Greetings from Copenhagen, where it is a breezy 15 degrees Celsius on a sunny Sunday morning. One of the first things I do when I hit a new city is to look up the Rotary Clubs in town. I was surprised to find that in this city of just over 600,000 people, (the metropolitan area is just over 1 million), they have only three Rotary clubs here. It got me thinking about the impact of Rotary in our amazing little city of Guelph a quarter the size. The “strength of purpose” we share speaks to the value we bring to our city.
At last Friday’s meeting, we celebrated the life of Walter Stachnyk, a Member for Life who committed 53 years to our club. We were joined by his daughter, Christine Benedetti, and many of our members shared some beautiful stories of Walter and how he made a difference in their Rotary experience. Following a few words explaining his contribution to our club, we opened the floor to talk about the origin of Sparkles in the Park and Canada Day, how Walter's implementation of payroll deductions at Linamar had contributed to the success of the Dream Home Lottery, and the importance he placed on “job shadowing” to pass along some long-held RCOG practices to the next generation to ensure we keep our traditions alive. My speaking notes can be read on our website under the story “Tribute to Walter Stachnyk”.
I also encourage you to reflect on two questions.
For newer members: What part of Walter’s Rotary life captures your curiosity and sparks interest in what he brought to our club, and what is possible?
For more seasoned members: What Memories from those days can you share that you believe are important to bring forward?
At next week’s meeting, Past President Nanita Mohan will chair our club meeting. Troy Hoffman from the Kirkland Rotary Club will join us to talk about their club’s “Wheels for Learning” project.
Have a great week! Crista xx
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CLUB LEADERSHIP NEWS
At the club's board meeting on July 16, it was agreed that our board member, Patrick (Paddy) Grist, will take on the role of President Elect this year to become our Club President for 2027-2028, while Eleni Bakopoulos will remain in the role of Vice President Elect heading towards 2028-29. Patrick is a very experienced Rotarian. He joined the East York Rotary Club in 2022 (and is a past president of that club), and since 2023, he has been an active member at the Rotary Club of Guelph (where he currently chairs Lobsterfest). Thank you, Patrick and Eleni, for taking on these leadership roles!
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DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR
Friday, July 24, 2026 at 12:15pm … Our weekly club meeting will hear from speaker Troy Hoffman from the Rotary Club of Kirkland Lake. He will tell us about the long-running “Rotary Wheels for Learning (RWFL)” humanitarian initiative supported by several Ontario Rotary Clubs for many years, helping children in rural Cambodia get to school by providing bicycles and improving school infrastructure.
Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 9am … Rotary flagraising at City Hall for Eradicating Human Trafficking. Speakers include Cam Guthrie, Dominique O'Rourke, Vicki Olutundun
Friday, August 7, 2026 … Our club meeting will be a fellowship event that you won't want to miss. We'll hear about plans for the City of Guelph's 200th birthday celebrations in 2027. Then we'll share and debate ideas for what the Rotary Clubs of Guelph could perhaps do to boost the celebrations through our existing activities, or even by undertaking a special legacy project to mark Guelph 200.
Friday, August 21, 2026 … Our club will be visited by this year's District 7080 Governor, Uche Okugo. Our club is fortunate to have another extraordinary and high-calibre DG willing to take on this big role for 2026-2027. You can read more about Uche here.
Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 6pm … Rotary Club of Guelph's 46th annual Lobsterfest at the Italian Canadian Club. TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE. Please download and share this Lobsterfest 2026 Sponsorship Package to boost our event. Event Chair Patrick Grist reminds us to help promote the event by boosting ticket sales and finding sponsors, while also bringing bottles of wine to club meetings for the Grand Auction Prize of our popular barrow full of wine.
August 28-30, 2026 - Rotary Ribfest at Riverside Park. NOTE! This year there will NOT be the usual official opening at 12 noon in the beer tent, which our club has always attended and treated as a (delicious) offsite meeting. This year's Ribfest will start a bit later, at 4pm on August 28th, and the official opening will likely be a condensed version on the main stage, possibly at around 4:30pm. We'll share details when we get them. Meanwhile, Ribfest needsvolunteers! Details are here.
Sunday, September 27, 2026 at 1pm … HIKE 4 HORSES fundraiser at Sunrise Therapeutic Riding & Learning Centre. Walk or run with a friend and/or your dog.
Saturday, October 3, 2026 … An all day Rotary District 7080 Conference held in Brampton. These meetings are really worth attending to learn, to share best practices, and to meet wonderful people. SAVE THE DATE! Perhaps a few of us can carpool to Brampton.
Sunday, October 4, 2026 … Lunch at the Arboretum, the annual fundraiser by Rotary Club of Guelph South. Details to come.
MESSAGE FROM CLUB PRESIDENT CRISTA RENNER
