Pictures

 

2011

 

Change Over 2011

On June 27, 2011, out going President Lou handed the gavel over to incoming President Barb Crowe. Barb served as Treasurer for the previous two years for the Club, and is a Manager with RBC Financial.

Sussex and Area Vibrant Communities

Bob Tremblett introduced our guest speaker Roberta Craft from the Sussex and Area Vibrant Communities June 13, 2011. Roberta is originally from Saint John but is working in Sussex. Roberta passed around a contact list for different projects going on in the Sussex area regarding making Sussex a better community. Roberta worked for the YMCA for 7 years before being approached by the Saint John Vibrant Communities organization 2 years ago. One of her favorite accomplishments with Vibrant Communities is the Hazen White in Saint John (Crescent Valley) housing project. 500 children have mentors thanks to the Hazen White partnership with UNB Saint John. Poverty is generational, "if you grow up on welfare then nine times out of ten you will continue to stay on welfare". Programs need to be developed not only to educate adults but to teach them how to be educated. Many don't know how to learn let alone what to learn.

Her last project in Saint John was a project partnered with Irving Oil to teach adults how to get motivated to learn and to feel proud about accomplishments and to be determined to succeed. Poverty needs to be tackled in several steps and they need to start as smaller steps that are continuously getting bigger after every step. 42 out or 53 graduated from the Learn & Go program and during that term they completed 9 different projects in the Saint John area. UNB students are the mentors for the children in SJ, they are looking at having Bethany Bible College in Sussex start a similar program for the children in our area. We have to include the youth and make the area into what they would like to have, skate parks, splash pads etc. This will keep them from resorting to destructive methods of entertainment.

Bob T. thanked Roberta for her speech.

Fundy Model Forest Network

On June 20, 2011, Nairn Hay, GM of the Fundy Model Forest Network was our speaker. Nairn was a speaker at one of our meetings seven years ago and was back to give a follow up.

He is on a board with several sectors to address the diversity of forestry. They started with 10 sectors in 2002 and they now have 14. Rural Resource Dependent Communities is their main focus right now. Most mills will likely stay in operation in NB however private woodlots have dropped significantly. They also work with SNB to make sure they are operating at the best efficiency. They also help defendent communities with ways to stay a float after losses in the forestry sector. Many operations are struggling in NB due to the U.S. economy. His group has partnered with oil and gas operations in NB. Jason thanked Nairn. Their web site is Fundy Model Forest.Net

Apache

Robert Kimball Jr. Introduced our June 6th, 2011 guest speaker, Jim Balcomb of Apache Canada. Jim is from NB, he currently lives in Grand Bay (right behind hole number 2 at the golf course). Jim has been with Apache for 8 months and is hired on contract for public and government relations. He has a background in economic development, an MBA and a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry. Last but not least, he is a former Rotarian with the Saint John Club.

Jim started by explaining the decision that made the local headlines on Wednesday. Apache was under contract with Corridor to make a decision by Wednesday whether or not they would move on to phase two of the shale gas extraction. Their first commitment was for $25,000,000 to drill the first well. They declined to move on with the second phase. Shale gas is a natural gas that is under high pressure and trapped within the shale. It requires high pressure to be extracted from the shale. The shale rock in this area is 1Km think and is among the thickest on the planet and is believed to be the largest on the continent. They use a high pressure combination of water, sand and guar gum to extract the gas. Natural gas had helped reduce our dependence on oil imported from other countries around the world and this is a huge priority for the U.S.

Although Apache has left, there are 6 other large companies that have shown interest in continuing the efforts in this area. The industry is not going anywhere and will continue to be in NB. Corridor is one of the companies still drilling in NB. Apache has a lot of interest in the western provinces and B.C. in particular. B.C. has the largest deposit to date in North America. Apache's results were not positive in their tests here in NB but that is to be expected according to professionals in this industry. Therefore they decided to move their efforts to B.C. and concentrate there for now.

Corridor is scheduled to drill two more wells using liquid propane in the fall. Propane can be but is not always necessarily separated from the natural gas extracted from the shale. Jim's main message was that there is gas here. Apache started in the U.S. in 1954.

Sussex Committee for the Prevention of Family Violence

Sue Pitman representing the Sussex Committee for the Prevention of Family Violence was the Club's guest speaker on May 9th, 2011. The Committee is around 10 years old.

Dawn-Marie has about 30 women who meet with her to get help with decisions on leaving violent situations before having to go to the transition house. Mary works for VON & does family prenatal classes but is also a volunteer on the committee. "Moving Forward" is a 12 week program that is 1.5 to 2 hours a week. These groups are all focused on the healing side. This is to move forward after the situations have stopped. This is for kids & mothers. Mom's meet with then to get help understanding their children and what they are going through in order to learn how to work with their children. There are 60 assaults per hour reported in Canada and 78% of them are committed by someone the victim knows. Women with disabilities are 4 times more likely to be assaulted; other groups are first nations and women under 24. Statistics show that women who fight back and try to get away from the perpetrator are overwhelmingly more likely to get away from the situation. Having said all this, the see a huge need for programs for males. They have created "Man to Man" and are working on having men talk to male student in the schools to set the record straight and be a male role model for the young men. They are fully government funded.

Jason Thorne on Town of Sussex Partnerships

Major Stan & Major Judy Folkins

Rotary's guest spealers on Mar. 14, 2011 were Major Stan (seated) & Major Judy Folkins.

Major Stan Folkins - Stan started out with thanking us for the invitation. Stan & Judy have been back in Sussex for the past year and a half. They have lived all across Canada for the past 30 years. Stan has a bit of a Rotary past. Although he moved a lot with the Salvation Army he has had the opportunity to join three or four Rotary Clubs. His last career before joining the Army was with Burns Meats as their account executive and Judy worked in Sussex as a child care worker. In 1976 they moved to Toronto to take the Salvation Army Commissioning. They lived in Ontario for four years and that is where he joined Rotary.

In 1982 they were appointed to the Northern BC division of Salvation Army in Prince Rupert. He was a Rotarian there too. He was a founding member of a new branched out club in that area as well. They moved to Vancouver in 1985 and spent 3 years there then moved to London Ontario for 3 years and finally spent 3 years in Toronto. They ran several Salvation Army camps during these periods of time. They lost their youngest son when he was in his early 20's. Their oldest son Mark & his wife Andrea are in Toronto.

In 1997 they were sent to Manitoba after the "Flood of the Century". 7000 people volunteered with the Salvation Army. Stan was the Executive Director and Judy was the Director of the Volunteers. They had tractor trailer loads of goods being delivered to the flood victims. That was one experience they would never forget. Stan & Judy wanted to be pastors again so they took a position in Okanogan BC where they built a new church and doubled the congregation in two years. Shortly after they left for Ottawa to work in Social Services at a Ministry in the city. After that they went back to B.C. and were then asked to come back to Sussex. They both would like to retire in Sussex but the Salvation Army operates in 123 countries and they have 5 years before retirement so they don't know where they could end up.

Major Judy Folkins- Judy does a lot of the hands on community service. She was originally from Sussex but it still impresses her with the support they get from Sussex for people in need. They raised $81,000 in 2010 and this is used to help over 175 families during Christmas and throughout the year. They serve 85 families a month with food, kids camps and other services. Many past due renovations have been completed to the Salvation Army building in town in order to make their clients have better accessibility and feel more at home when coming in to seek their help.

Newest Members- 2011

On February 21, 2011, the Sussex Rotary Club had the pleasure on inducting three new Rotarians- Jason Sturgeon, Stewart Duncan, and Paul MacIntosh. District Govenor John Carkner visited the Club and assisted with the induction.

Jason - Tech Xperts. Jason lives in Norton and has been around Sussex all his life with a few stints in other areas in the country. He has already been in to give us the presentation of himself and his business so he kept his speech short. He is very excited to join Rotary and as a successful entrepreneur and business owner in Sussex he chose Rotary as a way to give back to the community.

Stewart- Stewart is from Portage Vale (Penobsquis area) and has been coming to Sussex for his whole life. Stewart was working at Moffett Farms when several people kept telling him he should start his own business so he did. Connie & Stewart have been in business operating Two Boys Lawn Care & Maintenance for about two years (and have already won some prestigious awards for their work). They offer several services at no cost for groups and individuals in need in order to give back to the community. They sit on the chamber & he loves all the contacts and opportunity to meat new people from the area. Both Connie and Stewart were in attendance today and as Stewart said "Stewie is having his family day holiday today even if the provincial government doesn't recognize it".

