President's Message ~ May 2014

It was the best Gala yet- a full house, a good time and a profit of about 41 thousand dollars (which is a new record). My thanks go out to Joanne Fowler and Fran Herder for their hard work and enthusiastic leadership. They have been very successful organizers for years and their team demonstrated a proven recipe for every aspect of the Gala. And thanks to each and every volunteer and Rotarian who helped out with the Gala and often went beyond to make this year’s Gala such a success. And a special thank you to all the generous donors who filled the silent auction tables and provided the live auction prizes which Gary Hill turned into big dollars. And I want to register a special note of thanks to Jim Jenkins and Emily McDonald who agreed (on the spot) to host a second gourmet dinner on their magnificent boat this year.  I have been on the trip several times and I can attest to the fact that Jim and Emily really put themselves out on each trip. 

I also want to thank Coldwell Banker who provided us with a cheque for five thousand dollars. The agents at Coldwell Banker have contributed a part of their commissions over many years and have now donated more than 36 thousand dollars over the years. These funds continue to help with many of our community service projects in Scugog.

And thanks to Arch Evans for organizing tickets to theBlue Jays ball game last week. And thanks to those Rotarians who donated tickets for Big Brothers and Little Brothers to join in on the fun.

Spring is finally here and we have a couple of sweat equity projects this month. Don’t forget the annual waterfront park clean up on Friday May 2 that Mike Fowler has planned. And May 10 is our day at Lake Scugog Camp where we plan to spruce up another one of the leaders’ cabins. Please contact Bob Sawatsky in advance and he will tell you what you need to bring (e.g. paint clothes, hammer, drill).

And I would like to address a note to our external readers. Our Club meets every Wednesday night at 630 at Crabby Joes. You are welcome to drop in and you can see even check out the guest speaker in advance on our Club Runner web page. We have 35 members and we are always on the outlook for community minded volunteers who would like to join!