One of the newest members of the Rotary Club of Belleville was officially welcomed at the lunch meeting on December 5th.  Andrew Brown, sponsored by Kim McKinney works for Korn Ferry in Toronto as a Sector Leader in financial services.  Andrew and his wife Stacey Johnson moved to Belleville recently, where he is able to work remotely.  Andrew is looking forward to connecting with other Rotarians and members of the community.  Pictured here receiving his red badge from President Karen Baker and Membership Chair and President-Elect Tracey Vandervoort.  President Karen welcomed Andrew to the lunch meeting and said as a Rotarian, he would be welcome all around the world and encouraged him to visit other clubs whenever possible.  Andrew will present his Classification Talk at a later date.

President Karen Baker welcomed everyone to the Community Paul Harris Fellow Recognition evening.  What a great crowd!  The gift of Rotary was very evident in the room with friends all around with special gifts to share.  A toast to each person present in our daily routine to come to know the joy of caring and sharing with others.  To friendship, fellowship, the gift of giving and to Rotary!  Since 2003, the Rotary Club of Belleville has honoured local members of the community for their "Service Above Self", a Rotary motto.  At that time, the Club decided that on an annual basis, we could present up to three (3) "Paul Harris Fellow" recognitions based on the criteria set by the Board of Directors of the day, community people who most reflect the spirit of Rotary.

 

Master of Ceremonies for the evening and Past President Peter Malone provided a little background on what it means to be a Paul Harris Fellow.  Named after Rotary's founder, Paul Harris who started Rotary with three business associates in 1905.  The numbers grew and Rotary became a global organization of over 1.4 million members in 200 countries.  In the words of Paul Harris "if you have the love of your fellow men in your hearts, my friends, you are a potential Rotarian.  The Rotary Club of Belleville is very proud to say that some 58 Community Paul Harris Fellows have been recognized for a lot of good they do and that says a lot about the great and generous people around us.

 

Past President Tracy Bray introduced the first CPHF Recipient - Ryan Turcotte.  For the past thirteen (13) years, Ryan has been the person behind the Belleville Fire Fighters Toy Drive.  He has spent countless volunteer hours filling a need in our community so that all children can have a very happy Christmas.  Ryan has built a community around this mission, raising funds through community partnerships, welcoming and thanking numerous volunteers, working with students to earn community hours and fostering relationships in the retail sector, like Giant Tiger.  Ryan works 60 hours a week from the end of October until the stockings are all hung Christmas Eve, tirelessly giving of his own time to ensure no child goes without on Christmas morning. 

 

Director Brenda Snider introduced Shannon Bellemare, who began her volunteer career with the Food for Learning program, supporting children and youth in the community.  She has been a long-standing volunteer for VIQ, always willing to lend a hand to an event such as Dancing with the Stars, Rockfest, Big Brother Big Sisters Ribfest, The Children's Foundation and BGH Foundation.  Even when relaxing during the summer months, Shannon and her husband, Jared are the Entertainment Directors at their trailer park.  She has supported Rotary at both Camp Merrywood and at Rotary Loves Kids golf tournament, providing guidance and support to anything she is involved with, always with a smile and encouragement, building strength and unity through her leadership.

 

Past President Kristin Crowe and Rotarian Cassandra Bonn introduced Julie Lange, described as giving extensive, quiet and continuous support across countless initiatives.  Julie lives and breathes Service Above Self, impacting the lives of individuals across generations and sectors, creating ripples of kindness and compassion.  Her legacy is told in the voices of family members, colleagues, friends and even strangers, who have all been deeply touched by her dedication.  Kristin and Cassandra shared a number of reflections from the community from an array of people who have seen Julie's unwavering kindness to many.  She creates a unique sense of belonging and warmth, bringing comfort and accountability to her role(s), shining brightly in all that she does.

