Happy Fall everyone. It's October already?? Where did September go! It's true what your mothers said - time really does go by faster the older you get!!
It's been a busy September for our Rotary Club, kicked off by a fantastic Sunset Cocktail Party, truly enjoyed by everyone who attended. It held up to it's reputation as the best party of the year in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Several members represented our club at the end of that same week at the Pumphouse Moonlight Picnic - another very fun event. Another very successful Porch Pick-up Food Drive for Newark Neighbours was held on Saturday Sept 27. Along with members of the St. David’s Lions and the Kinsmen clubs, seven Rotary members collected over 2500 lbs. (!!) of food from porches throughout NOTL. And finally on September 30, about 15 members participated in a short but fun walk on a beautifully sunny day to support End Polio. If you haven’t donated to this important Rotary cause, it’s not too late to do so at this link https://raise.rotary.org/twe_1962/challenge807152.As of today, our club has raised $1,464. Donations will be open for another 19 days so there’s still time - every little bit counts!!
In addition to all of these, mainly social, events, members have been busy this month with our volunteering efforts with our partners - Red Roof Retreat, Westview Centre 4 Women, Niagara Nutrition Partners (apples), Community Crew, St. George's Breakfast Program, Adopt a Road clean-up and more.
Tickets went on sale last week for the Holiday House Tour, our signature fundraiser. Tickets are selling quickly, indicating another sold out and successful event that means so much to our club and the organizations & projects that we support. In addition to ticket sales, the response to request for community volunteers to work in each of the seven homes, sent on Sept 28, has been outstanding. As of the very next day, over 47% shifts had been filled. This is an true indication of the recognition and support that our club enjoys in our community.
We experimented with a different format at our Club Assembly on September 16. After a brief update on club actions and decisions, members broke into informal groups to discuss the details of the various committees and major events with their respective leads. It was a first time experiment so there is some room for improvement but I think it was useful. Two committee chairs even reported that they had recruited new members - Communications and Public Relations and Foundation. I believe that this was a useful exercise worth repeating a few times each year. Please let me know your thoughts and ideas on future sessions.
At our last Board meeting, we discussed the possibility of modifying our monthly meeting schedule. Rather than three general club meetings with guest speakers and one club assembly each month, it was suggested that we move to two club assemblies with speakers, one club assembly and one "off-site" activity or social event. (In the weeks with five Tuesday's, our regular "off site" lunch meeting would still occur.) But let's be honest, while members enjoy the fifth Tuesday lunch, it is often difficult to truly engage with everyone who is at the table. It has been suggested that an activity or volunteering opportunity may be more meaningful to everyone and may be a good way to increase engagement among all members, including our newer members, and our community. Some suggestions that have already been made are: tree planting, fall bulb planting, helping at Community Crew, Niagara Nutrition Partners or St. George's, tours at local wineries or other venues. I’m sure there are many more ideas and thoughts. Please think about this idea and send me an email at grantcis347@gmail.com, call me at 905-468-7498 or see me at a meeting and give me your thoughts for fun and engaging activities that would interest our members and get us out into the community to learn, give back, support or just have fun.
Reminder - Our second annual Rotary Golf Day is coming up next Tuesday Oct 15; because of this, the club meeting on Tuesday Oct 15 is cancelled. I hope that many of you are joining your fellow members and others in a fun round of golf that day or, like me, planning to join us all for dinner at the NOTL golf course that evening.
Enjoy this glorious fall (or is it summer ?) weather.
Cindy
