry tree. Suzanne is happy Mary Lou was able to give her presentation.

The pot: The pot lives, says Robin who drew again after her recent win. Volunteer scrutineers were requested for next week.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:30am.

Sincerely,

Paul J.S. Pereira

Pictured above L-R: John, Don, Danielle, Scott, Simon, Carole, Robin, Suzanne, Paul 

Minutes for the Meeting of July 18^th, 2013

Present:  Suzanne Manvell, Scott Bartle, Hugh Dimock, Danielle Gilas, John Humphreys, Paul Pereira, Carole Rowsell, Don Sirko, Robin Sorys.

Guests:  Simon Da Rosa of  Brokerforce Insurance Inc. 1501 Dundas St. West., Toronto  (near Dufferin)  416-533-3565 (office) 416-627-3565 (cell).

Call to order: 7:45am.

Announcements:

Golf.  We are aiming for 30 golfers from our club and looking for 30 prizes.

Garage sale. The Toronto Sunrise Rotary Club will be having a garage sale Saturday at 8am at 18 Norma Crescent near Bloor & Glendonwynne. Volunteers wanted.

Guest Speaker:

Insurance. Simon spoke about basement flooding. The last Toronto rain storm caught insurance companies by surprise. They have been slow to respond to their clients. Simon's office had 22 claims and his head office had 200 claims.

Survey: What should affected households do? Immediately make a list of all damage to your home's structure and personal property. You should hire a contractor to do the initial clean-up if it is too big for you to handle, but keep receipts. Then you should take your appliances and store them in a safe place. In some cases, people have stored their appliances outside and they have disappeared.

Carpet: If you have to replace carpet, keep a piece so that you have evidence for the insurance adjuster. Many people try to use floods as an excuse to upgrade carpets. If there are health hazards, you can often seek temporary accommodation for a reasonable cost.

Hugh asked if there is possible damage behind the wall, whether the insurance company pay for inspection (which may cause damage). Most policies will not cover a destructive inspection.

Scott asked if it is necessary to contact an adjuster before hiring a contractor. Many insurance companies will allow you to hire before the adjuster in circumstances like this flood. Don mentioned the possibility of hiring an outside adjuster. This usually is not an advantage unless the claim is very large.

Infiltration damage: water penetrates through cracks. Water damage to the structure is not covered, but damage to personal property is. Area rugs are part of the contents, wall-to-wall rugs are part of the structure.

Water escape: covered. This water may come from a pipe that leaks, the bathtub, etc. This is often due to human error.

Sewer backup: sometimes covered. It is difficult for adjusters to differentiate between infiltration and sewer backup. This is particularly true when the adjuster arrives late, after you have cleaned up. This is an addition to the standard home-owner's package. Most companies now offer limits for this coverage. The deductible is often $2500 to $10,000. Limits are often $20,000 to $30,000.

The insurance companies are getting away with too much, with differing rates by postal code. The area may needs government intervention as there was with automobile insurance.

Preventive measures: proper maintenance of the property. Be familiar with your home owner's policy. Ask questions and negotiate with your broker. Mechanical prevention measures. Sump pumps: are very effective except when the power is out. They are great to avoid humidity and water. Insurance companies are starting to pay attention to sump pumps and back-flow valves (both manual, semi-, and fully-automatic). There are pedestal and submersible sump pumps. They are often electric, but some new ones run by water or have battery back-up. They cost about $2500, and the city will provide about half.

Renters in the basement: You can be responsible for the loss of your tenant's property if there is a problem with your property and it is the reason for your loss. If he moves out for a few days, you are also responsible. You should require them to have tenant's insurance. If they cause a problem to your property, then their insurance policy would cover it.

Costs of insurance: has doubled in the past few years. Labour costs have stayed constant, but material costs have increased. The insurance companies will likely increase rates by 10-15%.

Past President's Dinner.  August 14^th, from 5-8pm.

Rotary's Presidential Citation: was awarded to Don for his work last year.

The pot lives, says John after drawing his own ticket for a second time.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30am.

Sincerely,

Paul J.S. Pereira

Notes from today's meeting:

• We were glad to have Michelle Guy and Fernando Neubern back with us again as visitors this week.  And, shortly into the meeting, Paul Collier from the RC of Toronto West joined us.
• Suzanne asked us to give thought to the types of presenters and presentations we might like to have this year.
• There was talk of putting on a gala - perhaps at Sunnyside.  This is something that would take some planning and is a possibility for next year.
• Scott updated on golf.  The golfer numbers are good.  We still need prizes so let Scott know what you can contribute - especially if you're not available to volunteer at the event itself.  We'll be setting up a ShelterBox tent on the course.  For the poster, click here.
• Hugh indicated that there is a TV Auction Operations meeting tonight.  It's not too early to collect items for this year's auction now - in order to avoid last minute rushes.
• Don, Hugh and Michelle shared their personal flooded basement stories from this week's record rainfall.
• Carole mentioned her conversation with Jan from the Beeches Club.  Apparently the pod system worked very well for their club in terms of organising meetings.  We might want to revisit the pod approach as a way to organise ourselves.  Pods worked for them and improved attendance.
• There will be a board meeting at Suzanne's house on July 29? at 6:30 p.m.
• I forget who won the draw but the pot still lives.

Notes from our first meeting of the new Rotary year chaired by President Suzanne M.:

• Suzanne introduced our visitors today:
  • Fernando Neubern (20 year former Rotarian from Brazil now living in Toronto)
  • Michelle Guy from the Toronto Club.
• Carole did a make-up in going to the RI convention in Lisbon, Portugal!
• It's Danielle's birthday tomorrow - Happy Birthday Danielle!
• The Canada Day event in High Park was a success according to Robin, Arthur and Suzanne R.  Seventeen visitors came by our Rotary table and all of our pamphlets were distributed.  Having the ShelterBox display next to our table helped to draw people in and so Arthur was able to chat to folks about Rotary and relate it to the ShelterBox initiative.  Two Rotarians from Australia visited our table.
• Scott relayed that 132 golfers are lined up for our August 15 Golf Tournament.  No breakfast meeting that day. Need commitment from our various club members.  Speak to Robin for volunteering.  Scott will be following up with each of us.  Who knows, Fernando could be there!

Today's Speakers:

• Carole and Michelle gave us their first hand impressions of the recent RI Convention in Lisbon, Portugal.   Overall, a great experience!!
• The convention consisted of plenary sessions held in a "skydome"-like building and "break-out groups" held in various locations.
• The plenary sessions included presentations from two Nobel peace prize winners, Jacques Cousteau's grand-daughter (on her web site designed to trigger positive change in the world), Jane Goodall (with a chimp in tow speaking about the environment and positive changes being brought about), and Toronto's Craig Kielberger (Save the Children) as the final speaker.  Craig was electrifying.
• Some of the the break-out groups were a little challenged from space and language translation perspectives.  Carole attended the water topics.  An honourable mention was that Jim Luitt from the Toronto Club moderated the micro-finance break-out session that both Carole and Michelle attended.
• This was Michelle's 7th RI convention and she was yet again inspired by the fact that Rotarians from 167 countries come together with shared interests and experiences..."like-minded people".  One convention should almost be mandatory.
• Carole purchased the convention DVD package and, when they arrive, will be able to show at upcoming breakfast meetings.
• Carole and Michelle were very taken by the politeness of the Portuguese people.  
• Carole is going to miss the wee old-fashioned tram - a highlight of her day!

Following our impromptu speakers:

• Mention was made of our own District Conference in Deerhurst in late October 2013.
• We chatted about the number of "wanted" posters to print.
• Happy Bucks came from:
  • Carole thanking Don for his leadership this past year and for Suzanne M. for the year ahead;
  • Danielle for her best vacation ever, getting home safely and her 40th tomorrow!;
  • Michelle for our "amazing" club;
  • Suzanne M. for last week's President's dinner and her first meeting as President;
  • and Fernando Neubern for being back at a Rotary meeting.
• John won the draw but not the pot.

