Submitted by Jim Dilamarter
Our ‘anniversary’ went past without much celebration this year. We were all busy working on our Green No Dinner Dinner in hopes of raising some money, in these difficult Covid times, to maintain our Scholarship programs at our local school. We are pleased to tell you that our total amount raised so far is now up to $2,155.00! Thank you all.
We posted a notice on Facebook about our Rotary Club’s ‘anniversary’ recently and were pleased to see over 300 people read it. I think it is fitting that we tell you a little about the success of those 67 years.
Each member, in his or her own way, celebrated the success of this club over the years and, in doing so, we celebrated the success of a wonderful community as well. We were chartered on March 12, 1954. At that time, we were known as the Rotary Club of Lion’s Head. Soon there was a Rotary Club in Tobermory as well and we rejoiced in the expansion. That club does not exist now, but we are pleased that we have members from Tobermory and across our municipality. We are now known as the ROTARY CLUB OF NORTHERN BRUCE PENINSULA.
We are one club of over 35,000 in the world. There are over 1.2 million Rotarians around the globe. We are proud of our organization and the work it does and immensely proud of the work our twenty members do both here and around the world.
Over the years we have sent out and welcomed many exchange students and supported our local schools with scholarships and other resources. We have raised funds and put in place playground equipment at the beach and at the day care in Lion’s Head and in Ferndale, built a parkette, erected a permanent pavilion/picnic shelter at the beach in Lion’s Head, supported our doctors, contributed thousands to our local hospital, and supported our day care facility.
We supported the Lion’s Head area Food bank and were instrumental in its early years to get it started. We have continued to support our food banks in our communities whenever needed. We have supported our seniors at Golden Dawn and operated countless breakfasts, dinners, bars, and luncheons over the years to not only raise money but to bring the community together.
We have organized the Santa Claus parade each year in Lion’s Head and, even in these times of Covid, Rotary helped Santa conduct a drive-by parade and socially distanced visits at local schools, daycare, and Golden Dawn Senior’s Home. Santa loves Rotary.
Our history of supporting our Rotary Hall goes back to the early 1980s. We pride ourselves on the work we have done to keep that facility as an important resource for our community. In doing so we have partnered with other service clubs, the municipality, music groups, stage productions and concert groups to bring entertainment and fun to our community.
We have helped rid the world of polio with our donations to the Polio Plus campaign of Rotary International. Presently there are only two countries in the world whose citizens suffer with polio now thanks to Rotary and its partners. We have dug wells for those who have no water. We have partnered with other clubs to facilitate worldwide relief efforts whenever we could.
The list goes on, but this article can only be so long. Rotarians are proud of what has been accomplished in those 67 years. BUT we could not have done it without the support of the community. The shop keepers, the local musicians, the restaurant owners, and each person who came to eat pancakes, to dance at our dances, to support our bars and our other activities. We exist to help make our community a better place for everyone.
So, congratulations to us all for being there for each other and THANK YOU to this community for letting us make a difference in this world.
Rotarians live by the FOUR-WAY TEST. We ask ourselves these questions before making a decision on any important issue.
1. Is it the truth?
2. Is it fair to all concerned?
3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
It is our hope that Rotary will be here in this community for another 67 years and continue to follow the motto SERVICE ABOVE SELF.
