February 17, 2009

Chair - Nelson Snow was born and raised in Summerside.  Following high school, he received a diploma in Construction Technology from HollandCollege and then began working for his father's company, Fitzgerald and Snow, where he continues to work today.  Nelson has two sons, Parker who is 19 and Harrison who is 17.  He was first a Rotarian with the Charlottetown Royalty Club and has now been with the Summerside Club for about 10 years.

NOTE: Karla & Vance will be on hand before & after the meeting Feb 24 to take donations & write receipts for Easter Seals. These early donations will be used to scroll on the the tv screen during the telethon.  

Singsong - With the help of Gabe Chaisson on the piano, Richard Wedge led the singing of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, and Happy Birthday to Steve Cudmore and Gerard Greenan.

Makeups -Ron Caissie had a makeup in Salmon Arm, BC.

Visiting Rotarians - none. 

Guests - Malcom Millar's son Peter. 

Queen of Hearts Draw - Katie Irwin handled the duties. Luck wasn't on Carl Delaney's side when he cut the three of clubs. The Queen of Hearts remains.

Attendance - Ron Gallant reported a slight increase from last week, with an attendance of 70%.

International Toast - David Anderson toasted the Rotary Club of St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.  He and Terri visited St. Maarten ten days ago while on a cruise in the Caribbean.

Sunshine Reports

Steve Cudmore just returned from vacationing in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. His family had a fabulous time sailing and swimming with sharks, and seeing dolphins and sting rays. Ron Caissie reported that his son's team won the Canadian Junior Curling Championships and are now off to Vancouver for the World's. Vance Bridges thought he was having a good morning when he and the Easter Seals' Ambassador ended up sitting at a table full of women.  But when he got up for a cup of coffee, he lost his seat to Wayne Thompson. Wayne replied that he hadn't thought it was possible to upstage Vance but if it means Vance paying $2, he will gladly do it again.

Estefy had a cool weekend in Fredericton with the exchange students.  They went skiing on Friday and although it was fun, it was extremely cold and there were three injuries because of the ice on the hill.  She found the hill much bigger than Brookvale's and added to her collection of bruises. The rest of the weekend was fun, they had a mystery tour of Fredericton, they danced salsa and ate lots of food.  She was tired afterwards but said it was worth it.

Committee Reports

Luc Van Hul is hoping everyone will get used to the fishbowl draw for table selections and thanked Antoine Richard for taking care of having the numbers made up. Luc further reported that the Membership committee received over 40 surveys and will be meeting shortly to review them.  On March 24, the Club will host its second Discover Rotary event.  It will be in the evening and replace the regular morning meeting.  More information to come. Ron Caissie reported that we will be playing hockey on March 1.  The cost is $10/person.  Everyone must bring their A-game because the Canadiens may have scouts looking for new talent.  Steve Cudmore reported that the RotaryCelebrationGarden project will be officially launched next week. It is promising to be a tremendous project.

Guest Speaker

Wayne Thompson introduced this year's Easter Seals Ambassador, Jordan Cotton, and his mother, Angela.  Jordan is 10 years old, attends Alberton Elementary and is an avid Toronto Maple Leaf fan (poor kid will never know what winning a Stanley Cup feels like).  Jordan told us about himself and how he has cerebral palsy which means he has to use a wheelchair or walker to get around.  He told us having a disability does not mean he is different, it just means he needs a little extra help with certain things. Jordan is excited to be this year's Ambassador and his motto is shoot for the stars, because with a little work anyone can do what they try.  Jordan was thanked by Donna MacKay.

Karla Flynn then shared some information about the Easter Seals program.  Some of the upcoming fundraising activities are the telethon on March 1, the school tour, the pool tournament on March 7 at 1:00, and a raffle for two tickets to an NHL game, including airfare and hotel in Montreal. Tickets are $10.

President's Report

President Sandy Rundle welcomed Peter, Jordan and Angela, and thanked Jordan for his talk.  He also thanked the Cotton family for accepting this responsibility and taking the time to promote Easter Seals on PEI. President Sandy also added a good news report about a wonderful evening of fellowship organized by Mike Fraser, where a few Rotarians and their spouses enjoyed a five course Valentine's dinner at the Briacliff Inn (Bill and Mary Kendrick's).  Les Chipperfield was not present at the meeting but President Sandy sent out a message for him: Tickets Tickets Tickets Sell Sell Sell!  This Thursday morning will be the monthly executive meeting.

Sargeant at Arms  

Sgt-at-Arms Luc Van Hul fined Vance Bridges and Wayne Thompson for fighting over seats and not respecting their table number. He fined everyone who didn't shake his hand while coming into the meeting.  And he fined everyone who didn't do anything special for their sweetheart on Valentine's Day.