President-elect Mark opened the meeting with O Canada, Toast to King and Country, Rotary International and World Cup Soccer . We recited the 4 Way Test.

Guest today was Paul Lovelock.

Malcolm introduced our speaker,  Jeff Yurek . Photo below- Bill (right) thanked Jeff.

Recently, Jeff addressed the graduates at this year’s convocation of the Toronto School of Pharmacology.

He left politics Jan 2022 to return to family life and as a pharmacist with the family business “Yurek Pharmacy”. New graduates now receive a degree Dr of Pharmacy and prefer to work in hospitals and businesses rather than community pharmacy; in the interests of staff retention, wage increases and added benefits have been instituted this year. Jeff's sister works at the pharmacy but commutes from Toronto; this is a family business. Yurek Pharmacies https://yurekpharmacy.com/ operate in St Thomas/London region. Their 150 employees sell Home Healthcare, Mobility and Intravenous supplies. This is their 60^th year.

Beyond maintaining his licence, he advocates for the Ontario Pharmacists Association. Pharmacists face many changes; for example, a Pharmacist will soon be able to diagnose 13 medical ailments previously assigned only to medical Doctors. Examples include: eye infections, skin irritations, menstrual issues, constipation, common cold, UTI, allergies, Thrush, reflux, hemorrhoids, impetigo, and insect bites. Jeff is on the Elgin Hospice Board. The Hospice facility that our club donated $50,000 to is expected to be operational late next year. 50% of the operating costs are covered by the Ministry of Health. 

Jeff commented on his political career “The best day in opposition is not as good as the worst day on the government side”. He served under Tim Hudak, Pat Brown, and Premier Doug Ford. As COVID struck in March 2020, the Premier directed members of Parliament to travel as usual; which left him stranded abroad to make decisions by phone for 3 weeks. When he returned home he communicated via Microsoft Teams video conferencing. COVID made governing difficult.

Q&A

Bill asked about the end state of unused medications. Costs of disposal are covered by the manufacturers. They are denatured chemically and not burned.

Paul asked if the Cabinet is making enough input toward governance.

Gerry asked about changing the riding geography. Jeff said it would be likely that the provincial boundaries will be matched to those changed in the federal ridings.  

Ron asked about Pharmacy Techs. Jeff said this is an opportunity for young people looking for a career.

Stew asked about the acquisition by the city of large property to the northeast.

Brier Raffle Tickets; There are 400 tickets to sell; Malcolm sold 17 at the Ingersoll Curling Club and is going back for more sales. Trish sold 25 at the Paris Curling Club. A cooperative personal contact at a Curling Club is the essential starting point for making sales.

Gerry reported that Polio Plus will receive $130 from the sale of 10 boxes of Tulip bulbs .

Rotary International has released an updated governance document (Bylaws etc), which members of our club can access from the Board documents located in the “Organization/Committees” (Board) module of Club Runner.

From Malcolm: 1-He noticed that our club is recognized by the Chamber of Commerce on their website as per the screenshot below:

2-Jessica, a former Global Scholar sponsored by our club, has been working with Doctors Without Borders as a Health Promoter in Haiti.  Currently, she is a consultant for Queen’s University doing a research project.

3-A news item in The Bridge for November about Debra Seabrook who was a valued and very active member of our club until she moved to a new position with Hamilton Museum a few years ago.  We enjoyed her children as potential Rotarians when they attended with her.  Her father (a Past District Governor) and sister are active Rotarians In other districts.

From Katherine Hahn re Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA):Here is the Youtube link with the recording of the meeting for those of you unable to attend. https://youtu.be/ej3T0r-U7FM . Links to learn more about what our club should do to comply: https://www.lerners.ca/lernx/the-clock-is-ticking-not-for-profit-corporation-compliance-with-the-onca/   https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_iPZjBDKxJRZv6g7Kj9METao9OMRdJ9X   https://nonprofitlaw.cleo.on.ca/transition-to-onca/