On Monday, July 1 Peggy Nash, MP hosted her annual Canada Day barbeque in High Park. Over a thousand members of the community attended the event along with many community groups and Arthur Andersen and Suzanne Rusywich represented our club and met some interesting people including a rotary member and his wife from Australia.

• On Thursday, June 27, we celebrated the past 2012-2013 year under President Don.
• Past President Robin organised the dinner celebration.
• We gathered at the Sunnyside Pavilion for dinner and fellowship on a beautiful summer evening. 
• Attending were Don and Irene, Paul, Danielle, Hugh and Karen, Robin, Scott and Sally, Suzanne M. and John.
• In his report, Scott revealed that we gave out approximately $10K this past year - not bad!
• Scott gave Don (on order) and John their pins for perfect attendance.  This marks 19 years of perfect attendance for Don!
• Lastly, we're looking forward to the 2013-14 year ahead under incoming President Suzanne M.
• Thank you Robin, Don and Suzanne M!
• And don't forget the July 1, Canada Day commitments at High Park - 11:00 - 2:30.

• On Thursday, June 27, we celebrated the past 2012-2013 year under President Don.
• Past President Robin organised the dinner celebration.
• We gathered at the Sunnyside Pavilion for dinner and fellowship on a beautiful summer evening. 
• Attending were Don and Irene, Paul, Danielle, Hugh and Karen, Robin, Scott and Sally, Suzanne M. and John.
• In his report, Scott revealed that we gave out approximately $10K this past year - not bad!
• Scott gave Don (on order) and John their pins for perfect attendance.  This marks 19 years of perfect attendance for Don!
• Lastly, we're looking forward to the 2013-14 year ahead under incoming President Suzanne M.
• Thank you Robin, Don and Suzanne M!
• And don't forget the July 1, Canada Day commitments at High Park - 11:00 - 2:30.

Very brief notes from today's meeting:

• Our visitor today was Paul Pereira.
• Our new member today was Paul Pereira - classification lawyer - welcome Paul!

             President Don (sorting out pin) and Paul

• John handed in a number of make-ups and a couple of Rotary pennants from his recent sojourn in England.
• John showed off the new recruitment Wanted posters - final edition.
• Hugh finally finished his ShelterBox Texas training presentation which resulted in some discussion/comparisons to how other Rotary-affiliated organisations often evolve.
• There were several happy bucks including Don marking his last meeting as President and Suzanne with several happy bucks including one for escaping unscathed from her car accident.
• John won the draw but not the joker.
• Remember that there is no breakfast meeting next week, June 27.  Instead we are meeting for our President's dinner at Sunnyside Pavillion at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 27.  Children and friends welcome!

Some notes from today's breakfast meeting:

Visitors:

• Alex from the Toronto Earlscourt Rotary Club
• Lynne Martin from the Toronto District School Board and Naly from St. Christopher House
• Paul Pereira - soon to be a Rotarian
• Today's speaker and a founding member of our club - David Lockett

Announcements:

• Expect a call from Scott regarding our golf tournament preparations in the next week or so.
• Robin handed out copies of the new Grenadier Restaurant brochure which includes our club logo/meeting invite.  It looks great and the High Park map on the back has made it very usable by weekend visitors to the park.  Many thanks to the Grenadier for this initiative.
• John presented the latest version of the "Wanted Poster".  With one last modification, it is ready to go to print.  It was also suggested that we add the $2.99 Breakfast to our web page (sec. note DONE). 
• John also announced that the Abbott Street Sale is on for June 22.  Speak to John for more details.  Don is contributing a wine fridge!

Presentations:

• President Don presented a cheque from the club to Lynne and Naly to support the work at St. Christopher's House.  The St. Christopher House program to be supported is the 3 week summer one for parents and children that helps children from immigrant families prepare to attend kindergarten in Toronto.
• President Don also presented a cheque to David Lockett in support of PACT.

Speaker:

• David Lockett gave the club an update on the PACT (Participation, Acknowledgement, Commitment & Transformation) program.
• PACT was founded in 1995 by our own Rotary club charter members David Lockett and Dan Cornacchia with the goal to build peace in our community "in partnership with the courts, schools, and other youth focused community agencies".  PACT has had tremendous support from Rotary over the years and is currently helping 700-800 kids each year.  PACT continues to work with at risk youth using a one-on-one coaching approach to help youth turn their lives around before their ways become set on a life of crime and so that they may their lives to their full potential.  More information on PACT can be found at www.pactprogram.ca.  
• Don thanked David and presented a mosquito net on PACT's behalf to Tanzania.

Happy Bucks & 50/50:

• Happy bucks came from Scott (Don vs. Gord Perks on light synchronisation as lights being sync'd), David (glad to be back visiting this morning with Don and Scott), Hugh (Karen's 200 km plus Ride to Conquer Cancer), and Don (synchronised lights too?)
• Our visitor, Alex, won the draw but not the pot.

Next Week:

• As there is no scheduled speaker, Hugh may finish up last week's ShelterBox presentation.

Today's breakfast meeting was readily abandoned in favour of a Euchre social evening.

Summary of the Euchre Evening:

• Danielle graciously hosted Rotarians, spouses, family and friends in her building's Party Room.
• Following food and refreshment, and some brief instructions for the novices, we sat down to an evening of fellowship and...competition.  
• You see, Danielle had consulted with her sister, an expert in organising euchre tournaments and it would be each player playing alone for two different pots - one for successfully "going it alone" and one for the overall high score.  That set the tone.  
• In the tournament format, the winning team rotated to the next table and the losing team stayed put.  In each game, we each had a new partner and kept our own scores.  As it would turn out, some people moved and some did not!
• At the end of the evening, Don was that last to be holding the coffee cup for successfully "going it alone".
• And, Robin was the overall winner with the highest score.  Robin then handed her prize back to the club!
• A great evening with the talk of doing this as a club fundraiser in future.
• MANY THANKS TO DANIELLE!! 

• Lastly, while there were no announcements this evening, do take a peek at the August 15 Golf Tourney reminder on the web site main page.

At today's meeting:

• Lisa Chang and Paul Pereira were our visitors today.  
  • Lisa is thinking about rejoining Rotary after being away for 10 years.
  • Paul has been a true "regular" over the past few weeks and could soon be joining us!!
• Robin announced that Suzanne R. and Arthur have volunteered for the July 1 event in High Park. 
• Don mentioned passing along informational emails from other clubs such as for the upcoming Rotary golf tournament of Newmarket's.  Check your emails.
• Speaking of golf, Scott announced that:
• • The push is now on for our August 15th Golf Tournament.  We need to work on sponsors, prizes, and golfers.  The Rotary Club of Brampton Flower City Centennial has committed to recruiting 80 golfers.  As the minimum number required is 120 to make the tournament work, this should not be a problem though we are targeting having a full complement of 144 golfers.  Robin will be coordinating the volunteer effort from across the clubs. Scott will be approaching each of us individually to see what we can each commit to...and then will be following up on our individual delivery!!
  • Speaking of the Rotary Club of Brampton Flower City Centennial, they are recognising Johnny Bower as "Citizen of the Year" at their Presidential Gala on July 11, 2013.  This will be a black tie event at the Mississauga Grand Banquet Hall.  For details, see their web site at www.flowercityrotary.org
• Danielle announced that preparations are well underway for the Euchre Evening next Thursday, May 30.  If you haven't RSVP'd to Danielle please do so. There will be no breakfast meeting that day!  Food (pizza and salad) is being provided and it's BYOB.  Don't be an early bird and show up before 7 p.m. as Danielle might not be there by then!
• The balance of the morning meeting was spent doing a quick euchre introduction - led by Danielle.  (Don't worry, you'll get it by the end of next Thursday.)
• Happy Bucks:
  • Scott for his son's summer playing with the Marlins baseball team in Manitoba!
  • Danielle for her upcoming vacation!
  • Don relieved for his cataract surgery today.
• Danielle then won the 50/50 draw but not the pot.
• See you all at Danielle's next Thursday night!!