Paul - Paul has also been to several of our meetings as well as the Club in a Club. Paul has been living in Sussex for close to two years but has been working in Moncton for a majority of that time. He recently took a position as the General Manager of the Kings County Record and is finally starting to feel like he belongs in Sussex. Paul is also looking for Rotary to help him get involved in the community. Paul has a background in the publishing/media business and was working at a paper in Moncton but is very glad to be working closer to home.

After the inductions, the members introduced themselves to each of the newest members. Pictured with the new members are Rotarians Bruce Northrup- MLA, Bob Black, & Andrew Palmer. Sitting at the table is Stewart Duncan's wife Connie.

Roger Introduced our Guest Speaker for Jan. 24, 2011, Pedro Gonzales from Cementation. Pedro Gonzales is well aware that his appearance and accent (or lack there of) doesn't fit the profile of his name, as he humorously pointed out at the start of his presentation. Pedro has a very "average" complexion, shaved head and little to no accent in contrast with his name.

He started his talk by breaking the ice and saying that he knew we were all expecting a long haired, dark tanned Mexican appearing fellow and apologized for confusing anyone. He received a good laugh from the membership. He explained that his grandfather was from Madrid Spain but Pedro was born and raised in Ontario.

Pedro started out his career in mining in Ontario and later found himself in Chile as the VP of Cementation. Cementation is an international publicly traded company that is operated out of South Africa with branches in other countries around the world. Cementation designs and builds mines. Pedro and his family lived in Chile as Chile is the largest copper selling country in the world. After the large earthquake in Chile he decided that they would move back to Canada. Because Cementation didn't have a VP position in Ontario, they asked him if he would like to live in Sussex and he has been here for 8 months now.

While in Chile he helped employees of Cementation after the earthquake by raising over $75,000. The employees received $30,000 and the other $45,000 went to the community and local fisherman. This went a long way in their community. He wanted to do the same thing here. He looked for a food bank in our area and when he could not find one he looked for something similar and found the Sussex Sharing Club and thought a food drive would be a great start.

The goal was to raise one ton of food for the club but the club's building could not accommodate all that food, fortunately through the efforts and connections of Rotarians, Bob Kimball opened the doors to Pearson's to store any overstock that they needed room for. Although they thought they had an ambitious goal of one ton of food, they ended up getting 2.4 tons and over $10,000. This was all accomplished by a group of less than 25 people. The Sharing club helps out over 100 families every week so this is absolutely a benefit to our community. When they arrived at the sharing club they were welcomed with great enthusiasm as the club had been having difficulty just getting basics such as hydro paid for as of late. The funds and donations were raised by Cementation $1,000, suppliers $2,000 and the rest was from employees coming and going from the mines.

April Caissie thanked Pedro for coming in.

Ladder Pool by Andrew Giffin

The Club's guest speaker on Jan. 10, 2011 was Andrew Giffin. Andrew is originally from Saint John and has lived in Manitoba 20 of the past 25 years, and has recently moved to Sussex in 2005. He lives off of Roachville Road with his wife, 3 boys and his dog beside the river.

His studio is at home and the river helps inspire him with his paintings. He is very passionate about fly fishing and is such an avid fisherman he can paint a fishing scene simply from memory of his fishing experiences.

Andrew did the Sussex Mineral Springs mural on the side of the Stiles building. The clown that is on the mural was the mascot for this business and since he painted the mural he was contacted by the daughter of the individual that wore the clown outfit when going on promotional ventures. She asked Andrew to make a smaller scale painting of the mural for the clowns 65th birthday.

Andrew brought some prints of his paintings and they were quite amazing. His prints can go anywhere from $300-$600 dollars and the originals can be anywhere from $2,500-$10,000. His largest painting (aside from the murals) was 4 feet high and 16 feet long. Andrew also did the mural on the side of Dutchie's Barber Shop and Hairdressing. Andrew appears in one of the murals in town that was created by one of his other artist friends, he is the guy in the bottom left that is dancing and flipping flapjacks.

www.giffinartworks.ca

2010

Christmas Luncheon 2010

The Sussex Rotary Club gthered at the All Seasons Inn on Dec. 20, 2010 for thier Christmas gathering and dinner. During the luncheon, they collected money to be given to Transition House as a small Christmas project.

Photo L-R: Sitting - Past President Kim Pearson, President Lou McNamara, and PP Donna Gilchrist

Standing - Jason Sturgeon, PP Peter Haines, MLA & member Bruce Northrup, Sect. Robert Kimball, April Caissie, PP Bob Kimball, Rpger Albert, Wendy Oborne. The picture was taken by Rotarian Robert Lockhart.

Stewart Duncan Inducted

On Dec. 13, 2010, Stewart Duncan (center) was inducted into the Club by Past President Kim Pearson., and he was welcomed by President Lou.

Veteran Harley Geldart

Our very own Harley Geldart was our Guest Speaker on Nov. 8, 2010.

With Remembrance Day coming right up, we were happy to have Harley tell us about his interesting and unforgettable experience in WW2. He has several memories and he started out with telling us about one of the things he remembers about being over seas.

He remembers looking at the horizon and all he could see were tents as far as the eye could see in every direction. It was quite the thing to see he said.

Harley said that the army was quite efficient. They planned for 3 years in the future and always new what they were going to be doing. He said he remembered being sick for a few days around d-day and was in the hospital for a few days, by the time he was out his position had already been filled.

Ten days after D-Day he was in France. They were moving wharf platforms to Scotland from France because it was part of the plans made 3 years prior. The wharfs were made to unload tanks on the shore. He stayed in France for 6 weeks next to a river and that was where they bathed. Once they struck out from France it was a long time before they seen a day that they could get cleaned up, they could go 30-40 miles in a day without showering. They stayed in Holland for the winter next to a river, they arrived just before Christmas. They had showers there. That was the first shower for them in 4 months. They left Holland in February.

He said that one thing we might have a hard time believing is that you can in fact dodge a bullet. He said that rounds 2, 4 & 7 were tracers in automatic machine guns and as long as you could see them coming you had a chance at dodging them.

Rangers were support and they kept the Germans back with cover fire while the engineers built the bridges. He said he could not believe how fast they could build a bridge. They could get across the Trout Creek River in 4 hours and the Petitcodiac River in a day.

Harley said he was very happy to go home. It was quite an experience and he was happy to have done it but said that it was not all good.

He can remember a day when he saw the bomb bay's opening in planes flying overhead. They lost 33,000 cigarettes that day. It was friendly fire. He was asked how they battled the cold in the winter and Harley told us about the Tank Suits.

He said they zippered up from both feet to his neck, they came in quite handy and as long as they had that with their long john's they were never really cold.

They were 200 miles into Germany when they got news of D-day. They were especially happy as they were scheduled to go to Berlin and none of them were looking forward to Berlin.

He was 22 when he joined and 28 when he finished. He served for 6 years and 18 days.

Newfoundland was considered overseas in the Second World War as it was no part of Canada until 1949. It was double gratuity which was paid based on each day of service.

They left on the Queen Mary with 1500 crew and 33,000 personnel. The ship changed directions every 7 minutes because it took 8 minutes for a sub to surface and lock on to the ship.

Thank you Harley!

Past President visits Ireland

In September, 2010, Sussex Past President Kim Perason visited Ireland for a lifetime trip.

During her visit, she was fortunate to attend a meeting with the Rotary Club of Dublin. As Kim says, "I was warmly welcomed and treated to a delicious meal including Bread and Butter pudding for desert."

This club has a membership of approximately 100 Rotarians and boasted it is the oldest non-North American Club in the world.

Throughout Ireland she continued to look for the Rotary Wheel, as per the Picture of the Rotary Club of Navan, Meath County. And maybe enjoyed a Guiness ...or two!

Friendship knows no continents or boundaries within Rotary!!

John Howard Society

Bob Black introduced our guest speaker, Sandy Oxford from the John Howard Society on Oct. 25, 2010. Sandy Oxford is a member of the John Howard Society and she is coordinating a Sussex Regional High School Forum called "Inspire Change".

The idea behind this is to get students together that may have never spoke or had the opportunity, surrounding or desire to interact. The focus is on eliminating "clicks" in the schools and getting students involved in this initiative by forming a youth action committee to point out and discuss areas that the students feel are a priority. Topics will be teen pregnancy, bullying, addiction, clicks, etcetera.

