President-Elect: Prince Kumar Vice-President: Jayson Phelps
Treasurer: Rick Goldsmith
Executive Director: Carol Hutchinson
RI President
Holger Knaack, Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany
District Governor
Mark Chipman, Whitby Sunrise
Editor of the week: Maureen Bird
Our President for 2023-24
Anny-Sandra Hamel - Congratulations!
Anny-Sandra joined the club in 2014. She has been very active with the Senior Citizens Committee, chairing it for two years.
She hosted an exchange student for a year while her older daughter spent the year in South America.
Appointed to the Board in 2019 she is also serving on the Charitable Foundation Board and the Executive Committee. As a new board member she has also taken an active position in the Transitions team.
She will be Vice-President 2021-22, Incoming President 2022-23 and our club President in 2023-24
We also welcome three new board members who will serve 2021-24.
Lori Brazier
Binoy Luckoo
Pauline Lyons
John Joseph Mastandrea
John Joseph will fill Anny-Sandra's Board position for 2021-22.
Kurt Kroesen assumed the duties of Treasurer on February 1, 2021 and will continue until June 30, 2022
Kurt Kroesen
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Rotarians (Club Members ONLY), please log in between 12 and 12:10 on Google Meet here: https://meet.google.com/mwy-ggdz-ttsPlease turn off your mic before joining in.
LIMITED SEATING ONLY ON A FIRST COME BASIS ON GOOGLE MEET, If you are NOT admitted on Google Meet, please join us at 12:15 on YouTube LIVE. https://youtu.be/87GAbq-arVs
Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions are those expressed by the Speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect
the official views or opinions, policy or position of The Rotary Club of Toronto or its Members.
Black History Month
It is appropriate in line with our Racism Series that we recognize this February Focus.
As we have seen from our recent lunches Racism is definitely a problem in Canada. Our High School curriculums have neglected this part of our history for both our Indigenous Canadians and Black Canadians. Yes, there was slavery and discrimination in Canada.
We have now recognized Viola Desmond and her stand with her picture on our $10 bill. But we have a long ways to go.
There will be no meeting on Friday, February 12, 2021
What you Missed January 29, 2021
by Susan Hunter
You missed an exciting meeting today! A jam-packed agenda with interesting speakers and exciting announcements!
Deb Snider gave us a glimpse of the work she has been leading with the Marketing & Communications Committee on the new branding materials for our Club. The branding will be introduced in specific marketing campaigns but today, Deb treated us to a sneak peek by showing five slides with voiceovers from Binoy Luckoo, Dauna Jones-Simmonds, Andrea Tirone and yours truly. Great work and more to come.
Sylvia Geist kicked off Part Two of our Racism series Enough is Enough! Today’s meeting focused on Exploring Systemic Racism Today with two dynamic speakers, Dahabo Ahmed-Omer, Executive Director of the BlackNorth Initiative (BNI) and Gayle Nathanson, Associate Director of the Centre of the Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).
Dahabo Amhed-Omer
BNI was established last year by Wes Hall following the George Floyd killing in the US which sparked one of the largest civil rights movement in the world. BNI works with the private, public and charitable sectors to examine the challenges faced by Black Canadians and identify tangible solutions. Dahabo highlighted the following startling statistics:
29% of Black women do not have a family doctor;
83% of Black Canadians feel as though they face some kind of racism every day; and,
43% of Black Canadians in Toronto have negative interactions with the police.
The pandemic has exacerbated the lives of racialized communities who are facing incredible hardships as many are on the front lines as essential workers in hospitals, retirement homes and grocery stores. In Toronto, over 80% who contracted covid-19 are from racialized communities.
Both Dahabo and Gayle spoke about the impact of racism on their communities. Gayle said CIJA focuses on fighting all forms of racism and discrimination including anti-Semitism. Although the experiences are different, the Jewish, Black, Indigenous, racialized and LGBTQ2SIA+ communities face a common problem of being targeted, excluded, shamed, mistreated and seen as “other” and different from the mainstream. To combat racism, Gayle said it is important to stand against all forms of hate and to speak out and support each other. This includes calling out behaviours at the workplace, with friends, and at home with family members who harbour racist and discriminatory attitudes and behaviours.
To Dahabo, racism can be understood by looking at our individual behaviours and taking a moment to understand the privileges we have. She said it’s important to examine our lives and to remember: “My privilege is power and my power is a duty and my duty is to give.” Indeed, no one makes the choice to be born with privilege though there is a choice that we make when we remain privileged and do not share our power. Racism exists when marginalized people lack power in all facets of society. Each individual has to ask themselves: where do I have power to change, to help another individual who has suffered, has encountered or been impacted by racism, and how can I use my power to bring them in and help?
Gayle Nathanson
The discussion touched on social media and how it can be a force for positivity or negativity. Gayle talked about the intensity of online hate that has proliferated across the internet. The impact is devastating and destructive resulting in violent acts on individuals and groups. Dahabo countered that social media has connected people in the midst of the pandemic allowing people to share information at a critical time. Social media has helped movements like #MeToo, Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Nothing About Us Without Us to flourish on online platforms. Social media is a powerful tool and people with a large platform have a greater responsibility with the information they post and share.
As for next steps, both Gayle and Dahabo encouraged RCT members to continue to learn about racism, to partner with organizations like BNI, CIJA and others to inform our behaviours, actions and policies.
As the discussion concluded, President John made announcements at the Annual General meeting: Club Treasurer (Kurt Kroesen), three Club Directors to serve 3-year terms (Lori Brazier, Binoy Luckoo and Pauline Lyons) and John Joseph Mastandrea (1 year term), and our Vice-President starting July 1, 2021 – Anny-Sandra Hamel. Congratulations to everyone!
Fellowship & Entertainment Activities
Pat Neuman, Chair
We are here for the long term so please join in. All events are listed on our Google Calendar accessible through your @rotarytoronto.com account or find the emails sent out in advance. Contact Maureen Bird to set up your access. 416-804-3726.
Our monthly cooking class continues and we have started a dinner club. 4-6 households cook the same meal and eat together. More to follow. Contact Pat for details.
Happy Birthday!
1 Andrew Krawczyk
7 Frank Garcea
8 Paul Westlake
14 Sandy Boucher
15 David Libby
18 Chris Snyder
21 Glenn Davis
21 Sean Stephenson
23 Cijay Shah
27 Michael Morgan
27 Suzanne Seaquist
28 Bill Morari
SERVICE ABOVE SELF
The Rotary Club of Toronto, Fairmont Royal York Hotel, H Level