 

Peter Malone thanked those who sought out these incredibly worthy Community Paul Harris Fellow recipients and for sharing these inspirational stories.  Peter passed on Rotary's congratulations and sincere thanks for their commitment to our communities.  Very happy to have them, their friends and family as a part of the Rotary family. (Pictured L to R Past President Peter Malone, recipient Ryan Turcotte, Past President and Director Tracy Bray, Director Brenda Snider, recipient Shannon Bellemare, Rotarian Cassandra Bonn, recipient Julie Lange, Past President Kristin Crowe, President Karen Baker).

 

 

 

 

Rescue Readers is a program where classes of elementary school children visit the Humane Society Shelter.  The students learn about what is involved in having and caring for a pet, the role of Shelters and the importance of developing empathy for other living creatures.  An excellent learning opportunity for the students that meet the educational objectives required by the School Board for field trips.  Reading aloud improves fluency and confidence.  Rotary Clubs of Belleville and Trenton have committed financial support, other Clubs in Hastings Prince Edward are invited to join in.

 

A major fundraiser, organized by the Humane Society HPE, Wiggle Waggle Walkathon is being held at Zwicks Park on May 17th, 2025.  Form teams of friends and family and pledge funds to support the Rescue Readers Program.  For more information, reach out to Sharon McConnell, Literacy Chair Rotary Club of Belleville at sharonmcconnell50@gmail.com

Rotarian Kim McKinney, Chair of the Rotary Youth Exchange program for the Rotary Club of Belleville invites everyone to a presentation at the evening meeting at Capers on November 28th at 5:30 p.m.  Heather Murray will be speaking.  All are welcome to join Kim, Peter Malone, Karen Baker and Liv Ahinas, the Rotarians behind the quote "are you ready for the greatest year of your life?".

Rotarian Andrew Kole introduced Denys and Tetiana aka Tanya as guest speakers at the Rotary Club of Belleville's lunch meeting in recognition of Remembrance Day coming up.  Andrew, Denys and Tetiana were all born in Ukraine and met in Belleville through an event organized by Rotarians for the Ukraine community, to show support and help wherever they could.  Denys and Tetiana and their three children were sponsored and hosted by Judi Rufo and Doug Peterson, Past President of the Rotary Club after narrowly escaping their home in Ukraine as war broke out.  Through courage, resilience and hope their journey started 2 1/2 years ago.

 

Today we are gathered to honour those who have served and sacrificed so that we can live in peace and freedom.  As we remember the bravery of past generations, we also think of people around us today who have been affected by the lasting impact of war.   Both Denys and Tetiana were born in Odesa, a beautiful seashore city in Ukraine, married almost 15 years ago and have three wonderful children, 13 and 9 year old sons and a 4 year old daughter.  Both obtained their Master's degrees and had good jobs in Ukraine.  Life was stable, something they thought would last forever.  In January 2022, they sensed that war was on the horizon.  By early February, emergency bags with documents were packed, a travel route identified toward a NATO country.  By later in February, their fears became a reality and the Odesa airport was destroyed and military installations and infrastructures were attacked. Overwhelmed by fear and confusion, they initially moved to their cottage, hoping to find peace, but days later, they packed their car along with some friends' car and headed to Tetiana's parents' home located south on the border with Romania.  Constant news updates and explosions across the country kept them on edge and very stressed.  Crossing a bridge, the only route in their escape to Romania was a terrible experience and when that bridge was bombed a few months later, they realized they had narrowly escaped death.  In Romania they found an apartment and were introduced to a Canadian who encouraged them to consider Canada.  Some research told them that a labour shortage in construction and finance might provide them with good jobs as they were both qualified in these areas.

 

By March 2022, over 3 million people were forced to leave their homes in Ukraine, and this became one of Europe's largest refugee crisis since WWII.  Canada has welcomed nearly 300,000 Ukrainians.  A website proposing accommodation for Ukrainian refugees led them to Judi Rufo and Doug Peterson and through that connection they found hope once again that the world is full of wonderful people after the nightmare they had been through.  Quickly they became part of the Belleville community, guided by people like Andrew Kole and his wife Julie, now very close friends.  Advice they gave was invaluable in helping Denys and Tetiana rebuild their lives, even today.  In turn, Denys and Tetiana have helped other families settle here and organized an event at Zwicks Park that brought almost 100 Ukrainians together on Ukrainian Independence Day.  Surrounded by people who shared similar experiences and understood the journey taken.  Denys is a project manager at TaskForce Engineering and has earned his professional project management certification.  Tetiana has recently completed the Canada Payroll Compliance Professional course and is an assistant Chief Financial Officer at Truck Right.