Thanks to Paul and Suzanne for the following:

High Park Rotary Club—Minutes for the Meeting of May 16^th, 2013

Present:  Don Sirko, Scott Bartle, Danielle Gilas, Suzanne Manvell, Carole Rowsell, Robin Sorys.

Guests:  Paul Pereira.

Call to order: 7:45am. 

Blood Donor Clinic.  There is a blood donor clinic Saturday morning at the Swansea Town Hall. There are two shifts from 9-11:30am and from 11:30-2pm.  Volunteers are needed to mark cards, give juice and cookies. Carole and Suzanne are attending the first, Paul and Scott the second.

TV auction.  Danielle, thinks that sending out the call to action cards for items donated to the TV Auction. She has asked for extra help to attend meetings for the TV auction, to which Don agreed.. Danielle also asked how we feel about setting a goal for the auction. Last year we made $7,000 including our sponsorship, so let's think about a new bigger and better goal to achieve for next year

Grenadier Brochure.  Robin presented the Grenadier Restaurant Brochure in which we are highlighted as one of the community groups.

Fluid Change.  Omar's Service Station's gift to the TV Auction, a transmission fluid flush of $150 value, is still available. Bid on it at Danielle's party next Thursday night.

Food trucks.  Don will call Suresh, the president of the food truck association, to ask him to participate in our upcoming fundraisers.

Canada Day.  Suzanne R. and Arthur will be asked if they would like to man the table at the July 1st event in the park.

Cheques.  We need cheques for CAMH for the donation to the garden.

Recipient breakfast.  Danielle spoke with Mike Bell and they do a special breakfast for the recipients of the monies that we give throughout the year. It would great idea for us to do the same for our recipients and also for our donors from the TV auction.  We could invite them at the same time as we send out the call to action letter in September and have a breakfast in October.

Golf tournament.  Our annual tournament is on August 15^th. We need golfing groups and sponsors. The price is $250 per golfer (or $225 with the early bird discount) and $1,500 per corporate sponsor. We need new sponsors and also reach out to friends and clients for golfing parties. We also need items for the silent auction

Train your brain.  Juice up your brain with Dr. Danielle. Train the brain two thursdays from today.

Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 8:30am.

The pot. Scott drew, and the pot lives.

Happy Bucks:

Graduation.  Congratulations to Scott's son for graduating. He will be playing baseball in Brandon, Manitoba for the summer.

Daughter's visit.  Don contributed a buck for his daughter coming home on Saturday.

Great fellowship.  Suzanne had happy bucks for enjoying the fellowship of our great club. She did not have any loonies or toonies and so will contribute one of each next week to mark this moment and pay for the draw.

Respectfully Submitted,

Paul J.S. Pereira & Suzanne Manvell

Members will note the higher standard in the following notes from our May 9th meeting - thanks Paul!!

Present:  Don Sirko, Scott Bartle, Carole Rowsell, Robin Sorys.

Guests:  Lynne Martin of the Toronto School Board; Kate Sowen of St. Christopher House; Paul Pereira.

Announcements:  Division 11 of the Toronto Police Services has an Open House on Saturday, May 11th at 2054 Davenport Road from 11am-3pm.

Call to order:  The meeting was called to order at 7:50 a.m.

St. Christopher House—Early Learning Program:  Lynne Martin and Kate Sowen visited the Rotary Club on behalf of St. Christopher House.

They spoke of the Queen Victoria Early Learning Program, a summer readiness program serving low-income students and new immigrants. The pre-Kindergarten program is offered to 80 students in 3 classrooms by a teacher and support staff. It is held through July from 9am-12am, and then for a few days from 9-2, so that students will be ready for their first days of school. Program members do better in school. The program is sponsored in part by the Queen Victoria School, Toronto Public Health, the Parkdale Parents & Primary Prevention Program, and the City of Toronto. They have a budget of $18,000 and seek from $2000 from the High Park Rotary Club. Kate mentioned that she is now on secondment to St. Christopher House and that Lydia Monaco will be taking responsibility for the program as of June. Lydia is a Director of Children, Youth & Family Services.

The club donated $1000 last year, but due to fiscal constraints this year, the Club considered making a smaller donation of $500 this year.

Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 8:18 a.m.

50/50 Draw: Carole won 50% of a $144 pot by drawing the Joker.

Respectfully Submitted,

Paul J.S. Pereira

In a nutshell:

• Paul Pereira visited us this morning.  Paul is interested in learning more about Rotary.  Paul is a law student - soon to be articling.
• Our guests this morning were S/Sgt Phil Van Andel, Councillor Gord Perks and Mary, his assistant.
• A surprise visitor this morning was Richard Clarke!  Richard came out east for the polio celebration in Ottawa.  Richard gave an update on the success of the recent penny fundraising for polio, and the involvement of the federal government and Bill Gates in matching the funds raised.  Between $6 and 7 million was raised!  
• President Don presented a cheque from the club for $500 to S/Sgt Van Andel for 11 Division's Community Safety Scholarship program.  Phil updated the club on the fact that 11 Division has awarded two $1,000 scholarships this year and has a little left over to seed next year's scholarships.
• Don indicated that there is a meeting this weekend for new club executives.  Don is going and if you're interested in going too, speak to Don.
• Gord Perks, spoke to us passionately about the need for an LRT system.  Gord indicated that an LRT system is critical to Toronto's future and indicated some possible ways and means of funding such a system.   He encourages us all to spread the word that the LRT is the most cost effective option for public transit.
• Danielle circulated the TV Auction thank you note that is going to be sent out to our donors and sponsors - looks good!
• Robin reminded us of the upcoming early bird deadline for the Golf Tournament!
• Don won the draw but not the pot.

Some notes from our April 25th meeting:

• It was agreed to give $150 to Bill Patchett to the End Polio Campaign to wrap up any commitment.
• There was $40 collected at the last board meeting for Land Mines.
• The Grenadier Restaurant is making a pamphlet to include community groups and we will be highlighted along with others.  This pamphlet will be at the front of the restaurant, so we will gain so good exposure that way.  Thanks Sam!
• Hugh attempted to give a presentation on his recent ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) assessment training experience in Texas.  As the TV monitor did not cooperate with Hugh's PowerPoint presentation, he will try again at a future date when he'll also have some pictures to share.  In brief though, the purpose of the assessment training was to select candidates to proceed to further training in Cornwall, England.  It was a 4 day assessment program with 11 candidates (including 5 Rotarians) and 8 SRT assessors.  All in all, an interesting experience with 4 candidates selected to proceed to Cornwall - no Rotarians (sniff!).
• Gord Perks will be our speaker next week when we will be presenting a cheque to 11 Division for their Community Safety Scholarship program.

 Happy Bucks: 

• Robin (sisters birthday); Danielle (upcoming European vacation) and Suzanne M. (YouTube video that won a new client).

50/50

• Don drew the card, and yes, the pot lives. 

