The DG chain (Governor, Governor-Elect, and Governor Nominee) and I have established the Lighthouse criteria for 2020-2021. To earn the Lighthouse Award, a club must first earn the Rotary Citation. The information is on the District website for both these awards. Go to www.rotary7090.org, select Club Tools, drop down to President's Page. If your club has not yet set goals in Rotary Club Central to earn the Rotary Citation, there is no time like the present.
I have had the privilege of virtually visiting the Rotary Clubs of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ancaster A.M., Rotary E-Club of Social Innovators, Welland, and Buffalo. Although not the same as an in-person meeting the visits have been very productive. I’m pleased to see that Ancaster A.M., Welland, and Buffalo have already entered their goals in Rotary Club Central.
DR. RON MERGL MEMORIAL
Sadly, a long time Rotarian of 31 years, Dr. Ron Mergl, DVM, Past President of the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, ON passed away after a year-long battle with cancer. Ron was a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and staunch supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. He and his wife June (also a Rotarian in Niagara Falls) traveled to India and Benin, Africa for one month in each country to dispense the polio vaccine at their personal expense. And he also administered rabies vaccines to hyenas and dogs against rabies in Malawi, Africa. In recognition of Ron’s passion for everything Rotary and in particular, the Polio Plus initiative I asked June if she would allow me to name the Pedal for Polio Plus fundraiser in his honour, which she heartedly endorsed. I hope that this will become an annual Dr. Ron Mergl Memorial Pedal for Polio Plus event, a bike ride from each side of the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, ON and Niagara Falls, NY to NOTL for the Cannucks and to Youngstown for the Yankees. Goal: $200,000 USD. More to follow. Date: Saturday, October 24, 2020.
MEMBERSHIP MOMENT
Our recently revised and approved Strategic Plan identified Membership recruitment/retention as a major strategy. Membership is on a downward spiral and the status quo is NOT an option. We set a goal of an increase of 250 members during the next year. With 66 Clubs this equates to a net membership growth of 4 members per club. I am appealing to the District and Club leaders to actively seek out new members. This includes ME, the DG Chain, AG’s, PDG’s, District Directors, and Chairs, Club Presidents, and Club Membership Chairs, as well as each of us.
This year Zone 28 picked up 5 Districts because they fell below a membership threshold set by RI. If we continue to bleed members in the not so distant future we will cease to exist as a District and will be assimilated by other Districts. I suspect we will no longer be an International District, which will be a real blow as we were the first International District to be formed over 100 years ago.
I do not want to be alarmist, but we lost almost 300 members last year while gaining less than 150. In 2004-05 we had 3,105 members and 83 clubs. We now have fewer than 2,000 and have 66 clubs, 15 of which have under 15 members.
The District leadership team will be working with a number of clubs to establish new clubs, satellite clubs, and passport clubs in municipalities with no Rotary presence. In the Niagara Region, we have targeted Smithville, Port Colborne, and Thorold. In Brant County, Paris/St. George and Port Dover in Norfolk County. In New York, we are exploring Attica, Buffalo, and Cheektowaga as possibilities.
Angela Carter and her Membership Team need our support to stop the bleeding. There are numerous membership resources on the District Website under Our Rotary Work, Membership, or click here https://www.rotary7090.org/sitepage/rotary-membership and at www.rotary.org. Please take the time to review these.
DISTRICT 7090
LIGHTHOUSE AWARD, 2020-2021
RI President Holger Knaak’s theme:
“Rotary Opens Opportunities”
In order to qualify for The Lighthouse Award clubs must complete the qualifications for RI President HOLGER KNAAK’S Rotary Citation (achieve 13 of the 25 Rotary Citation goals). In addition, clubs must also achieve the following before the end of the current Rotary Year 30 June, 2021. The date, time and location of award presentations will be determined after 30 June, 2021.
