Did you make a donation on February 23, Rotary’s birthday? It’s not too late, donate now. You will need to be signed into My Rotary. The latest report that I received shows that half of our members have a My Rotary Account, but the other half has not registered yet.

 

Congratulations to Beth Campbell who became a Paul Harris Fellow in February. Her husband Curry made a contribution in Beth’s name to mark his first hole-in-one. Curry became a PHF +3 in the fall. A presentation will be made to both of them when we have a get-together in the spring.

 

The Foundation Walk will take place in Kingston on Saturday, May 12. If you are going, start collecting pledges for the Rotary Foundation. If you are not going, I will be collecting pledges from you. If we are able to get the Rotary Citation in our first full year of operation, we can also get recognition for being a 100% Foundation Participation club.

 

New leaders are always emerging. They live in your community. They are eager to contribute. Younger professionals could make great Rotary members, but to bring them into our clubs, we first have to understand them. This is essential for Rotary.

 

This toolkit https://www.rotary.org/en/engaging-younger-professionals-toolkit will help you rethink membership, from a broad perspective down to a tactical level, that you can adapt to your area. Topics include characteristics of your audience, your club’s culture, ideas for outreach and engagement, and the long-term benefits of becoming a Rotarian.

 

Our club is looking for new members, so take a look through the toolkit and see if you can use any of the information for attracting new members.

 

The $25 cards from the Loblaws bread rebate are now starting to come in. If you have not applied, this is the website https://www.loblawcard.ca/ . If you’ve received your Loblaws $25.00 card, you know what to do. Spend the card and give a donation of $25 to your local foodbank. They will be able to purchase much more from the donation, than from a gift card.

 

 

Rene Melchers has been a Rotarian since 1995. In 2000-2001 he was President of the Rotary Club of Brockville in Ontario, Canada. During this tenure he saw an opportunity to charter a new club in Brockville. In 2005, a new club was chartered in Brockville as a centennial club and Rene was chosen to be the Charter president of the Rotary Club of the 1000 Islands (Brockville). After serving as an AG, Rene was the DG for 2012-2013 for district 7040.

Rene Melcher’s is the CIO of Weeneebayko Area Health Authority serving First Nations people in the James/Hudson Bay Area. Rene is married with 3 sons with the youngest now living in Amsterdam. Two sons are Rotarians, one with the Ottawa Rotary club and The Rotary Club of the 1000 Islands. The oldest son Charles is the 2017-2018 president of the Rotary Club of Ottawa.

Rene has been involved in his community for many years serving on a number of volunteer organizations and minor sports teams. Rene was responsible for the establishment of The 1000 Islands Region Workforce Development Board and served as chair for 16 years. This volunteer board was responsible for providing a workforce development report on Trend, Opportunities and Priorities in workforce development for the community as part of the provincial government annual plan. Rene was also the President for the Brockville District Advertising and Sales Club and was recognized for Business of the year.  Rene also received The Premier of Ontario award nomination recognizing achievements in the Technology field as a graduate from St. Lawrence College.

Rene enjoys playing golf and touch football as well as nature hikes and the great outdoors. Rene and Patricia also have two dogs, a cat, and a budgie. Finally, Rene is a true blue Leaf fan with the view of an optimistic future.