The students are selected based on their leadership qualities, the grade they are in and perhaps most importantly their diversity. They want to have as many different types of students as possible to help with the idea of getting the students to be open minded and work together to see things through the eyes of their fellow students. They are currently looking for sponsors or donations for food for the students that form the committees. There will be 100 plus students that form several groups of 12 students each.

District Governor Visit Sept. 20, 2010

District Governor John Carkner addressing Club membership.

Left Photo: DG John Carkner, President-elect Bob Kimball, Secretary Robert Kimball, President Lou MacNamara meet with the District Govenor prior to the meeting.

Right Photo: Past ADG Kevin Tupper, Current ADG Sunil Rajaram, both of our Rothesat-Kings Rotary Club.

John started by giving us some background on himself. John was born and raised in Ottawa, he has 6 children and one of his many passions in life is Formula One racing (as a spectator rather than a participant). John worked for Sears for 28 years, he joined the Bathurst club in 1991 until he was transferred to the Fredericton Sunrise club in 1993. John was the 7810 Assistant District Governor in 2006 and was nominated as District Governor in 2008.

John continued his speech by reiterating some of the district and international focuses. The Focus for our district is three pronged. The priorities are membership, foundation and PR. Our current RI President is Ray Klinginsmith. His 2010-2011 Rotary Theme is "Building Communities Bridging Continents" and he has a motto that he uses almost as often, "Cowboy Logic". Cowboy Logic means to keep it simple. He has also been quoted in saying "Bigger, Better, Bolder" when talking about the future of Rotary. He wants Rotary to get Bigger, Better and Bolder using the keep it simple motto of "Cowboy Logic". The word "simple" might not be used in the same sentence as words like bigger better and bolder very often but I think he is on to something.

We may need to think outside the box, although Rotary has a rule book, we need to keep in mind that the rule book is international and that some of the rules that were made for a club across the big pond may not be as applicable to our club here. Basically what he means is don't break the rules but don't let a rule in a rule book stop the club from pursuing a great idea, use the rule book as a tool and a resource but keep in mind that rules can be changed or amended for the better.

Back to membership, our membership average age is healthy, around 50 years old however we have gone from 20 members in recent years to 16. John thought we should have a goal for growth of 5 net members by the end of the 2010-2011 Rotary year. He made a point that people tend to join causes rather than organizations, so if we are pitching our club, try to mention as many causes that we promote or sponsor as we can to try and encourage interest.

Foundation - The Rotary official Charity is called The Rotary Foundation. Members can donate on different levels. The Arch C. Klumph Society - $250,000 or more, Paul Harris Society of $1,000 per year, Sustaining member of $100 per year and the Every Rotarian - Every Year which is any donation of no specific amount. The Foundation is planning on having a quarterky newsletter to promote and educate on many of their projects.

On to PR. - Last but not least, Public Relations is a major priority in the 2010-2011 Rotary Year. PR is important on every level from a local club having their mayor proclaim a week as Rotary week to the RI having a stamp to honor Rotary's 100th Anniversary. John congratulated us on having the Purple Pinkie Booth at the Balloon Fiesta and said that to his knowledge Sussex is at the top of the list in the district as far using the Purple Pinkie program to get PR.

John likes the saying "Stay the Course, Grow the Force" meaning not to reinvent the wheel.

He suggested that we keep contact information on all the exchange participants and approach them to join Rotary when appropriate. He talked a bit about Interact (High School Rotary Clubs), RYLA in April 2011, they will send the Best and Brightest in attendance to the 2011 International Convention in New Orleans.

He closed with a reminder about the Membership, Foundation & PR seminar in Fredericton on October 2nd at the Fredericton Inn. (Please let Lou know if you can attend this seminar).

Chamber of Commerce

Our guest Sept. 13, 2010 was Pam Kaye - Administrator of the Sussex & District Chamber of Commerce. The current president is Phil Sellars, the VP is Greg Keith.

They are in their 41st year as a chamber, having started in 1970 and Art Goold who is still operating his business today was one of the founding members. They originally started as the Sussex Board of Trade but are now known as the Sussex and District Chamber of Commerce.

Their office is located at the Sussex Train Station and the district is from Petitcodiac to Hampton (who have their own Chambers). They meet on the first Wednesday of every month at Pizza Delight for lunch and are 145 members strong.

M2M's - They have a member to member (M2M) social get together once a month on Friday's at 4:00. The M2M also has a discount card that offer's several discounts from member to member. Other benefits include a group insurance plan, merchant credit card discounts and savings with Esso Fuel. They also offer training on different business related subjects through a partnership with Enterprise Fundy.

Events - They have a CJCW co-sponsored annual golf tournament every summer, usually in August, and a booth at the Kiwanis Home Show.

Aug. 30, 2010 Startup

After two months of summer socials, President Lou chaired his first official Rotary meeting as President on Aug. 30, 2010 at the All Season's. President Lou welcomed all in attendance, talked about a few business issues including the Club's possible participation in the up coming Balloon Festival, and welcomed Past GD Gord Dempsey, our guest speaker. Pictured to President Lou's right is Honorary member Harley Geldart who is listening to Lou's message.

Past District Gov. Gord Dempsey spoke to the Club about membership. During his address, he touched on the need to set goals for obtaining new members for the year, approaches used by other Club's for attracting new members, and the need to retain existing members. Gord was introduced by PP Frank, and thanked by our club's membership chair, Kim Pearson who is seen to Gord's right.

July 2010 Social

Rotarians gathered on July 8, 2010 at Bob Black's home on the beautiful Belleisle for supper. Pictured at the left hand table are Kim Derrah, Pat & Murray McGibbon, Ginette Landry, and Frank Derrah. At the right table are Louise McNamara, Bob Black, President Lou McNamara. Over seeing the gathering and keeping a close on on his master is Bob's dog Sam who enjoyed some treats and looked forward to steak bones from supper. Bob and Ginette put on a great steak BBQ with strawberry shortcake which was enjoyed by all. The picture was taken by Robert Lockhart.

Change Over Meeting 2010

On June 28, 2010, the Sussex Club had its change of Officers for the new Rotary year 2010-2011. Pictured above are President Frank Derrah (right) passing the gavel to incoming President Lou McNamara. The Club thanked outgoing President Frank for his year at the helm, and wished President Lou best wishes and the membership's support for his year.

Rotarian visits Quatemala

The Club's guest speaker on June 21, 2010 was our very own Rotarian Wendy Osborne who spoke about her recent trip to Guatemala. She had woven items, coffee, etc. on display.

Food for the Hungry Canada is the organization that she was associated with during her trip. There were 11 people that went. There are 650 people in the village that they visited, 28-30 children that are sponsored by Wendy's church. They left the village just before a tropical storm which left the village with 2 ½ feet of rain.

The children only go to school for 4 months of the year. All work in the village is done by hand. There are 5 churches in the village. Wendy and her team worked on crafts with the children. Most of the people work for today and do not plan ahead for tomorrow.

Wendy had an extra 5 day stay due to the volcano eruption.

Tech Experts

Guest speaker June 14, 2010 was Jason Sturgeon who was introduced by Rhoda Wilson. Jason is owner of Tech Experts in Sussex and spoke about his education and background before starting his own business 3 years ago. He graduated from Sussex High school in 1992; then went to university for a while until he found it wasn't for him. He worked at various jobs including bee keeper until he found his interest in computers.

He graduated from NBCC 2 year business teck and later 1 year in advanced training courses. His main interests are in networking and systems management. He then found work in Sussex at Screen Savers as their technician and worked there 5 years gaining considerable hands on experience in computer servicing.

In 2008 he had the chance to start his own company which occupies the former Down East Arts building on Queen street. While servicing is his main business he also sells computers and related equipment and hopes to soon be the local reseller in this area for MAC which could be a big boost for his business. Jason is very customer service orientated and has established a good reputation for service locally. His business has grown and now has 2 technicians and 1 admin. clerk in addition to himself. A very good speaker, interesting, informative with lots of questions.

Tremtech

Bob Tremblett of Tremtech was the Club's quest speaker for May 10, 2010. He graduated in 1982 from St. John's NL from the Electronics Technology. He has worked for Sears Canada for 13 years on their main frame computers, etc. and in their Service Department.

Bob has 4 children (1 girl & 3 boys), and moved to Sussex from Newfoundland in 1997. He worked with E J Cunningham when he first moved to Sussex. He then changed jobs and worked for Rite Switch Electrical for 9 years and 4 years ago he started his own business - Tremtech Electrical.

