Anniversary – Adam Shaw – 8 years in Rotary

50/50 Winner – Ron Fraser drew his own ticket for the 50/50 draw and won $10 for the Jack of Diamonds

Sergeant at Arms – Vanessa Page acted as Sergeant at Arms

Happy Bucks

·         Robin Ferro - two happy bucks for winning the 50/50 draw last week

·         Melissa Pike – for Lila’s baptism

·         Bruce Cunningham – for his recent visit to Virginia and for getting his boat moved

·         Richard Holmes – for the Leafs win

·         Vanessa Page – for the good things Rotary does

·         Ron Fraser – for Mother’s Day

·         Don Fulkerson – happy buck to promote the upcoming Youth Unlimited Golf Tournament on June 5^th

Barbara Wright took the opportunity to promote the “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” fundraising and awareness event regarding domestic violence to be held on Saturday June 1^st.  To help her out she asked Lynne Beath, John Werkema, Graham Hart, Liam McCreery and Bruce Burbank to step forward.  Providing read high heel shoes to each and sporting a pair herself, Barbara lead the group on a parade around the room. 

Committee Reports

Robin Ferro advised Rotarians of the upcoming 9 hole golf tournament to be held on Monday June 17^th at the Sally Creek Golf Course.  Registration is $60 per person and includes a meal.

Ron Fraser reminded everyone that Oxford Rotary Cluster Peace Dinner will be held on Wednesday May 29th in support of “Walk a Mile In Her Shoes” and other Domestic Violence Support Agencies.  The social starts at 5:30 with dinner at 6:30.

David Harris advised that he needs some additional help moving docks  for the Dragon Boat league.  He also advised they need 8-9 volunteers for the fun league as it is now scheduled for 3 nights per week over the summer (Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday).

Guest Speaker – Jeff Duncan CEO, Habitat for Humanity, Oxford, Middlesex, Elgin

Our Guest speaker was introduced and thanked by David Harris. 

Jeff Duncan spoke about the history of Habitat for Humanity that was founded in 1976.  To date over 600,000 homes have been built by the organization providing homes for 1.7 million.  Currently there is a new home built by Habitat for Humanity every 14 minutes.

The Canadian division of Habitat for Humanity was established in 1985 and to date has built over 2,200 homes.  There are now 69 affiliates operating in Canada including the London operation that was started in 1993 and has built 28 homes since that date.

Habitat for Humanity’s program organizes the construction of the homes, provides financial education for the families, sells the home to the family, holds the mortgage on the property, and sets up mortgage payments based upon the family’s income and ability to pay.  No interest is charged on the mortgage and 25% of the family’s income goes toward payments.  If there is any excess, that money goes back into the program to pay for additional homes.  Families must also contribute 500 hours of sweat equity as part of the program.   

Habitat for Humanity also operates social enterprise stores known as the “Re-Store” that recycle and sells used building materials, furniture etc. to provide additional funding for new builds.  The majority of their workforce is made up of volunteers.  Toyota and the Reeves Foundation are major supporters of the program. 

 Currently there is one confirmed and one potential build scheduled for Woodstock.  IN future they would like to have 1 build per year in Woodstock and 1 additional in Oxford County.  They also have plans to open a second RE-Store in the region.