Past President Jennifer, filling in for President Len, opened the meeting by welcoming everyone,.  

 

Land Acknowledgement: Jennifer gave a land acknowledgement in the spirit of reconciliation.

 

A toast was made to the King, Canada, and Rotary.  Will Gibson gave a new Rotary grace.

 

Guests: Partners in Service Carol Gibson, Bill Rashleigh, Lynne Strickland; Guest speaker Joyce Jonathan Crone

 

July Birthdays:  Bill’s wife Karen on July 27

 

July Anniversaries: Sandy and Gayle 56 years on July 14; Bill and Faye Lenore 61 years on July 14; Will and Carol Gibson 43 years on July 19; George and Rose 3 years on July 19; Rick and Sandra 28 years on July 31; Rick joined the club one year ago on July 4.

 

Announcements:

 

Quiz: PDG/PP Ron quizzed the members on International Rotary presidents, past and present. This new year’s theme is “Create Hope in the World”.

Introduction of Guest Speaker:  Rob introduced Joyce Jonathan Crone, an Indigenous person who uses activism to reform and educate.  She grew up in a First Nations community, and was an award winning teacher over 34 years, a humanitarian based on numerous trips to Haiti and the Amazon areas, a nominee for Woman of the Year in Education in the Cambridge area. Currently she teaches Nipissing University’s Educational Assistants summer program for Indigenous adults, writes often for the Huntsville Forester and has a local radio program.  Rob noted that we are blessed to have her in our area.  

 

Joyce Jonathan Crone:  Joyce sang her song, along with drumming: “When I was younger, I was wrong to be strong; Now that I am older, I am taking it back”. 

In her younger days, she lost her language and culture.  Members of her family attended the residential school in Brantford, and now the area around that school is being checked for buried children.  Every church in Canada participated in the residential school program.  Children were taken to the Brantford school from all over Canada, so that they were too far from home to run away to get back home. 

When the first residential school bodies were found, she wondered what she could do.  She and a friend got orange ribbons, and a group of about 30 people waved these ribbons on the Ravenscliffe Road bridge on July 1 and thus started her mission.   There is a treaty to live in “Peace, Harmony and Friendship” and not interfere with others. 

 

She has started the Hope Arises Project to effect change through education, teaching cultural competency.  The people in her group are change-makers.  It will take seven generations to get rid of the DNA of what happened to residential school survivors. 

The Hope Arises Project was born in November 2022.  They have a community partnership with the town of Huntsville, and they will be doing a cultural competency workshop with the town council members.  Other initiatives are the project for ribbon skirts, Gifts of Seven Grandfathers flags twice a year, orange shirt day, and information booths at events.  She noted that education is key to change.

 

President Jennifer thanked our speaker for educating us. 

 

1. Dolores told of her Trinidad club’s time capsule burial and retrieval 25 years later. It had turned to mush when they finally located it

 

2. Will was happy for 43 years of wedded bliss. (his wife was sitting across from him .. a 'brownie point' move if I've ever seen one)

 

3. Mary was happy that she is going to Parry Sound tonight, and to Newfoundland next week, along with the Jardines and Brenda Dunton.

 

4. Rob thanked Joyce for her presentation.  His house is very quiet now that the grandchildren (and dogs) have gone.

 

5. Gord thanked everyone for supporting Foundation Funding

Lynne Strickland had the winning ticket.  The deck of cards will be brought in next meeting.