At least two members participate in the Grant Management Seminar and successfully complete the grant qualification process
At least one member participate in Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI)
President Elect participates in each segment of PETS
Club member(s) attend the District Conference
President, President-Elect or their designee attend at least two Area Meetings
Club participates in Earth Day Waterside Clean-up
Club participates in Pedal for Polio fundraiser
Club achieves TRF’s EREY or Sustaining Member designation
Club has a Strategic Plan and reviews it annually
Club supports at least one Youth Program ie. Scholarship, RYLA, SLAPSHOT, Youth Exchange, Rotaract, Earlyact or Interact Club
In some clubs, Rotarians are saying that they like meeting virtually but are missing the “service above self” part of Rotary. In doing some research for the recent changeover celebration, I have uncovered some amazing stories of clubs doing service during COVID-19 - safe service projects. The examples include:
Doing a clean-up of a park or a trail or some laneways. Easy to social distance. Can be done with masks on. Some clubs are doing this and getting a lot of other friends of Rotary engaged with them. A particular shout out to the Rotary Club of Grand Island who even posted pictures of themselves in action.
Engaging with a teen audience and challenging young adults to write a response to a situation using the four-way test. The students or young teenage audience submit the essays based on a particular scenario and a small group of Rotarians judge them. In some cases, clubs invite that young student to read the essay at a meeting and receive some small prize (e.g. $500 scholarship).
Getting involved in calling people who are feeling extra isolated during these times. At my club, the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM, we have a speaker coming to talk of their project (a former RYLA graduate). They recruit Rotarians to make phone calls to those just wanting to chat.
Putting together supplies for places like the YWCA - where they are in need of toiletries and other products for their women in shelters etc…. The Rotary club puts together a team to fill their needs by donating supplies and delivering it to them.
The Rotary Club of Dundas created “thanks to all our front-line workers” signs and presented them to businesses in the downtown area. On the sign, it noted that it was the Rotary Club of Dundas that was thanking them and almost every business put that certificate in their window.
The Grimsby at Noon club turned their meetings into community speaker’s bureau type events. They would invite the Medical Officer of Health or someone else of real interest at this time. They would make sure that many in the community knew that that speaker was speaking at Rotary by webinar that day. They got large numbers of the community out to their meeting because they were excited to hear these speakers.
The Ancaster AM Rotary Club is doing a bottle drive right now. Getting people to bring their wine and liquor bottles to a location every Sunday. They are then going to take those in and turn that cash into giving to some already identified projects.
Regardless of what your club might choose to do, please consider doing what some clubs are doing. They are inviting “friends of Rotary '' to participate with them - be these individuals former exchange students, spouses, former-members, neighbours. As Rotary International has taught us, getting others first involved in our service projects is one of the best recruitment tools you can utilize.
Lisa Avery is a member of the Rotary Club of Hamburg, a second-generation Rotarian and a graduate of the RYLA program, a RYLArian. She was involved with Rotary from her teen years because her father was a club member. He was also in the Real Estate business so they worked together and he thought Lisa would be a good fit for Rotary since she knew some of the people in the club. Lisa joined Rotary in 1993 (first female member in her club) and has been a proud Rotarian ever since. She attended her first Rotary International Convention in Toronto (2018) and hopes to get to another one someday. She attended much of the virtual convention offered this year. In her club, she has been a youth exchange chair, served on the membership committee, and wrote the club newsletter for a couple of years. She has served as club president and, like most Rotarians, just “pitches in” where and when needed. Meanwhile, she manages a real estate office in Hamburg. Lisa has two grown sons, one living locally, and the other in Burlington, Vermont. She still resides in the Village of Hamburg with her two dogs. Lisa is the new Assistant Governor for Area 13.
Ryan Bridge is a member of the Rotary Club of Flamborough AM in Waterdown, Ontario. Professionally, Ryan is the Manager of Global Operations Control for FedEx Express Canada. He lives in the Town of Waterdown with his wife, Lisa Van Hattem. Ryan has been the driving force behind the volunteer component of the Ribfest operated by the two clubs in Waterdown over the Canada Day Holiday period. Ryan has been president of his club and served in a variety of roles with the club including membership chair and a major role as community service director. He has also been involved in the Visioning process with the District. Ryan brings a tremendous amount of professional and Rotary experience to his new role as Assistant Governor for Area 3.
One exciting activity that Brock Niagara Rotaract’s executive team has been doing is having meetings to plan new projects for the summer and fall/winter terms. These meetings are held on Zoom, bi-weekly.
