Rotaserver 13Sep23 Paul Jenkins
President Mark opened the meeting with 10 Rotarians (1 on Zoom) and 1 guest at the Seniors Centre. Following the gong, Mark read a quote from Paul Harris - “Everyone who gives themselves to a worthy cause is bound to reap some of the benefits”.
Announcements
+Barbara announced that a cheque for $25,000 was presented today to the St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital for the MRI fund raising effort. Mary Lou Crowley and Chelsea Fagin received the cheque.
+Mark showed the advertisement in the Seniors magazine for the Discovery Tour.
+Trudy announced that she has contacted several schools for dictionary give-aways and she needs volunteers to assist. Pat asked Trudy to send the times/ dates in an email.
+Saturday from 9 on Adriana is hosting a clean up at Pinafore Park. 6 members of the Railway City club are joining her and she needs our club members too. Meet at the Lion’s pavilion at the south end of the Park.
+Our club members will also be at the Horton Market on Saturday from 8-12 noon to sell tickets for the Discovery Tour – Catharine passed around a sign-up sheet
+Bill mentioned that Gerald Vreman is now at Parkwood and there is a fundraiser to be held at
Central United Church.
Guest speaker Paul Jenkins with the Chamber of Commerce
Gerry introduced Paul. BA in Canadian Studies. Previously ED of STEGH Foundation. In 2020 Paul became the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce. Gerry recommends any Rotarians attend “Business After 5” held monthly by the Chamber. In a week it will be held at the Library.
Paul stated that the trend for Chambers of Commerce now and which is followed here is to build a sense that St. Thomas is "a great place to live, work, and play". Businesses continue to join the Chamber organization. Paul pointed out that hundreds of inputs are required to be able to generate and donate the kind of funds that Rotary has recently put towards the MRI.
Paul stated that what we need more of is the humbleness of the 4-way test. Within the Chamber membership are younger people and businesses and increasingly diverse organizations. Membership in Chamber has grown to around 600 from 400 over the past 3 years.
Paul stated that it is amazing to see the building that is happening in St. Thomas over the past few years. Population growth has come from minority groups. This tells us that St. Thomas is a welcoming community. Our challenge is to embrace the future growth of this community. How does the Chamber showcase and put energy into reflecting the worth and support the building of our community?
Our community’s ability to work collaboratively across many sectors and with many individuals is a primary strength.
Paul gave insightful information in response to several questions.
Bill thanked Paul for his presentation and noted “we learned a lot”.
Announcements
From Malcolm:
Anyone using e-transfer for the RC of St. Thomas
Remember our club account is now at Libro.
Payee: Rotary Club of St. Thomas
email: rcofstthon@gmail.com
Next week: 20Sep23 Megan Papadakos - Autism Ontario
From Diane Chantler, Rail City Rotary Club:
We are so excited to hold our Oktoberfest event on Saturday, October 14th, 2023 to raise funds for the new MRI at STEGH.
Please share with all your Club members and if they need tickets, ($25) please let me know and I will ensure that they receive them. It should be a fun evening with great food and live entertainment.
50/50 was won by Gerry
Happy Finns
Barbara – saw all children this past weekend
Catharine – for Paul
Gerry – won 50/50, Paul and his presentation
Mark- Paul’s presentation
Maggie – last Wednesday evening went to see new RYE student, spent wonderful time with granddaughter, for speaker today
Bill – 3 birthdays for daughters and granddaughters
Pat – son in law home from hospital and thought Paul’s presentation was very good