Today:

• Michelle Guy from the Toronto Club visited us this morning doing a make-up.  
• Hugh did a make-up in attending ShelterBox training in Texas last week.  More on that next week.
• Lots of chat about this and that this morning - including the purpose of the controlled burn for High Park's Black Oak Savannah and the Trump Aids effort in Malawi.
• Don gave an overview of the recent District 7070 meeting including the following: District raised over $800K for RI Foundation this year; we netted 10 new members in the past campaign; there is a new members package available to us through District; there is a water conference in Lisbon the day before the upcoming Lisbon RI conference; District 7070 will be well represented at Lisbon - one of the top Districts in terms of participation; District 7070 is #1 in the world for polio giving and there were only 17 cases of polio reported last year; see Don for information on the Trump Aids poker walk April 27; and, we have the most recent guide for Rotary Youth Exchange.  And, from the recent Toronto Presidents meeting, Don mentioned that: the Etobicoke Club will be looking for volunteers (10 per school) for the breakfast for schools initiative; and, Don's Toronto initiative was discussed with a comment offered that it might be a challenge to maintain long term motivation given the 26 year span.
• Don also mentioned that District Governor-Elect Valarie Wafer will visit our club on September 5 in her role as our new District Governor.
• Scott passed around the new thank you card being developed for our supporters.  We will be able to tailor the inside message by way of an insert appropriate to whatever occasion.
• Hugh attended the 2013 Rotary TV Auction kick-off meeting Tuesday night this week.  The auction committee is looking for leaders for the various teams.  The teams are: 1) Operations; 2) Sponsors & Partners; 3) Public Relations & Marketing; 4) Warehouse & Item Management; 5) Customer Support/Relations Management; and 6) Finance/Treasurer.  If you are interested in leading and/or being on any of these teams, speak to Danielle or Hugh.  It was suggested that we start now on soliciting items from any new sources we might be thinking of.
• Assuming that he gets some anticipated photos from the course, Hugh will likely present to the club next week, April 25, on his ShelterBox response team assessment training experience last week. 
• Don won the 50/50 draw but not the pot.

• We had 3 visiting Rotarians:  Don and MJ from the East York club and Paul from the Toronto West club.
• Our guest speakers this morning were Staff Sgt. Phil Van Andel from Toronto Police Service's 11 Division and Allan Crawford from the City of Toronto PFR Inner City Outtripping Centre.
• The meeting was very ably chaired by our incoming President Suzanne M.  - fresh off P.E.T.S. training and her recent excursion to RI headquarters in Chicago.
• Allan Crawford spoke to us of the help that Rotary has been to his outtripping organisation over the years.  He then introduced his "new best friend", S/Sgt. Phil Van Andel.  Phil spoke to us about 11 Division's efforts to create a number of Community Safety Scholarships.   These scholarships have been successfully awarded by 14 Division over the last number of years.  11 Division's Community Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) would like to create a similar opportunity for students living in the 11 Division area (lake to St. Clair and Dufferin to the Humber).  For 11 Division, this will be the First Annual Community Safety scholarship with the Investing in Our Diversity Scholarship program.  "The scholarship will award up to $4,000 to deserving young people who live or go to school within the boundaries of the Toronto Services 11 Division and who are engaged in making their community a safer place to live."  This program has the support of Bill Blair, Chief of Police.  The program is unique in that it recognises community and civic engagement vs. academic accomplishment.  There are matching scholarships offered through the city's universities and colleges as well as an employment program to help students connect to their chosen fields.  The scholarship supports any form of credible post-seondary education or training, including university, college, trade school, apprenticeship etc.  Time is unfortunately short.  They have raised $750 so far and the awards dinner is on May 23rd.  Applications are with the 4 local high schools and they need to raise money now to reach their objective.  Anything we can do would be appreciated.  There is a free Scholarship Program Breakfast launch Wednesday April 17, 2013 8-9 a.m. at Blaney McMutry LLP, 2 Queen Street East, Suite 1500, 15th floor.  For more information and to make a donation, we can call Phil at 416.808.1183 or email him at phillip.vanandel@torontopolice.on.ca
• Happy Bucks came from Suzanne M. for conducting her first meeting, Paul for the great work that the Police Services do behind the scenes, and from Danielle for her new grandpa.
• President Don should be back next week while Hugh will be away on the ShelterBox assessment training.
• S/Sgt. Van Andel selected Allan Crawford's 50/50 ticket but Allan left the pot.
• Think that's it for today!

So today:

• Scott was back, Carole was our guest speaker, and there were lots of Happy Bucks!
• With Scott back, the golf tourney push is back to the front burner...and fortunately Robin had a keen player to register!  Time to work on sponsors!
• Carole spoke to us about her day at the Rotary Peace Symposium on March 2.  The day far exceeded Carole's expectations - a well run program with great speakers. The symposium was set up to take advantage of the fact that Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka was in town for the Toronto Rotary Club's 100th Anniversary Luncheon and built on, or followed, President Tanaka's "Peace Through Service" theme for the year.  Carole was amazed at the turnout, plenary sessions and break-out groups.  One of the breakout groups Carole attended was the landmines one - which was packed.  The day was professionally run with the CBC's Suhana Meharchand donating her time and introducing speakers like Marc Kielberger from "Free the Children".  Marc also received the Wilf Wilkinson award.  (For an example of one of Marc's YouTube clips, but not necessarily the one shown at the Peace Symposium, click here.)  Borrowing from the District site here were the honoured guests at the symposium: 
  • Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, "The Gaza Doctor" & the author of I Shall Not Hate 
  • Raseema Alam, a Rotary Peace scholar, Canada's former Polio Manager in Afghanistan and former Canadian Diplomat with over 15 years of experience in developing countries.
  • The Hon. Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, Government of Canada
  • Marc Kielburger, Co-Founder of Free the Children, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Me to We
  • Dr. Bob Scott, a leader in Rotary’s battle against polio
  • Khalil Z. Shariff, Chief Executive Officer of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada
  • Wilfred Wilkinson, Past President of Rotary International 
  • Suhana Meharchand, host CBC News Now and our Master of Ceremonies.

While a one-off symposium, Carole would like to see more Rotary events like this one.  Thanks Carole!

• Happy Bucks:
  • Suzanne M. - a bunch of bucks for: her Gold Award, recent Shakespeare-in-Action experiences, her excitement and wee bit of trepidation at being our incoming club president but looking forward to P.E.T.S. training in Chicago and the opportunity for personal and professional growth and fun!.
  • Scott - a couple of bucks for: being back and a new knee; and,
  • Robin for her hair colour transformation and working out with colleague.
• Don won the draw but not the pot while Scott shed a tear for Don.

• We were privileged to have new club member, Arthur Andersen, share many of his life experiences with us this morning during his classification talk. Arthur has had an extraordinary life so far including as a teacher, scout leader, and nurse.  Arthur was born in the United States but lived in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay before immigrating to Canada in the early eighties.  Along the way, he learned much about life through his deep interest in and caring for people.  We look forward to hearing more of Arthur's stories.  Thank you Arthur! 
• Robin won the draw but not the pot.

• Danielle presented the cheque for $4,868.66
• Auction Committee - how great it was to have the Zeddy's
• Now is the time to start looking for sponsors and items
• Jackie will create a thank-you letter that we can send to the supports and will include the 2 events for this year and looking for support for 1.

• Event (March 2) - Jackie;  lots of people, 4 bands; Jackie has quick facts about PACT that we could have on hand at events. Jackie will send them out.
• Next event in May: Manicure/Pedicure and another event in the fall.

Toronto Rotary Luncheon (March 1) 100th Anniversary:

• Carole, Suzanne, Robin and Danielle attended.  Great event.
• Toronto Club donated $100,000 towards polio and it was matched by Government of Canada and Bill Gates Foundation for $300,000 in total.

Toronto Initiative:

• This coming Mon, March 11 (6:30 at Milestones on Yonge St), Don has a meeting set up for the "Toronto Initiative" project.  Anyone interested in attending, let Don know.

Blood Donor Clinic:

• This Saturday, March 9.

Euchre:

• Robin had cards and rules ready had we had time to practice.  No time left!!!

Next week:

• Arthur will be our speaker.

Les Stroud - Survivorman

ShelterBox is proud to welcome Les Stroud, best known as the producer and star of the hit TV series Survivorman, as a celebrity spokesperson to help raise awareness of families affected by disaster. 

For a sample clip our club supported last December in Toronto's High Park, click or the image above or here.

And, for the latest ShelterBox news - including an article on ShelterBox's Rotary Day 2013 click here.