The group’s summer and fall/winter project ideas include new ones such as online game nights, social media initiatives, and alternative volunteering opportunities.
They are also planning to continue previous projects such as the Halloween Trick or Eat Drive (with Community Care) and Brock University’s Glove Drive.
The Olean Rotary Club met at the outdoor farmers market in June because we could not meet at our normal meeting place. On June 30 we had speaker Jim Mahar, a professor of finance at Saint Bonaventure, and businessman in Olean. He organized a club at Saint Bonaventure called BonasReponds which helped out after hurricane Katrina and Sandy. They are presently working to build entrance ramps for the handicapped. He is also working with another organization to make microloan available in Haiti and to plant fruit trees in Haiti after a landslide from Hurricane Dorian. It was a very interesting presentation.
If you were seeing Red & White on July 1st in Pelham it was not your imagination! The Canada Day Planning Group knew we had to
think outside the box or in this case outside of Harold Black Park this year. So the idea was born that we would instead take the Canada Day Celebration to the streets and screens of Pelham.
We offered house decorating kits to the first 250 respondents and they went in only a few hours! Our group was able to secure more kits to include even more of our enthusiastic neighbours. A small dedicated team of volunteers comprised of Mel Groom, Janet Cripps, Lance Wiebe all of the Rotary Club of Fonthill, along with support from Leah Letford the Special Events and Festivals programmer from the Town of Pelham, got in their cars and delivered the decorating Kits to over 425 homes in Pelham! This was no small feat and took days to complete, as we navigated the streets and delivered to houses in every corner of the town. We did not leave out the younger ones either with a bike decorating contest that showed their creative designs.
The Canada Day planning group was also able to showcase great Pelham talent on-screen with a virtual celebration that included Yoga by Isabelle, Zumba with Patti Brown and her Zumba Crew, and some fantastic songs by Copper & Iron and By Design, all hosted by our own local actor Darren Keay. You can still watch the virtual celebration on the Town Facebook page or website.
It is obvious there are a lot of Proud Canadians living in Pelham and why not this is the Best Country in the World! So now you know the story behind all the Red and White you saw here in our Town both in-person and on-screen. Shout out as well to all our new neighbours in Town who were very involved and decorated enthusiastically, we can’t wait to celebrate again in person when it is safe to do so.
So for all you new folks, as you can see you made the right move coming to our town! Welcome and don’t be shy to get involved in all the volunteer groups here as we could use your support! If anyone would like to join the Canada Day Planning Group or help out in other volunteer organizations just reach out and you will be welcomed with open arms.
On behalf of the Canada Day Planning Group comprised of Marylou Hilliard, Steve Pellerin, Fred Arbour, Bill King, Lance Wiebe and Leah Letford who represent the Fonthill and Fenwick Lions and the Rotary Club of Fonthill and the Town, to all who participated in our “unique” Canada Day Celebration! A special thanks for the funding provided by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage Celebrate Canada Program.
It is the Rotary International vision statement that perhaps says it best “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” Rotarians are a collection of people of action, and we share a strong sense of purpose. In troubled times such as these, Rotarians will rise and meet the needs of their community and the world. It is with that sense of purpose that the Rotary Club of LeRoy has begun the “Rotary Community Reinvestment Fund.”
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are being felt across the globe, but signs of the effects can be seen in our community. In the interest of public safety, non-essential local businesses have been forced to close. The impact of these closures may not be evident to the naked eye, but the ramifications are impacting our friends and neighbors who own these businesses. As both state and national levels begin to restart the economy, those same businesses that have supported LeRoyans in the past will need our support more than ever.
Pictured is President Mary Margaret Ripley presenting a check to Matt Walther who owns Beyond Driven Fitness.
Individuals or businesses interested in supporting our community can make contributions by mailing a check to the Rotary Club of Le Roy, Attn.: Community Reinvestment Fund, PO Box 141, Le Roy, NY 14482. Any questions can be directed to Jim Ellison at jdellison@gmail.com or 717-503-5749.
The “Community Reinvestment Fund” turns donations made by local individuals and families into help for the LeRoy businesses most in need. There is be a short application for businesses to complete that is reviewed by a committee of Rotarians who then arrange the grants that are free of charge. The form is available on our website www.leroyrotary.org. Fellow Rotarians and their families are not eligible to receive funds through this process. The Rotary Club of LeRoy, which has served the community for over 75 years, has collected over $8,000 and distributed $2,000 to date. The fund will continue to provide help beyond the COVID 19 pandemic.
