Author: Webmaster (Mongeon)

Today we welcome our current Club President, Paul Finnerty, as the star of “Tonic Tuesday!” Paul was kind enough to take the time to participate in our club’s Tuesday ‘special’ wherein we highlight the personal, Rotarian journey of one of our club members.  Here is Paul’s journey in his own words:

“Prior to 2016 my only knowledge of Rotary was seeing the occasional Rotary logo on town notice boards, or perhaps on a community park. During the summer of 2016 I was approached by Matteo Patricelli who invited me to attend a meeting of a newly formed Rotary Club called ‘Tonic.’ I liked what I heard about the work of Rotary, and how it could provide opportunities to help others in our community to help themselves. So, in November of 2016, I became a Charter member, with Cynthia Janzen doing an amazing job as President at that time.

In my first year, I chaired the Project Committee and we set to work on developing two streams of project work. The first was our ‘quick win’ projects. An example of this type of work was our ‘hygiene kits’. The team identified a strong need in the community to supply certain daily essentials (i.e. toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorants, hair products, sanitary products, et al). Our club members came together and packaged all these products into kits which we then supplied to agencies in the city for distribution. We repeated the project several times. The second stream was developing a project that would be ongoing and would assist in providing an opportunity for those it helped to become self-sustaining. This led to the formation of ‘Rotary Advisors’. Under the leadership of Marcel Mongeon, this team offers advice to not-for-profit organizations in many aspects of formation, governance, and sustainability.

Following my time with the Project Committee I spent two years as the Club Treasurer, and in 2021 assumed the role of Club President. It has been a great experience working with a team of volunteers who readily give up their personal time to assist with projects such as food preparation, working on a farm, stocking community fridges, taking part in bike rides, and lake clean-ups. Rotary is a fascinating organization as its scope covers large worldwide projects, such eliminating polio, right down to providing support to our immediate community.”

Like other Club Presidents before him, Paul has, and continues, to exude strong leadership skills in his role. He is diligently guiding our club through this “Covid” era with an inner calmness and dignity that encourages our members to keep the Rotarian faith and move forward in executing “service above self.”

Rotary International President-elect Jennifer Jones wants members to imagine the possibilities in the change they can make to transform the world.

Jones, a member of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada, revealed the 2022-23 presidential theme, Imagine Rotary, as she urged people to dream big and harness their connections and the power of Rotary to turn those dreams into reality.

“Imagine, a world that deserves our best,” Jones told incoming district governors on 20 January, “where we get up each day knowing that we can make a difference.”

Jones, who will make history on 1 July by becoming Rotary’s first female president, gave a live online address to precede Rotary’s annual training event for district governors from around the world, the International Assembly. The assembly was rescheduled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and will now be held virtually 7-14 February.

Jones told the incoming governors about a chance she took when a member asked for assistance in getting a young peace activist out of Afghanistan during the U.S. troop withdrawal last year. At first unsure how she could help, she relied on “that certain Rotary magic” and contacted a former Rotary Peace Fellow she had met a few years earlier. Less than 24 hours later, the activist was on an evacuation list, and soon she was on her way to Europe.

Engaging members through meaningful responsibility

To better engage members, Rotary needs to “adapt and retool,” Jones said, using her hometown as an example. Windsor was once the automotive hub of Canada. But after plant closings left thousands without work, the city needed to retool, in the same way an auto plant would, preparing for new parts or a new model. Now, Jones said, Windsor is a leader in agribusiness and medical and aerospace technology.

For Rotary, “finding the right ‘part’ to engage each member should be our core function,” Jones said. “It comes down to the comfort and care of our members.”

Engaging members is crucial to retaining members, she said, adding that we need to ask members what they want to get from Rotary and give them meaningful responsibilities.

“It is our offer of hands-on service, personal growth, leadership development, and lifelong friendships that creates purpose and passion,” Jones said.

[special from the Rotary International website]

We are diving into “Tonic Tuesday” paying homage to a wonderful member at our club who has provided exemplary service as an engaging Rotarian, continuously exercising “service above self.” Tonic: Hamilton Rotary After Five is very proud to have Robert (Bob) Munroe as a part of our club. Learn about Robert’s inspiring Rotarian journey in his own words:

“I joined the Rotary Club of Hamilton in 2006 and was a member there until 2016. I was Club President from 2012-2013.

One of the most fulfilling tasks at the Rotary Club of Hamilton was working on a successful Global Grant which provided medicine to a Community in Mali, Africa.

