Club News
In April and May 2023, the Rotary Club of Belleville spearheaded a Rotary Refresh initiative.  The purpose of this exercise was to involve Rotary members in a process with the aim of co-creating positive change, as identified by members, that results in attracting new members and aligning activities with ways in which the Club can best serve Belleville and uphold Rotary's 7 Areas of Focus.  As an update, Janeen presented the areas Rotary Refresh Focus:
  • Lunch Club and Satellite Club -- one club with two meeting times, lunch and evening, in-person, alternating weeks.  Exploring ways to accommodate virtual attendance in ways that create minimal support and ease for example, listen only.
  • Rotary Club awareness -- new Club tent.  Exploring ways members can promote Rotary when volunteering and attending events, e.g., Rotary caps, tee-shirts, when at RLK, Children's Christmas Party, Porchfest, Touch-a-Truck, tree planting, Senators 50/50, etc.
  • Recruit new members -- 7 new members have joined.  The committee is exploring a 'recruitment drive' or event.  Have Rotary take-aways, e.g., postcard at events like Winter Games and others mentioned.
  • Engage existing members -- speakers to include recipients of Paul Harris Awards, recipients of grants to discuss impact, Rotarians with history in the Club, new community members, e.g., downtown developer, Zubin, artist with pieces in MOMA & Tate, ordinary people with extraordinary stories, etc.
  • Focus and clarity of fundraising activities -- committee work in process
  • Energize meetings -- social time to mingle built in at both lunch and evening meetings.  Meeting energizers.  Peter's jokes of the day
Next steps to ensure discussions and ideas raised at the Refresh Rotary Committee meetings are brought forward to the Board.  Encouraging members who are not on the committee, but would like to share input and insights to reach out to Committee members -- Peter Malone, Tracey Vandervoort, Janeen Halliwell, Ruth Mathieson, Cristina Cadavid, John Smale, Peter Coy and Karen Baker.  Ensure the work of the Committee intersects with other Committee work such as Public Image and Recruitment.  Continue to work together to move our efforts forward.
 
This work is about change.  We are evolving and need to take time to be thoughtful as we move forward.
 
Dr. Ruth Mathieson took the opportunity to share how some of the Rotary money is spent and the good we are doing in the world through International Service.  One of the people our Club supports is Dr. Paul Thistle, who lives and works in Zimbabwe.  He is an obstetrician/gynaecologist who married a local midwife, Pedrinah, learned to speak Shona and have three boys, two of them are now studying at Toronto University.  Dr. Thistle first came on Rotary's radar in 2004 when Dr. Bill Beattie sent over a hockey bag full of medications.  Then in 2007, vital hospital equipment was sent from BGH in a 40 foot sea container which included 30 beds, 28 mattresses, 3 cribs and lots of medical supplies.  The Rotary Club of Belleville gave $2,400 towards the freight charges.  We have continued to support him over the years.  The latest was a contribution to the rehabilitation ward and pocket money for him, as he now volunteers at Karanda hospital.  Four times a year he writes an email letter, called the Thistle Epistle.  Here are some excerpts from his latest letter.
 
"The work at Karanda continues in the midst of armed conflicts and humanitarian crises around the globe.  Zimbabwe faces its own specific challenges, including the recent rapid devaluation of the local currency, a national cholera epidemic and an active polio outbreak.  In addition, we are facing a drought year.  The once promising crops are withering on the vine.  According to the 2023 Zimbabwean Rural Livelihoods Assessment Report, 49% of people lack basic sanitation at home, 45% are affected by drought and 17% walk more than one kilometer to their water source daily, 26% of children are stunted and 17% are classified as having severe hunger.  We have noted that the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' has widened, more so in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic".  In spite of these challenges "we are eager to turn the sod on 2024 projects:  maternity extension, laboratory expansion, chapel renovations, dormitory and solarization of the hospital compound.  The needs seem endless, our five year strategic plan ambitious.  However, in contrast to the Beatles' song, we get by with a big help from our friends at home and abroad.  Thank you everyone."
Past District Governor Jim Louttit and advisor on The Rotary Foundation/Endowment/Major Gifts for District 7070 was welcomed by Past President Darrell Smith.  As a way of introduction, Jim is the President of JVL Global Corp, a financial services consulting company specializing in community development and microfinance.  Prior to starting his own consulting company in 2012, he worked for the Bank of Nova Scotia with much of his work in their International Banking Division where he lived and worked in Central and South America for seven years serving in Executive roles.
 
