Three new members were proudly inducted into the Rotary Club of Sussex on September 30th by President, Rhoda Wilson. From left to right, Mila Maxwell, sponsored by Angie Cummings; Taylor McWhirter, sponsored by Julie Matthews; presiding Club President Rhoda Wilson; and Reilly Morris, sponsored by Bob Black, but pictured here with Bob Tremblett in proxy.
Rhoda Wilson, Club President, shared the following during the induction ceremony: "While we can make you a member of The Rotary Club of Sussex, we cannot make you a Rotarian in the true sense of the word, that is a distinction which each individual must gain for him or herself. We welcome new Rotarians not only for the fine fellowship, which we will share, but also for the assistance you will provide to help us carry out the Club's projects for the purpose of making our community, our Country, and our World a better place to live..."
Our areas of focus are promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economies.
Each Rotarian in our Club is an ambassador from The Rotary Club of Sussex to your vocation and to your place of employment. True Rotarians convey the principles and ideals of service to the people in your vocation whom you have the honour to represent.
It is my great pleasure today on behalf of the Board of Directors and the members of the Rotary Club of Sussex to welcome three new members into our Club.
This is a day of many firsts – the first time this President has led a Rotary Induction, the first time that we have added so many members in one day, at least since I joined the Club 10 years ago, and the first day we have added a member who found us on our website.
Rhoda then shared her insights on each new member.
Mila Maxwell – Mila, this has been a long time in coming, which tells me that you have thought seriously about your decision before filling out that application. I understand that your dad was a Rotarian, so we know that you have seen Rotary from different sides, and you have an understanding of the level of commitment. As a business owner of Simply for Life, you have a lot to bring to the table, and I don't just mean healthy food, although I am confident that you can help us with that as well! To my knowledge, you are the first nutritionist for our Club. I am looking forward to seeing which committees you are going to choose!
Taylor McWhirter – Although several members of our Club have worked with you in your business, last week was the first time we connected. You filled out the membership form last Monday, your first meeting. The Board passed it, it went before the membership and met the 7-day required wait time. Record time – again a first. Our Club has a long history with the Scotiabank going back to Bob Black when he was the Manager. Since that time, several other Scotiabank representatives have sat at our table and worked on our Committees, and it is good to welcome a banker.
Taylor McWhirter – Although several members of our Club have worked with you in your business, last week was the first time we connected. You filled out the membership form last Monday, your first meeting. The Board passed it, it went before the membership and met the 7-day required wait time. Record time – again a first. Our Club has a long history with the Scotiabank going back to Bob Black when he was the Manager. Since that time, several other Scotiabank representatives have sat at our table and worked on our Committees, and it is good to welcome a banker.
Reilly Morris – This summer was a first. The first time that I know of when someone emailed info@sussexrotary.com asking if our Rotary Club was receiving members. Paula (Fleming) and I are the ones who receive these emails, and I have to admit that we did not know who was at the other end. Since it was summer, we were a little slow in following up. Many different offers come through that email. We do a little checking before we add just anyone to our Club, and I soon discovered that we had some mutual friends. It has not taken long to find out that you come highly recommended and that your skills complement some needs in our Club. Your work with a tech company, Genesys Telecommunications, has involved HR, computer programming, and in your former life, you were a web designer. I am looking forward to having someone help us in streamlining our Club's online presence – blending ClubRunner with our website material. Your enthusiasm to get to work has been impressive and inspiring to me.
"To all of our inductees I would like to say that our Club expects assistance and inspiration from you in helping us to become better Rotarians, and it is with this hope that I now ask your sponsors to invest you with the distinguishing lapel pin of Rotary membership and to offer you the right hand of Rotary Fellowship. With this pin and your membership here, you can attend meetings of any Rotary Club in the world."
Rhoda concluded by welcoming Ed Keith - a returning Rotarian - back to the Club.