Most of his business is done in Sussex and area. He does installation of alarm systems and they are monitored by Armstrong Communications. He is now a service depot for Sears and his son looks after this part of the business. They currently have 6 employees and want to add 2 more.

www.Tremtech.com

Dr. Bob Richmond, Chiropractor

On April 12, 2010 the guest speaker was Dr. Bob Richmond, a Chiropractor whose practice is in the old RCMP building on Main Street. He spoke about Total Health - all systems working 100% free all the time.

The most important systems in the body are the spine and the central nervous system. Misalignment of the spine causes the cushions between the disks in the back to protrude. You may not have any symptoms / pain but could have issues that you are not aware of. He had Rotarian Andrew Palmer stand at the front of the room and he showed us that you could have a misalignment and that the body compensates for these issues. He also used Lou McNamara (photo right) to demonstrate Chiropractic techniques.

Dr. Bob suggested that in order to correct what ever issues someone is having it may take several trips and this would depend upon the person. To keep up with the usual maintenance most people have to go once a month. He has sons that are professional athletics. He had mentioned that one plays for the Blue Jays.

Premier Shawn Graham

On April 12, 2010, the Club had a surprise visit by Premier Shawn Graham. Premier Graham was at the All Season in meetings next door to our meeting, and dropped in to extend best wishes to the members, and to do a little campaigning. Harley Geldart took the opportunity to talk to the Premier about the financial shortfall at the Fundy Community Center while President Frank Derrah looked on.

Premier Graham arrvied back after lunch with a report for Harley & the Club that more money should hopefully be coming, and that he would talk to Rob Moore, MP, as well. Rotarian Rhoda Wilson is to the left standing in front of an aide to the Premier.

Fire Chief Bill Wanamaker

On April 12, 2010 Bill Wanamaker, Fire Chief for the Sussex Fire Department was the guest speaker. Bill is a third generation fireman- his father was involved with the fire department and his son is now a member. There is a 40 member force. They are paid when they are called out and all other hours are volunteer. Last year they had a total of 3550 volunteer hours and 2200 of these hours were spent in training. There is one paid fire fighter at the station. They had approximately 199 calls last year (2009).

They hold recruitment each spring. They hold their training for level one during the months of January to March. There is a total of 220 hours of training for a new fire fighter. They are called out to assist with floods, medical, hazardous materials and smells in buildings. They do tours for Guides, Scouts and daycares. They hold fire drills at senior's complex approximately twice per year. There is a fire program in the schools for K to 3. All their gear is tested regularly. Each call they receive has to be documented and the information is sent to the Fire Marshall's office.

They are still planning on building a training tower in the Industrial Park. This facility will be used by other fire departments in the area as well. The life expectancy of a fire truck is 25 years.

Mayor Eric Cunningham

Bob K. Introduced our Mar. 22, 2010 guest speaker Eric Cunningham, Mayor of Sussex Corner. Population: 1400. Eric surprisingly let us now that we were his first group ever in 12 years that he has spoken for and was very happy to do so. The first thing he said to us as a group was his appreciation for Rotary in his village.

He gave some history on the Village of Sussex Corner. It started in the mid 1700 when the Loyalist came to settle. Many people don't realize that Sussex Corner was here before Sussex Vail which we now call Sussex. There is still evidence of the beginning of Sussex Corner there. For example, Cougle Rd is named after Capt. John Cougle, a Loyalist from the USA & Leonard Drive after Dr. Leonard their first MLA. The Ice Cream cone was invented in Sussex Corner.

They still have pancake suppers with many events at the old rink. They became incorporated in 1966 with a $500 budget and just cleared their 2010 budget for $1,000,000. The town has 5 full time and several seasonal and summer student employees. His passion is population growth in Sussex Corner, newcomers residential and business alike. He said that there is room for tourism with the Bluff which is in Sussex Corner. He is also very proud of the volunteers, church suppers and variety shows that they have every year.

He has been on a recreation council working on a recreation agenda for the past year. Lou asked about the shape of the old rink and any plans to refurbish it. Eric said that due to the rink being in a flood zone, there is many restrictions on rebuilding by-laws and that hey have been considering other locations for some form of new rink in Sussex Corner.

Bruce Northrup thanked Mayor Eric.

Community School Co-Ordinator

Guest Speaker for Mar. 15, 2010 was Bridgett Ryan, Sussex Middle School community coordinator. She is a wife and mother of 2 teenagers who has lived in Sussex for 16 years, 13 of which she worked for RBC. She took her present job as a part time job which eventually turned into full time. She is in her 1st year in her new position following our fellow Rotarian Rhoda Wilson who was the first community coordinator in Sussex.

The Sussex Middle School is open as a venue or location to different groups for meetings and community events and she helps with that as well as many other projects. These include junior achievement, foreign exchange, science and career fairs, etc. She is involved in the breakfast club that feeds breakfast at the school to 40-50 children a day. Another valuable program is the tutoring and mentoring program.

They also hope to launch a program this fall that helps students learn and experience the value in volunteering. Fund raising is required for many of these programs and other programs of which she is involved. She finished with letting us know that the Sussex Middle School & High Schools will represent Sussex at the Provincial Drama Festival from April 28th- May 5th and they have done very well in the past.

NB Lung Association

On March 8th, 2010 our Guest Speaker was Rochini Kassie, of the N.B. Lung Association. The lung association has been around for over 100 years now and deals with topics you might not even think about such as air quality control.The better the air we breath the better our lungs and health. Rochini spoke mostly about the SIMPLE driver stewardship program where we can all make a difference by changing our driving and vehicle habits.SIMPLE stands for -S, speed limit reduce speed. -I, Idling, turn engine off more -M, match vehicle to need, more fuel efficient vehicles. -P, pressure, check your tires regularily -L, leave your car at home more ie car pooling,busses,walking etc. -E, engine and vehicle maintenance, get regular tune-ups.

Our Own

"Harley Geldart"

On Mar. 1, 2010 our own Harley Geldart was our special guest speaker. Our scheduled speaker couldn't make it, so Harley spoke about his life history.

Born in 1917 he was one of a family of 10 children. The Geldart family was one of 4 families in the Prosser Brook area and his mother was a school teacher. His father farmed and bought the 128 acre farm for $125.00 which included the farm, house and land.

The family moved to Elgin in 1925. Harley left school after grade 10 as he didn't want to spend another year in school just to better his reading and language marks. He tells us he did excel at math subjects.

His first job was driving yard horse for $15 month plus board. He got his drivers license 2 years before he was legally old enough to drive and started driving a truck at the age 16 for $1.00 a day. Thereafter he worked on a bridge crew.

He joined the army in 1939 for .90 cents a day pay and spent the first 3 years in Canadian coastal defense. He went overseas in 1943 and into France in June 1943 in the armored division as a driver. He tells us he once went 9 months without a shower/bath until Christmas of that year when he had some time off.

Upon discharge he got into lumbering, then the bus business and then back into lumbering until poor markets saw the business close. He then worked in the construction industry for many years most recently with Mac Parlee until his retirement in 1996 at age 79.

Harley is one of our original charter members and was recruited by Hazen Hogg who asked him to attend an evening supper meeting over 30 years ago, which was the first meeting of the Rotary Club of Sussex.

As always,some interesting stories from Harley.

Elaine Ingalls Hogg

On Feb. 15, 2010, Elaine Ingalls Hogg spoke to the Club about her background, having come from Grand Manan as a child to Cape Breton for 32 years and then moving to Sussex, and how she got into writing. She writes an inspirational column for the Kings County Record and has stories included in more than a dozen anthologies, as well as various magazines and newspapers.

Her first book was a short kids book about dealing with loss called Remembering Honey, inspired by her volunteer work in the palliative care unit. She is the author of Historic Grand Manan, When Canada Joined Cape Breton, and was the editir of Christmas in the Maritimes..

Her most recent book is a historical about the Town of Sussex which will be released for publication in May 2010. In Historic Sussex, Elaine has collected over 150 historical mages from Sussex's beginnings up to the Second World War.

Elaine was a very interesting speaker for sure.

Picture (L-R): Rotary Past Presidents Bob Kimball, Kim Pearson, Donna Gilchrist, Elaine, and Rotarian Rhoda Wilson, chair of the weekly speakers bureau..

Citizens on Patrol

On Jan. 18, 2010, our guest speakers were Tanya Warren (right), a civilian member of RCMP and Sarah Smith of the Citizens on Patrol program.

