Guest Speakers

Guest speakers are truly a highlight of our bi-weekly Thursday morning Rotary meetings. Community leaders, activists and local business owners join us to give an informal presentation on their projects and initiatives. If you wish to become a guest speaker, you’re welcome to apply by contacting us.

March 2023

March 2nd

Club Forum

Community Service Committee meeting

March 9th and 23rd  

No meeting

March 16th

Joanne Richter

Co-owner, The Second Wedge Brewing Co.

Joanne will provide an update on the progress of rebuilding the Brewery after it sustained major damage from the EF2 tornado that ripped through Uxbridge on May 21, 2022. She will talk about future plans for Uxbridge’s beloved Second Wedge.

March 30th

Dale McKnight

Program Facilitator, Uxbridge Youth Centre

Dale will speak about how the Youth Centre was able to maintain programs throughout the pandemic and will speak about both the current programs and the planned programs and activities for the summer.

February 2023

February 2nd

Steve MacBeth

Chief Operating Officer, Team Rubicon Canada

Steve will explain what Team Rubicon does, how they do it and how instrumental the Team was in the aftermath of the tornado that hit Uxbridge in May 2022.

February 9th

No meeting

February 16th

Chelsea Kerstens

Executive Director, Epilepsy Durham

Chelsea will provide an overview of the work that Epilepsy Durham is doing.

February 23rd

No meeting

January 2023

January 5th

Sandi Cole and Janet Giberson

Teacher Mentors Abroad

Sandi and Janet will provide updates on the TMA peer mentoring programs that have begun again in the Dominican Republic.

January 12th

No meeting

January 19th

Allison Hector-Alexander

Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Regional Municipality of Durham

Alison will describe the types of programs the Region is offering for DEI, offer suggestions for increasing the effectiveness in achieving DEI within organizations like Rotary and highlight how organizations and communities are moving to be more diverse, equitable and inclusive.

January 26th

No meeting

December 2022

December 1st

Club Forum

December 8th

Richard Mewhinney

Chair, Water and Sanitation
District 7070

Richard will be speaking about the rain-water collection system at Ongutoi Health Centre in Uganda and how it is used for a nearby orange orchard.

December 15th

Dr. Laurie Houston

Dentist and environmentalist

Dr. Houston will be speaking about her volunteer dentistry trips.

December 22nd and 29th

Meetings cancelled for the holidays.

October 2022

October 6th

Ron Houston and Sean Astop

Uxbridge Coalition Against Poverty

Ron and Sean will speak about the local organizations that are working together as the Uxbridge Coalition Against Poverty and its various sub-committees.

October 13th

Rotary Club of Uxbridge Charitable Foundation Annual General Meeting

October 20th

Club Forum

October 27th

Ben Earle and Joe Solway

Ben Earle, Chief Executive Officer, Feed the Need Durham

Ben will speak about the work of Feed the Need Durham and how they are able to help those in North Durham. Joe Solway, of the Rotary Club of Bowmanville, will speak briefly about the 5th annual concert benefitting Feed the Need Durham.

September 2022

September 1st

Barbara Melara

Chair, Amarok Society

Barbara will provide an update on the Global Grant, spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Belleville, to introduce digital skills into the mini-schools operated by the Amarok Society in the slums of Bangladesh.

September 8th

Rotary Club of Uxbridge Annual General Meeting

September 15th

Judy Risebrough

Project Manager, Uxbridge Downtown Revitalization

Judy will present the results of the research on the revitalization of downtown Uxbridge conducted this past year.

September 22nd

Ben Voss and James Niyrongo

Ben Voss, founder of Africycle and James Nyirongo, Teen Clubs in Malawi

Ben and James will provide an update on the Teen Clubs operating in Malawi and how Africycle supports these and other initiatives in the area.

September 2022

September 29th

Dr. Jennifer Wilson

Uxbridge family and emergency room physician

Dr. Wilson will provide an update on the Ghana Health Team and the hospital. She will speak about her recent book, “Grant Us Tomorrow”, a story of hope, transformation, courage and community.

