By Joanne Rodgers, Bruce Peninsula Press
To celebrate its 70th Anniversary the Rotary Club of Northern Bruce Peninsula hosted a formal sit-down dinner for 80 guests on April 13, 2024 at the Rotary Hall.
The meal was catered by the SWANS, with the meal receiving rave reviews from the invitees.
During the formal dinner, seven Paul Harris Fellow Recognition awards were given out to acknowledge the substantial contributions to the local community by fellow Rotarians and community members. Recipients of the awards were the late Bob (Bonzaii) Spearing, accepted by Captain Gerry Greig on behalf of Denise Spearing (Bob’s daughter); Douglas Greig; Wendell Thomson; Dan Bryans and Rob Hiscott, as well as Friends of Rotary and long-time supporters of NBP Club, Dale Diebel and Dr. Dave Thomson.
Guest speaker Dr. Trace McKay shared her experiences as a Rotary exchange student to South Africa back in the 1980s.
Tickets were sold out for the 50/50 draw with the monies going towards the Rotary Bruce Peninsula District School (BPDS) scholarships. The draw for $700 was won by Barry Thorn of Lion’s Head, which he generously offered to donate half of his winnings to the Rotary Scholarships Fund.
After the formal event, the general community was invited to come out for cake and ice-cream and social time.
Rotarian Tim Lang describes the anniversary event as a “fantastic night”; current President Catherine Henderson was pleased saying the event was a “huge success and the meal was fabulous”.
Currently, the local Rotary Club has 22 members and continues to be very active in the community. The Club hosts the very popular pancake breakfast held on the Sunday of the long weekends during the summer. Last year they sponsored the inaugural Oktoberfest which garnered lots of interest and support from the local and regional community. They host social events at the Rotary Hall in Lion’s Head for all ages such as concerts, trivia nights, Sunday afternoon coffee and conversation. The Club donates funds for BPDS school events and up to five scholarships to BPDS graduates to pursue post-secondary studies. Rotarians tend the bar for many local events and plus offer much more support for community based activities.
To learn more about the activities of the NBP Rotary Club, check out their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RotaryNBP/ or their website www.rotarynbp.org
