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A Sunrise Christmas 2023

This past year, 2023, has been such an eventful period for us ... new members, new events, new achievements ... we continue to be strong and are proud of what we are able to contribute to our community.

So, we felt it was worth celebrating our year and with the organizing talent of Gail Bouw and her team, the generosity of our hosts Steve & Jane Malo and the culinary skills of our own caterer Tracy Winkworth (see adjoining photo for a group picture and go to the 'Read more ...' tab for a look at the feast!); we celebrated in style. Pres John notedly that we have to be thankful for; in particular for the evening and all those who made it possible.

What a great way the enter the festive season - such a terrific night of feasting and Rotary fellowship!!

Go to our RCNS photo album for a number of digital pictures taken during the evening.

Merry Christmas.

A Sunrise Santa Visit

Ho Ho Ho!

For over 80 participants and more than 40 local children, the magic of Christmas happened at the Junior Farmers Building on Saturday morning, 09 December 2023.

As organized. by Bettyann Carty and her merry band of Sunrise helpers, Santa arrived, joined up with Mrs Claus, and treated all to a hearty measure of Christmas spirit and joy. Along the way, and with the corporate support of MacDonalds and the Apple Place, everyone enjoyed a great breakfast as well! Even President John (having been particularly nice this past year), took his place in line to express his RCNS wish-list to ol' St Nic - we wonder what Santa will deliver??

So much fun for the children, both young and less-young ... particularly so for the young family (mom Amber Bradshaw with children Hazel & Beckett) who won the Gingerbread House door prize! Go to the 'Read more ...' tab to see a small selection of photos or click on this link to go to the club photo album with even more pictures.

Well done to Bettyann and her team - thanks for another great event - Merry Christmas to all.

We Just Got Bigger (and Better!)

On Tuesday morning, 28 November, we were privileged to welcome three new members to our club.

Coordinated by our Membership Committee as led by Gail Catherwood and welcomed on our behalves by Assistant Governor Coordinator Ross Gowan, we welcomed Kristine Carey, Lynne Pereira and Andrew Watt. How lucky we are to have these brand-new members as a part of our growing Club

Go to the 'Read more ...' section to see individual photos of our newest members along with their sponsors. Read as well, the very appropriate induction comments as given by Ross to mark this special occasion.

Guest Speaker 21 Nov '23 - OPP Brad Weirsma & Andrew Gamble - Safeguard Ontario

On Tuesday morning, 21 Nov '23 and on our collective behalves, Bettyann Carty welcomed OPP officers Brad Weirsma and Andrew Gamble as our Guest Speakers. At our hybrid session, they discussed their 'Safeguard' program, an OPP initiative to highlight various aspects of home security and how we might better protect our personal and home interests. As the presentation unfolded, they defined the nature and scope of the present-day home security issue as well as offering a variety of practical ideas that homeowners could consider to make their homes more safe and secure.

Following questions as time permitted, our own David Bradshaw offered RCNS appreciation for the excellent presentation and the useful reminders that were offered up - well done.

You can read more about the Safeguard program by clicking here. Additional information about the Norfolk County Detachment of the OPP may be found by clicking here.

HoHoHo - Local Rotary Clubs in the Festive Mood

Another festive season approaches ... and the two local Rotary Clubs (The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise - RCNS & The Rotary Club of Simcoe - RCS) are ready to celebrate with the Norfolk community.

The RCS has hosted a 'Holiday House Tour' for years and are resurrecting that festive event after a pandemic pause; this time, better than ever. The RCNS returns to the success it has had with its 'Breakfast with Santa' event and has initiated an 'All that Glitters' christmas tree/wreath fundraiser in collaboration with the Lynnwood Arts Centre. Details/posters for each of these Rotary events is given at the 'Read more ...' tab shown below. You may also find out more about these events by going to respective Club webpages at RCNS and RCS.

In keeping with Rotary aims, these events are intended to work with community groups, and help those in need in our community. First and foremost, we want our events to be fun; then we aim to raise funds that may be put back into our community for the betterment of all. So, both the RCS and the RCNS seek every member of our community to look into these holiday events and support/attend them where it make sense to do so - it's all for the good of our community.

Merry Christmas to all.

Eerily Fun - Flex' Road Rally - 29 Oct '23

Since his passing, it has been our practice to celebrate our founding Club President, Keith Flexman with an annual car rally; after all, it was the very last Rotary event that 'Flex' contributed to our club; the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise.

So, on Sunday 29 Oct, and with Joyce & Kelly Flexman participating, we took to the roads along the south coast of Norfolk County. We had 55 participants forming 16 individual teams. Adding to the spookiness of the day, the event organizers split the teams into two groups each with their own route. Each team found their way through, or visited, Port Ryerse, Cider Keg, Normandale, Turkey Point, Burning Kiln, St Williams, Port Rowan, Long Point, Forestville and many other smaller stops seeking answers to 49 county-based questions. All teams finished the rally at the St Williams Community Centre and joined in with a number of guests for games, pumpkin decorating and a great dinner catered by Gators BBQ (with certain special Halloween treats contributed by the event organizers). So much fun ...

