IN THIS BULLETIN...
Last Friday's meeting, April 5, began with an emotional announcement about the passing of a long time Rotarian, Monte Hewson. President Nanita asked Tom Funk to speak about Monte's legacy and what he meant to our club and to each of us. To read the full transcript of the eulogy he gave, please see the story below.
Following a moment of silence, club announcements were made. Rick Le Feuvre excitedly discussed holding his great-granddaughter for the first time and how he wasn't quite ready for the title, "great-grandpa". He suggested that his great-granddaughter call him "excellent grandpa" but his granddaughter, the mom of his great-granddaughter thought that would be silly.
Helmuth Slisarenko made an announcement about Knox Church's Pasta Dinner Night. All proceeds go to supporting the three Ukrainian families that the church has helped to support over the past two years.
Janette Hogan shared an idea to for Rick to use the acronym, AIG, instead of great-grandpa. She also discussed how her granddaughter, Elizabeth Jane, is Ruth's first cousin three times removed. What a wonderful connected! Lastly. she asked for comments on what Rotary means to each of us. If you haven't seen it, Janette sent out an email where we can answer this question.
Crista Renner announced that Eleni Bakopoulos opened her first art exhibit in New York city. Marva Wisdom, Tracey Curtis, and Anne Mackay were all there to support her amazing work! More info coming soon!
Aidan Harris announced the special program for next week's meeting, Friday April 12th. The program is a joint effort with the city of Guelph and community plan team. To see more details about the meeting, please read the story below.
After lunch, Dennis Weiler introduced our speaker, and member of our club, Robert Turner, for his Up Close and Personal talk. Dennis introduced Robert to our club just over a year ago.
Robert Turner, with lots of humour, shared his life story as an architect, from Liverpool to Chester to Edinburgh to Halifax and, lastly, to Fergus, Ontario.
Robert grew up in Chester in the UK. He discussed his early life and his entrance into a prestigious private school after writing a successful entrance examination and being awarded a full scholarship.
The school that Robert attended was founded by Henry VIII in 1541. Its focus was on academic excellence, proper etiquette, and old-fashioned values. Robert showed a school photo and joked about the "diversity" of students in the photo (they were all white boys and mostly from well-off families).
After graduating from his private school , Robert attended university in Edinburgh, Scotland for architecture. He highlighted the affordability of his university days, as tuition fees were free at the time, and the government provided stipends for living. He also discussed how much he enjoyed his time there.
After university, Robert had a long career path that was caused by the economic and housing decline that the UK was experiencing at the time. He worked in architectural offices and property development companies, and even designing bikes.
After another period of economic uncertainty, Robert and his wife decided to move from the UK in 2010 to settle in Halifax, where he worked in architecture and design.
After five years, Robert and his family moved to Fergus where, after working in an architectural firm for several years, he decided to buy into the firm that Jim Fryer, past Rotarian, owned.
Robert reflected on the late development of his career and his final arrival in the "corner office," at the firm he now owns. He also, jokingly, discussed his "nerdy" tendencies and love for making things.
Robert highlighted his continuing work on creating a Fergus hospice. He, and the committee he is a part of, are almost at the proposal phase. They have the land they need, Robert has designed the building, now they just need approval and the last of their funding.
Robert concluded his presentation by encouraging everyone to explore and embrace new adventures, while also acknowledging the importance of teaching and learning.
Robert's presentation ended with a lively Q&A.
Notes taken by Otter.ai and edited by Aidan Harris.
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