President Ken Denholm opened the second live, in-person meeting close to the official start time, due to the activity all through the room at the Galt Country Club (GCC). So it was a polite approach to start a couple of minutes after 12:15. We did not sing O'Canada due to Covid-19 protocols at GCC. Then, Dean Fitzgerald provided the Invocation. Afterwards, President Ken toasted the Queen, and Canada.

For our table, it included Mike Jennings, Peter Ashenhurst, and Dean. We talked about a number of topics. Of course, we discussed how the Delta Variant of Covid-19 was causing all sorts of new problems in Ontario and elsewhere in North America.

 

Then we switched over to how Mike had recently bought a convertible Ford Mustang that is now kept at his place in Florida. Mike said it was an offer too good to pass up. Then Mike described how his first car, as a university student, was also a deal that was too good to pass up. Apparently he had a sporty car that he bought from the family mechanic. Then he drove this car to and from school for several months. Then with his driving skills, he blew the engine. After being stuck on the side of the road, the car was towed to the garage. Then the mechanic bought the car back for 75% of the value (i.e., Mike had a rental car for a small amount of money for several months.). After he got the cash from the mechanic, he went out and bought a bright red convertible. He said that red convertible really impressed a girl he took out on a date named Sue. And well, that was over 30 years ago. So from my view, the convertible Mustang bought in 2021 is a bit of a throw back to the red convertible from the 1980s that Sue was impressed with, as best I can tell. After this story, Peter shared that he drove seven (that's right - 7) Volkswagen beetles over a period of 20+ years. Apparently Peter liked the fact the front seat would come out of the beetle and would then create lots of space for long survey poles. Then Peter said he absolutely prefers to drive trucks, as they are more practical than beetles. Dean did not share at the time... but his first car was an Ford Escort Wagon, and prior to that, he drove motorcycles for many years. During the last 20 years, Dean has owned two Toyota RAV4's.

 

Another topic of discussion was how Peter does not like Apple computer products. He then said that all things Apple seem to be designed so that it is always necessary to buy the cords, and other extra items separate, since they do not work well with PC's.

 

Mike also told us about his first job that he drove his red convertible to. As the story went, Mike worked in a graphic design office as a university student. So that means that Mike has been involved with marketing and advertising since the 1980s too. Pretty wild to hear that his first job was right on topic with what he did afterwards.

 

Dean mentioned he is trying hard to go to Disney in Florida for a vacation at the end of August. It has been a challenge getting all set up, due to Covid-19. According to the news, the Delta variant is causing major problems there. Enough said!

 

We had a total of 12 Rotarians present today, with zero participating by Zoom. This corresponds to 60% attendance.

 

We also had two guests of Dean Fitzgerald: Sue Parsons and Jenn Cave.

 

Pretty good for an August day!

People were fairly happy today.

 

Gerry Menezes was very happy to see his buddy Mike Bernard at the lunch meeting. Then Mike Bernard said he was very happy to finally be back at an in-person meeting.

 

Larry Olney was happy, as his grandson was planning to get married the following weekend (I think he said Saturday the 21st but it could have been Sunday the 22nd) . Then he said that this date was also his own wedding anniversary, and it was also his parent's wedding anniversary. Larry went on to say this August wedding date has been shared by many couples in his family and it is something they are very happy to share within their family. Larry went on to say the wedding had also brought lots of family back to southern Ontario and he was happy to see all of these folks.

 

Ken said he had fun sailing in Hamilton Harbour. He said it was fun because they finally beat the arch rival by about 2 inches, due to a late change in the wind. He went on to say they have been trying to beat their rival for a long while and it was finally their race!

 

 

Ken mentioned the Rotary Sunrise Club had over 2000 cars at their Ribfest and it was successful in terms of raising money and as a way to connect with the community.

 

Ken noted that a Rotary meeting was coming up with Zoom, where members could participate if they wanted.

Mike noted that they had submitted a team for the upcoming Rotary Golf Tournament, likely in September. So he has a full complement of four folks going. They can fit in other individuals, by creating another team, if the interest is there.

 

Ken also requested that all members bring at least one new guest to the club for a lunch meeting .

 

Ken said he would be away next week, and a member would stand in his place and run the in-person meeting.

 

Our two guests, Sue Parsons and Jenn Cave provided a detailed overview of their work with homeless cats in the Cambridge-Kitchener-Baden areas. The title of their presentation was: "Cambridge Homeless Cat Rescue"

 

 

During this presentation, we learned that Sue has been volunteering with cats for more than six years while Jenn has been involved for more than 10 years.

 

The ladies explained they coordinate a network of volunteers to help the cats in Cambridge - Kitchener - Baden. We learned that homeless cats include: 1) escapees from homes, 2) cats discarded by owners, and 3) feral cats that live 100% outside and are associated with a colony.

 

Sue said that it is highly likely the homeless cat population in Cambridge is in the range of 140,000. She said many of these cats are fed by residents but these cats also will prey on mice, rats, and birds among other creatures.

 

They communicate with the community mostly using Facebook and other social media networks. For example, a resident may post a picture saying they lost their cat. Then someone whom might see a cat that looks like the posting may contact the resident. Then Sue or Jenn may go out and trap the cat. This describes how it is perhaps a four step process to notify, locate, and catch a cat that is lost.

We also learned the Cambridge Humane Society (CHS) really does not assist with cats and simply catches them and tries to match them up with owners. We heard that CHS often calls Sue or Jenn for help with cats. They also explained that Kitchener Humane Society (KHS) is much more involved with helping cats. Often wayward cats from Cambridge are often taken to KHS for medical treatment. A number of generous vet clinics in Kitchener, Cambridge, and Ayr also provide low cost or free medical care to the cats.

 

Jenn learned some of her knowledge about cats by interacting with Toronto Cat Rescue (TCR). This learning from TCR has been applied in the Cambridge-Kitchener-Baden areas. The application of proven strategies to manage cats has helped them be more efficient and make the most of their limited resources. Sue has been working with cats for years, and learned some of this craft from Jenn but experience has been another source of knowledge.

 

In general, it was very clearly demonstrated that many many people in Cambridge and Kitchener feed homeless cats. Then a contingency of individuals does more for these cats, in terms of trapping, medical treatment, finding homes etc. Such effort likely exceeds 1000s of hours per year and it is all done locally at no cost to government. So these individuals are doing a community a big service at no cost to the community.

 

Sue and Jenn then explained how they want to create more structure for this effort, with guidance from the TCR model, and thereby achieve better outcomes for the cats. They explained how they could use funds from Rotary to move such an effort forward, and to guide future efforts.

 

 

 

The presentation ended with a commitment they would submit a proposal to request funds.

 

A number of questions were asked and this led to some interesting conversations.

 

 

 

NO QUESTIONS TODAY !!!