• Our guest today was Danielle's co-speaker Sue Rumack.  This is Sue's second visit to our club.
• Carole will be attending the March 2 Urban Peace conference for us and we will take up Mary-Lou Harrison's offer to try and find a student from Ursula Franklin Academy (which is setting up a Rotaract Club) that we can sponsor for the conference.
• Suzanne M. will be starring this Saturday night in The Shakespeare Challenge.  Be there if you can!
• Danielle and Sue spoke to us today about how they came together (3 hours at David's Tea) and their decision that a combined service offering for the management of stress through Life Coaching (offered by Sue) and Chiropractic Therapy (offered by our own Danielle) would be a good thing to do. Danielle and Sue shared personal stories with us and finished with an offer of free trial services for us and our friends with each/either of them over the next 2 weeks.  They would appreciate feedback from us on their concept and a little web survey will be fired our way to enable this.  Thanks to Sue and Danielle for speaking to our club today!   
• The draft "Wanted Poster" was circulated and John is going to work on it some more before heading off next week. 
• Suzanne R. won the draw - she says for the first time - but not the pot!

• Visiting us this morning was Michelle Guy from the Toronto Club.  Michelle invited us to attend the Toronto Club's 100th Anniversary Luncheon ($80 ea. - includes desert) on Friday March 1, 2013 at the Royal York.  RI President Tanaka will be in attendance.  Do please come.
• President Don invested and welcomed Arthur Anderson as a new club member.  Welcome to the club Arthur!  We will enjoy getting to know you!
• Our guest speaker was Michael Kelly, Artistic Director of Shakespeare in Action.  Michael spoke to us about some of the Shakespeare in Action programming including the opportunity to donate to their not-for-profit organisation by purchasing a sonnet for $25 which would be then read over the phone to you by an enthusiastic youth member.  Michael also invited us to attend the upcoming Shakespeare Challenge presentation of The Tempest at the Arts and Letters Club on Saturday, February 23 where our own Suzanne M. will be one of the cast.  Our Club then donated a cheque for $500 to Michael to support the company's charitable efforts.  For more info on Shakespeare in Action and the Shakespeare Challenge, click here.
• We briefly discussed our desire to work on the list of charities that we would like to support this upcoming year.  This will definitely be discussed at ournext board meeting Monday, Feb 25 at Don's house.  
• Don said we're good to go on any Foundation grants as he and Carole attended the certification session last weekend.
• We should be getting a cheque for our TV Auction proceeds on Feb 28.  (Amount not known as yet.)
• Danielle and her colleague, Sue Rumack, will be our guest speakers at next week's breakfast meeting, Feb 21.  Please plan to attend!  
• Happy bucks came from Danielle, Michelle, and Suzanne R.
• Danielle won the draw but only the 6 of hearts or was it diamonds...so sad again.

• The fifth-Thursday-of-the-month Shakespeare in Action dinner meeting last week at Suzanne's was a great success.  
• Don and Carole will attend the Future Vision meeting in Oshawa this Saturday.
• If you have a student candidate in mind for the Peace Symposium March 2, let us know.  The club will pay the $100 cost for the day.
• John H. gave his impressions after attending the recent Membership Drive Workshop at Whistler's.
• Danielle is hoping that we'll have the TV Auction results soon!
• We're looking forward to the next fifth Thursday evening meeting in May.  At that one, the talk is for a euchre evening. 
• I forget who won the draw...but the pot lives.

Here are the items noted from today's meeting:

• Suzanne Manvell will be our President next year.  Thank you Suzanne!
• Scott's doing well!  (Hello Scott!)
• Don mentioned some of the agenda items discussed at this week's board meeting including:
  • We want to survey all club members to determine what we are passionate about supporting from a Rotary perspective.  The list of possible charities will then be used to guide discussion and collectively determine our priorities for the upcoming year or two.  The working list so far:
    
    • Elder Nature Club - Nature Centre
    • Shakespeare in Action
    • An international water initiative
    • CAMH Sunshine Garden
    • Rotary Student Exchange
    • ShelterBox International
    • Riverton Project, Jamaica
    • Landmines
    • ENTER YOUR PASSION HERE!
  • The need for folks to reflect on their attendance and thus commitment to this club!  What's your passion?
  • There is a membership drive workshop on January 28 at Whistler's Grill.  John H. says he can go.
  • We have $500 for Landmines Eradication.  Carole will be taking care of next steps.
  • Our agreement in principle to supporting the Visibility Initiative being discussed by the Toronto Area club presidents.  Would involve our giving 10% of funds raised to the cause.
• Danielle is expecting our results from the TV Auction this week or next.  Stay tuned.
• There is no breakfast meeting next Thursday, Jan 31st!  Instead, it is anticipated that Suzanne Manvell will be hosting a Social and Fundraiser Dinner for Shakespeare in Action for club members at her home that evening.  Confirmation details to follow from Suzanne.
• Danielle won the 50/50 draw but not the pot...so sad.

• But what happened at our first two meetings you ask?:
  • Attendance at our Jan 3 meeting was extremely light hence, no e-Bulletin.

• Attendance at our Jan 10 meeting was good however, our e-Bulletin writer was delinquent.  Briefly though, Don was back at the helm after his ski/touring trip to Austria and London with his daughter.  Arthur Anderson was our guest. Main items (at least recalled!) were that ShelterBox (SB) was selected as our club's charity for our 2013 golf tourney promotional material and we agreed to donate at least 75% of our tourney proceeds to SB this year.  We also chatted about charity support in general and the need for us to decide where to focus our efforts going forward...a discussion to be continued.  Scott circulated this past year's Nutcracker brochure - which highlights our club's current and past contributions - and shows a 1/4 page advertisement for our club.  Also, our first Board meeting of the New Year will be Tuesday, January 22 at Don's house and everyone is welcome to attend with $10 per meal going to landmines...let Don know.

• Don mentioned some agenda items from last night's meeting of Toronto area club presidents:
  • The proposal for an initiative that would contribute 10% of each club's proceeds to fund a club's one-time project was discussed at some length...there would be 18 clubs so this would take place over an 18 year period.  Still being discussed positively.  Some talk about what this would mean as far as committing future boards...discussion to be continued.
  • The Rotary Food Initiative to End Student Hunger in Toronto schools was also on the agenda and discussed.
  • Volunteer planning for the 2018 RI meeting in Toronto was mentioned including a suggestion to hire workers to free up Toronto area's Rotarians to actively participate in the meeting itself.
  • Also, there was the reminder for clubs to consider sponsoring students to attend the Rotary Peace conference in early March...$100 each.
• There is no news to report as yet on the results of the TV Auction.  Danielle will check into.
• Scott updated on last night's Golf Tourney meeting.  Things are coming along nicely.  They'll be negotiating with the golf club next week.  Looking at $250 per golfer and $225 for the early bird.  Thursday, August 15 is the day.  Flyers should be ready mid-February.  The 3 projects decided so far are all international involving Guyana, Ghana and ShelterBox.  ShelterBox will be asked to set up a tent etc. and have a speaker, Suzanne will do her great gourmet food thing and Robin's skills have already been solicited to organise the volunteers.  A radio host from Z103.5 will be the MC. More to come.
• Scott also asked us to keep an eye out for the ads for our club that have been regularly placed in the local editions of SNAP.
• Suzanne M. announced she is doing the Shakespeare thing again this year.  A fundraising dinner at Suzanne's is in the works.  Perhaps a Wednesday night?
• Happy Bucks and 50/50: 
  • Robin gave a loonie as she will be receiving a Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for her volunteer work at an upcoming ceremony at Swansea Town Hall.  Well done Robin!!!
  • Hugh gave a loonie for having booked his flight to the April 2013 ShelterBox Response Team Assessment Training in Mason, Texas and for having plowed once through the reading material for the course.
  • Carole drew the 9 of hearts...the pot lives.
• A reminder of the Board meeting at Don's house (not at Scott's hospital bedside) next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.  There was a good show of hands but please confirm to Don so he has the right amount of food.  
• The next Blood Donor Clinic at Swansea Town Hall is February 9, 2013.  We need 4 volunteers for the day. 
• That's it!  (Apologies for any omissions.)

