Young club celebrates
It’s only just turned one, but already the Rotary Satellite Club of Stratford has achieved great things in the community.
Last Thursday members of the group, along with members of neighbouring Rotary clubs and Marion Johnston, the Rotary District Governor gathered for a meal to celebrate the club’s first birthday.
Chairman Daniel Stieller says the club started with 10 members last September.
The club’s first goal was to purchase three defibrillators to be placed in the three rest homes in Stratford for public use.
With a total cost of over $6000, this goal was a lofty one, but the dedicated and determined young Rotarians managed to reach it in under a year.
Daniel says it was thanks to the support of the community they were able to raise so much in so little time.
“Our first major event as a club was a quiz night at which we were able to raise a third of our total goal in that one night.”
The satellite group was started after Daniel was sponsored by the Stratford Rotary Club to attend the Rotary Young Person Leadership Awards (RYLA), a week-long leadership development programme for 18 to 24 year olds hosted and sponsored by Rotary. He came back motivated to get involved with Rotary while making it more relevant to a younger age group.
Now the satellite group is sponsoring another young person, Kaitlyn Bishop, to attend the next RYLA event and Daniel says he looks forward to the group continuing to grow.
At the formal dinner last week, Daniel thanked those who had supported the young club in the first year, with Rotarians Barrie Smith, Mel Cook and Mitchell Brown singled out for the support they had given Daniel and his club.
All three were presented with certificates of service from the satellite club.
“Thank you also to Dan and Rebecca Harris of Stratford New World for all their support, and the team at the Stratford Press.”