Rotary Reflections

Over the course of Kingston Rotary's Centennial year in 2021, we will provide a glimpse of the evolution of Rotary in Kingston and around the world. Our Rotary Reflections team has worked diligently to collect the stories of Rotary and the impact our organization has had on this community. The Reflections will be published every Wednesday in the Kingston Whig Standard and Kingston This Week starting on January 6, 2021. We are very excited to share these stories!

OUR LAST ROTARY REFLECTION

Rotary began as a fellowship opportunity. Rotarians invited like-minded professionals who fit the criteria of membership. Over the last...

Paul Van Nest

Dec 29, 2021

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ROTARY’S CENTENNIAL PROJECTS – HOW DID WE DO?

What a year this has been! Rotarians are people of action and looking back over this year, and the last 100 years, we are very proud of...

Peter Merkley

Dec 22, 2021

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THE WATERFRONT CLUB ADDS TO ROTARY’S COMMUNITY SERVICE

The Kingston Waterfront Rotary Club is the newest Rotary Club in Kingston, chartered in April of 2015. We are proud of our reputation as...

Glenn Warner

Dec 15, 2021

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FAIRMOUNT HOME: A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP

Fairmount Home opened as a long-term care facility on outer Montreal Street, now Battersea Road, in 1968. The Rotary Club of...

Fred Richmond

Dec 8, 2021

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SHELTER BOX & SHELTER KIT

ShelterBox is now a globally recognized NGO that provides aid directly to families whose home has been lost or damaged in a natural...

Dave Hallett

Dec 1, 2021

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ROTARY REACHES OUT TO INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

You might think that a 100-year-old organization could be dated and unchanging, but Rotary continues to evolve and adjust to our changing...

Elizabeth Cohoe

Nov 24, 2021

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A ROTARY AMBASSADORIAL SCHOLAR

With a B.A. in economics from Queen’s University, I was selected in 1994 as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and headed abroad for a year...

Brett House

Nov 17, 2021

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ROTARY AND QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY

Successive principals of Queen’s University have been invited to be honorary members of the Rotary Club of Kingston, going back to...

Paul Van Nest

Nov 10, 2021

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The FOUR-WAY TEST

Since 1943, Rotarians have embraced The Four-Way Test when faced with a decision. It is applied to the things we think, say, and do. “Is...

Paul Van Nest

Nov 3, 2021

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CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND STRUCTURE in NORTH KINGSTON

Back in the 1980s, a group of Kingston Rotarians built their first playground structure at Lord Strathcona Public School. A design was...

John Boone

Oct 27, 2021

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Rotary Initiated Child Enrichment (RICE)

In 2002, Rotarian John Boone took to heart the message delivered to the Rotary Club of Kingston by Dr. Mustard, a McMaster University...

John Boone, Dwight Boyce & Paul Van Nest

Oct 20, 2021

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ROTARY’S SWEAT-EQUITY PROJECTS

Rotary projects that require members to pitch in and help with some physical labour are called sweat-equity projects. These are near and...

Doug Townsend

Oct 13, 2021

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ROTARY’S FESTIVALS OF MUSIC: 1950 to 1964

We know it now as the Kiwanis Music Festival, but it didn’t start that way; Rotarians hosted the first music festival in Kingston in...

Paul Van Nest

Oct 6, 2021

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ADVENTURES IN HISTORY 2012-2019

Rotary Adventure programs focus on youth, our future leaders. These short-term and unique adventures help secondary students determine...

Bill Egnatoff

Sep 29, 2021

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ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE

The Rotary Club of Kingston started hosting exchange students in 1983. These students not only served as ambassadors for their host...

Paul Van Nest

Sep 22, 2021

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KINGSTON-FRONTENAC ROTARY ANNES

From the founding of the Kingston-Frontenac Rotary Club in 1966 until the late 1980s, the wives of club members played a very important...

Fred Richmond

Sep 15, 2021

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ROTARY ANNS (Kingston)

The term Rotary Anns was conceived by delegates on a train trip from San Francisco to the Rotary Convention in Houston, Texas, in 1914. A...

Elaine McCabe, Margo Warner & Betty Welch

Sep 8, 2021

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THE ROTARY SEA CADET CORPS DURING WW2

Over the past 100 years, Rotary in Kingston has focused on helping children and youth from supplying shoes, creating leadership...

Paul Van Nest

Sep 1, 2021

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GO NUTS FOR ROTARY!

Rotarians first hatched the idea in the early 1960s to drive around the city selling cans of peanuts door-to-door as a club fundraiser....

Paul Van Nest

Aug 25, 2021

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ROTARY TV AUCTION GOES ONLINE

The Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston’s annual auction is one of the longest running Rotary fundraising events in Kingston. Since 1998,...

John Farrow

Aug 18, 2021

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ROTARIANS TACKLE FOOD SECURITY DURING COVID-19

In 2012, Blessings in a Backpack was established in Kingston to provide food assistance to families in need on the weekends. Children’s...

Paul Elsley

Aug 11, 2021

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WATER WELLS IN KENYA

Epidemics often find their sources in the contaminated water in hand-dug wells. These wells, typically up to 30 feet deep, may reach...

Bill Punt

Aug 5, 2021

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KIM PHUC & BETHANYKIDS HOSPITAL

In August 2001, I received a call from Bradley Sumner, a co-founder of the Kim Phuc Foundation. Readers may recall the front cover of a...

Paul Van Nest

Jul 28, 2021

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ROTARY for YOUNG ADULTS – ROTARACT

In its ongoing efforts to engage and support young people, Rotary sponsors Interact Clubs in secondary schools and Rotaract Clubs in post...

Paul Van Nest, Sarah Beech & Jenna Smallegange

Jul 21, 2021

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52 Rotary Reflections will be published in 2021 to provide a snapshot of the impact Rotary has had in Kingston over the past century. Feedback and membership enquiries are welcome and encouraged at rotaryreflections@gmail.com.

Celebrating 100 Years of Service in Kingston!

Rotary Reflections

OUR LAST ROTARY REFLECTION

ROTARY’S CENTENNIAL PROJECTS – HOW DID WE DO?

THE WATERFRONT CLUB ADDS TO ROTARY’S COMMUNITY SERVICE

FAIRMOUNT HOME: A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP

SHELTER BOX & SHELTER KIT

ROTARY REACHES OUT TO INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

A ROTARY AMBASSADORIAL SCHOLAR

ROTARY AND QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY

The FOUR-WAY TEST

CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND STRUCTURE in NORTH KINGSTON

Rotary Initiated Child Enrichment (RICE)

ROTARY’S SWEAT-EQUITY PROJECTS

ROTARY’S FESTIVALS OF MUSIC: 1950 to 1964

ADVENTURES IN HISTORY 2012-2019

ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE

KINGSTON-FRONTENAC ROTARY ANNES

ROTARY ANNS (Kingston)

THE ROTARY SEA CADET CORPS DURING WW2

GO NUTS FOR ROTARY!

ROTARY TV AUCTION GOES ONLINE

ROTARIANS TACKLE FOOD SECURITY DURING COVID-19

WATER WELLS IN KENYA

KIM PHUC & BETHANYKIDS HOSPITAL

ROTARY for YOUNG ADULTS – ROTARACT

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