November is RI’s Rotary Foundation Month which follows October 24 as World Polio Day. I am happy to report that our club has raised $599 USD this Rotary year, which is half of our 2025/26 club goal of $1,200 USD. Remember that your donations to end polio are matched by the Gates Foundation 2:1!
Some other club goals for this year include:
increasing membership by two to 26
increasing the number of members who actively participate in club service activities
have at least three members participate in leadership development programs throughout the Rotary year
sponsor at least one Interact club this year
have at least six members attend the district conference (which is in Kingston this year! April 24-26)
etc.
How are you increasing your Rotary engagement and service activities?
In terms of Rotary fellowship, on December 10th we will gather for a special club Holiday Dinner. December is a busy time for all, so we have deliberately scheduled this gathering early in the month. No matter what holiday you may be celebrating, I encourage you to come share a special meal and fellowship - and please bring a friend or partner to help celebrate!
Trevor
Congratulations to our Treasurer, Catherine Demers, who recently enlisted and started basic training with the Canadian Armed Forces. Cat is expected to be away for some time and therefore Trevor Dagilis has offered to begin transitioning to the Treasurer role now, rather than as had been planned at the start of the next Rotary year (July 1, 2026).
To avoid the appearance of a potential conflict of interest with the new treasury duties, Trevor has agreed to step down as club President and Elaine Matthew, our President-elect, will step up and take over the President role effective January 1, 2026.
Elaine and Trevor will continue as club President and Treasurer respectively through the 2026/27 Rotary year.
These changes were all approved by the Board at the November 19, 2025 meeting.
Fred Richmond for 46 years of Rotary service
(November 1)
John Mirski for 19 years of Rotary service
(November 22)
Trevor Dagilis for 15 years of Rotary service
(November 23)
Marie-Claude van der Merwe for 6 years of Rotary service
(November 6)
Don Polk for 3 years of Rotary service
(November 30)
Sylvain Bouffard for 1 year of Rotary service
(November 20)
Aavar Satyal
Nov 4
1 month
Christian Trevor
Oct 27 Nov 5
Sweet 16
- Fred Richmond
The Roots of Rotary’s
Polio Eradication Efforts
On 29 September 1979, volunteers administered drops of oral polio vaccine to children at a health center in Guadalupe Viejo, Makati, Philippines. The event in metropolitan Manila was arranged and attended by Rotarians and delegates from the Philippine Ministry of Health.
When James L. Bomar Jr., then RI president, put the first drops of vaccine into a child’s mouth, he ceremonially launched the Philippine poliomyelitis immunization effort. Rotary’s first Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grant project was underway.
Bomar and Enrique M. Garcia, the country’s minister of health, had earlier signed an agreement committing Rotary International and the government of the Philippines to a joint multiyear effort to immunize about 6 million children against polio, at a cost of about $760,000.
In a 1993 interview, Bomar reminisced about the trip. He recalled how the brother of one of the children he had immunized tugged on his pant leg to get his attention and said, “Thank you, thank you, Rotary.”
The project’s success led Rotary to make polio eradication a top priority. Rotary launched PolioPlus in 1985 and was a founding member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988.
Through decades of commitment and work by Rotary and our partners, more than 2.5 billion children have received the oral polio vaccine.
On October 29, 2025, the Loaf N' Ale was filled to capacity with Club members as well as students who had been sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kingston-Frontenac for various youth development experiences in 2025.
Caidynce Cheng
YouthEx ST Tour (missing Gloria, Fernanda, Leo) Taiwan RYLA
Students drawn from 6 different area high schools, many accompanied by a parent or guardian, shared highlights from their experiences including RYLA (May 2025), Adventures in Citizenship (May 2025), Indigenous Understanding (August 2025), the Environment (September 2025) & High Technology (October 2025) as well as international Youth Exchanges to both Taiwan (short-term in June/ July 2025) and Japan (long term 2024-25).
Abbey William & Jon Maria
Citizenship Understanding Environment
Ottawa Peterborough-Kawartha Cornwall
Several of the students were known to club members having participated previously in other Rotary youth development experiences:
Caidynce went to Cornwall in September 2024 for Adventures in the Environment and then stepped up for a short-term youth experience - the Taiwan Harmony Tour in June/ July 2025.
Fernanda, our inbound 2024-25 YouthEx student from Brazil, went to RKY Camp in May 2025 for RYLA.
Jacob & Grey, who went to the 2025 Adventure in High Technology, are both members for the past 2 years of Lake Effect Robotics - Team 2708, the FIRST Robotics FRC team sponsored by RCKF. They were joined at AiHT by Christian, our inbound 2025-26 YouthEx student from Germany, whose studies are heavily focused on the Sciences.
Rebound student Cole, now back from his long-term exchange in Japan, started with Rotary on the 2023 Adventure in High Technology.
Jacob Grey Christian
High Technology
Nepean-Kanata
The students all shared how their Rotary experiences introduced them to new people and places and opened the door to new opportunities. Without exception, they all expressed how worthwhile their experience had been, how their expectations had been exceeded and they were all very thankful for the sponsorship provided by Rotary!
Cole
YouthEx LT
Japan
Thanks to the Rotary members who raised
funds to support these Youth Development
Programs by volunteering at Bingo!
- Peter Morrin from Uganda
Hello Friends,
I am writing this article on a sunny Sunday afternoon from the incongruous luxury of a local “spa” down the dirt road from the Agnes Zabali Boys and Girls Club (AZBGC) in Kamengo, Uganda. While it would not be barely 2.5 stars at home a pool with chlorine and a working pump (with cold beer) was unheard of here when I started coming in 2011. While it does indicate a growing middle class with money to invest (hopefully not from their long-lost Russian uncle), it high lights the very significant income disparity in this country. From my limited exposure to countries in the developing world, this is not unusual.
