THE PARKWOOD JOURNAL

OFFICIAL BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF OSHAWA-PARKWOOD

Mailing Address: 200-481 Taunton Rd W., OSHAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA L1J 0G3

WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO:

ROTARY – People of Action

Rotary is where neighbours, friends, and problem-solvers share ideas, join leaders, and take action to create lasting change.

We're made up of local business, professional, and civic leaders. 

We meet regularly, get to know each other, form friendships and through that, we're able to get things done in our community. 

It's up to YOU.............Join leaders in our community

Be sure to share this with all of your friends and associates and ask them to get in touch with our Club President President Hilda Finnigan at 905-431-4258 or Club Past President Linda Porritt at 905-626-6386 

You are invited to our next Rotary meeting. You may wish to become a Rotarian. Dinner is on us. Isn't it time to give back to your community?.

THE OBJECT OF ROTARY

is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:

FIRST The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;

SECOND High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful

occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society;

THIRD The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life;

FOURTH The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of

business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

Rotary Code of Conduct provides a framework for ethical behaviour that all Rotarians can use, together with The Four-Way Test, in their business and professional activities.

ROTARY CODE OF CONDUCT

As a Rotarian, I will

1. Exemplify the core value of integrity in all behaviours and activities

2. Use my vocational experience and talents to serve in Rotary

3. Conduct all of my personal, business, and professional affairs ethically, encouraging and fostering high ethical standards as an example to others

4. Be fair in all dealings with others and treat them with the respect due to them as fellow human beings

5. Promote recognition and respect for all occupations which are useful to society

6. Offer my vocational talents: to provide opportunities for young people, to work for the relief of the special needs of others, and to improve the quality of life in my community

7. Honour the trust that Rotary and fellow Rotarians provide and not do anything that will bring disfavour or reflect adversely on Rotary or fellow Rotarians

8. Not seek from a fellow Rotarian a privilege or advantage not normally accorded others in a business or professional relationship

THE ROTARY FOUR-WAY TEST

of things we think, say and do:

1. Is it the truth

2. Is it fair to all concerned?

3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

MINUTES OF MEETING:  Tuesday, 5 August 2025

Editor: V.P. Tess Pierce (with help from Dave Andrews)

Meeting Called to Order at 6:30 PM: by VP Tess Pierce

Grace: Hilda Finnigan

Toast to the KING: Madimba Tshibuabua

Land Acknowledgement: Tess Pierce

We respectfully acknowledge that the Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood is meeting on the traditional territory of the Mississauga’s of Scugog Island First Nations, within the jurisdiction of the Williams Treaties.  We are committed to our responsibility of stewardship, in these relationships and for this land on which we learn, share and live.

Toast to CANADA: Bill Creamer

Visiting Rotarians and Guests:

Shauna Moore, Asst. District Governor

Steve Rutledge, Whitby Sunrise and speaker

Yvonne Henry, prospective member

Ulzaa Yanjmaa, prospective member

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Kay & Larry Hurren’s anniversary

Birthdays

Shashi Bhatia (although there is some controversy about this!)

Leon Efraim

Irina Roudenko

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Welcome Back Camille Miquel-Farfan & Madimba Tshibuabua

Tess reminded us of several upcoming events and meetings including:

Sep. 28, 2025 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Nort Johnson District Park

7800 Islington Avenue Vaughan, ON

Let’s plan on car-pooling!

We are invited attend the official launch reception of Tridents and Tanks at the Canadian Tank Museum on Thursday, 28 August 2025 at 5:30 PM. This reception will be open to the public and will feature several speakers and a commemoration of the experiences of the Ukrainian-Canadian community and Ukrainian diaspora in our community. Click here to EMAIL  SAM RICHARDSON for reservations.

MAGIC OF MILLIONS.  In her inaugural address in June our 2026 -26 District Governor Niecy Dillon-Tyrovolas challenged all of us to help Bob Wallace and Jim Louttit, who announced a new Rotary District 7070 Goal for The Rotary Foundation called "The Magic of Millions". She asked us to try and achieve the goal to raise $1 million by the end of the year. Throughout the year, we encourage our members to donate to: the Annual Programs Fund, the Polio Fund, The Disaster Response Fund or/and the Endowment Fund.

Other Announcements by Tess included:

• Board of Director’s meeting next Tuesday 12 August at 4:45 pm at the Golf Club

• Oshawa RibFest still needs volunteers. The Ribfest runs August 15-17. Click HERE to volunteer.

