Double Congratulations to Rotarian Marcel Doreleyers for being named BEST BOSS OF THE YEAR as well as winning the Community Involvement Award for Canadian Tire.

Congratulations also go to Dr. Peter Wilson who won in the category of Young Business Person of the Year! 

A well deserved Citizen Of The Year Award was presented to one of our founding members,  Walter Borthwick, Congratulations Walter!!

And a special mention to Rotarian spouse Krista Young of Waterside Retirement Lodge Inc., the Wasaga Beach YMCA and Canadian Tire who were also presented with Customer Service awards. It was a fun night celebrating the Chambers' 75th anniversary and so great to see some many Rotarians recognized for all that we do each and every work day for this great community!

Our club has been busy growing, how exciting is that!! 

During our meeting on March 4th President Todd inducted  Trevor Eby, an insurance broker at Crewson Insurance, who looks forward to giving back to the wonderful town of Wasaga Beach which he has called home since 2004. Trevors and his partner Ashley are parents to three young children; Lincoln (3), Reegan (2) and Easton (1 in June). His Rotary sponsor is Patrice.
<<NOte: it tired me out just calculating his childrens ages, I'm sure its a very busy household!!>>  Welcome Trevor!!

Todays meeting chaired by President Elect Ehab was a fun one as we had lots of auction items (from members recent travels!) and he got to induct a brand new member!

Abigail Hitchens  of Petals in Thyme, the newest floral design & gift shop in Wasaga Beach, is our clubs newest member. Abigails' sponsor is James Koehle.

WELCOME Abigail!

During our February 4th meeting, President Todd, had the privelege of inducting another new member! 

Sheri Kennington is a Wasaga Beach resident and the Founder and CEO of Sun Bear Inspirations Inc., as an Executive Coach Sheri specializes in organizational development and human capital - I can't wait for a vocational speech to learn more details about Sheri's work as I'm sure she has some inspirational stories to share!

Her Rotary sponsor is Ehab Masad.

Steve Wallace was presented with his Paul Harris plus 5. Ron Strickland our District Foundation Chair was in attendance to speak about Foundation. Steve was honored to receive his Paul Harris +5 pin from Ron. Steve is a strong advocate of Foundation and we are extremely proud, as he is, of his accomplishments and investement in this the very core of Rotary.

Congratulations STEVE!!

Sophia Miller our 2012 Presidential Scholar recipient.

Sophia attended our August Assembly along with her mother to tell us about her course studies and thank the club for their consideration and award.

At changeover on June 25th, we welcomed our newest member to our Rotary Club - Paulette Light.  Todd Young is her sponsor.

Eric Saunders, Wasaga Beach #79 and Jeff White, Phelpston #643

Each person won $1,000 in our early bird draw held Monday June 18th. 

We gathered for fun and fellowship at the Bray/Winegarden household to celebrate Sammy, our wonderful exchange students, 17th birthday. Sammy had a little help from Jackson to blow out all those candles and the cake and ice cream was enjoyed by all!!

Great to have the Worsley School Band to perform at our meeting.  George Watson was on hand to introduce the band a give a brief history of Rotary involvement in the band.  The history is listed below. 


HISTORY OF THE WORLSEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BAND

In the early 1990s, Brian Hamlin, music teacher for Worsley Elem. School, was advised that the School Board had cut the music programme & his attempt to form a school band was not going to happen. Brian approached George as a parent and Rotarian to see if Rotary would be interested in becoming a sponsor of some sort. At that time, our youngest children were in that school and were to be part of the band. Rotary agreed, a committee was formed with Brian, other school parents & George as the Rotary liaison. The music programme first operated out of what was then Byrnes Ave School, which held grades 6-8.

The band was originally called the Wasaga Rotary Youth Band, and Rotary bought the original instruments for the students, adding a few each year. The students would lease or rent those instruments from the school & eventually through that process. the band became and still is self-sufficient. The last request for funding from Rotary was to sound-proof the music room when grades 6-8 were moved back to the 39th St location. That was done & a plaque put outside the room giving Rotary the credit for the creation of the band.

The students performed at several events over the early years, including Rotary meetings. They still participate in local parades as well various school concerts.

