Volume 49, Number 29 February 23, 2006

Rotary Club of Toronto West

Rotary Grace – O Lord, we stand for every race, for every creed from every place, to give our thanks and say our grace for food, for health. May peace embrace the world through Rotary.

Last Week – February 16, 2006

Our own member David McKee spoke to us on an up-date of the TV Auction; a fund raiser that we as a club had been involved in for many years but decided not to participate in formally two years ago, even though we did help out on the auction day.

The reason that we backed off from being fully involved was due to the fact that our Youth Impact Awards Auction came so close behind the TV Auction that there was too much conflict and overlap. David said that he did however agree to stay on the steering committee, which he has done for the past two years.

David mentioned that a problem that was being experienced was the cost of dealing with our local newspaper, The Etobicoke Guardian. They had in the past been a major factor in producing the Auction but it was decided to go without them this year. There was no insert in the paper and the items were listed on the Web.

Three clubs are still participating; The Toronto Humber Club, The Etobicoke Club and the Parkdale-High Park Club.

In light of the fact that the Humber Club is the only club that fully considers the Auction a Major fund raising project, the future outlook could be doubtful. The Humber Club have however put out some feelers and have tried out a Web Based Bidding Format on a minor scale and could make a success of it on their own. Some other clubs such as the Barrie Club have done it for a number of years with a fair degree of success. One of the advantages of it is that it eliminates all the logistics of a studio. With this type of auction it can take place over a number of days even weeks. It will be interesting where the steering committee takes it.

Where do we go in the future? The steering committee will be the one to determine this. The Etobicoke Club’s decision will have a major impact on its future and their decision will be looked forward to with interest.

David said that, for the time being, he will stay on the steering committee, so that we can look forward to be fully informed.

When talking of the future, David said that there was a great deal of optimism when the net proceeds went from the mid twenties to the mid thirties.

David summarized the efforts being made by the clubs in Etobicoke and the funds that they were raising.

Wine Draw:

President Stephen was last week’s lucky winner of the bottle of wine. Congratulations Stephen.

Visitors:

No visitors last week.

Let’s Go Fishing.

A bad day’s fishing is better than a good day at the office.

30th.Canadian Fly Fishing Forum at the Holiday Inn, Burlington. April 8 & 9, 2006.

For more details, contact Paul Collier.

Youth Impact Awards

If you have any money outstanding from the YIA Banquet, please turn it over to Mark Dawber as soon as possible.

This Week:

To be confirmed.

Classifications:

1. Banking - Commercial.

2. Engineering – Management.

Birthdays & Anniversaries:

Joined Rotary – Bill Belier – Feb.21st.

Members News:

We received a very pleasant e-mail from the Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of New Brunswick, following Bill Belier sending a copy of the Spoke to his daughter. The article was on Mike Gallant’s talk on “Engineers without Borders.”

RYLA Nomination

Nominations for RYLA are due between May 28th and June 2nd.

If you have someone you would like to nominate, please fill in the form as soon as possible..

Leadership Training

Keep the date of July 13th available to attend the Leadership Training Program Seminar. More details are to follow.

Incoming officers and Committee chair persons should particularly note.

Next Week – March 2nd

To be confirmed.

Spoke Joke

A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named “Ahmal.” The other goes to a family in Spain and is called “Juan.”

Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a photo of Ahmal.

Her husband responds, “They’re twins! If you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Ahmal.”

Club Participation

Club Service means those things that we do to help our club function successfully. These include being present at all meetings and participating in the fellowship, taking part in the programs, and serving on committees. We also represent our club in such “outside” activities as informing non-Rotarians about Rotary International and telling them what Rotary is all about, speaking at other Rotary clubs, attending intercity meetings, District Conferences and International Conferences, and representing our club in organizing a new Rotary club.

“Success comes before work,” only in the dictionary. Take time to serve and make our club the top-notch club that it is capable of becoming. Help out and offer solutions. Progress is not one man or woman’s job. It takes the entire club, all pulling together. Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.

Worth Repeating

In today’s world, the faster pace makes more demands on individuals, and they will only give Rotary part of their life, if Rotary gives them meaningful fellowship and the opportunity for worthwhile service.

They will not wait around for six months after joining to be given something to do, or to be told what Rotary is all about.

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