This Sunday was the first day of the Ancaster Rotary Club A.M.’s bottle drive. With the Pandemic disrupting most fundraising efforts for the club, the bottle drive will be one of the sole supporters of the club’s programs in support of at-risk youth.
The turnout this Sunday was incredible. Within the first hour, the club had already received more empties than were expected and members are excited for the following weeks. The drive is accepting empties in all shapes and sizes and would like to encourage you to swing by and make a quick drop off.
The bottle collection will continue every Sunday until August 9, 2020, from 11:00 to 3:00 PM at the Morgan Firestone Arena in Ancaster. For more information please head over to the club’s Facebook page titled Rotary Club of Ancaster A.M.
The Rotary Club of Fort Erie recently donated $2,000 to South Niagara Life Ministries "SNLM" to help them provide counseling to
people. SNLM serves by helping people through personal crises in their lives. They have offices in Fort Erie and Port Colborne to counsel individuals, couples, youth, teens, and families.
Martha Beroud, SNLM Executive Director said, “Our thanks to Rotary for contributing to the Match Challenge of our 2020 Walk & Roll event – we will use it to reach, rescue, restore and renew lives.”
Rotarian Scott Broda noted that Rotary Fort Erie has also provided ‘sweat equity’ to SNLM to help run their Walk & Roll fundraiser since 2018. He noted, “SNLM Serves people in a way that follows our Rotary motto ‘Service Above Self,’ and that’s why we want to help them. Rotary has raised funds through Bingo, TV Auction, Rotary Roses and Rotary5050Lottery.com."
Pictured, South Niagara Life Ministries staff (Jodie Bengert, Paola Mesa & Martha Beroud, Executive Director) receiving the cheque from the Rotary Club of Fort Erie (Past President Scott Broda, President Perry Heidelberger, Ozioma Emihe and Vince Quan).
Following months of hands-off projects, on-line meetings, and other social distancing strategies, the Rotary Clubs of Amherst and Lancaster-Depew met in Russell’s Patriots & Heroes Park for a brief open air Officer Installation Ceremonies. Giving the oath was IPDG Robert Artis. Also in attendance were various members of each club and PDGs - Richard Earne, Pravin Suchak, and Jack Amico.
Incoming Presidents are Fiona Barretto (Amherst) (pictured left being sworn in by IPDG Bob) and Brian Williams (Lancaster-Depew). Among those gratefully appreciated for their service were outgoing presidents: Izzy Abdallah (Amherst) and Adam Guglielmi (Lancaster-Depew).
Four wreaths were laid at the flight 3407 monument to recognize the four Amherst residents killed in the crash. Also presented were two PHF’s. One to Immediate Past President Izzy (pictured right) and one to EarlyAct Founding President Evon Pleasanton-Pruitt.
President Greg Lidstone of the Rotary Club of Lewiston, NY - Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON was featured in an article in Thorold News on July 18, 2020. While the article cannot be reprinted without permission, some of what President Greg said to the newsletter reporter bears repeating, such as:
"Rotary is a chance to give back to the community, both locally and internationally. Rotary opens opportunities, and we are trying to bridge the gap and create better cultural understanding and dialogue between Canada and the U.S. In a world that’s divided, Rotary is always striving to build a more positive climate." Greg also commented that he wants to move the club in a direction to focusnot so much on giving cheques/checks, but on giving time, in a basic grassroots way, such as feeding people and forming partnerships and community relationships.
During this time of COVID-19 and the reduction of fundraising revenues, the Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise is starting to do more small, one-day sweat equity work in its community. Derek Price, vocational service director planned the first project that involved cleaning up the Sunrise Rotary Community Garden at St. Mark’s Church.
Nine members of the club cut weeds around the deer fence and garden beds and then laid black ground paper between the gardens and topped with wood chips to keep the weeds under control. The place looks super and the gardeners commented on how pristine it looked!