Both Tanya and Sarah told us a bit about the program and how it got started in Sussex & Sussex Corner. It started locally in October 2009 due to a reported increase in vandalism and reports by some citizens of feeling less than safe in our community. This program has been going on successfully in St. Stephen for over 15 years.

It is a volunteer project not funded by tax payers. The members are trained and are organized volunteers who enjoy making a difference in their communities. They are not police officers. They are a valued resource to the local police agency patrolling the community ensuring safe homes and a safe community

They are looking for more members to help with the growth and sustainability of this worthy cause.

2009

Christmas Luncheon 2009

On Dec. 21, 2009, twelve of the members of the Sussex Rotary Club and their guests met at the All Season's Inn & Restaurant to enjoy a Christmas lunch, share some stories, and wish each other a joyous festive season.

During the meeting, the Rotarians collected money ($200.00) to be donated to the Salvation Army for their Christmas lunch program. Members also collected and made a donation to the All Season staff who serve their lunches all year.

Left Photo: Special guest Katelyn Lockhart, grand daughter of Robert Lockhart, Rotarians Robert lockhart, Bob Black, April Caissie, Rhoda Wilson, Donna Gilchrist, Harley Geldart, Cindy Coates, guest of Harley, and President Frank Derrah.

Right Photo: Rotarians Barb Crowe, Robert Kimball jr., Bob Kimball, Victoria Craig, Pat McGibbon, wife of Murray, Murray McGibbon, and Bruce Northrup, Rotarian & MLA.

New Member

On Nov. 30, 2009, President Frank inducted April Caissie as our newest Rotarian.

April is from and currently resides in Salisbury NB. She is currently the Sussex Manager for the Scotiabank, and has her Personal Financial Planner and Associate of Canadian Bankers and Specialist in Financial Counseling.

April's career with Scotiabank has spanned for 23 1/2 years and in her current position as Manager Scotiabank Sussex for 6 months. She has held numerous positions within Scotiabank with her last position as Investment Sales Coach with East NB and PEI.

She loves to read, run and travel. She is married with 2 children ages 18 and 15.

Other community involvement includes sitting on the board of the Salisbury Boys and Girls Club, and was also previously involved with the Canadian Mental Health Association as a Director on the board and was involved with Southeast United Way.

Work Room School District 6

Derek Jones, Work Room coordinator for school district #6 was guest speaker on Nov. 9, 2009.

This is a resource center for children and adults alike in the Sussex, Hampton and Belleisle area. It works out an office in each of the area high schools. Derek works 2 days in Belleisle and 3 days weekly in Sussex.

The project is funded jointly by school district #6 and post secondary education department. It has been running now for 1 year in Sussex. They also cover PALS in Sussex and Hampton.

Derek gave us a power point presentation on how the process works in finding out what peoples interests are and trying to match them to careers they are suited to based on a detailed questionnaire. The process seems to make a lot of sense and while it is voluntary on the part of students, it would likely benefit all who take it. A good presentation Derek!

Relay of Life

On Oct. 19, 2009, Sherry Dumont from Canadian Cancer Society was guest speaker. Sheri has been with the organization for 14 years. She lives in Hampton with her family and has been involved with the 12 hour Relay For Life event since it's inception in NB 9 years ago.

She has attended a good many of the 31 Relays in NB. The Relay is now the single biggest fund raising event for the Cancer society. All the relays while different have similarities including the survivors victory lap and the luminaries event. The Sussex relay is set for June 11, 2010 and she is looking for volunteers for various committees. The average team raises $2,300.

Sheri also spoke about the various support and prevention programs that Canadian Cancer Society provides and was informative in this regard. She would like to see the Rotary Club put in a team in 2010. She provided information and hand outs including team logs for fund raising should we put a team in.

Sherri was introduced by Roger Albert and thanked by Bob Black.

RI Convention 2010

Greg Russell from Rothesay-Kings Rotary Club visted our Club on Oct. 5, 2009 Greg gave us a presentation on the upcoming Rotary International Convention in Montreal June 20-23rd, 2010. This is probably the closest an RI convention will ever get to us, so the push is on to get as many from District #7810 to the convention as possible. This is also the 100th anniversary of Rotary in Canada. Last time it was in Canada was 1996 in Calgary. This is a great chance for some of us to get a much broader perspective of Rotary and what it does worldwide. 20,000 participants are expected.

The District has already secured some special pricing on Via Rail, West Jet, and an Optimum charter bus coach out of Suusex. Convention information is available at the following websites: https://rotary2010.com www.rotary.org/convention and https://resweb.passkey.com/go/ri2010 (official housing link) .

Rainbow Printing

Grant Obermier, part owner Rainbow Printing of Sussex was Rotary's guest speaker on Sept. 21, 2009. Grant was a former auditor with the Irving group for 11 years prior to joining the family business. Rainbow Printing was started by his father in 1985 in Fredericton and moved to the family home location of Midland in 1988 and eventually to the more central Sussex location approximately 15 years ago. It gradually expanded from a mom and pop business to employ 12-15 people as it is now. It is one of a very few of family owned full color printing press businesses today.

Their business has grown significantly outside of Sussex and N.B. and they presently do considerable volumes in the eastern and southern USA. A lot of this growth is attributed to the security paper products such as cheque printing, secure prescription pads, bus passes etc.

The company is focusing on becoming Greener with new processes such as chemistry free process. An interesting presentation with a good question and answer period. Bob Kimball thanked Grant on club's behalf.

District Governor Visit 2009

On Aug. 27, 2009, District Governor Gordon Dempsey visited our Club to meet with the executive and to deliver his annual message for his year as our Governor.

DG Gord said "he would like to enlist our help in my top three priorities this year. The first is to grow our membership by a net of 10% per club. This is necessary if we are to continue to provide and increase our district support to the clubs. I would like to suggest that growth in membership will also solve many of the challenges in our clubs. The second is to encourage an increase in donations to your charity, The Rotary Foundation, through EREY and club donations. The third is to take every opportunity to promote your club and the work you do in your communities.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone for giving me the honor of representing you as District Governor. Like each of you, I am looking forward to a rewarding year and making a difference in our community and in the world."

Pictured above is DG Gord presenting President Frank with this years RI banner.

Rotary Flower Wheel 2009

Pictured above is PP Kim Pearson giving some loving care to our flower wheel in McConnell Park on a beautiful day in August.

Changeover Meeting

On June 29, 2009, the Sussex Rotary Club had the change over of Executive for the new Rotary year commencing on July 1. Pictured above is President Donna performing her last task as President presenting incoming President Frank Darrah with his President's pin.

President Donna thanked the Club and members for their support and hard working during her two years as President. She said she approached the job with apprehension, but as she looks back, it was a very rewarding experience and one she was very pleased she accepted.

During the change-ever meeting, President Donna inducted Rotary's newest member, Victoria Craig, the General Manager of the Kings County Record.

Victoria was raised in St. Andrews where her parents still reside and she loves to get back to visit. She went to university and took psychology first and then moved onto business and marketing. She has been with Brunswick News (owners of the KCR) for about 2.5 years in various roles of increasing responsibility, and before that she worked in various other forms of media (radio, outdoor advertising) and was the Executive Director for the SPCA.

For hobbies, she has no time for anything else than her work and her involvement in dog agility- she is completely addicted. She competes nearly every weekend from March until November all over the Maritimes and trains during the winter months. She and her dogs came to Sussex last year for the Nationals in dog agility and had a great time. Sussex did a great job as the host venue, she says.

Victoria looks forward to being in Sussex and getting to know more people and becoming a part of the community. We are pleased she chose to join our Rotary Club.

True You

Mark Witt, owner of True You was Rotary's guest speaker on June 15, 2009.

Mark started this new business November 2008 after training courses in Arizona. Its main areas are hair removal and skin pigmentation therapy through laser treatment. He set up business in Hair Solutions building on Main Street, Sussex. This is Mark's second business venture after a convenience store in Sussex Corner. His main source of business comes from word of mouth and his customers who refer him business receive discount coupons.

Mark was thanked by Barbara Crowe (right) pictured with President Donna (left).

Corridor Resources

GUEST SPEAKER June 8, 2009- Doug Bailey, Operations Manager for Corridor Resources was introduced by Bob Black. Doug has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Alberta and has over 30 years of experience in all aspects of design, construction and operation of oil and gas facilities and pipelines. He has worked for Gulf Canada, Niven Seville Engineering and the ATCO group before joining Corridor Resources.

