The Most Important Event of Rotary

My toast to the Centennial of The Rotary Club of Stratford

I’ve been a member of my local Rotary Club in Stratford for 27 years now. Coming from Toronto with my wife and young son, knowing virtually no one, two things opened up our world —

Starting a bed & breakfast and for myself, joining Rotary.

I’ve developed a reputation for being a frustrated actor of sorts and whenever I speak at the club, I usually try to be funny or perhaps, witty. But, when I was asked to put together a short talk celebrating the Centennial of the Rotary Club of Stratford, I struggled to come up with something of substance.

A lot has happened in the last 100 years of course, but what really stands out? What really matters to us and the community as a whole?

Then, it hit me.

The best thing to happen for our club since its founding, was the same as the single most important event to happen in the history of Rotary International…

My talk —

Hello all and thank you for the opportunity to say a few words today.

It was two momentous occasions all the way back in 1922 that basically paved the way for me to be speaking with you here today.

One, was the founding of the Rotary Club of Stratford.

And two… was the birth of my mother.

But, for the sake of time and what’s left of everyone’s sanity, I’ll focus on the former.

I was going to be funny to lighten the mood of the day or perhaps try to be a little witty in a toast to our club’s centennial. But, I decided the occasion warranted a little something more serious to reflect what is, in my opinion, the most important event in our first 100 years.

1922 was a year of optimism. The world was getting over the devastation of the first world war. Supposedly, “the war to end all wars.” The Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 was over and the roaring twenties was in full swing… and boy, did they ever.

Jazz age flappers flouted prohibition in the US where consumerism reached unheard of heights and Canada of course, also benefitted from the US surging economy.

And, more importantly our country was finally recognizing women’s right to vote.

In Stratford, our club was charted May 30, 1922 and had just 22 members. The first president was D.M. Wright and the club’s first project was to purchase memberships at the YMCA for two young needy brothers. The club also purchased a movie projector for the Y and their second order of business was creating a fund for assisting the poor.

The club was a tight knit group of men. A male club of sorts, where Stratford’s worthies could meet once a week over lunch and chat about daily events and of course, gossip. Over the years of course, we’ve become much more than that and many of Rotary’s charitable endeavours have become fixtures of the community, today.

But this could not happen, until all the way to 1989 when Rotary had its most important event to date —

The vote to admit women into Rotary, worldwide.

It was impossible and frankly foolish to think that our club could continue to operate while the most important members of our society remained excluded. Like our closest living relatives, the bonobo monkey, who live in a matriarchal society, we know that women in leadership roles are absolutely imperative to the success of, not only our club, but society in general.

Even still, there were hurdles and some grumblings within Rotary. After all, change is difficult to accomplish, especially when it comes to stubborn men. It wasn’t until shortly after I joined in ’95 that our club received its first female member Elizabeth Gaffney. Soon after, many others followed and today we are infinitely better for it. It remains of utmost importance that our club be committed to diversity and a visible representation of the community in which we serve.

Now, 100 years on, as our eyes adjust to the light at the end of the tunnel, it will be a Canadian from Windsor, Jennifer Jones who will be the first female president of Rotary International, who will lead us into our own roaring twenties.

The past hundred years haven’t by any means, been easy. But as they say, nothing worthwhile is.

Community is paramount.

When you have a shoulder to lean on, suddenly the weight of the world seems…manageable.

This is what Rotary is all about.

Together, we can accomplish anything. We can get through anything and come out stronger on the other side.

As I look around at all of your wonderful faces, whether it be in this strange virtual word or in the physical one, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Simply by being here, each and every one of you has made a difference.

So, now I raise my mug in a toast to the first 100 years of our Rotary Club of Stratford. The next 100 will be difficult and our future generations will be tested just as we are. But together, we will overcome and flourish.

May your days be filled with love and gratitude and may there always be light at the end of the tunnel.

My love to you all.

T.