 An update on our outbound Sammy Tripp

more to follow  

Can you tell by these photos that she can't wait to get home!?

Gary Cerantola was our first guest speaker of the New Year.  He had a wonderful presentation ready for us on sustainability and what that means for Wasaga Beach.  He outlined the various advantages to be pro-active in leaving our World a better place for our grandchildren and that one person can make a difference.  Listed below are some websites Gary encouraged us to visit to learn more. 

Information about the Collingwood Environment Network:

info@environmentnetwork.org

Portland State University, Oregon Sustainability Centre You Tube Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L-kT98sVPk

                        Andrea Abbott-Koksin, Executive Director, Breaking Down Barriers, and Ted Ashwin, Vice Chair was on hand today to update on the programs helping our community. We presented a $2,000 cheque today.  Due to technical difficulties, we are encouraged to watch this video they were unable to show today.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r92iA7F990

The boys look great – bet they can’t wait to shave on December 1^st and speaking as a wife of one of these upper lip fur dudes – I CAN’T WAIT!

Christina Armstrong & Sue Connell were on hand to update date us and provide information on the Wasaga Beach Ministerial Food Bank.  It was sad to hear that they now are providing 200 to 250 boxes per month and have about 1000 clients that include 240 children.  Each box costs about $45.  They rely completely on volunteers.  They only buy food but people also donate toiletries and pet food to give out.  Bill Stockwell was also on hand looking for some volunteers to help with the Salvation Army Christmas Kettles.  Please contact him directly at 705-352-0292

Today was a great volunteer event.  We had over 20 Rotarians and partners on hand to serve our Veterans lunch.  There were many great conversations that took place and we were able to express a small token of appreciation to our heroes.  We also got to enjoy a wonderful lunch.

Today at the Vets lunch we presented a cheque for $5,000 to the local Air Cadets Squadron 714 from our Corvette lottery proceeds.  On hand to accept the cheque were Steve Wallace, Irene Walker and Chris Webb.

Marilyn Beecroft from the MNR gave an update on the changes and future of the Friends of Nancy Island.  She shared some great historic pictures.  A cheque for $5,500 was presented to Marilyn and John Ferguson from the Friends of Nancy Board.  Marilyn also mentioned they are looking for volunteers.  They also provide information to visitors about the Provincial Park.  They are also getting ready for Wasaga Under Siege: A War of 1812 Experience - August 17th, 18th & 19th 2012.

Karen Webb from the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Georgian Triangle was on hand to receive our donation of $2,000.  She gave a great presentation to update us on all the programs.  Karen also provided a great shout out for our participation in the annual Bowl for Kids with our Rotary club raising more than $1,600 last year. 

Working on increasing polio awareness and collecting donations to meet our clubs commitment, a great new fundraiser emerged.  Secretary Sylvia put together these great boxes which are in various places around town.  It has been very successful and we hope to increase the exposure for next year.

Eric Dean from the Royal Victoria Hospital was our guest today.  He presented an update on Rotary Place which will hold Rotary House which is a lodge for cancer patients and families.  The entire club is very proud to present a cheque for $10,000 from the proceeds of our Corvette Lottery Draw.   

Secretary Sylvia took over for President Elizabeth and ran the meeting.  A presentation by Harry Bell from Canadian Tire on the Jump Start Program was made.  It was followed by a cheque presentation from our Corvette Lottery Proceeds.

Secretary Sylvia & Mark along with President Elizabeth & Kevin went off to District Conference in Rousseau.  Rotarian Steve also attended.  Sylvia updated the club on the conference and the good work our District is doing.

Patrice’s sister and brother-in-law are visiting from New Zealand.  Bill Duncan has been a Rotarian for years.  He updated us on the devastation and rebuild from the powerful earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand. 

Monday Sept 19^th was a good meeting.  We were able to present our first cheque for the 2011 Corvette draw to the Collingwood G&M Hospital.  Jory-Pritchard Kerr and Debbie Kesheshian were on hand to accept the donation on behalf of the hospital.  Jory gave us an update on the capital project.  It was fun and fellowship day so we learned a bit more about each other as each person took a turn at the microphone letting us all know where they were born, their dream vacation, and their dream job.