They presently have 26 wells producing at 11 pads and a gas processing plant, having started production in June 2007. They have a staff of 9 currently, mostly all returning from western Canada. He gave us an interesting overview of the process. The cost of the project to date is $300 million. 75% of the $7.5 million annual operating budget is spent in N.B. of which 50% is spent in Sussex area. $75,000 in annual gifts and donations to the local area. They have added 3 new wells in 2009 (cost $500,000 a well) However the capital expenditure budget has been reduced because of the low gas prices.

Rotary says Farewell to Dr. Meddars

On June 1st, 2009, Dr. Meddars, a Paul Harris Fellow, was the guest of Sussex Rotary when the Club said thanks to him for all he has contributed to the community, the Bible College, and the Fundy Civic Center during his time in Sussex

Dr. Meddars gave a farewell speech to Rotary as he would be leaving his role as President of Bethany Bible College this month and moving to Orlando, Florida to work for the organization that looks after the accreditation of Bible colleges. Although primarily a Wesleyan college, Dr. Medders explained that the College draws from many denominations from both Canada and United States. Bethany Bible College has an economic impact on the community of Sussex, both in providing employment and by bringing in students who become a part of the community. Bethany's main role is to provide men and women for ministry and graduates are now serving all over the world.

Dr. Meddars was thanked by Wendy Osborne (right), and wished him well on his new endeavours on behalf of the Club.

Kings County Solid Waste Commission

On April 20th, 2009 Rotary heard from Mark Thorne, Chairman of the Board of the Kings County Solid Waste Commission, a postion he has held since May.. Mark is also Deputy Mayor of the Town of Sussex and has been a councillor for eleven years.

The Kings County Solid Waste Commission is associated with the Westmoreland/Albert Solid Waste Commission which is considered a leader in recycling. Mark was rightfully so very proud of the fact this area is achieving almost 90% compliance with the green/blue bag content policy.

Two free nights per year will continue where you can dispose of a half ton load of garbage free. The next one will be this fall. Because of our good recycling efforts our tipping fees are only $ 87.89 per tone which is considerably lower than other areas.

Household battery collection with sponsorship by local schools and Canadian Tire has also been successful.

Mark was introduced by Rhoda Wilson, pictured seated to Mark's left, and thanked by Robert Lockhart.

Kim Keith

Optimum Ride

Kim Keith, co-owner of Optimum Ride was Rotary's guest speaker on April 6th, 2009. Kim and her husband Jonathan started the bus company in April 2000 with the belief that group travel should be an affordable option for teams and groups. With the rising fuel costs and the need to safeguard our environment it is simply more practical to travel by bus. They are dedicated to providing personalized service.

Their goal is to make your charter experience hassle free, while maximizing the value of your time and money. and have had steady growth every year. They started with one bus, and now have six touring motorcoaches. Four are 47 passenger motorcoaches and also have two 55 passenger motorcoaches.

Kim looks after the bookings and runs the office while her husband often acts as the bus tour driver and looks after the fleet.

http://www.optimumride.com/

New Rotarians

During the month of March, 2009, four new Rotarians were inducted into the Club. Pictured above are PP & membership chair person Kim Pearson, President Donna Gilchrist, and newly inducted Rotarians Barbara Crowe of RBC Bank, Robert Kimball of Pearsons Insurance, and Rhoda Wilson of the local school district. Missing from the photo is new inductee Wendy Osborne of Trainor Surveys.

School District 6, Discusses "CELEBRATE"

 

On Feb. 9, 2009 Kim Houlahan, Celebrate Co-ordinator for School District #6 talked to our Club to bring it up todate on the success of the "Celebrate" program implemented a few years earlier. The program has now been implemented into our local School District # 8 and is proving to be effective in improving students emotional and social health.

Key Concepts include:

-Believe it and you will see it.

-Recognize abundance.

-Look for possibilities.

-Unleash your energy to fix what is wrong.

-Ride the changes.

-Take yourself to the edge.

-Be your best for the world.

Joining Kim from our local Middle School were Pam Drury, Celebrate champion Sussex middle school, Barb Crowe, and Wendy Osborne.

Kim does this on a part time basis for the school district and the rest of her work week is dedicated to her job as a marketing communications consultant.

She presented 10 minutes of a video done by a national geographic photographer.

All can view the entire video at www.celebratetraining.com.

On Feb. 2, 2009, Sussex Rotary was invited to visit the Kiwanis Nursing home by Keri Walker, Home Administrator and fellow Rotary. Lunch was served, and Keri gave an excellent history of the home, the changes for the residents over the last few years both within the home and from a government funding stand point.

The Home was built by the Kiwanis Club in 1979, and since then has had a couple of expansions . It has over a $4.0 million dollar annual budget, and employs over 100 full & part time and casual emplyees.

Pictured left to right are Roger Albert, Andrew Palmer, Harley Geldart, Keri Walker, Kim Pearson, Frank Derrah, Bruce Northrup, MLA, and Rhoda Wilson. Missing from the photo is Robert Lockhart who was behind the camera.

On Jan. 26, 2008, Mitchell Long (standing) of Sussex Select Funeral Home was Sussex Rotary's guest speaker. Mitchell was introduced by Rotarian Lou McNamara (sitting).

"When we launched the Sussex Select™ Community Funeral Home in January of 1999 we set out to build a family business on a foundation of quality compassionate service to our friends and neighbours in the Sussex area", Mitchell said.

In the fall of 1998 Mitchell Long was just completing his funeral service training and apprenticeship at about the same time that Jim Makepeace made a decision to move on and was seeking a new funeral director to take on the family-owned funeral home that he had opened three years earlier in Sussex.

Mitchell's dad George Long had recently retired and sold his busy service station / restaurant operation. It had been about thirty years since he had arrived in Sussex as a young funeral director himself. George was ready for a break but the opportunity to watch Mitchell launch his career was tempting. A partnership with Brenan's Funeral Homes of Saint John and the growing Select™ Network of Independent Community Funeral Homes made the package complete.

So it was that the Long's launched the Sussex Select™ Community Funeral Home in January of 1999.

As George and Mitchell settled into their new environment each had his own reasons to be happy with their situation. "I'm pleased to have an opportunity to work here at home and, of course, to work with my dad," noted Mitchell. His father, looking back over his career in the Sussex area was happy to return to Funeral Service. I always found it very satisfying to help people who were going through a difficult time. I'm grateful for the chance to do so once again, particularly in a family business."

The Sussex Select™ Community Funeral Home has quickly established itself in the community drawing on the deep roots and long standing tradition of service that the Longs are known for. Sussex Select™ Community Funeral Home offers a full range of services from traditional at-need to preplanning, cremation and grief support from their modern dignified facility which includes three comfortable parlors and a 160 seat on-site chapel.

www.SussexFH.com

Jonah Place

On Jan. 12, 2009, Phil Sellars, owner of Jonah Place, was the Club's guest speaker. Phil took ownership of Jonah Place bed and breakfast in April 2008, having moved here with his wife from Calgary where he lived for 25 years.Orginally from Ontario, they decided they wanted the slower, friendly pace of the Maritimes and eventually settled on the Sussex business.

Both he and his wife worked in the financial industry previously. Jonah Place was originally built in 1884 by the Stockton's. It opened as a B & B in 1997. It was recently designated as a historical property. They have some plans for modest expansion and renovating the old carriage house.

Jonah Place has beautiful Victorian splender and is located on two acres of quiet, secluded grounds which make your stay unforgettable.

Phil has quickly become involved in the community as a director for the Sussex Chamber of Commerce and the Kings County Tourism Association as well as coaching a local hockey team.

www.jonahplace.com

2008

VIC PROGRESSIVE DRILLING

On Dec. 15, 2008, our guest speaker was project manager Gerald Pearson of Vic Progressive Drilling. Victor Fournier started working in Sussex area some 25 years ago and formed this company in 1987 starting off very small with 1 old drilling machine. In the 1990's they started manufacturing there own drills and high pressure grout pumps. In 1998 the company got involved with PCS.

They build there own drilling rigs and pumps right here in Sussex at their plant. In 2007 they constructed an above ground grout plant on PCS site.

They continued to expand, operating in B.C., Ont., and PQ in addition to NB and also became international in scope working in projects in USA, Ireland and Chile. They now operate 14 drilling rigs, have multi- million dollar annual sales with employees reaching as high as 150. They are good corporate citizens supporting our local schools and sporting teams in numerous events.