Each Monday and Wednesday a crew of non-Rotarians and Rotarians harvest the 26 community beds and transport the produce to the Salvation Army Dundas Food Bank and the Hamilton Jewish Family Services Food Bank.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg held its Passing of the Gavel ceremony June 30, 2020, at its annual spring picnic at the Taylor Road Cabin in a far from usual rite of passage to swear in its new board of officers for 2020-2021.
John Nowak was sworn in as president, taking over from Lisa Avery and Rob Lalka became president-elect, committing to be president next year. Tim Straube is the new secretary and Tim Hoelscher, Eileen Hotho and Jerry Bastedo will retain their positions on the board as treasurer, public relations chair and service projects chair.
Former club secretary Tom Johnston presided over the ceremonies which included the presentation of Paul Harris Fellow Recognitions to members Lisa Avery, Barb Stanley, Dale Stanley, and Patricia Castiglia. A fifth award was presented to Johnston himself by Castiglia. The Paul Harris Fellow is the highest honor in Rotary, an international service organization.
Pictured left is Rotarian John Nowak accepting the gavel from Lisa Avery in front of the Rotary Clock in Hamburg Memorial Park. The clock was donated several years ago from the Rotary Club of Hamburg. Pictured right are the 5 Rotarians receiving their Paul Harris Fellows, including one married couple: Lisa Avery, Patricia Castiglia, Barbara Stanley, Dale Stanley and Tom Johnston.
The Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, Ontario put together 130 summer survival bags, which were dropped off to the Niagara Falls Soup
Kitchen (Community Outreach Program) and distributed to community members who are in need and attend the facility for lunch. The bags consisted of summer kit items such as hats, lip balms, water bottles, hygiene items, etc. that assist those throughout the summer months that cannot afford these staple items to get you through the heat!
The club has continued to have weekly Zoom meetings every Tuesday and Rotarians have continuously helped our communities in various ways through this pandemic. Several members have been leaving bags of non-perishable food on their front porches to be picked up and donated to the local food bank. Lunches have been donated to front line workers every Friday to thank them for their services.
Dale Hall, President of the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, ON, Zoltan Maros, club member and Charter member, Rotary Club of Baka, Hungary, Nancy Tkachuk, Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls Sunrise and DG Frank Adamson enjoy DG Frank's first official fundraising event on Sunday, July 5th in Niagara Falls.
One thousand dollars was raised. DG Frank's Rotary mask, one of 3,200 sewn by members of the Rotary Club of Fonthill.
The Rotary Club of Hamilton has made the decision to operate the Rotary Summer literacy program this summer. The Rotary Summer Literacy Program is a free camp-style program that focuses on literacy. The Rotary Summer Literacy Program is designed to engage, enrich, educate, and excite, creating a truly special learning experience for one and all.
This summer would have been the 20th Anniversary year of the program. Each summer hundreds of children would participate in the program from across Hamilton. After weeks of planning and discussion with public health officials, the Rotary Club of Hamilton made the decision to operate the program this summer.
The Rotary Club of Hamilton is proud to offer children in Kindergarten to Grade 5 the Rotary Summer Literacy Program - IN THE PARK. To Celebrate our 20th Anniversary and to be able to offer free, safe programming during the COVID-19 Pandemic, we are changing things up for 2020!
The Rotary Summer Literacy Program will operate FIVE – 90-minute sessions each week. The program will take place outdoors in the park but will have all the fun learning elements to get ready for back to school! Our Councilors will engage, guide participants with independent reading & writing activities and have FUN!
The Rotary Summer Literacy Program will operate at TB McQueston Park on Hamilton Mountain and at Woodland Park in the Wever Community. Each participant will receive activities to be completed at home in addition to the park sessions. Rotarians will continue to be Rotarians of the Day at the Camp and each child will receive a Rotary backpack filled with back to school supplies and 3 new books to take home thanks to the club's partner - Hamilton Public Library.
On Saturday, July 11, 2020, the Rotary Club of West Seneca held its annual summer Highway Clean-Up. The clean-up included a 2 mile stretch in the Town of West Seneca, with 15 Rotarians participating. It was a great activity for the club to do during COVID 19, showing they are People of Action! It concluded with a socially distanced outdoor breakfast, giving everyone a chance to catch up with club members!