A record of 7 teams of 4 players showed up to golf on a beautiful Friday September afternoon.  Each team had one female captain and she carefully directed her golfers.  The last foursome out was lead by Lisa Doreleyers – all that Wednesday golf paid off and she was able to have her 3 men, James Koehle, Glen Godovitz and Jeff Ahonen, pull off the victory.  A huge BBQ was held back at the de Groot’s house that included well over 40 folks.  The food was “over the top” and the desserts to die for.  A great day and evening enjoyed by all.   We thank Roger for his kindness in allowing Sammy to golf for free and give him clubs.  Wasaga Sands was a great host. 

Please look at the home page under Photo Albums for a few of Sammy’s first week here.  Kevin and Sammy went on the new slide ride up at Blue Mountain – tons of fun.  We finished off our evening at Blue with dinner on the patio of the Firehall Pizza.  Off to Young’s boat and some great pictures of Sammy on his first ever tube ride.  Kevin and Elizabeth took Sammy over by boat to Todd & Krista’s boat.  Quite an adventure – will my tailbone ever be the same?

President Elizabeth and Kevin picked Sammy up on Saturday August 27th.   His first night he met Todd, Krista and Jackson at the de Groot House.  Cute picture of Jackson’s new “big brother”.  A BBQ was held today for all Rotarians and family to drop by and meet Sammy.  It was a great afternoon.

Tonight all budgets were passed for our 2011 – 2012 year.  They are available for viewing by all members by signing on to clubrunner, looking under club documents.  Scroll down to the bottom to the file called budgets and you will find all three PDF files there.  Great meeting!

Special guest speaker Doreen Rose talked about a wonderful program she supports through her personal work and also through her school.  The Send a Cow projects works hand in hand with poor families in Africa teaching them the skills they need. The project provides training, livestock, seeds and support.  These families then pass on the seeds, young livestock and training to others.  Doreen is visiting former Rotarian Ken Miller and his wife Jill.  We were happy to have all three as part of our meeting.  To learn more about this project, please visit:  http://www.sendacow.org.uk/home. 

Sammy Tripp arrived safely in New Zeland

We just got off the phone with Sam - she sounded like she was around the corner. The daughter that met her in Auckland was TRACEY PARKE - she was our very first Rotary exchange student that we hosted in 2005! Sam arrived safe and sound in Napier and is with her counsellor and his family. She will spend the next week or so getting organized before moving in with her first HOST family. The weather is cold there, they had snow yesterday. Sam said it's really not very cold - oh to be Canadian eh?!
Sam starts school on Monday ... will organize her uniform this week and then get registered and pick classes etc next.
They have plans to show her around this week and meet some of her school mates. She has a rotary orientation day on Saturday where she will meet the other INBOUND students from all over the world, also living in New Zealand for this year. Sunday they have arranged for dinner with two of her other host families ....
Her adventure has truly begun now - stay tuned ... I will try to share her stories, photos, etc over the coming weeks/months/year 

The 2nd Early Bird draw for the Club's 2011 Corvette Lottery raffle occurred on Monday July 25, 2011. Congratulations to Wally Harvey (Wasaga Beach, ON - Ticket # 0595), Marcello Caning (Innisfil, ON - Ticket # 0674) and Debbie Smith (St. Catherines, ON - Ticket # 01388) who each won $1,000 cash. All winners have been notified. Wally's ticket was purchased through Rotarian Steve. Macello's ticket was purchased at Lobsterfest in Barrie on June 4th. Debbie's ticket was purchased at the Collingwood Elvis Festival on Saturday July 23rd around noon.

The final (grand prize) draw is on August 21, 2011. Visit www.CorvetteLottery.com for more info about the Club's 12th Corvette lottery.

District Governor Brian Menton and his wife Dorothy made a wonderful presentation on the first meeting of our new Rotary year.  They told of us of their Rotary story and what it meant to both of them to be Rotarians.  They emphasized our new theme “Reach within to Embrace Humanity.  Assistant District Governor John Gordon was also there to lend support to our club.  Club Directors met with Brian before the meeting and discussed our clubs planning guide for Effective Rotary clubs.  He and Dorothy gave us some great ideas.  Rotarian Ehab M and Rotarian George V are working on a brand new community service idea of having our very own Rotary Splash Pad. 