I was a District 7090 Grants Committee member from 2011 through 2014 and chaired the District 7090 “District Grants Subcommittee” from 2013-2014. This was an awesome experience as it allowed me to learn from outstanding people like Karen Oakes, Roy Sheldrick and Art Wing among many others. At one point, I received a District Service Award for my work at the District. In all, I was able to review and learn from well over 30 District Grants submitted by Rotary Clubs in D-7090 over the years and to witness the intelligence, dedication and humanitarian goals of many Rotarians throughout D-7090.

I left Rotary for two years to focus on a particularly heavy work load as a trial lawyer. I have been a trial lawyer since I started practising law in 1977 and love being a lawyer. I have argued cases at every level of Court in Ontario including once in the Supreme Court of Canada.

I rejoined Rotary in 2016 as a founding member of Tonic: Hamilton Rotary After Five where my present interest is coaching peace scholar applicants and our Global Grant Scholarship for Dona Geagea. It is humbling to see the work that Dona does relating to water management and an honour to participate in the Grant.I support the Rotary Foundation. In my view it is one of the top Foundations in the World and makes the world a better place every day with the work it does.

My hobbies are sailing, skeet shooting, bridge and reading. I have sailed thousands of nautical miles including the Caribbean, Long Island Sound, Maine Coast, Nantucket, British Columbia Coast and the great Lakes including once across Lake Superior. I sail my 37’ Beneteau during the summers in Hamilton Harbour and Lake Ontario. Rotary has given me so many opportunities to meet inspiring people, learn about local and global issues and to be part of a team that helps make the world a better place.

”Thank you, Robert, for all you do in the name of Rotary!

It’s almost time to celebrate The Rotary Foundation!Get your ticket to the District Foundation Party and Zone 28 Gala by clicking on the following link:https://go.rotaryzones28and32gives.org/rota…/Event/Details

Michel Kouassi has recently been named as the President-elect of the Tonic: Rotary Club of Hamilton After Five for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Originally from the Côte d’Ivoire, Michel is an experienced banker currently employed as a Senior relationship manager with the Meridian Credit Union. Michel has been a Rotarian with a number of different clubs and knows firsthand about how Rotary can change lives in many countries.

We look forward to Michel’s leadership!

And yet, despite an ongoing pandemic that is currently foremost in our minds, we welcome a new year with open arms and the renewed commitment to continue forth in our Rotarian endeavors.

There are no better words Tonic: Hamilton Rotary After Five would like to give a platform to other than the bold, encouraging statement of Rotary International President, Shekhar Mehta:“This is the time to take a bigger, better, bolder approach through both club and district projects that can impact more people. Reevaluate where you are with your goals. Create strategies that can sustain change over years, not months. Everyone deserves a long, healthy life. When you Serve to Change Lives, your actions today can help extend the lives of others.”

You can peruse the full statement at the following link: https://on.rotary.org/3mflV7d

Tonic: Hamilton Rotary After Five would like to wish you a safe and hopeful New Year. May the enduring spirit of Rotary guide you in every aspect of your life.

Respectfully, Tonic: Hamilton Rotary After Five

Yet another year wherein the pandemic is tightening its relentless grip all over the world during the holiday season. But, are you aware of something crucial in all of this…?

Together, we are going to get through this. We are going to make it. This is testing our resilience, our fortitude, needling our faith… but it will never quash our hopes, our dreams, our aspirations, our innate determination to #bethegood and rise forth, assisting those unfortunate locally and around the world. We will not let this diminish our goals… no, we shall not.

Hope is strong here… within the web we call Rotary. We hope and we believe. Nothing on earth can change that. And so, Tonic: Hamilton Rotary After Five would like to wish you, your loved ones and everyone around this beautiful planet a safe and peaceful Christmas filled with hope and inner strength.

Our faith is being tested.Pass that test.

Respectfully,

Tonic: Hamilton Rotary After Five

Tonic: Hamilton Rotary After Five got into the spirit of holiday giving! We provided three holiday hampers for low income families through Wesley Urban Ministries. We purchased gift cards, grocery cards, toys for children, holiday treats, hats and gloves. We also purchased several hundred dollars’ worth of additional gift and grocery cards to be distributed by Wesley Urban Ministries as they see fit. In total, our club provided more than $1,000 in assistance. We did it… and we did it with smiles on our faces, happy to help those in need within the local community.