Jim became a Rotarian in early 2005 as a founding member and Second Vice-President of the Rotary Club of Lima Sunrise in District 4450.  After leaving Peru in 2007 to return to Canada, he joined Toronto Sunrise in District 7070 serving as President in 2010-11.  He also served as District Governor in 2016-17 and remains active in the District's Foundation, Governance and Membership Committees. In 2021-22, Jim became an Adviser for the Community Economic Development Major Gifts Initiative (CED-MGI) Committee and will serve in this role until June 2024.   He is the Past Chair of the Rotary Action Group Chairs Council serving in this role for the Rotary years 2019-20 and 2020-21.  He is also a Past President of the Rotary Action Group for Community Economic Development (RAGCED) and a past Chair of their Advisory Board.  Jim is also a member of the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG); the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Rotary Action Group (WASHRAG); and the Rotary Action Group for Peace (RAGFP) as well as a member of the International Fellowship of Motorcycling Rotarians (IFMR) and IT Professionals Forum Rotary Fellowship.  He is a member of the Paul Harris Society, Bequest Society, and is a Major Donor.
 
It was the 6th President of Rotary International in 1916, Arch C. Klumph who suggested Rotary start an endowment fund to do good in the world.  The Rotary Foundation became formalized in 1928 with an investment of $26.50 U.S. and today it is worth more than one billion dollars.  For the 15th consecutive year, the Rotary Foundation has been recognized by Charity Navigator as a Four Star Charity that encourages people to give with confidence based on the organization's financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability.  Also tracked is accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.  Quite an achievement!
 
Through Rotary's "doing good in the world", the worldwide eradication of polio has been made possible, through Rotary's Peace Center Program Peace Building has been achieved, and both global and district grants have included humanitarian projects, scholarships and vocational training teams.  A Masters degree program and professional development certificate program has provided on-line and classroom education around the world through the Peace Centers and each year, 1600 program alumni are working on peace and development in more than 140 countries.
 
Global Grant Funding for Rotary Year 2014 through to 2023 has been broken down as follows:
  • Disease prevention and treatment - $369,785,348
  • Water, sanitation and hygiene - $177,226,066
  • Community economic development - $104,607,915
  • Basic education and literacy - $91,471,520
  • Maternal and child health - $67,063,275
  • Peacebuilding and conflict prevention - $34,252,724
  • Environment - $5,234,447
Rotary's Disaster Response Fund has approved 375 grant applications since COVID, over $17 million dollars with 300 Districts involved.  Donating to the Rotary Foundation through annual giving ensures help and support today continues.  This giving is the life blood of the Foundation.  Long-term planning through an endowment fund is also available to provide support forever.  Directing your gift to what matters most to you was one of the top reasons the Rotary Foundation is flourishing.  A person can donate to one foundation with many option.  A major donor is one who gifts $10,000 or more U.S. and an Arch Klumph Society donor is one who gifts $250,000 or more U.S.
 
And to quote Arch C. Klumph we should not live for ourselves alone, but for the joy in doing good for others.
Cristina Cadavid has been a member of the Rotary Club of Belleville since July 2023, introduced to Rotary by President Peter Malone.  Cristina became famous with a hole in one at RLK in 2023.  Rotarian Melanie Cressman introduced Cristina as the guest speaker today at the lunch meeting and described her as "being everywhere".  Her enthusiasm and love of everything about an event is contagious.
 