The Rotary Club of Grand Island had such a successful document destruction ‘Shred-It’ fundraising event in June, we repeated it in July. Folks called and said they had been shut out (truck filled, the club closed the event early). The public wanted to know, "Would there be another"?
So, on July 11, 2020, the club had two Shred-It trucks. Project chair Chris Learman was running back and forth supervising, many Rotarians worked very hard, this time everyone was taken care of! The club sends many thanks to its partners - Fuccillo Automotive Group and Madison Carpet One, plus Pinto Trucking for their sponsorship and service.
Next year it may be back to normal – several patrons of the shredding event reported that they spent the three months of pandemic isolation cleaning out old file drawers and papers.
Ranjeev Shrestha, IT Chair and member of Rotary International District 3292
Nepal-Bhutan, rose at 4 a.m. his time to present an update to the Rotary Club of
St. Catharines Lakeshore on the 2019 trip made by Rotarians from Ontario (including the club's own Courtney along with her mother and father) to assist the Rotary Club of Dhulikhel. They assisted in its recovery efforts from the April 25, 2015 magnitude 7.8 earthquake by providing hands-on physical labour and donating school supplies including desks and computers.
District 3292 comprises 116 clubs from Nepal and Bhutan and more than 4000 Rotarians. Ranjeev gave a PowerPoint presentation of the schools helped and the clean water program completed during the trip along with an
update on what his District is doing to help combat COVID-19 by distributing 200 PPE sets, 150 thermal guns, 1000 N95 masks,
and 10,000 surgical masks.
Pictured left is speaker, Rotarian Ranjeev Shrestha, RID 3292 Nepal-Bhutan, and pictured right (top) is St. Catharines Lakeshore Rotarian Courtney (second from right) in Nepal. Pictured below are District 3292 Nepal-Bhutan Rotarians distributing PPE Materials including masks.
It was a "packed screen" at the July 8th meeting as Incoming President Bruce Timms delivered his inaugural address to 26 members of the club - some sharing access via one computer. Bruce was introduced by Immediate Past President Eric Jones and thanked by President-elect Courtney Usborne. Assistant Governor Milica Kovacevich administered the Rotary Oath in three parts - to President Bruce, the incoming Board of Directors, and to the membership at large.
Pictured left is President Bruce as he speaks to the Membership at July 8th Zoom Meeting. Right - the PACKED SCREEN!
"Rotary kindled the spark within me to look beyond myself and embrace humanity."
Shekhar Mehta
Rotary International President 2021-2022
staunch supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. He and his wife June (also a Rotarian in Niagara Falls) traveled to India and Benin, Africa for one month in each country to dispense the polio vaccine at their personal expense. And he also administered rabies vaccines to hyenas and dogs against rabies in Malawi, Africa. In recognition of Ron’s passion for everything Rotary and in particular, the Polio Plus initiative I asked June if she would allow me to name the Pedal for Polio Plus fundraiser in his honour, which she heartedly endorsed. I hope that this will become an annual Dr. Ron Mergl Memorial Pedal for Polio Plus event, a bike ride from each side of the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, ON and Niagara Falls, NY to NOTL for the Cannucks and to Youngstown for the Yankees. Goal: $200,000 USD. More to follow. Date: Saturday, October 24, 2020.
Lisa Avery is a member of the Rotary Club of Hamburg, a second-generation Rotarian and a graduate of the RYLA program, a RYLArian. She was involved with Rotary from her teen years because her father was a club member. He was also in the Real Estate business so they worked together and he thought Lisa would be a good fit for Rotary since she knew some of the people in the club. Lisa joined Rotary in 1993 (first female member in her club) and has been a proud Rotarian ever since. She attended her first Rotary International Convention in Toronto (2018) and hopes to get to another one someday. She attended much of the virtual convention offered this year. In her club, she has been a youth exchange chair, served on the membership committee, and wrote the club newsletter for a couple of years. She has served as club president and, like most Rotarians, just “pitches in” where and when needed. Meanwhile, she manages a real estate office in Hamburg. Lisa has two grown sons, one living locally, and the other in Burlington, Vermont. She still resides in the Village of Hamburg with her two dogs. Lisa is the new Assistant Governor for Area 13.