Pictured above:  Les Stroud from the hit TV series "Survivorman" 

What better way to spend a sunny Thursday afternoon than in Toronto's High Park doing a charity promo shoot for ShelterBox with Survivorman Les Stroud?

What's that you say?

It started with getting an email from ShelterBox's Lisa Salapatek early Thursday morning saying we're doing the Survivorman shoot in High Park this afternoon...interested in coming out?  

So we met up in High Park at 1 p.m., selected a spot with Les's cameraman and set about putting up a ShelterBox tent.  Shortly afterwards, Les arrived, checked things out and began filming.  After an hour or so, we were all done.  

You see, Les had kindly agreed to promote ShelterBox.

A very interesting fellow Les Stroud - filmmaker, adventurer and musician - he's on TV around the world.  Les has done a lot in his life already. For more information about Les Stroud click here.

Here's another picture of some of us involved yesterday:

Thank you to all our donors and sponsors for your contributions towards another successful Rotary TV Auction!

Rotarians from five Toronto Rotary clubs came together to put on the 32nd Annual Live Metro Toronto TV Auction televised by Rogers TV.  The Rotary clubs involved were East York, North Scarborough, Scarborough Twilight, Toronto Humber and Parkdale-High Park.  Led by Rotarians Darryl Patterson, Gord Dobbin and Kevin Manuel, hundreds of volunteers were involved over the course of the weekend to make the auction happen.

Members from the Rotary Club of Parkdale - High Park handling the phones and/or appearing on camera and/or working the item bins were Robin Sorys, Danielle Gilas, Scott Bartle, Marty Kristof, Carole Rowsell, Carmel Kidd, Suzanne Manvell, Don Sirko and Hugh Dimock. John Fernandes worked away in the background entering items into the computer before the weekend and Rick Crawford's company Rid-of-It was an auction sponsor. All club members assisted in soliciting items for the auction.

Making their debut appearance at this year's auction were the Zeddys donated by Zellers. Marty's idea of handing out Zeddys to generous bidders helped encourage bidders to meet or exceed the posted value of the items up for bid.  At one point the supply ran low and had to be replenished.  The Zeddys were a definite hit!

Special thanks to Danielle Gilas for leading the Parkdale-High Park club's efforts at this year's auction.  

We're now thinking about next year's auction.

Thanks to Marty Kristof’s efforts, the Rotary Club of Parkdale-High Park has been given 1,000 Zeddy Bears by Zellers for its use to raise money for The Redwood, a shelter for victims of family violence. The Redwood has had great success in not only protecting families from violence, but also giving victims the tools and support to become self-sufficient so they don't have to return to their abuser. The Rotary Club is asking for donations of $10 - $20 for the cute little bears and all funds raised will go directly to The Redwood. Rotarians volunteer their time and money to run their Clubs so, there are no administrative fees associated with these fundraisers. The Rotary Club of Parkdale - High Park along with 4 other Rotary Clubs is having a TV Auction this weekend on Rogers TV and the Zeddy Bears will be very visible and Zellers well recognized for their donations. These Zeddy Bears may become a collectors’ item with the closing of the Zellers stores.  You can find more information about The Redwood at www.theredwood.com

At today's breakfast meeting:

• Rotarian Don Sexton from the Mississauga Club visited us today. Don has been to our club before - the last time was a couple of years ago. Welcome Don!
• Be warned, our own President Don is considering the notion of starting our breakfast meetings on time! This will necessarily mean that club members are there to order breakfast at 7:15 a.m. so the meeting can start with the ring of the bell at 7:30 a.m. So, don't be surprised to hear more about this in the near future!
• President Don announced that at the Tuesday night board meeting, it was apparent from the financial review that we need to put all effort into gathering items for the upcoming TV Auction - in order to replenish our funds for donatations. This is necessary for us in order to carry on the good work that we do. So Don encourages all of us to approach the people we regularly interact with such as at the grocery store, garage, stores etc. and ASK!
• Marty gave us an update on the Zeddy front. Zeddies are expected to arrive any day now and will need a storage spot! There are several options available including the offer from Robin to store them at the park. Marty is going to check out the options. The plan is to sell them to others for $5 and have them re-sold at $20 for the cause. Don will pass Marty's plan on to District's Gael Moore to get word out to our other clubs. In fact, Marty was pitching the notion to Don Sexton in the breakfast line this morning...and with apparent success...what a salesman!
• On the TV Auction front:
  • Danielle gave us an update on planning.
  • Volunteer sheets were distributed in order that members could sign up for their preferred role for the TV Auction weekend. If you weren't there this morning, please get in touch with Danielle as to how you can help.
  • Donations should ideally be coming in now with the October 12 target deadline has come and gone.
  • As the items will be entered into the system on November 1st so it's important to put on the final push in getting items in.
  • Danielle is going to let us know who will be entering our items in the database.
  • A quick survey of members present suggested that items are coming in...4 items or so per member so far.
  • Scott suggested that we talk to our friends with hockey tickets in the event that there will an NHL season. Allowance is being made to take hockey tickets right up until November 18 - given their big popularity at the Auction.
• On the social front, a plan is afoot to have a dance around Valentine's day. We are also looking into a social evening towards the end of January - January 31st in fact - together with better halves.
• Carole will be at the District conference this weekend and Hugh will be there with ShelterBox.
• Marty won the draw but not the pot.

And that's it for another week!

• A good summer turnout of club members...there was no guest speaker today...and there were no guests.
• John H. briefed us on his recent trip to Mexico where he did a make-up in Puerto Vallarta.  John's experiences (good and not so good - beware the water supply and time share meetings) sparked others to volunteer some of their surprise experiences in travelling including having to provide US$10 to get off a plane, the need to surrender visitor passes on exiting certain countries and the tendency for some foreign police to fleece foreigners etc.

• We had a Rotarian visitor from Bremen, Germany today.  Reiner was in town for the Microsoft conference.
• Our special guests today were District Governor Ted Kosiel, his wife Maureen, and Assistant District Governor Michael Bell.
• ADG Michael introduced Ted.    Ted hails originally from Glace Bay, Nova Scotia and spoke about his experience in Rotary to date and the huge impact that Service above Self has made on his life.  We will try and get a copy of Ted's presentation as it outlines his vision and goals for District 7070 for the 2012-2013 year as well as the tie-in to Rotary International's vision and goals.  District is now on ClubRunner and there's lots to explore on the District site as far as what Rotary is and what Rotary is up to.  Worth regular visits!
• Happy bucks came from multiple sources - too numerous to record - including for the recent Jamie Bell Playground "almost" opening Saturday and for Toronto Ribfest - from Robin for the ShelterBox experience and from Mike Bell for glad that Ribfest is over for another year!
• Robin announced that the Jamie Bell playground will be unveiled Friday and put out a call for Thursday evening mulch volunteers. 
• Don managed to win the 50/50 draw again this week but not the pot!
• After the breakfast meeting, DG Ted and ADG Michael met with President Don and a few others present to chat about our goals for the club for the upcoming year and to ask what support we would like from District to help us in achieving our objectives this year.  As with all clubs, growing membership is a challenge.  One of the ideas suggested was for each club member to bring out a one guest every 6 months.  This would give us 30 or so possible future Rotarians.  With the younger clubs, there is a definite trend to wanting to get out more and do more hands on projects.

