Monday, Feb 13, 12:15pm at the Mess. Guest speaker will be John Graham, author of "Whose man in Havana".
(There is no meeting next Monday, Feb 6.)
COMMITTEE MEETINGS:
Ways and Means, Monday, Feb. 13, 11am at the Mess
Adventure in Citizenship, Thursday, Feb. 23, 6pm at 610 Bronson Ave.
Board of Directors, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 5pm, at 610 Bronson Ave.
RAFFLE:
Sally Burks was the happy winner of a fine bottle of ice wine, donated by Patricia Murenbeeld.
HAPPY TOONIES
Several happy Rotarians shared their news.
E-News - January 30, 2017
Sgt-at-Arms Paul Whitwill assembled us for President John Lark, who called for one moment's silence for those murdered in the Quebec City. Following this interval of respect, John asked the blessing for our meal.
There were 19 Rotarians on hand (plus guests) on this sunny, cool day (-15C.) We then lined up for a delicious lunch of chicken parmesan, veggies and salads.
At 12:40pm, Angela Kelly introduced our guests who were:
Heather Johnston, of Dignitas International, our guest speaker
Ms. Kyra Smith, a prospective Rotarian
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1) Don Rogers reminded us of our community service visit to help at the Ottawa Food Bank on Thursday, Feb. 9th between 1:30-3:30pm. A signup sheet was circulated. We have about seven participants, with room for several more. Call Don or Margot! A social event will follow our work session.
2) Rich Fisher will organize the Dictionaries 4 Life for 2017, but is seeking an individual to come on board to take the program in 2018. A description of the role is readily available. This is a fine literary initiative which the Club wishes to continue. Rich will definitely stay involved and mentor the new Rotarian.
3) Chilly Chili event is on Sunday, Feb. 12th at City Hall. Great food and fellowship with our local Rotaractors. Skating (optional) at 5pm; food from 6-7pm on the second floor at City Hall.
GUEST SPEAKER:
Peter Houliston introduced our guest speaker, Heather Johnston, President of Dignitas International, which has been a partner with Rotary for about ten years.
The International Service Committee has in fact contributed around $3,000 to that organization and Heather informed us that Rotary International has been truly instrumental in launching Dignitas.
Their initial focus was on HIV, which posed a serious emergency to the entire country and had to be dealt with. They had (and are having) considerable success in reducing HIV, thanks to anti-viral medicines. It is now no longer a death sentence.
For continuing recovery, Dignitas has developed "Teen Clubs" in Malawi in which HIV patients encourage others to stay on their medications.
Dignitas is also dealing with similar communicable diseases, and is now working in these areas with some Canadian First Nations groups. They plan to establish a health system in Northern Ontario to deal with type 2 diabetes, which is quite common in these communities.
They are seeking a total of $100,000 USD from Rotary for this new initiative.
***You are receiving this email as a member of the Rotary Club of Ottawa. We welcome your feedback to Margot or to Glenn Campbell, Chair, Enews Committee (rglenncampbell@gmail.com).***