Cristina admitted she did not have a power point presentation, but brought something more valuable, picture books of her life story, a rich tapestry of diverse experiences and cultural influences that have shaped her into who she is today.  The origin of her last name, Cadavid, is Spanish as Cristina was born in Bogota, Colombia, founded in 1536 by a Spanish conquistador, a city that is a vibrant metropolis full of history and perched on the eastern Andes Mountain range at an elevation of 2,600 meters above sea level.  Cristina's father still lives in Bogota, her mother lives in Sweden, one of her brothers and her sister live in Spain and another brother that Cristina refers to as her best friend lives in Sweden.  Cristina spent her summers in Florida with her grandparents, but in 1990 made the transcontinental move to Taby, Sweden with her mother and brother.  In 1991 she returned to Bogota and graduated from high school in 2000 and started a career in business administration.  She switched to culinary arts in 2004 and built her hospitality industry career by expanding her responsibilities.   Moving to London, Ontario in 2006 was a big dream, although she was initially shocked by how much snow there was.  Her son Samuel was born that same year and as of 2024 he will be attending the University of Ottawa and Cristina asks herself where the time goes.  But London is where she met her husband Blair and they were married in 2012 with two wedding ceremonies, one in Canada and one in Bogota with friends and family in attendance.  That same year Cristina became a Canadian citizen.  Her second son arrived in August of 2013, the final piece to their family and when Blair was promoted to General Manager in 2016, the family moved to Belleville and started another chapter in their book.  Cristina worked for five years at Rosemary & Thyme, a popular, family-owned restaurant in Belleville's east end.  More doors of opportunity opened when Cristina took Public Relations and Event Management at Loyalist College and graduated with honours.  Through her current role as Fundraising Coordinator at the Community Development Council of Quinte, Cristina is able to give back to the community that she has learned to love.  She sits on various boards and committees, making a positive impact in Belleville and beyond.  She represents the non-profit sector on the Belleville Chamber of Commerce Board and uses her hospitality industry skills on the Belleville Club Board.  As a Rotarian, Cristina sits on the Public Image Committee and Refresh Rotary.  And after 33 years, Cristina is returning to Sweden to visit her mother and brother.  So excited!  And believe it or not, Cristina continues to look forward to new adventures, growth and fellowship through Rotary.  She is honoured to be making a different in the community, using her unique background and skills to creative positive change.
 
Cristina was thanked by Rotarian Yakov Sobolev, who acknowledged her diversified skill set and the benefit of her energy when planning an event! 
 
 
 
 
Rotary International established the Paul Harris Fellow recognition in 1957 to encourage and show appreciation for substantial contributions to the Rotary Foundation.  The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who have contributed $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation and recognition levels are given for each $1,000 given to the Rotary Foundation.  President Peter was pleased to present Past President Sam Brady with his Paul Harris Fellow +8.  The Rotary Foundation, established in 1917 is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, education and cultural exchange programs.
 
As well, the Rotary Club of Belleville provides Paul Harris recognition to members who have completed 10 years of active service in the Club.  President Peter Malone was pleased to present Marg Wagner with her Paul Harris Fellow for 10 years of service from 2012 to 2022 to the Rotary Club of Belleville.  Marg graciously agreed to introduce today's speaker, Chief Michael T. Callaghan, having worked with the Chief as a member of the Police Services Board during her tenure of 8 1/2 years.  In fact, Marg was involved in the recruiting team when Chief Callaghan was hired as Deputy Chief in 2016.  Marg was so pleased to be able to perform this task and provide the Chief with a warm Rotary welcome.
Chief of Police Michael T. Callaghan was introduced as the guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Belleville lunch meeting on February 15th by Marg Wagner, former Rotarian and member of the Police Services Board for eight and a half years.  Marg was on the hiring committee to bring Mike Callaghan back to Belleville as Deputy Chief.  (Marg Wagner is pictured here with President of the Rotary Club of Belleville, Peter Malone, Rotarian Nadine Langlois and Chief Callaghan). 
 
Callaghan made one of his last few speaking engagements on Thursday to the Rotary Club of Belleville at Capers on Front Street in Belleville. It was a packed house of Rotary members and guests who came to hear what Chief Callaghan had to say, before departing for a well-deserved retirement after dedicating 39 years serving and protecting through various Police Services.
 
“It’s bittersweet that I retire as I truly love the city, I love what we do, and I love my job” was part of his opening comment. He is also looking forward to being able to spend quality time with his loving wife Terry, who has been at his side his entire career despite being a stage four cancer survivor.
 
The presentation wasn’t so much about his amazing 39 years wearing blue, the dedicated service, and the great stories along the way. Instead, his story focussed on the unfortunate situation in which our city has found itself over the past few years. So, the focus steered toward the question that seems to be on everybody’s mind at the moment - serious opioid and drug overdose problems faced by the city in recent times. He noted “the problem isn’t localized to our community but is being felt across the province and country in police comparators – police services of similar size”.
 
Belleville Police Chief Mike Callaghan says he is very optimistic that they will be able to make some progress in key areas soon with provincial help. 
His words on the history of past decisions regarding permanent care facilities led the listeners through the social policies and peeling away of true support networks that many addicts or mentally ill individuals need to navigate life. Now on the streets struggling mentally and living with addiction, we see the impact of those decision made starting in 1993. Social policy decisions sound good at the time and can make sense when trying to convince taxpayers that it’s in their best interest to save money through service cuts. We can now see these decisions haven’t saved taxpayers any resources, but have actually cost us more in socio-economic terms.
 
