This will be my last message as club President. I am looking forward to passing the reins to Arja, but plan to stay active in the club with Rotary Foundation, Membership, and our International work.
We have faced a number of challenges over the last two years, but we have emerged a stronger and more vibrant club. We have strengthened our programs in Youth, Community, and International Service. We offer a unique meeting format that distinguishes us from other clubs. We are leading Youth Programming and International Services Projects in our Area.
Looking forward, we must make our club relevant to the next generation of Rotarians. We can start this journey by combining our hard-earned wisdom with innovation. This will require effort from all of us to learn new and better ways of doing things. Please support your fellow members in adapting to these new technologies whether it be using the website, Club Runner Phone App, Digital RSVP system, or E-transfers for payment of dues. These systems help the organizers of events, and you may find they make your life easier as well. We will never give up the human touch, so if you are struggling, reach out and someone will help.
Thank you for your support these past two years and I look forward to your friendship as we move forward building a better Community for the future.
Peter
Welcome to a new Rotary year! It is a time of transition and renewal for Kingston Frontenac Rotary. I wish to thank Peter Morrin for his leadership and support in guiding us through Covid times, and, for the past year, in the resurgence of very positive trends in our club.
Regarding "transitions", we have new Directors stepping up to serve on our board, and some familiar faces remain. We have also faced a transition in reference to our meeting venue. MC and Don Taylor have been sourcing possible new locations for us, with the result that we now have four potential choices that would meet our needs:
1. Bistro Stefan
2. The Wharf and Feather
3. River Mill
4. The Cannery
By July 24th, we will be familiar with all four locations. I will be asking you, by a show of hands, to vote on your choice for our new "home", at the July 24th meeting.
Further, regarding "transitions", we have had to bid farewell to four members, with grateful thanks for their service. Change is an inevitable fact of life. We are also, at this time, welcoming two new members: Don Misener (already inducted), and Elsabe Falkson, our new Area Governor. We look forward to their participation and fellowship.
You will be introduced to our new Board of Directors on July 10th, at Bistro Stefan, and we will also introduce Elsabe at that meeting. Don Misener will present his "classification talk" at the July 24th assembly. I will give further comments to you on July 10th.
I thank you for the honour of serving as your President for 2024/25. We are fortunate to have Trevor Dagilis as our President-Elect, who will succeed me in 2025. The future of your club is in good hands, and I feel very confident that we will continue to build on our impressive past achievements this year and beyond. We will have the opportunity to showcase our projects to our new District Governor, Teresa Whitmore, when we welcome her to our meeting on August 21st.
My very best regards to you all! Enjoy your summer.
Arja Hamalainen
President
Kingston Frontenac Rotary Club
for 28 years of Rotary service:
Greta Du Bois Cleynhens
(June 28)
SERVICE ABOVE SELF AWARD
(2023-24)
This award is given to the graduating
student who embodies volunteerism
as a way of life, thinks of others
before themselves and is kind,
generous and empathetic.
Members of the Kingston-Frontenac Club presented this award, together with a $1,000 prize, to the following students:
As shown in the summary table, total donations to Annual Fund and Polio Plus were up from last Rotary year.
While we hit the RI goal for average per capita giving, this is achieved by only 9 of our 24 members. There are 15 members who did not contribute the minimum $25 USD RI target to The Rotary Foundation in Rotary Year 2023/24. Eight of our members are signed up for Rotary Direct (the automatic billing option).
In response to the Polio Plus challenge issued by Anne and Trevor, two members responded committing to donations to the Polio Plus fund at TRF (only one donation was processed before the end of June). Anne and Trevor matched with $250 (CDN).
You can call into The Rotary Support Centre and make a payment over the phone with your credit card. Call 1-866-976-8279 to make your donation. Make your cheque payable to The Rotary Foundation (Canada) and send it with a completed recognition/contribution form. Click here for a copy of the form. Please let Trevor or Peter Morrin (new Foundation Chair) know if you would like assistance in setting up an electronic donation, or sending a cheque!
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative continues to keep the number of wild Polio cases extremely low. There were only 12 cases of wild polio virus in 2023 (6 in Pakistan, and 6 in Afghanistan). Unfortunately there have already been 14 cases in the first six months of 2024. It is essential that we continue our commitment to eliminating Polio until the job is done.