A very interesting presentation about a local success.

Charter Night 2008

On Nov. 7, 2008 over fifty Rotarians and their guests gathered at the Timberland Hotel to recognize 31 years of community service of the Rotary Club of Sussex at the Clubs annual Charter Night, and to recognize three individuals with Paul Harris Fellowships, Rotary's highest award.

The master of ceremonies for the evening was Rotarian Bob Kimball, and the guest speaker was District Governor Rick Rogers of St. Stephen who brought greetings from Rotary International.

The highlight for the evening was when Chairman Bob and President Donna Gilchrist bestowed Paul Harris Fellowships to (pictured L-R) Rotarian JC Robert Lockhart, Past President Kim Pearson, and Dr. David Medders for their outstanding service to the community and furthering the ideals of Rotary.

Dr. David Meddars, the Club's first recipient of a Paul Harris Fellowship was ordained into the Gospel Ministry in 1980. He pastured in local churches in his native state of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana for the first 11 years. He has served as President of Bethany Bible College since 1990. Since 1997 Dr. Meddars has served as chairman of the Fundy Civic Center Board of Directors and has lead this group in receiving needed Government funding for the center.

JC Robert Lockhart, the second recipient, was born in Kentville NS, and joined Aliant / NBTel in 1969 from where he retired in Dec., 2000. Mr. Lockhart comes from a Rotary family and was so impressed from a Father and child night at the Kentville Rotary Club that he immediately knew he wanted to be part of Rotary. Robert has served Rotary as a member of the Newcastle Club from 1970-73. Returning to Saint John in 1974, he was chair of the Rotary Easter Seals Campaign from 1974-84. In 1984 he became President of the Rotary Club of Saint John. In Sussex, Robert has created and maintains the Sussex Rotary web site www.SussexRotary.org and is always there for Rotary.

Kim Pearson, the third award recipient, sought out information on the Sussex Rotary Club and "volunteered" to join. She took the initiative to publish an "amazing letter to the Editor" to describe her first year in Rotary. Kim has been a member of the Executive for many years, and served as Club President for 2 years. Kim is dedicated to the Rotary Foundation and is a regular contributor to the Rotary Annual Giving program. She is involved on a Rotary District level including most recently the Youth Merit Award program and the Rotary Leadership Institute. Professionally, Kim is an independent Financial Planner with Investors Group, having started her career in the financial industry in 1991.

At the beginning of the evening, PP & PHF Harley Geldart (left) took advantage of the evening to announce to those in attendance about the Club's new fund raising project to collect coins in water bottles within the community for the Fundy Community Center, and he passed the bottle around from table to table. Pictured at right is chairman Bob Kimball, while Rotarian Kevin Simpson and his wife look on.

During the evening, presentations were made by DG Rick, and to him. DG Rick ( left picture) presented Secretary Bob Black and President Donna with a district citation banner and pin. In the right picture, President Donna presented DG Rick with a check for $1207.00 as the Club's annual contribution to the Rotary Foundation.

At the end of the evening, those PHF's present were gathered for a group photo.

Standing: Bob Black, Founding President Hazen Hogg, Bob Kimball, Robert Lockhart, Dr. David Medders

Seated: Kim Pearson, Charter member Harley Geldart, Keri Walker

Fundy Civic Center

In the spirit of this years International motto Make Dreams Real, The Rotary Club of Sussex Inc. is raising funds to benefit the Fundy Civic Centre.

Throughout various businesses in Sussex and surrounding area, water Bottles have been displayed and filled with your change to help the community meet the funds needed to build our Fundy Civic Centre.

Bud Pearson was the first resident to contribute to the fund raiser. Bud has been collecting pennies and loose change into bottles for years at home and donated them to our cause. Bud, a former Rotarian himself, believes that this is a great way to get everyone to dig deep and make a difference. The Rotary Club wants the community to help. If you have change to donate, drop it into the water bottles as you are shopping. Have a casual day at work and donate the collection. If your piggy bank is too heavy to bring in, we will pick it up from your home! The fund raiser will run until until early 2009 and all proceeds will go to the FCC.

We will be updating the progress in the Kings County Record weekly. Look for the Water Bottle!

On Nov. 3, 2008 Ted Sparkes, President of the Atlantic Transport Training Academy in Apohaqui, spoke to the club about the history of his company. This is the twentieth year for his company which he started in Sussex, and moved to Apohaqui a year or so later. He joked that his banker- Bob Black, lawyer- Andrew Palmer, MLA- Bruce Northrupt, insurance agent- Bob Kimball, truck salesman- Kevin Simpson were all Rotarians present at the meeting.

Ted announced that had just sold his business to the company that bears the name he wanted to incorporate himself 20 years earlier- Atlantic Training Academy. Ted will be staying on until Sept. of 2009 when he will then fulfill a life long dream- to take forestry at UNB and become a forest ranger.

Ted was thanked by Rotarian Bob Black who said it was interesting to here a true success story on the part of a local entrepreneur. We wish Ted well in his new studies and career.

On a June 23rd, 2008 Rotary Monday, a group of Sussex Rotarians went to Rotary Camp to do some needed work on Sussex Station. Pictured above is Past President Murray McGibbon and his grandson Connor. In the background is PP Bob Kimball.

On March 17, 2008, Richard Smith of the Sussex and Area Community Foundation spoke to the Club about the activities of the Foundation over the last year. He was accompanied by Neville Gossman.

• 

On April 21, 2008, Sussex Rotarian Haley Bettle spoke to the Club and gave an informative update on the Sussex Real Estate market, and the changes over the years since she entered the profession in 2002. Haley was introduced by Rotarian Peter Haines and thanked by Kim Pearson.

While visitng the club on April 7, 2008, District Governor Nominee Gordon Dempsey inducted Sussex Rotary's newest member Kevin Simpson in the Club. Pictured above watching as Kevin receives his Rotary pin is PP Kim Pearson, chair of the Membership Development Committee.

Membership Development

On April 7, 2008 ADG Kevin Tupper of the Rothesay-Kings Rotary Club and District Governor Nominee Gordon Demspey visited the Club as guest speakers and talked about membership development and retention. Pictures above from right to left are Kevin, Gordon, and Rotarian Haley Bettle.

Rotary Friendship Exchange

Sussex Rotary's speakers on March 10, 2008 were Saint John Rotarians Jay Kimball, and David Merrithew. Jay and David spoke about Rotary International's Rotary Friendship Exhange program. Both had participated in an exchange to Kansis City a few years ago, and had hosted the same Kansis City Rotarians in Saint John. From this exchange, they have gained life long friends who have met since then to attend a football game.

Heart & Stoke Foundation

On Feb. 18, 2008, Joan McDonnell of the Heart & Stoke Foundation gave a most interesting talk on the risk factors associated with having a heart attack or stroke. Joan and her husband both have hadheart attacks, so could relate personal experiences to the membership.

Adventures in Citizenship 2008

Past President Robert Kimball congratulates Laura Stairs on being chosen as Sussex Rotary's representative to attend the Adventures in Citizenship program in Ottawa, and presents her with the necessary final forms for making the trip. Laura is a Sussex High School student, and will be in Ottawa April 27th to 30th, 2008. The costs of the trip and program are paid for by the Rotary Club of Sussex as part of its vocational and youth programs.

Wine Tasting

On Jan. 15, 2008, Cindy Macaulay, owner of Crafters Vineyard, gave a talk about making wine, either from a kit or from fresh fruits. Cindy told the Club she also makes the wine at her store for customers if they prefer this approach. She brought three types of wine with her, and as seen in the bottom photos, everyone had a sample of each. She also brought four one litre bottles to be used as a door prize. These were won by Harley Geldart, Robert Kimball, Robert Black and Murray McGibbon.

Rotarian Harley also presented a toast with the wine to the newly married "Mrs. Keri Marr".

Guest Speaker Robyn Doull

On Jan. 7, 2008, Rotary's first speaker for 2008 was Robyn Doull, Administrator of the Sussex Health Center. Robyn was introduced by RotarianBob Black and member of the Sussex Health Center Foundation's Board of Directors. Robyn spoke to the Club on both the role of the Sussex Health Center's Foundation which is currently fund raising for a new PET Scan machine, and the challenges facing the Health Center.