“Many experts suggest that there are impact factors that are needed in communities struggling to help addicts. We need a detox centre and a RAAM clinic - Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine”. He went on to discuss another policy change that led us to this point based on international observations. Namely the law to decriminalize drugs in Portugal and how that country is revisiting that decision based on their struggles with increased substance abuse and addictions.
 
Dialogue continued with the little impact that interdictions and enforcement are having due to legal barriers that exist. “While it’s a component to help curb the problem its by no means a solution”. It was noted that the strain on the various services is clear. Fire, ambulance, police, hospital doctors and nurses are pushed to the limits with filling the addiction services role. “It’s obvious and clear that we can’t continue to address addictions through emergency service channels”. He also noted that “the exhaustion is real as is compassion fatigue”. These dedicated front-line service experts lose their passion when helping the same individuals night after night after night. This isn’t the definition of helping the community when the very small number of individuals use the services over and over again.
 
The call to action is clear – if we as members of the community want change, we will have to have our voices heard by the leaders whom we have elected at every level of government. Rotary Club of Belleville President, Peter Malone, thanked Chief Callaghan for his many years of service and recognized the incredible work of the Belleville Police Service and all first responders during a complex and difficult time in our City. Peter closed with “The Rotary Club of Belleville wishes the Chief and his wife Terry all the best in retirement and thanked him for his leadership role in our community”.  Rotarian Cassandra Bonn presented Chief Callaghan with a certificate of thanks, noting that a donation would be made for the Food for Learning program, providing a student with a hot meal.
 

 

Born and raised in Belleville attending Kente Public School in Ameliasburgh and Centennial Secondary School, Scott is one of Canada's most sought-after corporate communications and issues management professionals and a founder of the firm Feschuk Reid.  A former senior advisor to Prime Minister Paul Martin, he has counselled countless CEOs, senior executives and political leaders.  He is the former co-host of CTV's National Affairs, a past columnist for the Ottawa Citizen, currently serves as an analyst for CTV News, Newstalk 1010AM and the Bellmedia radio network.  He is also featured on the popular Curse of Politics podcast.  In 2022, Scott was named one of Canada's 50 most influential Canadians by Maclean's Magazine.  He is a Fellow at the Clayton Riddell School of Political Management at Carleton University and is an Adjunct Professor at Queen's University's School of Political Studies where he teaches a course on government communications as part of the Masters of Political Administration program. 
 
The 55th annual Joint Services Club Luncheon was held at The Grand and the hall was filled to capacity, a total of 13 service clubs represented and welcomed by Peter Malone, President of the Rotary Club of Belleville as host -- the Picton Rotary Club, Quinte Sunrise, Stirling Rotary Club, Trenton Rotary Club, Wellington Rotary Club, Belleville Shriners, Belleville and Trenton Kiwanis, the Lions Club, Belleville and Quinte Probus and the Hospital Auxiliary.  Dignitaries included MPP and Ontario Energy Minister Todd Smith, Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis, Hastings County Warden Bob Mullen and Past President of Rotary International Wilf Wilkinson who remains active in the Trenton Rotary Club.  Also present were LG Marj Buck, Kiwanis District and Assistant Governor Sandi Ramsay, Rotary District 7070.  Each of the Club Representatives presented current initiatives about their organization and the work being done in the community.  Very impressive with a very wide scope of community service, all for the greater good in our community. (pictured above Cory and Bill MacKay, Co-Presidents of the Rotary Club of Stirling and Peter Malone, center)
Scott Reid remains optimistic with respect to the current Canadian political system as well as in the U.S. that the pendulum will swing back from today's deterioration overall, influenced by lessons of humility and perseverance and commitment of like-minded people such as are here today.  We are what drives the direction and will end up being in a better place, more positive.  Social media has encouraged the promotion of saying horrible things, winding up already angry folks.  Today's politicians operate using a different set of principles, nothing to do with party association.  We need to look for certain values in political people who recognize the importance of service and a sense of acting collectively, coming together.  What used to be a sense of community has been beaten out of politics and people need a taste of humility, not acting out of a sense of their own self.  Being part of a team needs to be a combined effort with dedication towards the constituency being the greatest priority.
 
Brad Ford, President of the Belleville Kiwanis Club thanked Scott for reminding everyone that politics are everywhere and people of the right character are what are needed to be leaders.
Rotary Club of Belleville
Rotary Clowns for Kids
Upcoming Events
Belleville Rotary Satellite Club
Rotary Loves Kids Golf 
Quinte Rotary Music Festival