Rotary Club of HuntsvilleMeeting Notes March 4, 2026
President Will opened the meeting by welcoming everyone.The national anthem was led by Past President Mary Rashleigh.
Guests were introduced by Gord Mitchell: Allyn Abbot from the Gravenhurst Rotary Club, Nick Peroschy from the Morning Club, Diane Boston from the Evening Club, Brian Thompson from the Whitby Sunrise Rotary Club, Fran Mitchell, Lynne Strickland, and guest speaker Jillian Jordan.
Club Business:
Bingo - President Will introduced Allyn Abbot from the Gravenhurst Rotary Club.Allyn is the contact person for Rotary Bingo in Gravenhurst and Bracebridge.The liaison arrangement is working out very well.
Bingo – Peter Redwood: On April 1, Cogeco will run a Boston Pizza party for bingo, with free cards and snacks for the first fifty arrivals.This will be a very big bingo night.
Rotary Weekend – President Will: April 25-27 is Rotary Weekend in North Bay.All Rotarians are invited to join Will there, to learn more about Rotary and the District.Check with Will for carpooling.
Introduction of Guest Speaker – President Will Gibson: Jillian Jordon is the Manager of Muskoka Heritage Place, attending Rotary with some questions for the members.
Guest Speaker – Jillian Jordan:Muskoka Heritage Place is seeking community input for future planning as they develop a strategic plan for 2026-2030, and they are seeking partner and stakeholder input.She is speaking to other organizations also to get as diverse a perspective as possible.She noted that Rotary Club of Huntsville was the driving force behind its beginnings.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Muskoka Heritage Place?Responses: tourism, education, history, culture, train rides, home-made butter and scones.
What is Muskoka Heritage Place doing well?Responses: school programs, train rides, everything
What makes Muskoka Heritage Place unique? Responses: the train, history for newcomers to the area, their Hallowe’en event, and Easter egg hunt.
How can Muskoka Heritage Place be more relevant to the community? Responses: cross-country skiing in winter, robust social media presence, events such as birthday parties and weddings, engage other organizations, have a summer craft sale, develop a skating trail, add food vendors, add more buildings, having a program of interviewing seniors to collect historical data
What new partnerships could they engage?Responses: BIA and Chamber of Commerce, Corporate partnerships, partner with Dockfest, partner with downtown main street summer events, have special days with Seniors, get involved with MapleFest
How can Muskoka Heritage Place expand and improve Rotary partnership? Responses: let Rotary know what they require.
President will thanked Jillian for coming to involve the members in the survey process.
Classification Talk – Luigi (Lou) D’Alessandro:Lou’s parents came from Italy, and he only learned to speak English when he went to school.He attended Western University and Ryerson and spent 45 years in Public Health.He and his wife Paula have four children and six grandchildren.He had to deal with the water crisis in Walkerton and noted that clean water is of extreme importance.Lou loves curling and has more recently taken up pickleball and golf.
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