President Patricia Murenbeeld
Patricia introduced herself to the Club, by outlining her background and her journey that has lead her to be the President of the Rotary Niagara-on-the-Lake Club for 2021-22.
Patricia’s journey in Rotary started in 1981 when she was a Rotary Youth Exchange student, eventually traveling to Sweden. After her year abroad, she attended the University of Western Ontario, graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. After getting married, Patricia moved to Toronto where she worked in the Neonatal Intensive care unit at Mount Sinai Hospital. Two weeks after her first daughter was born, Patricia and her husband moved to Ottawa in 1989.
Patricia worked for over 20 years in the Neonatal Intensive care unit, sneaking in during the night and sleeping during the day while her children were at school. Additionally, she ran a Prenatal Education program for 15 years before transitioning into a day job as a Public Health Nurse in the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program.
In 2003, Patricia became a Rotarian. She joined Rotary to continue to provide life-changing opportunities to youth through Rotary Youth Exchange, and to support the foundations and programs established by Rotary to do good in the world.
Looking Forward - NoTL Club Goals
Patricia highlighted that she believes “Leadership is an action, not a position.” The Strategic Plan has been set for the next three years. Input from club members was invaluable to obtaining this success. The Strategic Plan addresses increasing member engagement through: hands on projects, fun and fellowship, and flexible meeting formats. Patricia’s hope is to Focus on ‘inclusion’ by enhancing communication through the use of the ClubRunner calendar, the weekly bulletin and through personal contact: making sure that each member is informed and can fully participate.
The long-term sustainability of our club was discussed. Although we are a strong and successful club, only 14% of our total members are under the age of 60. 60% of our club membership have been Rotarians for less than 5 years, and 29% have been Rotarians for over 10 years. Succession planning needs to be focussed on:
- Adding co-chairs on each committee
- Making term limits on the number of years a member chairs an event or a committee to avoid burn out, stimulate turnover and sustain knowledge
- Providing mentorship, training and support
Patricia concluded with hope is to explore opportunities to increase professional networking, one of the foundations of Rotary. Drawing in younger business professionals by introducing a corporate membership program and providing programs to promote personal growth and development opportunities will help sustainability. Opportunities within Rotary to obtain leadership, planning and public speaking skills are boundless. Patricia’s hope is for all members to find their place within both Rotary and our Club, to be one’s true authentic self.
MAA Trust – Hydroponics Farming:
The International Economic Committee made a presentation to the club, seeking Club membership approval of an ISC project for the MAA Trust Hydroponics Project in Kenya. (A copy of the Power Point presentation was attached to the July 19 weekly email that was sent to all members.) The MAA is a non-profit organization working with community-owned conservancies, based in Maasai Mara, Kenya.
The MAA Hydroponic Plan is to run 3 pilots for the hydroponics vegetable projects in separate locations:
- The MAA Trust Headquarters
- In the Community
The International Economic Committee proposed the support of one pilot at the MAA Trust HQ. A Motion was put forth to support the first hydroponics farm start up at the MAA Trust HQ in Kenya for a cost of $5,100, to be fully funded by the Rotary Club of NoTL. The Motion was carried.