The winning team was the 'Party Girls'; finishing with a perfect score! Team members were Andi Matecsa, Janet Doty, Lori Rodgers & Patti Bowers

The RCNS organizing team was lead by Louise Schebesch & Tina Millea, and included Andi Matecsa, Keith Jones, Cathy Harrop, Paul Zorad, Andy Kooistra and Annette Jacobs. They all deserve our appreciation for a wonderful Sunday of club fellowship.

Go to the 'Read more ...' tab for a list of participating teams and several selected photos.

Joyce & Kelly were delighted - we also think that Flex would have been smiling throughout!

Coats for Kids & Adults 2023

Once again the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise, in collaboration with Peerless Cleaners, the Langton Knitters and the First Baptist Church have organized our annual Coats for Kids & Adults community support event.

With the support of many players, we collected almost 1200 coats and had a variety of knitted products donated for distribution. Peerless Cleaners ensured that all of the products were cleaned and hygienically prepared for give-away.

At the actual event, 685 coats were distribributed. We then bagged over 450 coats, all of which will be going to 3 Simcoe-based churches and the Family Resource Centre. Upon the arrival of our guests, there were over 100 bags given out for them to fill. The Langton Knitters donated 171 hats and mittens sets; 63 knitted lap blankets and 25 pairs of knitted slippers. There were only 3 blankets remaining and about 25 sets of mittens etc. These will be distributed to St James Church who will be having a free clothes event in the near future.

We like to think that the RCNS supplied a lot of warmth to many Norfolk families this morning. As a result, we want to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Rotarians, family and friends who helped with unloading the trucks, setting up on Friday, welcoming and assisting guests on Saturday and distributing the overflow to the various centres this coming week. This event could not happen without you.

All of this community support continues to be co-ordinated by our own Bettyann Carty who writes in that, "I really appreciate the support from the volunteer teams Friday & Saturday. My heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone."

Please go to the 'Read more ...' tab for a photo of our own group taken during the Saturday morning open house.

Mental Health - An Emerging Rotary Priority

'How are you?...REALLY'!?

In a recent webinar to the Rotary community, RI President Gordon McInally, expressed his lead perspective on the need to address mental health issues in our communities. As a result, it is not a surprise that our current-year, Rotary theme of "Create Hope in the World" has a clear focus on mental health issues. The webinar sought to provide early information on the proposed Rotary approach to this objective and may be accessed by clicking here.

An early initiative to advance this priority was to create a focal point at the RI level to co-ordinate information and/or action - the 'Mental Health Initiatives; Rotary Action Group' was born. The work of this group can be found by clicking on this link - it is a trove of great ideas.

At our own District 7090 level, District Governor Scott Marcin has communicated his views on this topic; a summary of which may be found at this link.

Clearly, there is a lot of work to accomplish but if you're looking for a very simple thing to do, the next time you meet someone in need, try opening the conversation with; 'How are you? ... REALLY'.

DEI & Our New Club Counsellor

As Rotarians, we believe in the 4-way test. By extension, we support the RI focus on Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Our own Club approach has been to follow the RI lead, to strengthen our legacy policies, to set in place new initiatives to ensure compliance, to inform our members as appropriate and to appoint a Club Counsellor.

As a result, every active member of our Club has been afforded the opportunity to read into & understand the issues. Moreover, we have benefitted from a presentation on the same issues as provided at our meeting on 06 June; a presentation given by Emma Brown, one of our members with legal training, qualifications and experience. The key documents are as follows;

Significantly, we have been blessed with a volunteer who has come forward to act as our Club Counsellor. As a Club, we welcome Andrea Matecsa into this role. All are invited to click on the "Read more ..." tab to learn about what is involved with being a Club Counsellor and how she sees her appointment within the Club.

CTA Licence Progress & Results

Following seven, successfully-concluded licences of our ever-popular Catch the Ace (CTA) fundraiser, the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise, with the support of the Port Dover Legion Branch 158, plans to restart the contest in early Jan '24; this to be our eighth licence - it will conclude once the Ace of Spade is finally drawn.

Once a licence is concluded, a summary of the results is generated. This summary information is then shared with the local print media and can also be found on this web-site - ie see our FUNdraiser Tab at the top of this website to see the results from our seventh completed licence.

For those who follow the CTA game on a more regular basis, the best way to stay abreast of the current results is to visit our FaceBook site. You may find an image of our FB Page as a panel on this web-page or you may wish to visit our FB Page by clicking on this link. Alternatively, the results are also posted to our weekly RCNS Bulletin (the 'Sunriser'). Normally, it is released to our members and friends on a weekly basis. If you are not a subscriber and you might wish to join the mailing list, please see the 'RCNS Bulletin Subscribe' panel as given at this website.