IN THIS BULLETIN...
At last week's meeting, Friday October 18, Rob Galloway spoke to our club about the next Rotary International Convention in Calgary and Polio Plus.
The meeting, chaired by President Brian Martin, began with announcements from the club.
Terrie Jarvis made a request for volunteers for KidsAbility's Halloween event on Tuesday, October 29th. The event is a sensory-friendly trick-or-treating experience for their young clients. A full volunteer shift is four hours from 3:30pm - 7:30pm, but two- hour shifts are okay, too, which I will coordinate on behalf of Rotary. If you are available, please reach out to Terrie (terriejarvis39@gmail.com)
Jules Croskill made an announcement about this Saturday's light testing at Bob Ireland's House. She reminded everyone to bring work gloves and their spouses (if they are handy).
Randy Wilson highlighted Second Chance's 50th anniversary. As he reminded everyone, Second Chance was started by the Rotary Club of Guelph and there has always been a Rotary member of its board. Randy has served on the board for decades and is stepping down now. However, he is happy to announce that Jules Croskill is taking his place on the board.
Sean Yo jokingly reintroduced himself to the club and apologized for being away for so long. He explained that earlier in the year his mother underwent surgery to place an neurostimulator in her brain to help with her Parkinson's. It took many months to figure out the right frequency of stimulation, but they have found the right spot. So, Sean, his mother, and family went out to the East Coast for three weeks, where his mom is from, to enjoy a family get away. Sean also spoke of a harrowing experience one of his intern students underwent in his journey back to Canada from Beirut. Luckily the student and his family are now safe in Canada.
Margaret Trainor made an announcement about the Rotary business cards that she put at each table. The cards are filled with information about Rotary and are useful to give to anyone that might be interested in becoming a member.
Tracey Curtis thanked Rob and Martin, two visiting Rotarians, for coming to our meeting. She then talked about a Bracelet of Hope fundraiser that she is running downtown Guelph on Carden Street. 100% of the proceeds raised goes to charity. If you are interested in donating clothes to the Boutique, please contact Tracey (tracey.curtis@richardsonwealth.com).
After announcements, lunch was served.
Proceeding lunch, President Martin introduced our speaker Rob Galloway. Rob is a past President of the Rotary Club of Elora and is now serving on the District Board.
Rob began his presentation with a discussion of Rotary International's upcoming convention in Calgary highlighting its educational, inspirational, and social aspects.
The event will host 30,000 attendees, with sessions on various Rotary projects and special luncheons featuring key speakers. He emphasized the importance of registering early and securing accommodations.
He highlighted the many Social events that start on Saturday night. One of them being the Stampede Corral, followed by Nashville North on Sunday and other activities throughout the week.
Rob stated that Monday is his favourite day because it is when the Home Hosting takes place. Attendees are hosted by local Rotarians and have the opportunity to meet Rotarians from around the world. It's a wonderful way to meet Rotarians from different countries, with different lived experiences.
Rob then spoke about the Polio Plus program, detailing its impact and the need for continued support to eradicate polio.
Rob explained that if all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children per year.
He also talked about how a polio free world will be a healthier and for children. Polio surveillance networks and vaccine campaigns also monitor children for all other health problems like vitamin deficiency and measles, so we can address them.
A Polio free world also reduces health care costs. The global effort to eradicate polio has already saved more than $27 billion in health care since 1988 and is expected to save 14 billion more over the next 20 years.
Eradicating Polio will also be an historical accomplishment. This is because, "Polio eradication will be one of history's greatest public health achievements. With polio falling following smallpox to become only the second human disease eradicated from the world. That's pretty powerful."
Rob highlighted that next week, October 24th, is World Polio There's going to a lot of be a lot of attention to the next week or so. World Polio Day. He encourages everyone in the club to rally behind this cause.
Rob noted that each $100 donation is matched 2:1 by the Gates Foundation, resulting in $300 for vaccination efforts.
After Rob's presentation, David Van Veen raised
concerns about the recent regression of polio in certain areas and the impact of the anti-vaccination movement.
Rob acknowledged the challenges Rotary has recently faced with Polio eradication, but emphasized the importance of not giving up and continuing efforts.
He used the recent success in Gaza as an example. Rotary International, WHO, and the UN were able to negotiate a temporary ceasefire with Hamas and Israel when a child in Gaza developed Polio. The three organizations were able to enter Gaza and successfully vaccinate 650,000 children. This story illustrates the power of Rotary and its partners.
It also shows how Rotary can play an important role in peace initiatives. This is confirmed by Rotary's upcoming peace conference in Istanbul that will take place in the new year.
In his final remarks, Rob emphasized the importance of continuing the Rotary tradition of strong contributions to the Rotary Foundation.
President Martin thanked Rob for his presentation and concluded the meeting.
Notes taken by Aidan Harris and Otter.ai. Transcribed and edited by Aidan Harris.
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