This brings me to my recent Rotary experiences over the past two weeks. I have had the pleasure to be welcomed by three Rotary clubs and to present at two of them.The first club was the Rotary Club of Katende, about half-way between AZBGC and Kampala, but still very much a rural (and poorer) Rotary club. This is the club that the Director of AZBGC, Chris Mutebi, joined a couple years ago. They meet on Sunday evening at a local style hotel, outdoors, but with a large banner, all of their visiting club flags flying. Rotary clubs in Africa tend to meet first for business and then close the meeting and have a brief social drink.
One similarity of all three clubs was demonstrated by RC of Katende; they are younger that us, very dynamic, and actively developing new clubs and Rotaract clubs. I believe Uganda is one of the fastest growing countries for Rotary in the world. Their Rotaract clubs are very active right up to the age transition at 35. The Rotaract club supported by RC Katende was inviting participation in their one year birthday in December this year and I contributed a modest contribution on our behalf.
The second club I visited met on Friday evening in downtown Kampala. This required a arduous journey to try and avoid the Kampala Jam, which is really must be experienced to be appreciated (particularly in a non-air conditioned bus). This was the Rotary Club of 7 Hills Kampala. This is the home club of Dr. Criscent Tumuhaise, the CEO of Nkozi Hospital, who has asked for our help with a Water supply project.
This was a very different club, with a slightly older professional membership. Like Katende, they were only recently chartered, but were already promoting other clubs and Rotaract clubs. There was a really good professional vibe to this club with lots of energy tempered by an awareness of the world around them.
I have agreed to provide some professional advice to Dr, Criscent and the Nkozi hospital to help with their Global Grant for a new water system. I visited the Hospital site on Tuesday and then presented to the club a brief talk on “10 Questions to ask about a Rotary Water Supply Project”.
I stayed over in Kampala and enjoyed some interesting big city experiences which will be shared at another time. On Monday evening I presented to the Rotary Cub of Muyenga-Bukasa, which again was only chartered in the last couple of years. Muyenga is a relatively wealthy part of Kampala and about 6 different Rotary clubs meet at the same hotel. I had decided to take an apartment in the area and had a chance to case the joint. It is an interesting area, right on the edge or a large swamp which breeds a particularly aggressive type of female mosquito. The wealthy people live up on the top of the hill, and people get progressively poorer as you move down into the swamp.
Muyenga-Bukasa has a very dynamic woman President, Florece Nakamatte, who represents the new Future of Uganda. Most of the Executive team at Muyenga-Bukasa are women, personally invited by Florence to join her in this new venture. In this manner Rotary is central in shaping the new backbone of this country.
Nico in Taiwan
(A) (B)
(A) - Nico (L) and the other international students attended a Rotary event where they dressed up in traditional Taiwanese clothes.
(B) - At a local Hallowe'en party, Nico (R) and other students dressed up in costumes. Shown here is Nico having a "moooo-ving" conversations with Toy Story's Sherriff Woody.
(C) (D)
(C) - At an international student fair, Nico (L) explains life in Canada to Taiwanese students.
(D) - Holiday lights in Taiwan
Christian in Canada
(D) (E)
(D) - Christian joined a group of international students in the Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic School Board for a field trip to Toronto's Ripley's Aquarium and Christmas Market in the Distillery District.
(E) - Together with friends from Itay & Brazil, Christian meets up with a Canadian Moose mascot on the way home.
(F) (G) (H)
(J) (K)
(F) - Decorated for the Holiday season in festive lights, Christian showed his spirit in the Kingston Nighttime Santa Parade together with host-family Dad Mauricio and Checo marching with the Groovytown Dog Lodge!
(G) - Dressed up for the occasion, Christian and friends at the recent Regiopolis-Notre Dame Semi-Formal dance
(H) - Able to still enjoy a nice sunny Saturday, Christian made a new four-legged friend at "The Paca Shack"; then took in some sun and relaxed in Seely's Bay (J) & Lyndhurst (K)
Kingston-Area Rotary Clubs
63 /99
2025 Team Progress
Thanks!
to all who've rolled up a sleeve to
Give Blood!
BINGO! FUNDRAISING
In the 2025-26 Bingo Year
(for hours volunteered from
Apr 2025-Mar 2026),
Kingston-Frontenac Club members have raised:
$21,191.41
($331.12/ hour volunteered)
to benefit our local community.
All assigned shifts in 2025-26 have volunteer coverage (thru March 2026).
Please check the Bingo Schedule
Thanks to the K-F members who have volunteered for this valuable service.
.... don't forget these upcoming dates:
Tuesday December 2, 2025
Our team works hard to deliver hope for those in need all year round. We are incredibly grateful for the role you have played in keeping our doors open, our vehicles on the road, and our deliveries flowing to agencies in our communities
Over the past year, we have had the privilege of rescuing millions more in food and household goods, serving even more agencies than ever before, and seeing lives changed in our housing programs.
This Tuesday is Giving Tuesday, the global day of generosity celebrated on the first Tuesday of December, and as we enter the Christmas season we’re humbly asking for your help so we can keep delivering hope this holiday season and into the New Year.
We’re joined in this request by a generous donor who will be matching all donations dollar-for-dollar up to $75,000! That means your contribution will go twice as far to help those experiencing hunger and hardship.
A reminder that we are a registered charity, and all gifts will be eligible for a tax receipt.