August 2022

August 4th

Danielle Luciano

Waste Operations Technician, Region of Durham Waste Management Division.

Danielle will be speaking to us about the Region’s Long-term Waste Management Plan, from 2022 to 2040, and the Transition of Durham’s Blue Box Program to Extended Producer Responsibility.

August 11th

Andrea Tirone

Chair, International Service Committee, Rotary Club of Toronto

Andrea will speak to us about a program in Zambia – Agricultural Resilience Incentives – that supports rural farming families to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

August 18th

Steve Rutledge

Rotary Club of Whitby Sunrise and President, Adopt a Village in Laos water project

Steve will be speaking about and providing an update on the very successful project – Adopt a Village in Laos.

August 25th

Laura and Dave Twidale

Owners of River Ridge Farm Flowers

Laura and Dave will describe the many features of River Ridge Farm Flowers: the huge variety of flowers, the view, ‘cut your own flowers’, flower arrangements, a venue for magnificent photo shoots and much more.

July 2022

July 7th

Terry Baskin

Club President, 2022-2023

Terry will provide an overview of his goals for the new Rotary year and will present his ‘Classification Talk 2.0’.

July 14th

Rotary Club of Uxbridge, England

Richard Hansom, Club contact and Reed Alkhouli, Club President

Postponed from May, this will be a joint meeting between the two Rotary Clubs of Uxbridge – Canada and England. We will each hear about the activities of the other Rotary Club of Uxbridge.

July 21st

Club Forum

Committee Chairs and Directors will provide a brief overview of their committee and, in the case of the Directors, their portfolio. Goals for the current Rotary year will be outlined for members.

July 28th

Trish Bush

Owner, The Fig Kitchen & Market, Uxbridge

Trish will be speaking about opening a fully vegan restaurant in Uxbridge.

June 2022

June 2nd

Lindsey and Brenda Warne

Co-owners of Winexpert in Uxbridge

Lindsey and Brenda will provide a virtual tour of the new wine-making store in Uxbridge.

June 9th

Dr. Andrew Gunther

Environmental scientist

Dr. Gunther’s area of expertise is Climate Change. His presentation answers the questions: “Must we change?”, “Can we change?” and “Will we change?”

June 16th

Elena Pacheco, Courtney Sorger and Dr. Carlye Jensen

VP, Transformation; Senior Advisor, Community Engagement; Family Physician and Chief of Uxbridge site.

Elena, Courtney and Dr. Jensen will provide an update on the plans for the new hospital and possibly discuss some of the fundraising needs.

June 23rd

Carolyne Kerrigan and Graham Baskin

Rotary Youth Leadership Symposium candidates

Carolyne and Graham will provide members with a report on their experiences at the first Rotary Youth Leadership Symposium, which occurred May 26-29, 2022 at the Ganaraska Forest Centre.

June 2022

June 30th

Michael Banh

President, Rotary Club of Uxbridge for 2021-2022

President Mike will speak about his year as president, with highlights about the activities, accomplishments, projects underway and progress made. He will also present the end-of-year awards to deserving Rotarians.

May 2022

May 5th

Jessica Pett and Kristina Bergeron

Animal Control Officer and Manager of Bylaw Services, Township of Uxbridge

Jessica and Kristina will be speaking about animal control services in Uxbridge

May 12th

Mallory McGrath

Founder and CEO, Viive Planning

Mallory will speak about the importance for family members to speak openly about aging and end-of-life planning. “Having conversations about aging and the end-of-life should be as easy and normal as talking about birth and the beginning of life.”

May 19th

Cecilia Smith

Member, Rotary Club of Uxbridge

Classification Talk

May 26th

Rotary Club of Uxbridge, England

Richard Hansom, Club contact and Reed Alkhouli, Club President

This will be a joint meeting between the two Rotary Clubs of Uxbridge – Canada and England. We will each hear about the activities of the other Rotary Club of Uxbridge.