• Denise Brunsdon was our visitor.  Denise will be around town until the end of August then moving to London, ON.
• It was an intimate club gathering this morning so next week Brian will not be setting places!
• While there was no guest speaker planned for today, please note that next week's speaker is District Governor Ted Kosiel and make plans to attend.
• Don will host his first dinner meeting of the 2012-2013 season at his home on Tuesday, July 10 with $10 each for landmines.  The purpose of the meeting is to talk about the upcoming year, board requirements etc.  All club members invited.  Please RSVP to Don.
• This weekend, July 7 is the Jamie Bell Playground re-opening in High Park.  A full day of community events is planned.  Come on out and enjoy the day.  We will be assisting ShelterBox in putting up a tent to promote this international Rotary project.  Come on by and visit the tent in the community groups section.
• Last weekend, over the 4-day Canada Day Toronto Ribfest, Robin, John H. and Hugh were some of the volunteers manning the ShelterBox display.  People were successfully diverted from their beer and ribs missions to ask and/or hear about ShelterBox.  With over 200,000 people attending, the Etobicoke Club again put a huge effort into this year's successful event!  
• Don announced that Mamaya Oda, our former Rotary exchange student, will be in Toronto in 2 week's time for a 2 week holiday.  If you are heading out on an excursion and can include Mamaya, please let Don know.
• A quick reminder, if you can, to plant seeds and/or start collecting items for this year's Rotary TVAuction so that we can continue to support our causes.
• Lastly, Don drew the 6 of spades and so the 50/50 pot lives.

Our Past President, Scott Bartle, organised tonight's year end party at the Sunnyside Pavillion on the shores of Lake Ontario.  The weather was fine as we sat on the patio for dinner and drinks to celebrate President Robin Sorys' year as President. Thanks Scott!

As a result of the dinner, we raised $ 220 in Robin’s honour for the Canadian Landmines project.

Marty presented our cheque for $ 4,000 from our anniversary dinner for the Redwood Shelter to Denise Brunsdon.  In thanking our club for the donation, Denise emphasised the unfortunate but critical need for a place like the Redwood. 

 
Scott summed up this past year's incoming and outgoing successes as follows:

Money Raised:

TV Auction                    $ 5,475

25^th Dinner                   $ 4,000

Golf                              $ 5,600

Foundation Walk               $ 500

Total:   $ 15,575

Donations:

Pia Bouman                              $  750

Redwood                                $ 4,750

Rotary Foundation                   $ 1,100

Rotary Foundation                   $ 1,250

Sunshine Garden                     $ 2,500

Students Crossing Borders        $ 3,000

Hearing Foundation                     $ 350 
PACT                                      $ 1,250

Total:    $ 14,950

Some members also contributed to Suzanne Manvell’s Shakespeare Group through the dinner she held.

And just this week, Robin completed the Rotary Peace Fellowship application for Julian Gutierrez Castano. Hopefully this application will be successful and Julian will be on his way to Chapel Hill North Carolina to continue on his path to making the world a better place.

All in all, it was a great year for our Club!

And lastly, we welcomed back incoming President Don Sirko in re-assuming the reins of our club for a second time for 2012-2013!! Thank you Don!

• First and foremost, Scott was back and looking good!
• We did not have a guest speaker today so just chatted about stuff.
• Don mentioned his upcoming quest for next year's board.  Expressions of interest welcome.  If not, other measures will be taken.  Various committee manuals are available from Don for the various positions.  Scott is willing to take over the treasurer role with one condition - ask John C. what the condition is!)
• John H. mentioned that CAMH is having an Open House today for the new facility.  (For more details: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/06/20/mental-health-camh-youth.html )
• Hugh mentioned that the first annual Big ShelterBox Week is now over.  We spread the word about ShelterBox through:
  • John H.'s Abbott Street sale;
  • A presentation to the Rotary Club of Toronto Twilight;
  • Robin, John H. and Hugh attended the ShelterBox Open House;
  • Pitching a tent at the Ostend Street Party in Swansea; and 
  • Pitching the tent again on Hugh's front lawn on the last day of the Big Week.  
• John H., Robin and Hugh are volunteering to host at the ShelterBox tent at Toronto Ribfest.  If you are interested, please speak to Hugh as soon as possible.  Really need help on the Sunday if you're available.
• The High Park Zoo is saved!
• If you have a story for the web site, send it on to Hugh.
• Remember that there is no regular meeting next week, June 28, as we have the year end party at Sunnyside.  (See the related email from Scott or look at the event calendar on the web site for details.)
• Marty managed to draw his own 50/50 ticket but didn't manage the joker.

• Robin welcomed our visitor Denise Brunsdon and today's speakers Robert Wakulat & Christine Koenig.

• Robin announced that she will attend the Historical Society visioning session at Colborne Lodge this week, on behalf of our club, and will report back next week.
• John H. indicated that the poorer weather likely hampered turnout at this year's Abbott Street Sale with proceeds lower than desired.
• Hugh announced that he, Saleem Kassum and ShelterBox Response Team member Dave Hallett attended last night's Rotary Club of Toronto Twilight meeting to present on ShelterBox.   Toronto Twilight contributed 4 boxes to the Haiti earthquake appeal and were interested in an update on ShelterBox and an introduction to the charity for their newest members.  
• Hugh also announced that this week is Big ShelterBox Week with the Open House today at 159 Jane Street just north of Bloor from 12 noon to 8 p.m.
• Lastly on ShelterBox, if you are able to attend the ShelterBox Display at Toronto Ribfest over the Canada Day weekend, please confirm by email to Hugh.

On June 9, John Humphreys used his neighbourhood's annual street sale to promote the Rotary Club of Parkdale-High Park, Rotary in general, and our causes.  The Abbott Street Sale has been an annual event since the '70's.  

This year, John decided that he would pitch a ShelterBox tent on his front lawn and hand out pamphlets to spread the word about ShelterBox.  Coincidentally, this day was also the first day of Big ShelterBox Week.  No sooner had the tent been "partially" pitched than a neighbour came by and said ..."cool I saw those in Haiti."  

John Humphreys is pictured on the left holding the silver teapot with Don Sirko, incoming president of P-HP Rotary.  Thanks John!

• Robin welcomed visiting Rotarians Gord Dobbin, Vashti Jaikaran, and Patrick Labouef.
• Gord Dobbin gave us an update on the TV Auction - encouraging us all to start collecting donations soon - that those who start early, find it much easier and results in greater proceeds for their club.   Targeting the $100 mark per donation proved successful last year.  He also reminded us of sponsorships and the fact that 100% of the amount raised goes back to the club.  People count on the TV Auction for their Christmas shopping. Hockey tickets always popular. Gord praised Danielle for her great efforts on camera last year - evolving quickly from being a deer caught in the headlights to being quite at ease.  Gord looks forward to our involvement on the TV Auction committees this year.  The auction is Nov 23/24.
• Vashti Jaikaran is the President of the new Rotary Club of Toronto Skyline.  She invited us all to their Charter Night on June 19^th at the Hard Rock Cafe  See the separate email sent out yesterday with their flyer for the details - RSVP June 14^th.  Cost $75.
• Patrick LaBoeuf was in Toronto on business.  He is from the Rotary Club of Old Montreal.  Patrick's club was involved in organising the 2010 conventions in Montreal.  Their 22 year old club has 23 members who get involved in new projects every year - including ones in Africa.  The clubs in Montreal and the surrounding area are continually coming up with innovative ideas.  Patrick mentioned the Valleyfield Club raised $100K and transformed a bus into a mobile room to teach drop-outs how to get back into school.
• The Abbott Street Sale is coming up this Saturday.  John H. will be setting up as early as 7:30.  Tables still needed.
• Robin announced that it is looking promising for the High Park Zoo and that our $2K contribution was helpful.  She recently held 3 baby capybaras and a baby wallaby - which were all so cute!
• Robin also announced that the Jamie Bell Adventure Playground unveiling is scheduled for July 7^th.  Mike Holmes is tarping it in for the unveiling. We can get involved or just come out to enjoy the day.  Speak to Robin.  ShelterBox will be there!
• Don had a Happy Buck for his 35^th Wedding Anniversary.  This prompted Robin to contribute a Happy Buck for her 31st and Hugh to cough up a looney for his 20th Anniversary.

On Monday May 28, Danielle and Marty presented a cheque to Liz Kirk at CAMH for the Sunshine Organic Garden. 

