St Thomas Railway City Rotary Club Minutes - January 22, 2020
Attendance: Al G, Curtis R, Natalie R, Scott C, Sue B, Wade C Eleanor R, Brian G, Dagmar W, Mark F, Paul, Helen C, Roger C, Sandy W, Anna, Regrets: Diane C, Bill C, Barb C, Ann L Guests: Mayor Preston, Ed D, Jackson C, Richard and Karen A. Scott V
Welcome - President Scott @ 5:30 pm O' Canada 4 Way Test
Guest Speaker
Helen introduced our guest speaker - Mayor Joe Preston
- Mayor Preston was elected Mayor of St. Thomas in 2018
- he was the former MP of our riding from 2004-2015
- he is the operating partner of the Wendy's Restaurant, and Living Alive Granola.
- interesting fact he shared - he used to play water polo
Update for his 1st year as Mayor
- he has the largest council that St. Thomas has ever had; very strong
- They focused on 3 items:
#1 Housing - 400 rental units will be starting at the old Alma College, hoping for a few others
#2 Transit - city buses hope to be running 7 days a week with new routes and will run until 10 pm. After hours looking for an UBER type bus system, with one ,main line running down Talbot. Transit B - Regional Transportation - buses running back and forth from St. Thomas - London, one going to Aylmer with a stop in New Sarum, one going to Port Stanley with a stop in Union.
#3 Smart Growth - upwards of 1000 new people to St. Thomas each year. Need to update the roads, transit, recreational and jobs as St. Thomas grows.
Mayor Preston "We have a Community that Cares - #stthomasproud"
Any announcements, events he said we could share with him and he will post on his Facebook page.
Club Business
N/A
Motions/Club Decisions
N/A
Committee Updates
Fundraising - Paul N
- Dinner of the Month Draw tickets on sale - draw next week. Bring all your money and ticket stubs.
International - Mark F
N/A
Local Community Service - Sandy
Rotary Youth Exchange - Al G
- Anna's Host Family are taking her on a mini vacation visiting Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. We look forward to hearing all about it.
- Scott has changed host families