The 1st Early Bird draw for the Club's 2011 Corvette Lottery raffle occurred on Monday June 20, 2011. Congratulations to Bob Fisher (Erin, ON - Ticket #0001), Larry Goddard (Collingwood, ON - Ticket # 0848) and John Simpson (Woodland Beach, ON - Ticket #0530) who each won $1,000 cash. All winners have been notified. Ticket #0001 was sold at a Wasaga Beach Corvette Club "show & shine" event at Mike Jackson Motors - Collingwood. Ticket # 0848 was sold at a Canadian Tire Collingwood sales venue. Ticket #0530 was purchased through a mail-in ticket request.

The next early bird draw is on July 25, 2011. Three $1,000 cash prizes will be issued at that draw. Visit www.CorvetteLottery.com for more info about the Club's 12th Corvette lottery.

Ehab Masad, Marilyn Ruttan and guest Nadine Truax were the speakers yesterday to introduce the new Promote Wasaga Advisory Committee which is a sub-committee of the Wasaga Beach Chamber of Commerce. The first project of this committee is to raise funds through their Promote Wasaga Golf Tourney on Friday July 8th. Another project in the works is a Wasaga Beach Short Film Festival/Contest a sample produced by Ehab is attached. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL4QyLrowYw 

Rotarian Peter de Boer and President-Elect Elizabeth enjoy their first day in New Orleans.  Lots of fun and fellowship.  People from so many countries and such great sites.  Sharon is here with Peter and Elizabeth brought her Mom Mavis.

President Marilyn has recently returned from the Rotary Friendship Exchange to El Salvador from February the 10th to the 20th. Marilyn did a presentation to the club on the exchange and the projects the Rotary Clubs in El Salvador are currently working on. A fabulous time was had by all 9 participants from District 7010.

The Rotary Club of Wasaga Beach is looking forward to raising over $1,000 for the Annual Big Brothers/Big Sister's Bowl for Kids Sake. Todate our 12 team members have raised $840.00plus with our top fund raiser being Elizabeth deGroot at $400.00. Congratulations Elizabeth! There is still time to donate as our team bowls this Tuesday March 1st at 7:30pm.

John Dick, Elizabeth de Groot and Steve Wallace each received their second Paul Harris Fellowships. Their contributions to Polio Plus, the Rotary Foundation and both local and international service work has been greatly appreciated. All three of these Rotarians are very active within the Wasaga Beach Rotary Club. Congratulations John, Elizabeth and Steve!

Roy Wilson and Kay Wilson were two of the three recipients of this years Paul Harris Service Award. Roy and Kay have distinguished themselves through noteworthy international, regional and local community service for many years as our Town Crier and his Constant Companion. The Rotary Club of Wasaga Beach bestows upon each award winner a Paul Harris Fellowship. A Paul Harris Fellowship is named after Paul Harris who was one of the the founders of Rotary International. The Fellowships were established in 1957 to express appreciation for contributions to the humanitarian and educational programs of Rotary Foundation. Congratulations Roy and Kay.

During our 1st meeting in November fourteen club members attended a light luncheon and cheque presentation at the RVH in Barrie. We submitted our final $20,000 cheque towards our total commitment of $100,000. The actual meeting was off-site at the newly built Gilda's Club. Our club members were quite impressed with both the presentation made to us by the RVH Foundation pertaining to the new Cancer Centre and Rotary Place as well as our tour of Gilda's Club.

President Elect Elizabeth de Groot and Rotarian Eric and Pat Baty and Rotarian Peter and Sharon de Boer were on hand for the dedication of Rotary Place.  It was a great day and wonderful to be a big part of this event.

With an amazing and somewhat completely unbelievable score of 34, the team of Jane Groves,  Erin Beresfod,  Glen Godovitz and Todd Young captured this year's trophy.

The second early-bird draw took place at 7:00 PM at the main entrance to the Wasaga Beach Canadian Tire on Monday July 26, 2010.

Click here to view a great video about Rotary.