April 2022

April 7th

Dr. Laurie Houston

Dentist and environmentalist

Dr. Houston will speak about the initiative she created, to recycle medical PPE and other projects that she champions, such as Greener Dentistry and Terracycle.

April 14th

Patty Ewaschuk

Co-owner of Banjo Cider in Uxbridge.

Patty will speak about the origins of farm-based Banjo Cider. Patty and her partner Tony Brown have revived the lost art of traditional cider making, which nearly disappeared during the Prohibition Era when true cider apple trees were cut down. Banjo Cider is a cider, orchard and store located in Uxbridge, Ontario.

April 21st

Dale McKnight

Program Facilitator for the Uxbridge Youth Centre

Dale will provide an update on the many virtual programs being operated by the Youth Centre and the plans for in-person programs beginning in the Spring.

April 28th

Dayana Gomez

Director, Philanthropy & Communication;
Health Partners International of Canada.

Health Partners International of Canada (HPIC) is a registered charity dedicated to increasing access to life-saving medicine and improving the health of millions of people living in vulnerable communities around the world. Dayana will speak about the efforts of HPIC to support the crisis in Ukraine with humanitarian medical kits.

March 2022

March 3rd

Rob Brown

Township Climate Action and Transition Committee

Rob will speak to us about the activities of the Town’s Climate Action and Transition Committee (CATC) and some ideas they have moving forward.

March 10th

Jean Claude and Tina Martin

Members, Rotary Club of Markham Sunrise.

Jean Claude will speak about his home town of Masango in Burundi, Africa. The Rotary Club of Markham Sunrise is raising money to provide water and basic sanitation to a school in Masango.

March 17th

Jodi Cowan

Community Engagement Coordinator, Ontario Tech University.

Jodi will provide an update on new programs and achievements at Ontario Tech and will update members on the Stickler Endowment, a scholarship named for Harold and Iris Stickler, former members of the Rotary Club of Uxbridge.

March 24th

Dr. Carlye Jensen

Chief, Markham Stouffville Hospital, Uxbridge Site.

Dr. Jensen will provide an update on the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) process and describe some of the obstacles currently in place.

March 31st

Erin denOuden

A Pretty Good Farm

Erin will speak about the family-owned and operated organic farm – how they started, what they grow, their CSA program and other initiatives in which A Pretty Good Farm is involved.

February 2022

February 3rd

Jeremy Opperman

Rotarian from South Africa, member of the Rotary Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force.
Jeremy, who is totally blind, will speak about the Rotary task force and the importance of increasing disability awareness and universal access.

February 10th

Hanna Jacobs

Founder of Matchbox Garden & Seed Co., an organic farm located on the Grand River in Haldimand County.

Hanna will speak about the basics of starting a garden – outside or inside; vegetables, herbs or flowers. She offers online courses on the basics of gardening and she will describe the many varieties of heirloom and rare vegetables, herbs, seeds and flowers.

February 17th

Bruce Garrod

Ward 3 Councillor, Township of Uxbridge and the Chair of Finance.

Bruce will speak about the 2022 Budget for the Township of Uxbridge.

February 24th

Gabriel Morales

Member, Rotary Club of Uxbridge

Classification Talk

January 2022

January 6th

John Tomory

One of four brothers who run the family-owned Pefferlaw Creek Farms.
John will speak about the family business of making 100% organic maple syrup, the processes used, tours of the farm and the regular events held at Pefferlaw Creek Farms

January 13th

Carolyn King

Former chief of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and recent recipient of the Order of Canada.

 

Carolyn will speak about the Moccasin Identifier Project, a project she created, which encourages communities to mark Aboriginal land with imprints of moccasins, either in concrete or a temporary material. The project has now permeated the education system in Ontario.

January 20th

Dawn DeSouza

Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative

 

Dawn will speak about the crisis regarding homelessness in Uxbridge and will describe some ways that the community can help.

