March 16: Former MP David Christopherson, who was a parliamentary observer at seven elections in Ukraine, shared his insights and experiences into the fight for democracy and sovereignty in Ukraine.
April 6: Jeff Anders, a co-founder of Aeon Studio Group, will tell us about the vision to turn a section of Hamilton’s north end into a bustling production hub for the creative industry, including film, television, fashion and more.
Kim Martin
May 4: Kim Martin, executive director of Hamilton’s Social Planning and Research Council, will give us an overview of SPRC’s important and evolving role.
May 18: Offsite meeting! We’ll gather at McMaster Innovation Park for a tour and beer garden social to follow.
It is a tragic and sad time for the people of Ukraine and the world.
At Rotary, we are deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and the escalating loss of life and humanitarian hardship there. Continued military action against Ukraine will not only devastate the region, but also risk spreading tragic consequences across Europe and the world.
As one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations, we have made peace the cornerstone of our global mission. We join the international community in calling for an immediate cease fire, withdrawal of Russian forces, and a restoration of diplomatic efforts to resolve this conflict through dialogue.
In the past decade, Rotary clubs in Ukraine, Russia and nearby countries have transcended national differences and have actively engaged in peace-building projects to promote goodwill and to marshal assistance for the victims of war and violence. Today, our thoughts are with our fellow Rotary members and others in Ukraine coping with these tragic events. Rotary International will do everything in its power to bring aid, support and peace to the region.
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.
Rotary’s presidential theme for 2022-23
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.
By Cynthia Janzen, Membership Engagement and Recruitment
I have been talking to some potential members lately about why Tonic: Rotary After Five is a good group to join. Here are just three benefits of Rotary (believe me, there are more – this is just a quick hit):
Leadership skills. I have been in Rotary 20 years and know that I have learned as much about leadership at Rotary as I ever did at work. For improving leadership skills, learning about group dynamics, honing presentation skills and much more, Rotary is tops. At Tonic, we go one better and have a pro bono consulting program, Rotary Advisers, for community organizations. At Tonic you can sharpen your skills all the more, while providing a great community service.
Good feelings. It’s well known that volunteer work is a positive thing to do. Joining a club like Tonic takes all those good intentions and gives them focus, whether you are mentoring at-risk youth, supporting a food security program, or supporting an international scholar. You’ll feel better. You’ll BE better.
Being part of something big. Rotary is an incredible force for good around the world. And even if much of your efforts are at the local level, Rotary’s scope and impact is something to feel proud of.
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!
As we enter a new calendar year its hard to focus on anything other than the impacts of Covid-19 and the Omicron variant on our daily lives. It is, however, key that we all maintain a positive outlook as we direct our energy towards helping those who are less able than we are to cope with their daily lives, let alone fight a pandemic on top of it. We need to lead by example, and do whatever we can to assist our community in working their way through this difficult time.
We have made great progress over the past year in extending the reach of our small Club and plan to continue this in 2022. One of the promising areas we are working on is assisting the start-up of a satellite club in Botswana. It’s truly amazing what can be done over long distances through the power of technology. Bringing this project to fruition will not only assist in the personal growth of the satellite club members, but also in spreading the word on the work of Rotary on the African continent. Our Rotary Advisors team also continues its good work, and we have become the District leader on the subject of Scholarship Grants. These areas of success help round out the overall focus of the club this year, which is ‘Food Security’. We will continue to build on our support for community fridges, food banks, charity farm work, and related areas and look to increase our impact.
In order to meet our Club goals a critical challenge for the Club is building our ‘bench strength’ for the future. We already have our Executive team identified for next year, however we need to add new members that can help build our knowledge, ability, and impact. For anyone reading this message who has a potential new member in mind please feel free to reach out to Cynthia Janzen who can assist you.
I am privileged to be a member of such a dynamic Club and thank all our members for their hard work and dedication
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.