 

One of their happiest days was when their schnauzer Deya arrived in Canada, bringing much joy and happiness to the family.  Denys left us with a powerful truth "nobody should see the war".  Peace should never be taken for granted.  Let us not only honour the courage of those who served, but also celebrate the courage of those who start over, those who carry the values of freedom and resilience into a new future.  Thank you for your kindness and generosity, our journey would not have been possible without the support of people like you.

Today's lunch speaker, Ken Manderville, representing 100 Men Who Care, was introduced by Rotarian and one of the 100 men who care, Ken Wheeler.  Ken Manderville thanked the Rotary Club of Belleville for inviting him to speak today to the members.  As a former Rotarian with the Picton Rotary Club and a retired principal, he recognizes the work that the Rotary Club does, embodying Service Above Self as its motto.  In the community, people enjoy the Rotary Music Park, the Pirate Ship, a game of golf with Rotary Loves Kids tournament or playing baseball at the Field of Ability, a project supported by Rotary.  These locations are not always noticed, but are very important to the community. 

 

The 100 Men Who Care Quinte came about after finding out a little more about the initiative from someone in Kingston.  The Quinte Chapter is now in its 9th year of existence and overall have donated a total of $313,950 to the local community.  100 Men Who Care Quinte is a non-organization!  It is informal, unregistered and has no board, no chair, no treasurer, no bank account, no revenue and no expenditures.  It is based on the concept of simplicity -- minimum input and maximum impact.  The Quinte Region for this initiative spans an area from Brighton in the west to Napanee in the East, Madoc in the north and Picton in the south.  The 100 Men Who Care Quinte meet quarterly and at each of those four meetings, the goal is to collect and give away $10,000+ to allow the selected charity to do something of significant impact that would not have been done otherwise without the support of 100 Men Who Care.  The charitable organizations must serve the Quinte Region and provide individuals tax receipts directly to contributing members.

 

Each member commits to donating $100 at each of the four meetings.  Members get to vote on the charity they would like to support, selected from the list of charities submitted by all the members.  At each meeting, three charities are chosen from a ballot box.  The members who nominated the chosen organizations, are then asked to do a brief presentation, followed by a vote from the membership and the charity with the most votes by simple majority will be the recipient.  At that point, each member is asked to make out their $100 cheque to the charity chosen by the group.  Members who did not vote for the selected charity agree to make their donation regardless.  New members are always welcome, the next meeting is September 16th at 7:00 p.m. at the Belleville Club.  On the 100 Men Who Care Quinte website is a quote by Winston Churchill -- "we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give".  Ken Manderville was thanked by Rotarian Jared Bellemare, recognizing the work that is done by giving back to the community.

Past President Peter Malone was pleased to recognize those Rotarians with perfect attendance for the 2023-2024 Rotary Year.  These members are engaged in different ways as meeting attendance is not the same as it was in the past.  These members attend and assist at events, come to meetings, conduct committee work and in many instances are Chairs of a committee.  There were 49 members with 100% attendance compared to 31 members with 100% in the previous Rotary Year, a 58% increase.  Half of the members who have been excused from attending meetings (known as the rule of 85 - age plus years of service), continue to be active in supporting a number of Rotary initiatives.  Those members along with the active members continue to work diligently, ensuring the work of Rotary is front and center, providing service in the community and around the world.  There is much work to be done as a Rotary Club and members are encouraged to get involved in a committee or two that is of interest to them and set a goal to increase their own attendance at events, meetings and perhaps to take on the responsibility of chairing a committee. 

 

Congratulations to all who achieved perfect attendance!  Pictured here are some, but not all, of those who were recognized.