Feb 6, 2017 Bulletin
Opening/Chair: Richard Bowness was chair for the day and asked Marilyn Brown to lead the group in the singing of O Canada. That was followed with a moment of personal reflection.
Visitors/Guests: While there were no visiting Rotarians, the group welcomed our speaker Kathleen Kevany, (a former Rotarian), Sarah Boss (soon to be a Rotarian) and guest Laura MacLachlan.
Member Health: No report
Happy Mug: There were a number of happy Rotarians including Kevin, Kirk, Ted and Judy.
50/50: After no one responded to the first ticket drawn, Jim Goit found himself searching for the joker on the second number drawn. With eyes closed and the card facing the audience, the joker came up and Jim was one happy Rotarian.
Committee Reports and Notices:
- Barbara reminded people about the Adventures in Citizenship program. Applications have been slow coming in and because of the work to rule at the schools it has been hard to get the word around to the students. She has been able to get an extension to the end of March but encouraged Rotarians to share the Facebook post with friends and neighbours and get the word out to encourage students to apply.
- Larry gave an update on the yearbook. Many people have finished their visits to clients and we received a positive response. He asked for someone to visit three in Bible Hill and Mark volunteered. There will be a meeting of the committee this coming Friday (Feb 10th) at 2:30pm in the NSCC library. All welcome.
- Jim Gould made a number of announcements:
- He reported on Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser. There were not 38 teams and team Rotary needs a few more volunteers. You can register (and donate) on their website (https://canada.cnoy.org/sponsors/truro) making sure to find the Rotary Club of Truro Team.
- Jim was also making an "official" visit as Assistant Governor (completing the term of Rob Christie). He announced the upcoming TLC (Training for Leaders of Clubs) that will be held in Truro on Feb 25th from 8 am to 3 pm. This is great training designed for current and future leaders in the club and all are encouraged to attend. A detailed invitation will be circulated soon. The more that can go from the club the better the day will be. Those who attended last year spoke highly of the experience.
- Jim also noted that the District Conference is happening this year in Wolfville and that registration is now open on the district website (http://rotary7820.com). The conference is a great experience and he encouraged people to register.
- Mark gave a report on the Christmas index. He outlined a number of stats, the highlight of which is that 783 children had a happier Christmas as a result of the efforts of Rotarians and the community. 80% of the families were returning from the previous year, 20% were new applicants. The organization received $25,270 in donations and had expenses of $17,000. The committee will be meeting on Feb 22 with partners to debrief on this year's program and plan for an even better Christmas Index next year.
- Kevin urged members to register for the Annual Charter Night celebration coming up on November 16th.
New Member Induction: President Ted was pleased to induct a new member into the club. Sarah Boss is a commercial bank manager with RBC in Truro. Before coming to Truro she was manager of the RBC branch in her home town of Amherst and in Parrsboro. Sarah is a graduate if NSAC (Ag Economics). She and her husband Curtis have two children.
Sarah's sponsor is former RBC banker Brian Matthews and he assisted President Ted in the induction.
Speaker:
The speaker for the day was Dr. Kathleen Kevany, Associate Professor in the Department of Business and Social Sciences at the Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture.
Kathleen was a member of Rotary club in Chatham Ontario before coming to Truro so she knows the important work that we do.
Kathleen outlined what her research interests are and how they integrated into community needs in the Truro area. She was very involved in community Development and she asserted that there are a lot of assets in our local area to be both proud of and that could be further built on.
She mentioned Victoria Park, the new skating oval, the new Library, RECC, The AC rock garden, various preforming arts and theater groups to name just a few of those assets and things that we have going for us.
Kathleen also talked about the Living Earth Council that she is part of and several of the events that are planned.
Seedy Saturday is coming up on Feb 25th and she encourage people to attend. She also promoted Earth Day Pitch-in on April 22nd. Some members felt the club could integrate our annual Roadside cleanup with that event.
The Farmers Market was also the focus of some of Katheeen's research and interest. She mentioned the new winter hours and the community dinners as an example of community building.
Katheen ended by talking about the One Nova Scotia report and efforts to make NS an even better place to live.
Dr. Garth Coffin thanked Kathleen on behalf of the club.
Attendance: 58% with makeups.
Closing: 1:16 pm
The Rotary Club of Truro is pleased to inducted Sarah Boss in the club as its newest member.
