Directors: Henny Boeters, George Oduro, David Klatt and Judie Wigcherink
Attendance:
Members: 15
.Guests: Anita Holmes
Birthdays: David B Birthday Oct 18
Anniversaries: Ron and Elaine Bolohan, 54th Oct 28 Jeff and Claudia Geddes 55th Oct 30
Meeting Date: Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, Anglican Parish Hall. After a wonderful dinner prepared by the ACW, Kees started the meeting by thanking the ladies in the kitchen.
Correspondence: None
Program: Kees introduced George O to give his introduction speech
When asked to do this, George thought ”This should be easy. I know myself pretty well.”
But, it wasn’t as easy as he thought, but he did a fine job
He’s a pharmacist, but at home, his job changes to being a husband and father
He has a wonderful wife and three adult children, who although no longer children, don’t quite accept that you actually know something
Being a husband and father has taught him a lot about patience, responsibility and unconditional love
The best answer to a question is “let me think about that”
He is a first generation African Canadian, an important part of who he is
His journey has given him a deep appreciation for opportunity, hard work, family and community
He is grateful for the opportunities he has had as well as for the people who have helped him along the way
When people help you along the journey, it’s your responsibility to help others along theirs as well
That is one of the reasons that Rotary fits so well with his values
He plays basketball, soccer and table tennis which allows him to still pretend he is still young and especially allow him to consider them all good recreation
Sports bring people together and teach teamwork, discipline and how to win gracefully and more importantly how to lose gracefully
About a year ago, Ben VH and David B invited him to join Rotary
He attended a few meetings to see how it went and here he is, a year later
George discovered that Rotary is not just about meetings, but also about people
The more he has learned about this club, the more he appreciates the idea of “Service Above Self”
He has always been in a profession where helping people is at the heart of what he does, but Rotary gives him another opportunity to serve, though his time, experiences, relationships and talents
So George is a husband, father, African Canadian, sports lover and glad that he was invited to join Rotary
Everyone may come from different backgrounds, different professions and have different stories but we can still come together to make a difference
George gave a great talk and our club is certainly glad that he is now a member of our Rotary club
Other Business
1. Kees: Winter lunch and dinner meetings
Nov 2 Evening meeting, Nov 16 Lunch meeting
Dec 7 Christmas Evening gathering, Dec 21 Lunch meeting
Jan 4, 2027 evening Meeting, Jan 18 Lunch meeting
After this only Evening meetings (it may be decided to continue this into February)
Lunch meeting times, 12.00 pm to 2.00 pm
2. Ben: Oct 23 Donuts for Polio at Pinnells
Helpers at 7.00 am Tom and Kees to 9.00 am
Henny and Paul in store from 9.00 am till 12.00 pm
Pinnells (Ben) 12 donuts $10 for Polio 6 donuts 5$ for Polio 1donut 1 dollar for Polio
Also in-store donation pot – some donations have already been made
3. Kees: Scrap metal helpers needed for Sorting Copper aluminium and electrical parts
To be transported from trailer to Yecks building and sorted there
To be done week of Oct. 19th to 23rd
The sorting of the aluminum will be done Oct 14th and 15th
4. David B: Tree planting Sat Nov 7
With Scouts and Lower Thames conservation
Still in planning depending of reactions of scouts and Lower Thames
Kees: They wanted us to plant 600 trees, but it is now down to 200
Scouts will help in the am only
5. Kees: Looking for PE for 2027 2028
The deadline is Nov. 1st
6. David B: Results of the recent Rotaract club meeting
At the Wednesday Oct. 7th meeting, 5 members were there, 4 of whom are on the Executive
They will see how things go over the next few months and then perhaps initiate the steps to become chartered
Arrangements were made to go down to Lake Erie on Friday, Act. 9th to fix the already planted trees
3 of the members , plus David B and LTVCA member Greg Van Every
President Kees asked if there was “Anything for the good of Rotary?”
President Kees closed the meeting unofficially at approximately 7:50 pm The next meeting is on: Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, evening with Kees’ at the Anglican Parish Hall Speaker Jose Martinez about his Barber shop
The theme for the 2026-27 Rotary year is“Create Last Impact”