January 27th

Mr. Narasimha Hedge

Wetland Forest Restoration Expert

 

Two Rotary Clubs – from Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada and Honavar, India – will meet together virtually to hear about the Mangrove Restoration Project in India. Both clubs are involved in several projects within the new Rotary Area of Focus: Supporting the Environment.

December 2021

December 2nd

Bob Wallace 

Past District Governor and Chair of the District 7070 Rotary Foundation Committee.

Bob will speak about the importance of the Rotary Foundation and why we should contribute to it.

December 9th

Craig Marlatt

Commissioner, 1st Uxbridge Scouts

 

Craig will speak about Scouting in Uxbridge: Scouting in general; volunteers and scouters; community partnerships.

December 16th

Fabio Tonto, P. Eng., MEPP

Climate Change Specialist with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA).

 

Fabio will focus on the LSRCA, climate change in the Lake Simcoe watershed and his role and background as a Climate Change Specialist.

December 23rd December 30th

Meetings cancelled for the Holidays

November 2021

November 4th

Louisa Horne 

Rotary Club of Halifax Harbourside
Members watched segments from the Grow Your Rotary workshop held Saturday, October 16, 2021.

November 11th

Steve Rutledge

Rotary Club of Whitby-Sunrise

 

Steve will update members on his water project: Adopt a Village in Laos. He will also present the results of a Global Grant to assist in reestablishing the children’s wing of the Karantina Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon.

November 18th

Caitlin Arlene

Author and professional writer

 

Caitlin will speakabout her experience in Malawi  with Emmanuel International  and her book, True Stories of Maternal Health in Malawi.

November 25th

Ian Newton

Specialist in botany and zoology

 

Working with Ceres Consulting, which has an international focus on business and product development in the health and nutrition sector, Ian will speak about ‘Food as Medicine’.

October 2021

October 7th

Tish MacDonald 

Retired USS teacher and Uxbridge resident
Remembrance Day and the Honour Our Veterans Banner Program.

October 14th

Carolyn King and Ron Williamson

Carolyn is the first woman to have been elected as Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and was recently appointed to the Order of Canada
in recognition of her support for First Nations and the advancement of Aboriginal Peoples.

Ron is an archaeologist and Vice-Chair of the Shared Path Consultation Initiative, a charitable organization dedicated to promoting reconciliation in land-use planning.

Why Land Acknowledgments Are So Complex: 13,000 years of Indigenous History in South-central Ontario.

October 21st

No morning meeting today. Instead, an evening meeting to celebrate World Polio Day. 

October 28th

Zed Pickering and Megan Pickering

Zed, of the Uxbridge Anti-Racism Coalition (ARC) and Megan, one of the founders of These Stories Matter.
Zed will speak about bringing awareness to racial injustices and Megan will speak about the Uxbridge community reading initiative.

September 2021

September 2nd

Kerin Lloyd 

Member, Rotary Club of Uxbridge
Presentation on Climate Change.

September 9th

Tracy Mogk 

Getaway Travel, Uxbridge
The travel industry and travelling this Fall and Winter.

September 16th

No speaker this week 

Club Forum

September 23rd

Brigette Tschinkel 

Executive Director of Development, Grandview Children’s Centre
Update on programs and activities at Grandview

September 30th

Rotary Club of Uxbridge and RC Uxbridge Charitable Foundation

Annual General Meeting

August 2021

August 5th

June Davies 

Member, Rotary Club of Uxbridge
Creating Community Voice: Better ways to build community and become more of a collective when dealing with government systems.

August 12th

Amy Snow

Coordinator of Food Rescue South Muskoka and volunteer coordinator of The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation
Food recovery programs: Food waste and food insecurity must be tackled together.

August 19th

Patricia Cherrie

Owner of Greenmantle Pottery and one of the organizers of the Leaskdale Loop
Explore the Leaskdale Loop – 16 stops on the 20 km route in and around Leaskdale.