One exciting activity that Brock Niagara Rotaract’s executive team has been doing is having meetings to plan new projects for the summer and fall/winter terms. These meetings are held on Zoom, bi-weekly.
June 30 we had speaker Jim Mahar, a professor of finance at Saint Bonaventure, and businessman in Olean. He organized a club at Saint Bonaventure called BonasReponds which helped out after hurricane Katrina and Sandy. They are presently working to build entrance ramps for the handicapped. He is also working with another organization to make microloan available in Haiti and to plant fruit trees in Haiti after a landslide from Hurricane Dorian. It was a very interesting presentation.
to
w, and some fantastic songs by Copper & Iron and By Design, all hosted by our own local actor Darren Keay. You can still watch the virtual celebration on the Town Facebook page or website.
It is the Rotary International vision statement that perhaps says it best “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” Rotarians are a collection of people of action, and we share a strong sense of purpose. In troubled times such as these, Rotarians will rise and meet the needs of their community and the world. It is with that sense of purpose that the Rotary Club of LeRoy has begun the “Rotary Community Reinvestment Fund.”
This Sunday was the first day of the Ancaster Rotary Club A.M.’s bottle drive. With the Pandemic disrupting most fundraising efforts for the club, the bottle drive will be one of the sole supporters of the club’s programs in support of at-risk youth. 
Following months of hands-off projects, on-line meetings, and other social distancing strategies, the Rotary Clubs of Amherst and Lancaster-Depew met in Russell’s Patriots & Heroes Park for a brief open air Officer Installation Ceremonies. Giving the oath was IPDG Robert Artis. Also in attendance were various members of each club and PDGs - Richard Earne, Pravin Suchak, and Jack Amico. 
for their service were outgoing presidents: Izzy Abdallah (Amherst) and Adam Guglielmi (Lancaster-Depew). 
President Greg Lidstone of the Rotary Club of Lewiston, NY - Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON was featured in an article in Thorold News on July 18, 2020. While the article cannot be reprinted without permission, some of what President Greg said to the newsletter reporter bears repeating, such as:
During this time of COVID-19 and the reduction of fundraising revenues, the Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise is starting to do more small, one-day sweat equity work in its community. Derek Price, vocational service director planned the first project that involved cleaning up the Sunrise Rotary Community Garden at St. Mark’s Church.
Nine members of the club cut weeds around the deer fence and garden beds and then laid black ground paper between the gardens and topped with wood chips to keep the weeds under control. The place looks super and the gardeners commented on how pristine it looked!
The Rotary Club of Hamburg held its Passing of the Gavel ceremony June 30, 2020, at its annual spring picnic at the Taylor Road Cabin in a far from usual rite of passage to swear in its new board of officers for 2020-2021.
president next year. Tim Straube is the new secretary and Tim Hoelscher, Eileen Hotho and Jerry Bastedo will retain their positions on the board as treasurer, public relations chair and service projects chair.
Dale Hall, President of the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, ON, Zoltan Maros, club member and Charter member, Rotary Club of Baka, Hungary, Nancy Tkachuk, Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls Sunrise and DG Frank Adamson enjoy DG Frank's first official fundraising event on Sunday, July 5th in Niagara Falls.
The Rotary Club of Hamilton has made the decision to operate the Rotary Summer literacy program this summer. The Rotary Summer Literacy Program is a free camp-style program that focuses on literacy. The Rotary Summer Literacy Program is designed to engage, enrich, educate, and excite, creating a truly special learning experience for one and all.
The Rotary Club of Grand Island had such a successful document destruction ‘Shred-It’ fundraising event in June, we repeated it in July. Folks called and said they had been shut out (truck filled, the club closed the event early). The public wanted to know, "Would there be another"?
Ranjeev Shrestha, IT Chair and member of Rotary International District 3292 
It was a "packed screen" at the July 8th meeting as Incoming President Bruce Timms delivered his inaugural address to 26 members of the club - some sharing access via one computer. Bruce was introduced by Immediate Past President Eric Jones and thanked by President-elect Courtney Usborne. Assistant Governor Milica Kovacevich administered the Rotary Oath in three parts - to President Bruce, the incoming Board of Directors, and to the membership at large.
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