July 11 2023
Rotary Waterloo Visits the Hopp House for a Social Evening
Neither rain, nor thunder, nor lightning could deter Waterloo’s Rotarians from the first meeting of the Rotary year. Although the weather kept us off of the patio, we were able to venture outside between showers for the business portion of the meeting.
President Carol Parsons welcomed everyone and introduced three prospective members - Mary Lou Mayer, Mimi Mahmud and Janice Jim.
Environment - Elias and his daughter will be planning a special environmental project for the club this year.
By-law amendment – Trevor sent out a proposed amendment to the by-laws prior to the meeting along with an official notice that it would be voted on at this meeting.
Following a brief discussion, the Motion approving the amendment was approved unanimously.
The amendment will allow Rotary Waterloo to apply for a license to run a 50-50 draw at the club’s newest fundraiser, the Waterloo Ribfest in September.
July 26 2023
Rotary Waterloo Members enjoyed a tour of the new Ontario Die Company Facility lead by our own Ron Levene and his son Elli. The Facility was state of the art including machine that could cut with precision of 2 microns while still having areas where staff continue to work with Old World tools like anvils, files, and heat forges. They were creating machines for everything from automotive parts to fruit baskets to packaging of surgical instruments.
Most impressive were all the items that reflected the 100 year history of this Family Own business. Displays showed molds for shoes from almost 100 years ago and the mold used for the bottoms of the boots used during the Moon Walk. The inclusion of pieces from the previous buildings including a stone wall in the entrance, the rosewood in the main boardroom, and two bricks (one from the King Street location and one from the Roger Street location) intergrated into the building's exterior wall all spoke to importance of history to this company.
The club then held our meeting in the beautiful cafeteria that was designed to ensure all the employees of ODC had somewhere to gather together. What an impressive example of how a family business that includes its employees as part of that family legacy has been able to thrive in the Kitchener Waterloo Area.
During our meeting, we were fortunate to welcome our newest member, Michael to the fold.