August 26th

Ginny Slike, Caitlin Brandon, Bev Northeast

Leads for a few Rotary Christmas Projects,
Local residents describe the Basketeers, Operation Warm Hearts and Christmas Families with the Salvation Army.

July 2021

July 8th

Michael Banh 

President, Rotary Club of Uxbridge

President Mike will present his vision for the new Rotary year.

July 15th

Peter Hernandez

President, Rotary Club of Oshawa and VP (Public Relations) Toastmasters International (Durham Region).

Making the most of the affiliation between Rotary and Toastmasters to improve oneself and the Club.

July 22nd

Eva Reti

Chair, Durham Region Hospice

Eva will speak about the hospice being planned for Whitby.

July 29th

Renee Bos

Beekeeper and member of the Rotary Club of Bowmanville.

The importance of bees as pollinators.

June 2021

June 3rd

John Currie and Nicole Van Stone 

John, Executive Director of Honouring Indigenous Peoples and President of RC of Pickering and Nicole, President of BEL (Bridgenorth-Ennismore-Lakefield) Rotary

An overview of the new Youth 2 Youth Initiative, which pairs Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth from Grades 9-11.

June 10th

Günther Schubert

Rotary Club of Peterborough-Kawartha

Ultra Monarch Marathon in September 2021

June 17th

Our newest member – June Davies

Classification Talk

June 24th

President Fran Taylor

President Fran will present some highlights of her year as President – a year like no other. She will make a few presentations and hand over the gavel to incoming President Dr. Michael Banh.

May 2021

May 6th

Deborah Dee

Youth & Vocational Committee

Overview of organizations we have supported during the pandemic

May 13th

Lisa Cooper

Cooper’s CSA Farm

Update on the award-winning Uxbridge Farmers’ Market

May 20th

Matthew Santoro

Vice-President, Sales, NEI Inc

Socially Responsible Investing

May 27th

Dr. Ruth Mathieson

Rotary Club of Belleville

The purchase of 3 portable anaesthesia machines through Safe Anaesthesia Worldwide (SAWW).

April 2021

April 1st

Nilam Bedi

Chair, District 7070 Environmental Action Committee

Activities of and plans for the District Committee – Online Meeting

April 8th

Chuck Taylor

United Nations Gapminder program

April 15th

We will not have a regular Thursday morning meeting. Instead, we will meet virtually on Friday, April 16, 2021 at 7:00 pm to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Club.

April 22nd

Terry Baskin

President-elect for 2021-2022

Why Accessibility Matters

April 29th

Gord Hicks

Founder of Cam’s Kids, CEO of BGIS & recent recipient of the Order of Canada

Journey to a Sustainable Future

March 2021

March 4th

Conrad Richter

President of Richter Herbs

All about herbs – Online Meeting

March 11th

Mary Lou Harrison

Past District Governor

Youth Service – Online Meeting

March 18th

Ginny Slike

Classification Talk – Online Meeting

March 25th

Marcus Rochefort

Building Engineering Technologist

Climate Reality Project – Online Meeting

February 2021

February 4th

Fallon Hayes

Environmentalist

Educational Urban Garden Network – Online Meeting

February 11th

Julie Weiss

Classification Talk – Online Meeting

February 18th

Justyne Edgell

Local Initiative Reporter for the Cosmos

Online Meeting

February 25th

Jane Kiyonaga, PattyEwaschuk and Mona Hamdi

North Durham Refugee Reunification — Online Meeting

January 2021

January 7th

Kalpana Rathakrishnan

Classification Talk — Online Meeting

January 14th

Leo Taillon and Caitlin Christoff Taillon

Enhancing your online shopping experience and buying local | Online Meeting

January 21st

Dale McKnight

Program Facilitator, Uxbridge Youth Centre

Update on the UYC move to online programming | Online Meeting

February 28th

Bob Armitage

Secretary of the Uxbridge Lions Club

Elgin Park’s Accessible Playground – Online Meeting

0