April 3, 2017 Bulletin
Opening/Chair: Judy Nicholson was the chair today. She asked Alana to lead the group in the singing of O Canada and then just to change things up followed with the singing the Rotary grace. Great harmony was observed.
Visitors/Guests: Daphne Cragg, a former member of the Rotary Club of Truro was visiting the area and was a welcomed guest. It's hard to believe Daphne moved away 12 years ago. Our speaker Jolene MacEachern was also introduced.
Member Health: No reports
Happy Mug: Tom, Garth and Audrie-Jo were all happy Rotarians today.
50/50: Wayne Gillis had the right ticket today but the joker was still elusive and so he missed the $17.00 pot.
Announcement and Reports:
- Jim mentioned that Lydia was posting to her blog about her travels in Ethiopia. She and Allan were there on a CESO project and had made contact with some Rotarians. Check out the story below.
- Brian mentioned that he and Sharon were still collecting prescription eyeglasses that we can donate to the Lions Club. Bring your unneeded specs to the next meeting to lend a hand.
- Steve Gallant reported on progress toward the spring RYLA event. It will be held on May 5th at the NSCC from 9 till 2. All the schools have been notified and students have begun to register. Six students are coming from Halifax with support of the Rotary clubs in the Halifax area. Steve is hoping for a total of 50 to attend. While he has some Rotarians lined up to help he will need additional support. Please contact him if you are interested in helping. stephen.gallant@rbc.com
President's Report: President Ted reported that:
- the April 24th meeting will be held at the NSCC cafeteria (thanks to Lech) because the Glengarry is booked. The speaker will be Mayor Bill Mills.
- The April Director's meeting will be Tuesday April 4th at 7:00 pm in the Boardroom of Scotia Bank on Inglis Place.
Speaker: Jolene MacEachern Dalhousie U. Faculty of Agriculture: Cultiv8 -entrepreneurship with a global reach.
Jolene has been sandbox coordinator at Cultiv8 since October 2014. She graduated from NSAC in 2002 with a degree in Economics and Plant Science. From there she worked at several organizations where she learned her passion for helping others learn and grow.
Jolene and he husband Lauchie own a dairy farm in Lower Debert. They were recently selected as the Atlantic region’s Outstanding Young Farmers for their achievements on their Holstein operation, Folly River Farms Ltd. Jolene and Lauchie have three children Ewan, Allister and Adriana.
The term Sandbox is taken from the world of information and technology where a sandbox is “an online environment in which code or content changes can be tested without affecting the original system.” In this case a space has been created where big ideas can be tested without undo risk.
Jolene explained that Cultiv8 is a program full of opportunities to validate ideas, learn more about innovation and entrepreneurship as well as gain skills in business model development. While Cultiv8’s programming is geared mainly for students, members of the community are welcome to attend workshops, Start-Up Weekend and guest lectures. By providing opportunities for students to interact and work with members of the agricultural industry, Cultiv8 aspires to be a place where ideas grow and industry solutions and opportunities develop.
The program is having positive results and Jolene gave several examples of ideas that on the way to commercialization. Rotarians Kevin and Alana had recently helped in the PitchAg 2017 where participants pitched their business model ideas for a chance to win some cash and support to help further their concepts.
Rotarian Kevin thanked Jolene for her excellent presentation.
Attendance: 54%
Closing: 1:05 pm
Truro Rotarian Lydia Sorflaten and her husband Allan are working on a Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO) project in Ethiopia with the Ethiopian Women Export
ers’
.jpg){kind=logo}
.png)
