January 2013
January News: Just in time for Lots of Excitement at Rotary @Noon:
Rotary's 8th Annual Mayor's Charity Gala is coming soon: Sat. Feb. 23rd.... This year, the Gala will support McNally Hospice as well as other Rotary projects. The Gala is fast approaching and we are in need of volunteers to pick up silent auction donation items and recruit new businesses as sponsors. Please contact Stephanie and let her know if you are able to be a sponsor or have a contact who may become a sponsor for this event; also let her know if you would like her to let you know the names of businesses which require followup regarding sponsorship. There is also a need for volunteers to schedule time to assist with picking up sponsorship and silent auction items. Each Rotarian is also asked to contribute wine to our wine raffle, which is a great fundraiser. You may also consider donating a silent auction item or putting a business card ad in the newspaper to help pay for the Gala advertisement. This is a huge event, and without a lot of other club fundraising events, it is essential that we pull together to make it a success.
Please speak to Jim V. if you have not yet paid your dues which were due in July or if you would like to make a donation to the Rotary Foundation. Our club forwards all of your dues to other levels of Rotary, and our club is invoiced based on those who state they want to be current members.
Our Pod to lead meetings in January is: Jim V, Heinz, Sean, Pam, Darsh, and Tim. Try to think of connections you have - in business, community, or charities - who may be interested in presenting at a noon meeting in January.
Our Pod to lead meetings in February is: Ross, Peter, Maria, Lisa, Craig (minus Paul sadly)
PR/Membership
Rotary Ski Day 2011 is coming up Friday February 15th -- Everyone Welcome -- even those who are not (yet) Rotarians! 9:00 am - 4:30 pm at Holimont, Ellicottville, NY $60.00/Person Ski Pass & Lunch For Reservations contact Jack @ 716-945-2283 or jcluzier@gmail.com
Rotary District 7090 is conducting a Facebook advertising campaign for Rotary Clubs, using a PR Grant to promote awareness and find new members. They will include our club at no charge if we are willing. To participate, the club would need to have at least one person attend a FREE webinar to learn how the campaign works and our the club can benefit. Here is the link to register for our upcoming webinar explaining our Facebook District 7090 advertising campaign for Rotary clubs:
https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/5885068165474347520
The first District 7090 RI PR Grant webinar (online seminar) takes place Thursday evening at 7:00 pm, January 24, 2013. This will last about an hour. To participate, you must register in advance at the link shown above. Let us know if you would like to form a Facebook group for Rotary of Grimsby @Noon.
NEW GENERATIONS
This year our Club's involvement with youth is coming back to youth programs organized by Rotary. One of these programs is called Slapshot, a weekend leadership training program for youth age 15-18 in Ancaster Ontario in April. There is also RYLA, a one week program for 18-24 year olds in the US. Some clubs sponsor Interact clubs in their local high schools.
I want to personally thank our Club which made the decision this week to co-sponsor Robin Kelly as an out-bound Rotary Exchange student. She has been very keen on this idea for over a year, and came and spoke to our members at last week's meeting. The Fonthill club had recommended Robin for this exchange program and they are handling the in-bound exchange student, so our club's involvement is limited to a portion of the costs as well as providing a Club Counsellor.
Thank you, all of you, for participating in Rotary and volunteering your time to make our events a success.