Rotary Beacon from October 19, 2026 Meeting
The meeting was opened by Co-President Bruce Coleman followed by the introduction of guests including; Paul Laing, Robert and Heather Sculthorpe, Hugh Parker and Linda Goldie, Yvonne O'Neill, Marg Tate and Barb Coleman
Update on Christmas Market - Ron Tuttle
This annual event is an important fundraiser over the Christmas Season
This year’s items for sale:
Black Forest Hams - $30 each Christmas Cake - $25 each
Chocolate Bars - 2 for $15 Hand-Carved and Painted Christmas Ornaments - $15 each
Note: All orders must be placed by Thursday, November 12. Delivery will be on Thursday, December 17.
Program: Adopt-a-Village-in-Laos Foundation - Steve Rutledge
Steve is President of the Adopt-a-Village-in-Laos organization which provides clean water, hygiene products and school support to small rural villages in LAOS who would otherwise not have access to these very essential life supporting resources.
Adopt-a-Village-in-Laos has now been able to provide vital support to over 115 villages, ranging from 54 to 300 families in size, who without this intervention would have no access to clean water.
Steve presented a video which followed the installation of an access pipe across a river, some distance away, up a steep hillside to a newly built water storage facility in this particular village - all of which was accomplished by local volunteers. Quite a remarkable achievement!
The next most important step is that Adopt-a-Village-in-Laos is then able to provide each household with a water purification unit. Having clean water available for the first time, in addition to the feminine hygiene products the organization also supplies to schools, has significantly reduced the risk of life-threatening illness and disease transmission in these communities.
The Adopt-a-Village-in-Laos organization has been operating for 17 years with the help of 32 Rotary Clubs worldwide, of which the Port Hope Club is proud to be one. In continuing this tradition, Christine Thomson, Co-Chair of the Service Projects Committee, was pleased to provide Steve with a cheque for $2500 to support the continuation of this valuable work.
Steve also confirmed that members can support the work of Adopt-a-Village-in-Laos by donating the cost of a water purification unit for $125. These units quite remarkably last for 7-8 years before the need for replacement.
More information is available at adoptavillageinlaos@gmail.com.
Presentation of The Paul Harris Fellowship Award for Community Contribution
This year’s recipient, Robert Sculthorpe, was presented to the club by Bree Nixon.
Robert is a very deserving recipient who has served the community of Port Hope in many quite varied ways over his lifetime.
He is currently working with the Friends of Wesleyville as they complete the large task of rebuilding their historic United Church after the fire it experienced in April, 2021.
Previously, he has provided leadership and energy to a broad range of local organizations including the Capital Theatre, The Municipality of Port Hope's Environmental Committee, the Port Hope Agricultural Society (which runs the successful Fall Fair), and the Port Hope Community Liaison Group, to name but a few.
It should also be recognised that Robert's contribution to our community is a continuation of the valuable support that the Sculthorpe family has been providing to our community for many years. For this, we are very grateful.
Congratulations to Robert as this year’s recipient of the Rotary Club's Paul Harris Award.
Other Announcements
Update on Christmas Toys and Tammie’s Jammies’ Raffle - Adam Pearson
Adam Pearson shared that the raffle is off to great start. The early bird draw went well and two Rotarians were lucky recipients of a thanksgiving Turkey.
Tickets are still available for the grand price (A 7-cubic-foot freezer filled with approximately 200 pounds of beef
All proceeds will be split between Queenie’s 15th Annual Toy Drive and the 10th Annual Tammie's Jammies Benefit.
Adam also gave a big thank you to Port Hope Rotary for its support of Queenie’s 15th annual Thanksgiving meal
This Thanksgiving, Queenies was able to provide 75 families in our community with a Thanksgiving meal.
Adam also wanted to thank the volunteers who helped make this happen, and Duke's Pet Store on Walton who provided Thanksgiving treats for 4-legged family members.
In Adam's words, “It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we come together to help others.”
Club News - Bree Nixon
Co-President Bree announced that Ian Jarvis has taken over responsibility for the Club's Membership Committee.
There will be a Membership Committee meeting held at the Beamish Pub and Restaurant on Thursday, October 29th at 4:30 p.m. for those with an interest in being part of the committee.
Next Meetings organized by Pod B
November 9 - Humane Society
Door/Greeter - Kathy Wallace, Introducer - Bob Gibson, Thanker - Mat Lawrence, Happy Bucks - Adam Pearson, Scribe - Christine T., Editor - Bree
November 23 - Club Assembly
November 25 - Holiday Party
December 7 - Service Activity
December 21 - No Meeting
January 4 - Club Assembly
January 18 - Community Care
Youth Exchange Students at District Conference – October 23 – 25
Our Youth Exchange Student from Spain, Catalina, enjoyed the District 7070 Conference in Toronto.