• District conference in October is filling up fast. The resort rooms are full but there are still plenty of rooms available at nearby hotels. Most are in walking distance. Register HERE

• August is new club and membership month.

Announcements from Ted Morrison

• The Foundation Walk is the major fundraiser for the Rotary Foundation. A pledge sheet and meal selections are available when you register online.

• Kids Against Hunger – a collaborative effort between 5 Rotary Clubs in the area happens on November 1 at the Jubilee Pavilion. The fun begins about 9 am and runs until about 1 pm. Family, friends, pets! All are welcome to help pack 30,000 meals for hungry kids and their families.

Banner Exchange

Madimba told us the story of how his influential teacher and mentor helped him get a scholarship to graduate school. This led him to understand the importance of community and service. His wife Ntumba and he are both educators and recently she was honoured for her entrepreneurship. They travelled to San Diego and while she was attending meetings Madimba looked up ‘nearest Rotary club’ on his phone. He connected with a member of the Chula Vista club and in true Rotarian style, became a San Diego tour guide for Madimba. Madimba received a Chula Vista club banner, and he presented this to VP Tess and the club. Rotarians ROCK!

SGT AT ARMS: Al Finnigan

ACE OF SPADES:

Ulzaa drew Hilda’s ticket, and Hilda picked the 8 of Hearts. Our pot continues to grow.

HAPPY BUCKS:

• Al F. Nice to see Shauna again. He revealed that Hilda won $600 in a 50/50 draw. And she gave him $300!  He was not sure why she was so generous.

• Hilda had a fun time with her Red Hat friends. They went to the Theatre in Penetanguishene and enjoyed a play that involved a lot of hair spray (It may have been “Beehive: The 60s Musical”, I looked it up.) Hilda was also glad to see Camille was back and that her mom was doing better.

• Shashi, in her naturally exuberant manner, welcomed her Rotary friends Ulzaa and Steve Rutledge.

• Tess was also happy to see Camille and Yvonne.

• Bill Creamer just returned from seeing Sue in Vancouver, and while he was there, he connected with Kim Boatman.

• Camille is glad to be back, and her mother is doing much better.

• Ulzaa is happy to be with her Rotary friends and experience our ‘good spirits’

• Madimba is happy to be back and catching up with his friends. He also saw his doctor and is happy to report he is in good shape.

SPEAKER: Steve Rutledge-Adopt A Village In Laos

Dave Andrews introduced Steve, the President of Adopt A Village In Laos (AAVIL). Steve grew up in Georgetown, Ontario, and after a rewarding career in computer tech, Steve retired and focused on community and international service. Steve served on several boards and committees in Port Hope and received two civic awards, including one for his philanthropy and two Paul Harris awards. Additional honours include the Spirit of Rotary award (2016) and the Family and Community Service Award from the RC of Courtice (2018). In 2020, District 7070 awarded Steve the Bob Scott Disease Prevention Award. A true Rotarian, Steve makes sure to support his neighbouring clubs. He always buys a ticket to our Revere Draw, helps with Kids Against Hunger and buys our hams and maple syrup. Steve is found most weekends in the summer working Ribfests across Ontario. Today, Steve updated us about the completed work and their plans for the future.

This past year, Laos experienced a 100-year storm that washed out bridges, water systems and levees. This added stress to projects already in place. But even with obstacles like this, AAVIL to date has connected over 67 villages with filtered water, serving over 80,000 rural villagers. They constructed 26 permanent water systems and repaired numerous others. In addition to water filtration, AAVIL built over 40 toilets and helped in school construction and repair. The plan for 2024-25 is to work on 3 water projects, repair one school’s roof, and distribute 875 water filters. To do these, he must raise money, and with government corruption, this can be difficult. Steve thanked us for our support and demonstrated how the personal filtration systems work. Each unit costs $125.00(CDN).

These units are made in Laos and are economical and durable gravity-fed purification filters. To sponsor a water filter family, we can contact Steve via email. Each sponsor will receive a photo of the filter and the family who received it. In addition, you connect with the filter family with a label attached to the unit that includes a country flag of the donor and the words “in Friendship and Respect” in Lao language. To get more information or to donate you can click here or click on the logo at the top of this article to go directly to the AAVIL website.

Ted Morrison thanked Steve, and many stayed after Tess rang the bell to get more information and ask questions. Pictures from Shauna Moore follow on Page 5