Bonny welcomed everyone to the meeting, which was at the held this evening at the picnic grounds in North Buxton. Following rotary grace everyone enjoyed a smorgasbord style picnic in a warm breezy beautiful country setting. A special thanks to the staff of the North Buxton Museum and to our hosts Shannon Prince and her husband Brian.

If a man is standing in the middle of the forest and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

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Jean was happy to have enjoyed herself at a conference in the capacity of District Secretary. (Since the breeze was blowing strongly at the time Jean was presenting her happy buck, it is very conceivable that the person taking the minutes did not hear exactly what she said... sorry Jean, but you didn't actually deposit a buck anyway did you?)  

Paul Gardiner on August 17,  Jackie Bray on August 21,  Angela Marion on August 19, Doug Swant on August 19.

and a lively Happy Birthday was sung to all.

What is GSE. Its Group Study Exchange. The first GSE teams were organized in 1965 between districts in California and Japan. The program was such a success that it quickly spread arounf the world. A district selects a Rotarian as a team leader, and the four to six men or women  aged 25-40 who are not Rotarians but would make excellent goodwill ambassadors. The Rotary Foundation then matches that team with a district in another country and pays all the traveling expenses.

For four to six weeks, the host district takes the visiting team to points of interest and arranges them to visit schools, courts, civic leaders and to observe business or professions that correspond to what they do in their own country. The members of the team visit Rotary Clubs, live in Rotarians' homes, dine together, exchange family photos and in general, learn as much as they can about the lives and culture of their hosts. The host district then sends its own team out either in the same year or in the following year.

The GSE experiences are rich, rewarding and a marvelous way to build good will and better friendships!! There are some 48000 GSE alumni throughout the world.

Paula Reaume-Zimmer will be picking up our new exchange student this week. Lottie Roash is joining us from Germany and will be attending her first meeting with us next Tuesday. Paula is her first host parent in Canada.

Nina Kelly has advised us that Leiha arrived in Germany and all is well so far.... except for her lost luggage.

A reminder of making your donation to the malaria net project. Any amount is welcome so please donate as soon as possible. ( Terry Youlton the project head, has stated that if every Rotarian gives as little as $20.00, this endeavor will be a success). Speak to Max Howell if you have any questions.

The Foundation Gala is November 8th 2007 in Michigan. Max has arranged a bus and the cost of the bus ride is $25.00 per person. You can register on the District Website.

Shannon led us on a fabulous and very informative walking tour of the North Buxton Settlement Museum. First we went to a schoolhouse, which was built in 1862. To give us a taste of what life would have been like while attending this particular school Shannon had us line up outside as they did back then males on one side and females on the other side. We where then marched in to the separate cloak rooms and into the class room where we sat in the old desks, some of which actually the originals and dated back to 1862. The original tin covered walls and ceilings are in amazingly fine condition. An old potbelly stove sits in the center of the room. Photos on the walls date back to 1910 and one could nearly feel the way things must have been as grades one through ten were taught here by one teacher. Yes, one teacher teaching as many as 100 students.

We then moved on to the Museum itself where Shannon showed us a working replica of a the bell that was rung whenever a new family made it to the area and gained there freedom. Inside the museum Shannon explained where the slaves came from, how they brought over to North America enduring appalling transportation conditions. She showed us shackles, and explained how these people were auctioned to masters. She took us in time from when they were brought on slave ships right up to today.

Shannon's wealth of knowledge on this subject is truly incredible. The artefacts and the history in the museum are worth anyone's time to explore on your own as a day trip if someone is looking for an amazing educational time to spend with your family.

Our tour concluded with a visit to a fully restored hand hewn home that was moved to the site from its original site 2 miles south of the museum. This home was originally constructed in 1852 and was occupied right up until 1986.

James Mac Neil thanked Shannon and presented her with a book for the Literary Angels Program.

"Its every man's obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it."

                                                                                                                    - Albert Einstein.      

As all members are aware, BINGO's are one of our best fund raisers and we need members to help out. The fellowship is a wonderful added bonus.  Please do your part to help by volunteering yourself during one or more of the following time frames.

AUGUST 29   (Wednesday) @ 7:00pm    has 4 Helpers

SEPTEMBER 15 (Saturday) @ 1:00pm    has 2 Helpers

We need to be there one hour and fifteen minutes before the start time. Remember you are awarded 3 makeups for a regular bingo.

Contact Jackie Bray      at 354-0356             or email    jacalyn.bray@rbc.com

Aug 21 -  Spokesperson from the YMCA regarding the YMCA Van

Aug 28 - Club Assembly - at Stargazers on the Thames at 6:00pm Including the induction of Kim Pierce and 
                                            the auctioning of a Golf Prize

Sept 4  - Max Howell - Biosand Filters in the Dominican Republic

Sept 11 - Mark McManus - Municipal Property Assessment Corporation

Sept 18 - Classification Talk - Angela Marion

Sept 25 - Club Assembly