Past President Trish Shouldice presented Harris Bear on behalf of speaker Sue Storie
 
ST THOMAS ROTARASERVER NOTES FEB 19 2020
Announcements
Spring extravaganza March 21 tickets coming—14 vendors!  Save the Date! Tickets to be sold will be distributed in two weeks.
Next meeting is: March 4th.
Grand Bend shipment – new or used backpacks still needed. 
Sue Storie, Toastmasters
Sue is a well-known, experienced Rotarian and as well as an experienced member of Toastmasters.  She is a member of the Rotary Club of London-Hyde Park.
Toastmasters and Rotary have formed an alliance.  Sue and her husband Rick are long time members of both.  She says that there many similarities between the two groups.  Toastmasters is a program to build confidence.  She encouraged us to check out Toastmasters.org.  Toastmasters changes peoples’  lives by having people confident in running meetings, business networking etc.  It is a peer-driven organization.  Meetings are held at least once a month or more frequently.  They have a fairly new digital program.  Toastmasters, like Rotary, is an international organization.  They are developing courses (structured paths) specific for Rotary.
Common to both clubs
  • Create leaders
  • Support learning
  • Empower individuals
In St.Thomas, Talbot Trail Toastmasters meets Thursday at 7 at the community room in the Elgin Mall. 
Sue’s club meets Monday at 7. 
 
50/50 draw winner—Gerald Vreman
Fine Master—Pat Martyn.  The first meeting of Rotary was Feb 23.  The February theme is peace and conflict prevention and resolution. 
Happy Finns
1 Gerald Music Festival
1 Stew Sue’s presentation
1 Connie Sue’s presentation
2 Mary Sue’s presentation and brother’s birthday
1 Bill Sue’s presentation
2 Pat Family Holiday and Sue’s presentation
2 Trish Sue’s presentation and Stews support and dedication to Rotary
2 Adriana nephew visit and family news
 
Gerald encouraged everyone to attend as much of the Music Festival as they are able. The contestants this year are awesome.
 
NO MEETING NEXT WEEK TO ALLOW YOU TIME TO ATTEND FESTIVAL
 
Note for Stew, our speaker from last week asked that I post the following:
Hi Barbara and Stew,
 
It was great to meet you both last Thursday – thank you again for having Kristen Bernard and I to speak to the Rotary Club group. We truly enjoyed meeting your members and chatting about conservation in Southwestern Ontario! We hope people left inspired to get outdoors and embrace the rest of winter J.
 
One of our highest priority projects in Southwestern Ontario is to build a 62-acre wetland on an NCC property on Pelee Island. This will be the biggest wetland NCC has built on the island, and will support migratory birds, turtles, salamanders and a multitude of other species. It will also provide critically important water retention, filtration and flood mitigation to the local community.

If any of your members are interested in supporting this project, we would be most grateful. I have provided the link to learn more about the project - donations can be made by clicking the “Donate Today” link on this page: http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/ontario/featured-projects/pelee-island.html
 
Date
SAA
Greeter
Fine Master
Feb 26
Meeting cancelled
Music Festival
 
Mar 4
Ron Somerville
Stew Shouldice
Suzanne Ferguson
Mar 9
Ron Somerville
Barbara Warnock
Bill Horn
Mar 16
Ron Somerville
Trish Shouldice
Trudy Kanellis
Mar 23
NO MEETING FOLLOWING EVENT