ROTARY NIGHTS @ THE COMMUNITY GARDEN
The Rotary garden has been planted and monthly Garden Nights & BBQ have have been scheduled, starting at 5:30pm on:
July: Wed July, 17
August:Wed Aug 21 (4:30-6:00pm)
September: Wed Sep 18
Come out for some healthy exercise and a nice libation/ BBQ in the Sugar Shack as the sun goes down over your efforts!
LAKE EFFECT ROBOTICS SAYS "THANKS"
K-F Rotary Club President Peter Morrin attended the recent First Robotics Sponsor Appreciation BBQ at the Kingston Robotics Lab, where he was presented with a thank you from the team and Lead Mentor Don Wartman.
The partnership with Lake Effect Robotics extends beyone the competition field, as team members have enthusiasticly supported Rotary Community Service activities such as the April Food Packing Night and the Inclusive Playground Fun Fair in June.
In the words of the immortal Queen of Soul, please show some R-E-S-P-E-C-T to your fellow members organizing Club events and activities by clicking in advance to R-E-G-I-S-T-E-R if you're attending or Decline if you're not.
Don't keep organizers in suspense by failing to R-E-S-P-O-N-D, or you may be on the receiving end of additional e-mail(s) trying to encourage a response.
With the need to find a new venue comes the need to know how many will be attending - often 48-72 hours in advance! Knowing how many will be attending is vital to planning enough seats in the room, meals to be served or staffing at the venue.
For your convenience, all the current and future events and meetings on the calendar are set-up for registration - without needing to receive an Invitation or e-mail. Just click on the event link on the calendar and you'll see you can Register or Decline. For you and your guests as well.
If you need to change, you can easily go back and U-P-D-A-T-E your status. So please share your plans online in advance - a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T will be greatly appreciated in TCB.
T-H-A-N-K-S!
SHORT-TERM STUDENT MATCHES
MOLLY Stanton MILLY Zarcone
Perth Road Village, ON Trets, FRANCE
CANADA: Jul 7 - Aug 5, 2024
FRANCE: Aug 6 - Sep 2, 2024
KYARA Loader MAITÊ Urban Amherstview, ON Salvador, Bahia
BRAZIL: Jul 11 - Aug 28, 2024
CANADA: Dec 2024 - Jan, 2025 (TBA)
STILL Seeking Host Families!
The Rotary Clubs in the Kingston area are requesting your assistance to host a high-school aged exchange student from another country for a three to four month period. This is an ongoing requirement, every year
The Rotary Youth Exchange Scholarship is a year-round program in which our Club participates. In exchange for sending out one high school student to another country for a year, we agree to receive a student from an international destination who will also remain in our community for one year.
There is no monetary remuneration for hosting a student. The benefits to you and your family are numerous. You will learn about another culture directly from someone who lives there. You will have the satisfaction of showing a visitor the way a Canadian family lives, of showing them your community and your country's way of life. You may learn to speak another language as you assist this young person to learn to speak English. You will make a life-long friend in another country of the world.
If you would like to apply to be a host family, please apply through the online Host Family Application form on our Rotary District 7040 Youth Exchange website at www.district7040ye.com (found under “Forms and Documents” and under “For Parents/Host Families”) or https://yehub.net/C04-hfapp.
If you would like more information about this very rewarding experience, please contact us.
YOUTH EXCHANGE PROMOTES
WORLD PEACE, UNDERSTANDING AND GOODWILL!
WILL YOU HELP TO DO THAT?
Kingston-Area Rotary Clubs
43 /99
2024 Team Progress
Thanks!
to all those who donated in National Blood Donor Week
for the Gift of Life!
If you've made it this far and know what is the aforementioned "TCB", the first one to send me the correct answer (at polkdj@hotmail.com) will get a $25 gift card at Tim's.
Please mark your calendars for the K-F Annual Golf Outing & BBQ on Wed August 7, 2024 at The Landings! Organized by Jack Chong, this event is one of the summer's highlights, whether you've fully evolved as a golfer or not! So bring your spouse or a friend for some fun, food and fellowship - see you at the 19th hole, if not before!
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