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The Rotary Club of Acton serving Acton, Rockwood & surrounding areas The Minutes of our Rotary Club Meeting of Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Rotarian Dick presided.

The Rotary Grace was offered by Rotarian Bill (B) and this was followed by a Toast to the Queen. Fourteen members and five guests were in the house.

GENERAL We were honoured tonight to have with us three guests, Joyce Sprowl, Ron Hurst and Ivan Kilby. All three were former Citizens of the Year, and they were here to review nominees and to select the Citizen of the Year for 2012. We were also honoured to have Alison Jones and Jennifer Gerrard from the Acton Community Garden Committee, who made a spirited presentation about their plans for a community garden in Acton.

After the meeting, it was announced that this year’s selection was Julie Conroy. Congratulations to Julie! We shall be holding an evening in her honour at the Blue Springs Golf Course on May 11.

“Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh how beautiful’, and sitting in the shade”. Rudyard Kipling

ACTON COMMUNITY GARDEN

Alison and Jennifer shared with us their vision of a community garden in Acton. Their model is of a group of volunteers working collectively to raise a crop. This will then be distributed among the growers and the needy people of Acton. They have looked at a few areas and a decision will be made soon about which plot of land they will use. Their target is to be ready to start planting this year about mid-June. All members wished them the best of luck in their venture.

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LITTLE CAESAR AND THE CONSULS

Rotarian Bill (S) announced that Heritage Acton will be presenting an evening of Rock ‘n Roll with Little Caesar and the Consuls at the Acton Town Hall Centre, on Saturday, May 05, starting at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $50 each. There will be door prizes, a silent auction, cash bar and a light buffet.

A poster describing this extravaganza is attached at the end of these minutes.

CLUB LEADERSHIP TRAINING – April 21

The District 7080 Club Leadership Training session will take place at EC Drury School in Milton, from 08:00am to 2:30 pm, on April 21.

Training and familiarization sessions will take place during the day on a number of subjects, including membership, fundraising, public relations, and others. This would be very useful to both new and experienced members.

Anyone interested should contact President Robert or Rotarian Dick

NEED FOR A MOBILITY DEVICE FOR A NEEDY FAMILY

Rotarian Bruce had previously made us aware of a lady who is in desperate need of a scooter or motorized wheelchair after being disabled by polio. The husband is unemployed and they have two small boys going to school. Rotarian Bob brought up the fact that he has Ron McKnight’s old motorized wheelchair in his garage, and this might satisfy the requirement.

Rotarian Robert advised that he had received an estimate of approximately $500 to refurbish the wheelchair. It was suggested that Rotarian Bruce contact CCAC to make sure that the wheelchair would meet the needs of the lady in question before the investment was made.

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CFUW GEORGETOWN – ANNUAL BOOK SALE – April 28

The Georgetown chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women is holding their annual book sale on April 28 at Christ the King Secondary School. They are looking for donations of used books, toys, DVDs, etc. for their sale. All proceeds of the sale will go to scholarships.

Donations can be dropped off at Curves, The Independent & Free Press and Metro in Georgetown or at Herbal Magic in Acton..

SPRING GALA 2012

The Blue Springs Golf Club has reserved April 27 for this event. The cost per plate will be slightly higher this year.

Rotarian Brian had prepared a letter template and had previously provided members with lists of businesses to canvas.

Rotarian Dick has sent 150 e-mail messages to previous attendees advising them of the details of the gala and soliciting requests for tickets.

Rotarian Brian had handed out tickets to members and had asked them to do their best to sell them.

DICTIONARIES FOR GRADE 3 STUDENTS No change. President Robert had previously advised that the dictionaries for the Grade 3 students have arrived and are ready to be distributed. The following members had volunteered to distribute to specific schools:

Limehouse Bill (S) - Done M.Z. Bennett: Robert Rockwood: Mark St. Josephs: Bruce - Done Robert Little: Dick - Done

Dictionaries are yet to be delivered to the M.Z. Bennett and Rockwood schools.

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DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT

Rotarian Dick had advised that the paperwork has been collected form all parents involved in this year’s flight and they have been sent to the Dreams Take Flight organization.

Rotarian Jake has volunteered to drive the children to the airport. Rotarian Dick will pick the children up at the airport after the flight and drive them home.

A Dreams Take Flight sponsors’ meeting will be held at the Westyn-Marriott Hotel in Mississauga. Rotarian Dick and his daughter Elizabeth will attend. 50/50 DRAW

The pot is now up to three figures in value, and now stands at $110, with 22 white marbles and one black marble in the bag.

Rotarian Fred was able to influence fate to the extent that his ticket number was drawn, but as has happened to so many before, he was unable to convince the solitary black marble to be pulled into his grasping fingers.

The pot will continue its inexorable rise.

With nothing further for the good of Rotary, we stood adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

“Service above Self”

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Tentative Guest Speaker & Event Schedule Date  Rotarian Responsible  Guest Speaker  Speech Subject 

3‐Jan‐12         

10‐Jan‐12  Business Meeting       

17‐Jan‐12  Dick Crane  Kellen Wiersma  ROXY Programs 

23‐Jan‐12  Cluster Meeting at Otello Banquet Hall in Oakville 

24‐Jan‐12  Mark Thomsen  Brian Thomsen et al  Reach Lesotho (Re‐scheduled) 

31‐Jan‐12          

7‐Feb‐12  Business Meeting       

14‐Feb‐12  Dick Crane       

21‐Feb‐12  Robert Bedard   Alexandra Lent   Acton Theatre 

28‐Feb‐12          

6‐Mar‐12  Business Meeting       

13‐Mar‐12  Robert Bedard   Burlington Rotarians  Python’s Pit 

20‐Mar‐12  Bill Sanford   John McDonald  His book on Halton 

27‐Mar‐12  District Governor’s Meeting 

3‐Apr‐12  Business Meeting       

10‐Apr‐12   Robert Bedard   Alison Jones   Community Garden 

17‐Apr‐12       

21‐Apr‐12  Rotary Club Leadership Training 

24‐Apr‐12  MEETING BEFORE THE ANNUAL SPRING GALA 

27‐Apr‐12  Gala Night     

1‐May‐12  Business Meeting       

8‐May‐12          

11‐May‐12  Citizen of the Year Dinner 

15‐May‐12          

22‐May‐12       

29‐May‐12          

5‐Jun‐12  Business Meeting       

12‐Jun‐12          

19‐Jun‐12          

26‐Jun‐12          

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