2007

Christmas Boxes 2007

Each Christmas, the Club packs for sale Christmas boxes comprised of product from local merchants. Pictured helping with the packing are Rotarians (L-R) Chairman Bob Black, Honorary Rotarian and Mayor Ralph Carr, Peter Haines, Frank Darrah, and Don Dobbin. Over 240 boxes were packed and sold.

Christmas Parade 2007

On Dec. 8, 2007, the Sussex Rotary Club participated in the Town of Sussex Christmas parade. The Club purchased a new banner and passed out candy canes with Rotary information literature attached.

Representing Rotary in the parade were (L-R) Secretry Frank Darrah, PP Peter Haines, President Donna Gilchrist, PP Kim Pearson, and friends of Rotary Susan and Taylor Pearson .

Sussex Rotary Club Celebrates 30 years

By Charlene MacKenzie

Published Tuesday December 4th, 2007

Appeared on page B2, Kings County Record

Rotary District Governor Terry Lenihan spoke

at the Sussex Rotary Club's 30th anniversary dinner Nov. 16, 2007

Having both genders and a range of age groups in its membership continually brings vitality and new ideas to the Sussex Rotary Club as it celebrates its 30th year.

Rotary District Governor Terry Lenihan, guest speaker at the Rotary's charter night Nov. 16, commended the service club on its progressive practices and its willingness to serve not just in the community but in the world beyond.

Rotary member Bob Kimball was master of ceremonies, welcoming guests including Kings East MLA Bruce Northrup, Sussex Mayor Ralph Carr, Rotary district officials and representatives of other local service clubs to the charter night dinner at the Sussex Golf and Curling Club.

Kimball noted that reaching the 30th anniversary was "quite an accomplishment" for the Sussex Rotary Club, which started out under the sponsorship of the Saint John Rotary and went on to itself sponsor the start-up of the Hampton Rotary Club.

Members range in age from their 30s and up, with the oldest member being 90, he said. It currently has 21 members about one third of them female with Donna Gilchrist as president and Kim Pearson as past president.

Northrup congratulated the club on reaching the 30-year landmark. He said it was great to be back in Rotary company he had been a Rotarian about a decade ago.

"The Rotary works as a team for the community it's men and women working together," he said, praising the crucial role volunteers play in communities as organizations and as individuals.

"It's exciting to go around and meet new people and see old friends at the clubs," Lenihan said of his role as district governor.

The district includes all New Brunswick clubs and two areas in Maine.

He encouraged Sussex members who have served executive roles in the past to consider serving on the district level, and spoke about the upcoming district conference in his home community of Bathurst in June 2008.

"One of the key, essential things in Rotary is making new friends, learning about what other people are involved in and helping communities. The local Rotary has made a huge difference in this community and Rotary has made a huge difference throughout New Brunswick and Maine."

Among the local efforts the Sussex Rotary Club has supported is the Portage program in Cassidy Lake for youth with addiction problems. The Sussex Rotary bought vans for the residential treatment facility and helped repair existing vans.

Lenihan said he was impressed with the Rotary Youth Merit Award applicants from the Sussex area.

"These kids are all winners and should be congratulated," he said, urging members to introduce these youth to Rotary activities and encourage them to become future Rotarians.

He also praised the Sussex Rotary for its focus on people with mental and physical disabilities, especially through Camp Rotary, a summer camp for youth with disabilities which also provides university student camp counsellors with valuable work experience.

Referring to an upcoming Rotary exchange in which a group of Rotarians from South Africa will be visiting New Brunswick, he urged the Sussex club to consider inviting the visitors to Sussex.

"The Sussex region and the valley are gorgeous. It's well-known that the farms down here are the best farms in the whole province," he said. "It's a great place to bring a group study exchange."

Rotary is increasingly getting involved in developing microcredit programs for countries such as South Africa, to give people in struggling communities small loans to start up community businesses and help them learn to run their businesses.

The goal is for the communities to "rise up and become economically self-sufficient," he said.

Getting involved in international projects "opens your eyes to the world of Rotary," he said, calling Rotary the world's biggest ambassador foundation.

"Do what needs to be done in your community, but don't forget the wider world of Rotary," he urged.

Referring to long-time Rotary member Harley Geldart, who was attending the event, Lenihan said, "I still see that sparkle in your eyes after all these years you still enjoy Rotary."

Pictured above (left picture) are Past President Keri Walker and Past President and Charter member Harley Geldart sharing a few stories from the past. In the right picture are D.G. Terry with his wife Margaret, and Assistant District Govenor Kevin Tupper.

Rotary Celebrates with Harley

On Aug. 27, 2007, the Sussex Rotarians helped Honorary Rotarian, Past President, and Charter member Harley Geldart's 90th birthday. Rotarian Bruce Northrup, on behalf of the Club, presented Harley with a gift.

PALS Gradualtion- 2007

Each June, 2007 for the past two years, the Rotary Club of Sussex has prepared and served the dinner for the PALS graduation luncheon preceding the official graduation ceremonies.

Helping prepare and serve the the dinner are (L-R) Rotarians Frank Derrah, President Kim Pearson, President Elect Donna Gilchrist, friends of Rotary Susan Pearson and Cathy Currin, Rotarians Roger Albert, PP Bob Kimball, and Rotarian and MLA Bruce Northrup.

Tracy Friars, School District 6, Discusses "CELEBRATE"

Believe it! See it! CELEBRATE it!

On May 12, 1007, Tracy Friars who is on loan to School District 6 spoke to the Club about a program entitled "CELEBRATE, What's Right with the World" TM with DeWitt Jones.

CELEBRATE is a philosophy that encourages positive thinking. 7 Key Concepts of CELEBRATE are described in a DVD hosted by renowned photographer and motivational speaker Dewitt Jones which Tracy shared with the Club.

School District 6 has developed an in-depth program that supports the CELEBRATE philosophy in:

At the close of the meeting, Tracy presented President Kim with the new CELEBRATE lapel pin.

Captain Al Soppitt Speaks to Club

President Elect Wilf Wilkinson

On Jan. 20, 2007 Sussex Rotarians attended a Rotary District Seminar hosted by the Rotary Club of Moncton West & Riverview, and had the opportunity to personally meet and hear Rotary International incoming President Wilf Wilkinson. Wilf is a Canadian which is an additional source of pride for us, and will lead Rotary International world wide commencing in July.

Pictured above are (L-R) Sussex Rotarians President Kim Pearson, Roger Albert, Past Presidents Bob Kimball and Peter Haines, President Elect Wilf, and Rotarian Robert Lockhart.

2006

Rotarian Honored

On Oct. 4, 2006, Rotarian Harley Geldart was honored in Saint John by Saint John Mayor Norman McFarlane on behalf of the Canadian Red Cross with a certificate of Appreciation of Valuable Volunteer Service to the Canadian Red Cross Society. Harley was also presented with his 10 year service pin.

On Aug. 28, 2006, District Governor Harold Moore visited the Sussex Rotary Club. Pictured above during his visit are (L-R) DG Harold, Club President Kim, Secretary Donna Gilchrist, and Assistant DG Gordon Demsey from Hampton.

Rotary Club Honors Local Citizens

On May 23, 2006, the Rotary Club of Sussex recognized four local individuals who have demonstrated significant achievements in the area of community service. Paul Harris Fellowships were awarded to

At the Club's weekly meeting on May 16, 2005, President Cathy Cole presented a copy of the History of Rotary Zone 22 "Under Northern Lights" to representatives of the Sussex Public Library.

This book was published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Rotary International. Accepting the book on behalf of the Sussex Public Library are Ray Watson, Board of Trustees, and Librarian Fennella Brewer.

(L-R) PP Murray McGibbon, President-elect Kim Pearson, PP Kevin Kilfoil, President Kathy Cole, PP Bob Kimball, PP Frank Scaling, PP Harley Geldart, Secretary Tom Snowden, PP Peter Haines, Haley Bettle, Donna Gilchrist, Treasurer Keri Walker.

At the District Conference in Shediac & Buctouche on May 28, 2005, Sussex Rotarian Harley Geldart received the prestigious PDG Frank Hussey Award for "Outstanding Rotarian in District 7810". The plaque was presented to Harley at the May 30, 2005 Sussex Rotary Club meeting by President Kathy.

In the spring of 2005, Sussex Rotary were pleased to sponsor Miles Goff of the Belleisle Regional Highschool on the Totary Club of Ottawa's annual "Adventure in Citizenship" program. The photo was taken after his presentation to our club upon his return. Past President Bob Kimball presented him with a ball cap as a momento.

Moncton Rotary TKD April 2005