Opening/Chair: Sharon Corcoran was chair today and she asked Ed MacDonald and Laurie to harmonize and lead the group in the singing of O Canada. The was followed by a moment of personal reflection.
Visitors/Guests: Jim Goit introduced two guests today. Ralph and Donna Hopkins have very recently moved to our community from BC.
Speaker: Bill Mills has served on Town council since 1987 and has been the Mayor of Truro since 1997. He resides in Truro with his wife of 38 years, Phyllis. Together they have seven children and seven grandchildren. Bill was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal in February 2013 from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in honour of the contributions made to our community and to all of Canada. He announced at the recent tree lighting ceremony that he will be reoffering for the postion of Mayor in 2020.
Mayor Bill gave the group an update on the Town of Truro. He stated that 2019 was another good year with the value of building at $21M (double last year) with many projects on the go. The town was able to work on some big projects over the years (Hospital, REEC, Library. This has been followed by a period where these projects are being paid for while there is planning for the next round of big projects. The Strategic plan is being updated to reflect those next steps to make our community even more attractive.
The mayor mentioned other infrastructure works such as roads. Everyone has an opinion on streets and roads. The improvement of roads is important to the overall development of the community. He mentioned a recently improved street that now has houses being improved along it.
Bill highlighted ongoing improvements to buildings around Victoria Square and talked about plans for big improvements to the visitor information center.
Finally, the Mayor talked about the importance of cooperation of all the partners in community development, including the county and communities such as Stewiacke and Millbrook and organizations such as Rotary. We all have a role to play and he thanked Rotary for what we do.
Mayor Mills was thanked on behalf of the club by new Rotarian Jordan Butler.
Member Health: No report.
Announcements and Reports:
- Terry reported that the "panty" project for the Lotus Centre had brought in panties worth $116 and cash in the amount of $110.
She had used the cash to buy more panties and would turn them all over to the Lotus Centre. The Community committee had also committed to matching members donations up to $300 so our contribution will be even greater. She thanked all those who donated.
Jane, Terry and Joanna are shown with the collection box at annual Christmas Party.
- Brian updated the group on the progress of the Christmas Index. The EHS team had not only filled their ambulance with donated toys last Saturday, they had raised $1,000 in cash to be donated to the program. The Truro Run Tribe had raised $2,400 in cash donations for their weekend run.
President's Report: Lech thanked Barbara and Jim for hosting the Director's meeting and Christmas party on the 2nd. It was a great time.
Lech also made a presentation to Robin who faithfully looks after the group during our regular weekly meeting.
Secretary's Report: Darlene reported that we had received a nice thank you card from the Colchester Community Workshops for our contribution to the capital campaign.
Happy Mug: Although everyone seemed in a great mood, there were only one Rotarian who would admit to being happy and pay into the $2.00 to say so. Dave Mills was happy to "almost" have his cottage sold after three years on the market.
50/50: Jim Goit had the correct ticket but missed the joker by "that much" so the $22 is left to build.
Closing: 1:05 pm
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