The Sunshine Organic Garden at CAMH is part of the “Growing People Growing Food” program.   The Sunshine Garden is Toronto’s first organic market garden where volunteer clients from CAMH and the Social Phobia Support Group of Toronto cultivate an organic vegetable garden and then sell the produce back to the community. All proceeds from the sale of the produce are re‐invested in the program. This activity involves weeding and mulching the organic vegetables grown in the Sunshine Garden, as well as composting. The program promotes wellness, healthy nutrition, recovery and enjoyment. 

• Scott is resting up at home! (Right Scotty?)
• Robin welcomed Julian Gutierrez and William Payne visiting this morning to speak to us today about Rotary Peace Fellowships.
• Danielle announced that she and Marty presented a cheque to the CAMH Sunshine Garden project on Monday this week.  
• Robin announced that our P-HP Board approved a $2,000 contribution to the High Park Zoo to help in getting them even closer to achieving the matching fund target. 
• John H. is still looking for bodies to help at the Abbott Street sale scheduled for Saturday, June 9.
• Hugh gave an update on ShelterBox activities.  He's been talking to scout and church youth groups and has presentations lining up for the Twilight Club and the Etobicoke Club.  Speaking of the Etobicoke Club, any P-HP members available and willing to man the ShelterBox display at Toronto Ribfest over the Canada Day weekend, please speak to Hugh.  With the ShelterBox staff involved, we're trying to man our display with fellow Rotarians and other ShelterBox volunteers throughout the 4 day event.  
• And remember, there's the Etobicoke Club's Magoanine B School event this Sunday at Nigel Brown's home

April 25th, 2012

From all the responses I have received, everyone thought our Rotary Club of Parkdale-High Park, 25^th Anniversary Event was a huge success. We had nearly 100 guests from near and far, past and present.  It was also in support of the Redwood, founded by earlier Club Members with proceeds of the event going to the Redwood.  

Set at the Boulevard Club (BC) on the shores of Lake Ontario, on a sunny spring day, we had the full use of the entire BC venue: reception area, solarium, terrace and Ballroom. The four-course chicken/beef dinners were excellent, elegantly served and finished with a very popular chocolate mousse desert.  

Scott Bartle was our MC and Robin Sorys our invocation speaker. The Redwood staff also spoke and told of their work.  Founding member, Dan Cornacchia, spoke about the early days and Neil Webster's vision, as Charter President, in establishing the club. Suzanne Rusywich and Danielle Gilas made honorarium presentations of floral plants to the band and Rotary dignitaries.  The memorable entertainment was provided by the GTA Swing Band (18 piece) and June Garber, vocalist.  They were FABULOUS.  This was an event with a real...WOW factor.   

The Core Event Planners were Scott Bartle, Marty Kristof and John Counsell; Fund-raising: Jacquie Menezes; Table decorations: Suzanne Rusywich and Danielle Gilas; Greeters: Suzanne Rusywich and Suzanne Manvell; Volunteers: John Counsell, Lynda Moore, Peter Jones, Larysa Kalyta and Ron. 

During this very memorable evening, everything seemed to flow.  It seemed that the sum of the total was greater than its many parts. A great job by all our workers and volunteers.  Congratulations.

Marty Kristof   

• Board - third Monday
• Fundraising - first Tuesday
• Club - second Tuesday
• Service - fourth Tuesday
• Outreach - fourth Monday

The Rotary Club of Parkdale-High Park is involved in service projects in the local community

and in the broader international community supporting a variety of humanitarian, educational

and health issues. Here is a sampling of our work:

Local Projects: 

Redwood Shelter for Women

PACT - Urban Peace Program

Swansea Blood Donor Clinic 

CAMH Community Garden

Pia Bouman Nutcracker Community Event 

International Projects:

Eliminating Landmines

Polio Eradication

Students Crossing Borders (Jamaica)

Mosquito Nets for Tanzania

Water Wells in Zimbabwe 

Our Past President, Scott Bartle, organised tonight's year end party at the Sunnyside Pavillion on the shores of Lake Ontario.  The weather was fine as we sat on the patio for dinner and drinks to celebrate President Robin Sorys' year as President. Thanks Scott!

As a result of the dinner, we raised $ 220 in Robin’s honour for the Canadian Landmines project.

Marty presented our cheque for $ 4,000 from our anniversary dinner for the Redwood Shelter to Denise Brunsdon.  In thanking our club for the donation, Denise emphasised the unfortunate but critical need for a place like the Redwood. 

 
Scott summed up this past year's incoming and outgoing successes as follows:

Money Raised:

 

• TV Auction                    $ 5,475
• 25^th Dinner                   $ 4,000
• Golf                              $ 5,600
• Foundation Walk               $ 500

• Total:   $ 15,575

Donations:

• Pia Bouman                              $  750
• Redwood                                $ 4,750
• Rotary Foundation                   $ 1,100
• Rotary Foundation                   $ 1,250
• Sunshine Garden                     $ 2,500
• Students Crossing Borders        $ 3,000
• Hearing Foundation                     $ 350 
• PACT                                      $ 1,250

• Total:    $ 14,950

 

Some members also contributed to Suzanne Manvell’s Shakespeare Group through the dinner she held.

And just this week, Robin completed the Rotary Peace Fellowship application for Julian Gutierrez Castano. Hopefully this application will be successful and Julian will be on his way to Chapel Hill North Carolina to continue on his path to making the world a better place.

All in all, it was a great year for our Club!

And lastly, we welcomed back incoming President Don Sirko in re-assuming the reins of our club for a second time for 2012-2013!! Thank you Don!

The following note was received from Lisa Salapatek, Executive Director, ShelterBox Canada.  The first item is a wrap-up comment on Big ShelterBox Week - with several photos from activities involving P-HP members (e.g. look for John H. and Don on this link!:  http://animoto.com/play/PqZS5CMAyRGT9ZNQAuMc3g 
).  As well, there is an update on the Project Partnership mentioned at our breakfast meeting June 21st.  It outlines how Rotary clubs like ours can get involved. 

Dear ShelterBox Canada Ambassadors,

1)    Big ShelterBox Week Wrap-up:

A VERY big THANK YOU to everyone that that supported Big ShelterBox Week.  We were thrilled to hear about the activities that took place across the country last week.   Every Cake Bake, Camp Out and Clear Out will make a true difference for families that are affected by disaster – thank you so much for embracing the week with such enthusiasm and creativity. Please follow this link to an article on our website that celebrates Big ShelterBox Week across Canada, including a short video profiling photos of many of the events that took place:  

http://www.shelterboxcanada.org/news.php?id=1047

2)   Rotary International Fact Sheet – Project Partnership:

Rotary International has just published a fact sheet outlining the RI ShelterBox Project Partnership.   It provides a great overview on the partnership, as well as ideas on how Rotary Clubs and Districts can get involved, and will be very helpful in communicating the partnership to the Rotary community.  The fact sheet can be found via this link to the RI website:

http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/factsheet_shelterbox_en.pdf

On June 9, John Humphreys used his neighbourhood's annual street sale to promote the Rotary Club of Parkdale-High Park, Rotary in general, and our causes. The Abbott Street Sale has been an annual event since the '70's.  

This year, John decided that he would pitch a ShelterBox tent on his front lawn and hand out pamphlets to spread the word about ShelterBox.  Coincidentally, this day was also the first day of Big ShelterBox Week.  No sooner had the tent been "partially" pitched than a neighbour came by and said ..."cool I saw those in Haiti." 

John Humphreys is pictured on the left holding the silver teapot with Don Sirko, incoming president of P-HP Rotary.  Thanks John!

For the latest ShelterBox news including on the Syria appeal or to donate, click here:   www.shelterboxcanada.org 

Our regularly scheduled committee monthly meeting times are:

• Board - third Monday
• Fundraising - first Tuesday
• Club - second Tuesday
• Service - fourth Tuesday
• Outreach - fourth Monday